How popular is the baby name Alula 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 Alula.

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Popularity of the baby name Alula


Posts that mention the name Alula

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2020

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

I’m a little late on this one, considering that we looked at the 2021 state-by-state baby name data last week, but better late than never. :)

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, the most popular baby names in the state in 2020 were Olivia and Oliver.

Here are Iowa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 171 baby girls
  2. Charlotte, 141
  3. Evelyn, 137
  4. Emma, 119
  5. Ava, 116
  6. Amelia, 115
  7. Harper, 113
  8. Sophia, 106
  9. Hazel, 101
  10. Eleanor, 96

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 208 baby boys
  2. Liam, 183
  3. Theodore, 169
  4. Henry, 163
  5. William, 156
  6. Noah, 127
  7. Owen, 126
  8. Wyatt, 119
  9. Jack, 117
  10. Maverick, 112

In the girls’ top 10, Sophia, Hazel, and Eleanor replaced Avery, Nora, and Violet.

In the boys’ top 10, Theodore and Wyatt replaced Lincoln and Jackson. (Notably, Theodore jumped from 12th in 2019 up to 3rd in 2020.)

Over 3,500 girl names and nearly 2,800 boy names were bestowed just once in Iowa in 2020. The state says that unique names are trendy — in fact, “some Iowa counties…regularly reach 100% uniqueness, meaning there are no babies given the same name in a single year.”

Here’s a selection of Iowa’s unique baby names from 2020:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Alula, Brindle, Clorrenty, Dilnaaz, Ellaydrea, Fidelity, Glariel, Hepperli, Imariana, Jacklington, Kissimee, Lalotai, Malofo, Nellatreen, Offranel, Peninnah, Qianna, Rufusline, Sunrae, Tenebris, Ugbaad, Vatsana, Winji, Xyphora, Yliemani, ZenleyAeio, Bazzi, Colique, Drummer, Ezzeldeen, Faltaous, Groseille, Htoo, Invictus, J-Heart, Kalikimaka, Luxender, Mlondani, Noakley, Owendan, Prexy, Qorvyn, Ramazani, Smoltz, Tuxley, Unison, Vaxston, Wirachai, Yolotli, Zantoro

Thoughts on some of the above…

  • Kissimee – close to Kissimmee, the name of both a city and a river in Florida.
  • Tenebris – a form of the Latin word tenebra, meaning “darkness, shadow, gloom.”
  • Groseille – French for “redcurrant.”
  • Htoo – Burmese for “gold.” (Almost 10,000 refugees from Myanmar live in Iowa.)
  • Kalikimaka – Hawaiian for “Christmas.”
  • Vaxston – given the fact that Covid-19 dominated the headlines in 2020, I can’t help but wonder if this one wasn’t influenced by the word vaccine. (A baby in the Philippines was named “Vaccine” in 2020, incidentally.)
  • Yolotli – Nahuatl for “heart.”

Finally, in 2019, the top two names in Iowa were Charlotte and Oliver.

Sources: Top Baby Names – Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal, Baby Names Uniqueness – Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)

Girl names on the decline in the U.S. in 2021

fallen leaves

Which girl names decreased in usage the most from 2020 to 2021?

Here’s a table of the fastest-falling girl names of 2021. On the left are the top 25 decreases in terms of absolute numbers of babies, and on the right are the top 25 decreases in terms of relative numbers of babies.

RankGirl nameAbsolute fallGirl nameRelative fall
1Isabella-957Ashvi-76%
2Abigail-936Dessa-75%
3Victoria-603Jaeda-73%
4Alexa-583Amavi-73%
5Sophia-540Yameli-73%
6Brooklyn-504Raela-72%
7Anna-452Reniyah-72%
8Gianna-435Naeema-72%
9Harper-433Avyn-72%
10Aubrey-409Portia-71%
11Ava-401Jadah-71%
12Hannah-400Rona-71%
13Kaylee-366Jocelynne-71%
14Samantha-361Iolana-71%
15Serenity-359Nakshatra-70%
16Emily-358Jatziry-69%
17Genesis-356Irish-69%
18Ella-354Inanna-69%
19Melanie-348Evangaline-69%
20Brielle-346Alula-69%
21Mila-330Rakeb-68%
22Lauren-312Kiaya-68%
23Skylar-303Meral*-67%
24Londyn-300Kemya*-67%
25Arianna-298Jeri*-67%

*Also at -67% were Helayna, Asmara, Arriyah, Anu, Akane, Kimberlin, Jojo, Elianni, Naleya and Leta.

