Top boy-name debuts of all time in the U.S. baby name data (41-50)

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This week let’s finish checking out the top baby name debuts of all time.

I’ll be counting down the 50 most popular boy name debuts in five posts, from today until Friday. (I did the top girl name debuts a couple of weeks ago.) I didn’t break any ties, so this “top 50” list actually has 93 names.

I came up with explanations for as many names as I could, but I’m still stumped on a few of them. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these.

Here’s 50 to 41:

Ajee, Baylee, Itzae & Kwamaine, 4-way tie for #50

  • Ajee debuted with 29 baby boys in 1994.
    Inspired by the Revlon perfume Ajee.
  • Baylee debuted with 29 baby boys in 1995.
    Inspired by baby Baylee Almon, victim of the Oklahoma City bombing.
  • Itzae debuted with 29 baby boys in 2011.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Kwamaine debuted with 29 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by rapper Kwame Holland.

Alize, Broderick, Diamante, Hoby, Jevante, Kwamane, Larenz & Savalas, 8-way tie for #49

  • Alize debuted with 30 baby boys in 1995.
    Inspired by the liqueur Alize.
  • Broderick debuted with 30 baby boys in 1950.
    Inspired by Broderick Crawford, an actor in the movie All the King’s Men.
  • Diamante debuted with 30 baby boys in 1991.
    Inspired by the Mitsubishi Diamante (car).
  • Hoby debuted with 30 baby boys in 1958.
    Inspired by Hoby Gilman, a character on the TV western Trackdown.
  • Jevante debuted with 30 baby boys in 1992.
    Inspired by DeVante Swing, a member of Jodeci.
  • Kwamane debuted with 30 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by Kwame Holland as well.
  • Larenz debuted with 30 baby boys in 1994.
    Inspired by Larenz Tate, an actor in the movie Menace II Society.
  • Savalas debuted with 30 baby boys in 1974.
    Inspired by Telly Savalas, an actor on the TV show Kojak.

Cully, Omarian & Yul, 3-way tie for #48

  • Cully debuted with 31 baby boys in 1960.
    Inspired (in part) by Cully Wilson, a character on the TV show Lassie.
  • Omarian debuted with 31 baby boys in 2002.
    Inspired by singer Omarion.
  • Yul debuted with 31 baby boys in 1957.
    Inspired by Yul Brenner, an actor in the movie The Ten Commandments.

Cauy, Kesan, Khari, Kinta, Maverick, Roemello & Shaquel, 7-way tie for #47

  • Cauy debuted with 32 baby boys in 1999.
    Inspired by professional bull rider Cauy Hudson.
  • Kesan debuted with 32 baby boys in 2008.
    Inspired by Kesan, a contestant on the reality TV show From G’s to Gents.
  • Khari debuted with 32 baby boys in 1971.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Kinta debuted with 32 baby boys in 1977.
    Inspired by Kunta Kinte, a character on the TV miniseries Roots.
  • Maverick debuted with 32 baby boys in 1957.
    Inspired by Bret Maverick, a character on the TV western Maverick.
  • Roemello debuted with 32 baby boys in 1994.
    Inspired by Roemello Skuggs, a character in the movie Sugar Hill.
  • Shaquel debuted with 32 baby boys in 1993.
    Inspired by basketball player Shaquille O’Neal.

Tou, #46

  • Tou debuted with 33 baby boys in 1980.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Hmong immigration. (Thanks, Christina!)

Yuvin, #45

  • Yuvin debuted with 34 baby boys in 2016.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.

Caelan, Caillou, Daren, Illya, Kiefer & Quamaine, 6-way tie for #44

  • Caelan debuted with 35 baby boys in 1992.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Caillou debuted with 35 baby boys in 2001.
    Inspired by Caillou, a character on the children’s TV show Caillou.
  • Daren debuted with 35 baby boys in 1922.
    Inspired by Daren Lane, a character in the Zane Grey book The Day of the Beast.
  • Illya debuted with 35 baby boys in 1965.
    Inspired by Illya Kuryakin, a character on the TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
  • Kiefer debuted with 35 baby boys in 1988.
    Inspired by Kiefer Sutherland, an actor in the movie Young Guns.
  • Quamaine debuted with 35 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by Kwame Holland as well.

Argenis, Corderro, Jelani, Kareen & Livan, 5-way tie for #43

  • Argenis debuted with 36 baby boys in 1981.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by either singer Argenis Carruyo or actor Argenis Chirivela, not sure yet…
  • Corderro debuted with 36 baby boys in 1986.
    Inspired by Cordero Roberts, a character on the soap opera One Life to Live.
  • Jelani debuted with 36 baby boys in 1973.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by a list of African names in the newspapers.
  • Kareen debuted with 36 baby boys in 1972.
    Inspired by basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
  • Livan debuted with 36 baby boys in 1997.
    Inspired by baseball player Livan Hernandez.

Deyonta, Tahj & Zeandre, 3-way tie for #42

  • Deyonta debuted with 37 baby boys in 1993.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Tahj debuted with 37 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by singer Tajh Abdulsamad, a member of The Boys.
  • Zeandre debuted with 37 baby boys in 1997.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.

Hobson & Llewyn, 2-way tie for #41

  • Hobson debuted with 38 baby boys in 1898.
    Inspired by Spanish-American War POW Richmond Hobson.
  • Llewyn debuted with 38 baby boys in 2014.
    Inspired by the movie Inside Llewyn Davis.

Do you have any ideas about where Zeandre, Deyonta, Jelani, Caelan, Yuvin, Tou, Khari, or Itzae might have come from?

More of the top 50 baby name debuts for boys: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

[Latest update: 7/2021]

6 thoughts on “Top boy-name debuts of all time in the U.S. baby name data (41-50)

  1. Jelani > maybe this person? Mian Ghulam Jilani: “An ethnic Pashtun, he retired from the Pakistan Army in 1962 and was jailed 1973 for his political beliefs. Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience in 1974. He escaped from custody and took political asylum in the United States in 1975.”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mian_Ghulam_Jilani

  2. There *could* be some Xander influence there. Though it looks like Zeandre (maybe Ze-Andre?) debuted a bit before Xander really started climbing. Hm.

    I don’t think there’s an Itzae-Etsy connection, though that’s a clever guess! I know Itzae is related to Itza, but I’m not 100% sure how to pronounce it, or what inspired it. Telenovela maybe?

  3. Emma – Thanks for the idea! But I’m not sure if he’s the cause. I’d imagine that, if he were, his name (Jilani) would also start showing up on the SSA’s list — and probably higher up than Jelani. In reality, though, Jilani hasn’t ever been on the list. That isn’t to say he had no influence at all during those years, but I don’t think he’s what inspired the Jelani debut in 1973.

  4. The TOU I know is from a Laotian, Vietnamese or Cambodian family. Could it be that churches started sponsoring refugees from Asia during the mid 1970s?

  5. Christina, I think that’s the right answer. Thanks! And it’s supported by the fact that the 1980 Tous were concentrated in Minnesota (8), Wisconsin (7) and California (5).

    It’s probably a Hmong name. Apparently a large number of Hmong immigrated to the U.S. after the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980.

    (Here’s a related post about Vietnamese names debuting in 1975.)

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