How popular is the baby name April in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to April and check out all the blog posts that mention the name April.

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Popularity of the Baby Name April

Number of Babies Named April

Born in the U.S. Since 1880

Posts that Mention the Name April

Normandie, Take Two

Normandie from Terry and the Pirates (comic strip)
The elusive Normandie Drake!
Last year I guessed that the 1935 debut of Normandie on the SSA’s list was inspired by the maiden voyage of the SS Normandie.

Just a few weeks ago, though, I stumbled upon a theory that makes a lot more sense.

I was in the middle of researching the name Terrylea (a one-hit wonder from 1948 — any guesses?) when I found myself on the IMDB page for Terry and the Pirates (1940).

IMDB pages are full of names, so whenever I land on one I feel compelled to skim. And on this particular page I happened to spot the character name “Normandie Drake.”

It made me think of the baby name Normandie, of course, but the release year didn’t match up to any of the SSA data, so…dead end, right?

Well, turns out the movie was based on a popular comic strip of the same name by cartoonist Milton Caniff. The strip was first published in late 1934.

And which character was introduced in January of 1935? Normandie Drake.

Very intriguing — especially when you consider that a number of baby name debuts from that era were inspired by comic strip characters (e.g., Clovia, Dondi).

Another interesting point: Normandie Drake wasn’t featured in every storyline, and her comings and goings in the comic seem to correspond with the fluctuating usage of the name.

In 1942, for instance, she reappeared after an absence. That same year, the usage of Normandie increased:

  • 1945: unlisted
  • 1944: 9 baby girls named Normandie
  • 1943: 9 baby girls named Normandie
  • 1942: 14 baby girls named Normandie
  • 1941: unlisted
  • 1940: unlisted
  • 1939: unlisted
  • 1938: unlisted
  • 1937: 11 baby girls named Normandie
  • 1936: unlisted
  • 1935: 7 baby girls named Normandie [debut]
  • 1934: unlisted

Not only that, but she brought along her young daughter Merrily* and the baby name Merrily** promptly skyrocketed into the top 1,000:

  • 1944: 71 baby girls named Merrily
  • 1943: 120 baby girls named Merrily [ranked 914th]
  • 1942: 201 baby girls named Merrily [ranked 698th]
  • 1941: 13 baby girls named Merrily [ranked 513th]
  • 1940: unlisted

A magazine interview with Milton Caniff from a few years later (1945) included a photo of two little girls named Merrily after the character. The caption also mentioned young girls named Normandie after Normandie Drake and April after another Terry character, April Kane.

So, in light of all this new information, I have to admit that my first theory was incorrect. The debut was much more likely caused by Normandie Drake than by the SS Normandie. (Although I do think the ocean liner could have been a secondary influence here.)

Sorry I didn’t have the full story on this one before posting about it initially. Better late than never, though. :)

*Milton Caniff named and modeled Merrily after Mary Lee Engli, the daughter of fellow cartoonist Frank Engli.
**The baby names Merrilee and Merrilie were also affected.

Sources:


41 Pun Names for April Fools’ Day (4/1)

pun names for april fool's day, gravestonesI can’t play a prank on you for April Fools’ Day, but I can give you a list of personal names that seem like pranks.

Except, they’re not.

All of the below are legit first & last names that belonged to real people — often multiple people. (In parentheses is a rough estimate of how many I’ve come across so far.)

Which one do you think is the worst?

  1. Alma Mater (several)
  2. April Showers (dozens)
  3. Bear Trapp (one)
  4. Candy Cane (several)
  5. Cliff Hanger (several)
  6. Constant Agony (two)
  7. Constant Craps (one)
  8. Crystal Ball (dozens)
  9. Death Knox (one)
  10. Drew Peacock (dozens)
  11. Gettysburg Battle (one)
  12. Gold Mine (two)
  13. Green Bean (several)
  14. Hazel Nut/Nutt (dozens)
  15. Ima Hogg (one)
  16. Jed I Knight (one)
  17. London England (dozens)
  18. Mud Brown (three)
  19. Never Fail (two)
  20. Norman Conquest (two)
  21. North West (hundreds)
  22. Nude Mann (one)
  23. Orbit Moon (one)
  24. Orchestra Harp (one)
  25. Paris France (several)
  26. Preserved Fish (one)
  27. Pullman Carr (several), one with the middle name Palace, as in the Pullman Palace Car Company.
  28. Rainy Day (one)
  29. River Bottom (one)
  30. Rocky Mountain (dozens)
  31. Sandy Beach (dozens)
  32. Sea Shore (several)
  33. Seymour Butts (two) — not just a Bart Simpson prank call!
  34. Silence Bellows (one)
  35. Soda Popp (one)
  36. Strong Beer (one)
  37. Tell No Lyes (several)
  38. Ten Million (one), who had a daughter named Decillian Million.
  39. Timber Wood* (one), who has a sister named Drift Wood.
  40. Truly Wright (several)
  41. Tu Morrow (one)

Some of the above are also on my Unusual Name Combinations list.