Interestingly, Dessa has dropped before — it was the fastest-falling girl name way back in 1933.

And I don’t think anyone will be surprised about the ongoing decline of Alexa.

Finally, here are the girl names that saw the steepest dives right out of the data (i.e., to below 5 instances of usage) in 2021:

  • given to 20 babies in 2020: Geisha
  • given to 17 babies in 2020: Glorianna, Malai, Taleigha
  • given to 16 babies in 2020: Emili, Kalonni, Nyella, Siaani

Do you have thoughts/insights about any of the above names?

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Fall (6282684630) by Kenny Louie under CC BY 2.0.

Palindrome names: Alula, Hannah, Natan, Viv

duck and reflection

If you’re someone with a deep appreciation of symmetry, this list of palindrome names is for you!

A palindrome is a word or phrase that can be read the same way in either direction, i.e., both forwards and backwards. For instance, the words “civic,” “kayak,” and “wow” are all palindromes.

Here are over 130 names (collected from the SSA’s huge database of U.S. baby names) that happen to be palindromes.

Palindrome names

  • Aba
  • Abba
  • Ada
  • Adda
  • Aenea
  • Afa
  • Afifa
  • Ahsha
  • Aia
  • Aicia
  • Aidia
  • Ailia
  • Aisia
  • Aja
  • Ala
  • Alala
  • Aleela
  • Alela
  • Alila
  • Alla
  • Alula
  • Alyla
  • Ama
  • Amima
  • Amma
  • Ana
  • Anana
  • Anina
  • Anna
  • Anona
  • Ara
  • Arbra
  • Ardra
  • Arora
  • Arra
  • Artra
  • Asa
  • Assa
  • Ata
  • Atta
  • Ava
  • Aviva
  • Avva
  • Awa
  • Axa
  • Aya
  • Aza
  • Azeeza
  • Aziza
  • Azza
  • Bob
  • Divid
  • Ebbe
  • Ebe
  • Ebube
  • Ece
  • Ede
  • Eevee
  • Efe
  • Ege
  • Eillie
  • Eimie
  • Ele
  • Elle
  • Eme
  • Emme
  • Ese
  • Eve
  • Eze
  • Habibah
  • Halah
  • Hallah
  • Hanah
  • Hannah
  • Havah
  • Hawah
  • Hayah
  • Idi
  • Ireri
  • Iri
  • Itati
  • Ivi
  • Izzi
  • Kanak
  • Kerek
  • Kilik
  • Lal
  • Laval
  • Layal
  • Ledel
  • Lemel
  • Lennel
  • Lil
  • Lul
  • Luul
  • Maham
  • Maram
  • Nalan
  • Naman
  • Nan
  • Natan
  • Navan
  • Nayan
  • Neven
  • Nin
  • Nitin
  • Nivin
  • Nixin
  • Nolon
  • Noon
  • Nosson
  • Nylyn
  • Ororo
  • Oso
  • Oto
  • Otto
  • Pip
  • Ramar
  • Reber
  • Reinier
  • Rekker
  • Remer
  • Rener
  • Renner
  • Rever
  • Sabas
  • Sahas
  • Saras
  • Savas
  • Savvas
  • Silis
  • Siris
  • Sylys
  • Talat
  • Umu
  • Viv
  • Yanay

Two of the above, Ava and Hannah, happen to be very popular choices for baby girls at the moment.

Which palindrome name do you like best?

(And, did you know that pairs of names can be palindromes as well?)

Image: Adapted from Male northern pintail at Llano Seco by Frank Schulenburg under CC BY-SA 4.0.

[Latest update: April 2023]