How popular is the baby name Francesc in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Francesc.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Francesc


Posts that mention the name Francesc

Top one-hit wonder girl names of all time in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

Here are some of the top one-hit wonder girl names of all time, from 1880 to 2012:

  1. Alexandr, 301 baby girls in 1989.
  2. Jacqueli, 157 baby girls in 1989.
  3. Cassandr, 152 baby girls in 1989.
  4. Jacquely, 50 baby girls in 1989.
  5. Meghaan, 36 baby girls in 1984.
  6. Shastelyn, 34 baby girls in 2009.
  7. Charnissa, 32 baby girls in 1974.
  8. Jocell, 31 baby girls in 2011.
    • Aidsa, 30 baby girls in 2007.
    • Madelis, 30 baby girls in 2007.
  9. Yaindhi, 29 baby girls in 2008.
    • Eshanti, 27 baby girls in 2002.
    • Kitzie, 27 baby girls in 1979.
    • Devy, 27 baby girls in 1960.
    • Sarela, 26 baby girls in 2006.
    • Nykeba, 26 baby girls in 1980.
    • Saresa, 26 baby girls in 1974.
  10. Shadava, 25 baby girls in 1983.
  11. Russchelle, 24 baby girls in 1975.
  12. Yoshigei, 21 baby girls in 2006.
  13. Francesc, 19 baby girls in 1989.

If we ignore all the 1989 names — which are only truncated spelling variants caused by the baby name glitch of 1989 — the real #1 one-hit wonder becomes Meghaan.

Here’s what I can tell you about some of the above: Shastelyn, Jocell, Madelis and Raengel were inspired by Mexican beauty queens; Aidsa and Yaindhi were inspired by the TV show Objetivo Fama; Eshanti was inspired by singer Ashanti; Nykeba was inspired by a mention in Ebony magazine; Tijwana was inspired by a mention in Jet magazine.

Can you come up with explanations for any of the others?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Glitch alert: Why are there truncated names in the 1989 U.S. baby name data?

glitch

While doing some name research recently, I noticed a whole bunch of typos like “Christop” and “Alexandr” among the top 1,000 U.S. baby names of 1989.

I figured all the typos must be coming from a single source, so I checked the SSA’s state-by-state data, starting with the larger states. Didn’t see anything in California, didn’t see anything in Texas…but then I checked New York, and there they were:

Typo# in U.S.# in NY% in NY
Christop (m)1,0821,082100%
Christin (f)92649954%
Stephani (f)63648977%
Elizabet (f)44541994%
Alexandr (f)301301100%
Alexande (m)30129999%
Katherin (f)27724890%

A few of the above may not be typos, but the fact that so many are concentrated in a single place suggests that most are.

Given the time period and consistent truncation, my guess is that one of the counties in New York started using a computer system in 1989 that only allowed the input of up to 8 characters per name.

Now the big question: Did this glitch skew the national baby name rankings?

Yes, but only for Alexandra:

Name(s)# in U.S.Rank in U.S.
Alexandra (f)7,67943rd (old)
Alexandra (f) + Alexandr (f)7,98041st (new)

All 301 of the baby girls named Alexandr were born in New York, so it’s likely that all of them are typos. If we add these 301 to the total for Alexandra, the new number nudges Alexandra up two spots to #41. (This would bump the names Brittney and Hannah down one spot each.)

UPDATE, April 2020: I scanned the SSA’s full set of data for 1989 and found even more typos:

Typo# in U.S.# in NY% in NY
Jacqueli (f)157157100%
Cassandr (f)152152100%
Christia (m)828098%
Jacquely (f)504794%
Kristoph (m)4444100%
Johnatha (m)343191%
Anastasi (f)222091%
Francesc (f)1919100%
Dominiqu (f)1515100%
Nicolett (f)151280%
Annemari (f)141393%
Kassandr (f)1313100%
Johnatho (m)1212100%
Mackenzi (m)11982%
Sebastia (m)1111100%
Bernadet (f)99100%
Demetriu (m)99100%
Geneviev (f)99100%
Kristofe (m)99100%
Alejandr (m)8675%
Antoinet (f)88100%
Cassondr (f)88100%
Constanc (f)88100%
Francisc (m)8788%
Priscill (f)77100%
Annamari (f)66100%
Angeliqu (f)55100%
Francesc (m)55100%

Many of the above were one-hit wonders, which makes sense.

P.S. Here are two more glitches I’ve found since writing this post: the Korea/Kansas glitch and the Essfa glitch.

Image: Adapted from Data loss of image file (public domain)