The top boy-name debuts of 2016

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Yuvin was the boy name that debuted most impressively on the U.S. charts in 2016.

In order for a rare baby name to debut on the Social Security Administration’s annual baby name list, it has to be given to at least 5 babies of either one gender or the other within a given year.

Of all the boy names that debuted in 2016, the following were the most popular:

1. Yuvin, 34 baby boys
2. Kaulder, 32
3. Negan, 24
4. Anuel, 19
5. Noxx, 16
6. Huckson, 14
7. Shivaay, 13
8. Bento, 12
9. Eizan, 12
10. Kasiah, 12

Other boy names that debuted were Eadric, Barkot, Dansby, Bexar, Calcifer, Maccabee, Naz, Grizzly, Hirving, Isco, Mox, Rizzo, Astro, Crown, December, Krash, October, Olivander, Pinny, Range, Chrisander, Hux, Kloud, Klutch, Luffy, Nexus, Ocelotl, Ozlo, Quigley, and Wilco.

Where do these names come from? Here are a few explanations/guesses:

  • Kaulder – from the movie The Last Witch Hunter.
  • Negan – from the TV show The Walking Dead.
  • Shivaay – from the movie Shivaay.
  • Dansby – from baseball player Dansby Swanson.
  • Calcifer – from the book/movie character created by author Diana Wynne Jones…?
  • Hirving – from Mexican footballer Hirving Lozano.
  • Isco – from Spanish footballer Isco (real name Francisco Alarcón Suárez).
  • Rizzo – from baseball player Anthony Rizzo.
  • Wilco – from the ’90s alt-rock band…?

Do you know what events/people might have inspired the others? (I’m especially curious about Bento. It’s making me hungry…)

Here are the top boy name debuts of 2015.

Source: SSA

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

13 thoughts on “The top boy-name debuts of 2016

  1. I’m not sure. I haven’t found a strong pop culture explanation for it yet. Might just be a variant spelling of Yuvan, which has been on the rise lately.

  2. Song Yu-Bin is a Korean singer. His given name is sometimes written as Yuvin. He has appeared on a Korean talent show similar to American Idol.

  3. Thanks Ellyn. I did come across Song Yu Bin while researching the name Yuvin. And he does seem to prefer the “Yu Vin” spelling himself, judging by what I see on his Instagram page. I just don’t get the impression that he’s popular enough in the U.S. to be behind one of the biggest debut names of the year. (Can anyone out there prove me wrong on this? Is he more popular in the U.S. than the Internet is making me think?)

  4. Calcifer! Oh this makes me so happy.
    Olivander is a lovely addition, and some of the others are very cool – Rizzo, Mox, Naz.
    I’m more curious about Luffy than Bento.
    Ozlo is just a preferred spelling for Oslo, I assume.

  5. How odd to see 2 month names debut at the same time and with the same number. I’m especially pleased for October since its my 2nd favorite month name for boys (after July).

    Quigley could be because of Mike Quigley, he won the Illinois US House 5th District.

    As for Luffy, there is a Street Fighter professional player that goes by that nickname, not sure if he’s responsible or not.

  6. Bento could be from the Bento Mystery Box, although that has been around for several years now, with a new one released each year (its from the OurWorld game).

    Kaulder might be from The Last Witch Hunter, the movie came out in late 2015, so it would only have impact in 2016.

  7. Bento is the Portuguese form of Benedict, but I don’t know if that’s why its being used in the US.

    As for the other names (based on just Googling each of them):

    Noxx – a variant of Knox, a brand of headwear (?)
    Eadric – a character from World of Warcraft
    Barkot – a city in India
    Bexar – a county in Texas; there was a “Seige of Bexar” in the Texan Revolution.
    Maccabee – a biblical character
    Naz – a Turkish name
    Grizzly – a type of bear, also several brands, places, military vehicles, Marvel characters…
    Chrisander – a Nordic name
    Hux – a character in Star Wars The Force Awakens
    Klutch – a brand of car accessories (?)
    Luffy – main character in the anime One Piece
    Nexus – a brand of smartphones
    Ocelotl – Spanish name for the animal Ocelot; jaguar warriors in Mexican mythology

  8. Thanks for the comments/ideas everyone! Sorry I’m not replying. Trying to finish up a few more posts about the data…

  9. Anuel – Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA, in the news this year because he was arrested on gun charges.
    Barkot – an Ethiopian name. One site gives the meaning “blessing” which would make it etymologically connected to Barak in Arabic and Baruch in Hebrew.
    Ozlo – a tech startup developing a “personal assistant” of the same name that’s supposed to be smarter than Siri, Alexa et al. Looks like Ozlo got a fair amount of press in 2016.

    No idea why Calcifer is debuting now when the movie of Howl’s Moving castle came out in 2004.

  10. @Rita – Thanks! You’ve solved it for Hux. Another Star Wars name. :)

    @Becca – That bothered me about Calcifer as well. I like it better when the years line up. That said, this certainly wouldn’t be the first “delayed” pop culture name. Leeloo comes to mind, for instance. (Fifth Element came out in 1997, but name didn’t debut until 2008.)

    Thanks for the Ozlo explanation! Wonder if we’ll see Bixby (the name of Samsung’s new virtual assistant) in the 2017 data.

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