Where did the baby name Neve come from in 1996?

neve campbell, party of five, 1990s, baby name

The baby name Neve, an anglicized form of the Irish name Niamh (meaning “bright”), first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1996:

  • 1998: 38 baby girls named Neve
  • 1997: 29 baby girls named Neve
  • 1996: 8 baby girls named Neve [debut]
  • 1995: unlisted
  • 1994: unlisted

Who kicked it off?

Actress Neve Campbell, one of the stars of the TV show Party of Five. The show premiered in 1994, but didn’t become popular until 1996, after winning the Golden Globe for “Best Television Series – Drama” that January.

Neve played 15-year-old Julia Salinger, middle child of the five orphaned Salinger siblings. (Their parents had died in a car accident.) Julia had older brothers named Charlie and Bailey, a younger sister named Claudia, and a baby brother named Owen.

The show didn’t do much for the names Charlie or Claudia, and Julia was already on the rise, thanks to Julia Roberts. But it definitely gave the name Bailey a boost as a boy name. And it seems to have kicked off the long (and continuing!) rise of the name Owen.

Do you like the name Neve? What spelling do you prefer?

Sources: Party of Five – Wikipedia, SSA

2 thoughts on “Where did the baby name Neve come from in 1996?

  1. Although Neve is the common Anglicization of Niamh, Neve Campbell’s Neve comes from her mom’s Dutch maiden name. Either way it’s such beautifully written name both in Anglicization and original!

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