Finally, don’t forget about the best April Fools’ Day name of all time, April Fool Harris!

*Reminded of this one by @jessiejensen – thanks!

[Images from Find a Grave: Constant Craps © Tonya Sapp Hames; Crystal Kay Ball © Connie Lagasse Russell; Never McNeil Fail, Sr © P Black-Avitts; Pullman P Carr © Emily; Rocky D. Mountain © Bobbi Janes; Seymour Butts © suscat.]

Unusual Name Combinations

Here are some unusual name combinations I’ve come across recently.

First Name + Middle Name

Gold and Silver

Above Hope Demmell
(female, married in 1619 in England)

Alma Mater Hughes
(female, born in 1887 in Texas)

American Queen Ingrain
(female, born circa 1894 in Alabama)

Americus Discoverer Le Ballister
(male, born in 1838 in Maine)

Apple Pie Bell
(male, born in 1886 in Georgia)

Apple Seed Powell
(female, gave birth in 1954 in Texas)

Atom Nucleus Blackwell
(male, born in 1983 in California)

Bacchus Naughty Orgill
(male, had a baby in 1841 in Jamaica)

Birds Eye Conrad
(male, born in 1871 in Indiana)

Biscuit Foot Cobbin
(female, born circa 1939 in Texas)

Bitter Jam McClellan
(female, born circa 1925 in Oklahoma)

Black Eye Wesley
(female, born in 1892 in Georgia)

Burger King Austin
(male, born circa 1856 in California)

Catfish Hunter Kay
(male, born in 1997 in Texas)

Cloudy Day Canaan
(male, born in 1885 in Pennsylvania)

Confederate American Kenner
(female, born in 1863 in Utah)

Country Dream Patterson
(female, born in 1987 in Texas)

Easter Daybreak Mullarkey
(female, born in 1891 in Scotland)

Egyptian Pyramid Wade
(male, born in 1993 in Texas)

Electric Music Sparks
(male, born circa 1896 in West Virginia)

Emancipator Lincoln Quinn
(male, born in 1889 in Mississippi)

Equal Rights Gotcher
(male, born circa 1865 in Arkansas)

Evening Star Babcock
(female, born in 1979 in California)

Gold and Silver Gadbury
(female, gave birth in 1909 in Texas)

Gold Dollar Davis
(female, born in 1893 in Virginia)

Gold Dust Fauntlery
(female, born circa 1903 in Arkansas)

Holly Berry Pharo
(female, born in 1880 in England)

Hush Vocal Bryant
(female, born circa 1914 in Oklahoma)

Ice Cream Goldsmith
(female, born circa 1871 in Alabama)

Ice Snow Franklin
(female, born in 1899 in Georgia)

Jelly Bean Carlton
(female, born in 1931 in Texas)

Jesus Mosquito Mansul
(male, born in 1953 in the Philippines – Mosquito was the mom’s surname)

Joy In Sorrow Godman
(female, married in 1614 in England)

Lemon Lime Clay
(male, divorced in 1992 in Florida)

Lucky Boy Turipa
(born in 1948 in New Mexico)

Magic Brilliance Carter
(born in 1987 in North Carolina)

Magic Enchantress Creamer
(born in 1974 in California)

Mint Julip Wilson
(male, born circa 1921 in Illinois)

Northern Pacific White
(male, born in Minnesota in 1872)

Nucleus Demon Johnson
(male, born in 1987 in Texas)

Obey The Lord Jenkins
(female, born circa 1904 Georgia – sister of Prase)

Ocean Wave Hamilton
(male, born in 1888 in Texas)

Orange Lemon Thomas
(male, born in 1859 in Ohio)

Panama Canal Caldwell
(female, born in 1912 in North Carolina)

Pearl Shell Adams
(female, born circa 1901 in Tennessee)

Penny Nickel Sutherland
(female, married in 1987 in Florida)

Prase The Lord Jenkins
(female, born circa 1903 in Georgia – sister of Obey)

Quiet Glow Kellough
(male, born in 1881 in Ohio)

Rasp Berry Nelson
(male, had a baby in 1954 in North Carolina)

Red Apple Thomas
(female, born circa 1885 in Iowa)

Remember Death Comper
(male, born in the late 1500s in England)

Rocky Mountain Kennedy
(male, born in 1884 in Arizona)

Rose Of The Sea McKay
(female, born in 1884 at sea aboard the Duke of Westminster steamship)

Salary Grab Hamrick
(male, born in 1880 in Illinois – a reference to the Salary Grab Act apparently)

Sanspariel Audacious Thomas Philpott
(male, born in 1892 in England)

Somebody Nobody Lord*
(male, married in 1992 in Nevada)
*This one is a name change. Don’t know what his birth name was.

South Pole Mitchell
(male, born circa 1908 in Georgia)

Star Spangled Banner Osborne
(male, born circa 1860 in Illinois)

Sterling Silver Slayden
(male, born in 1966 in Texas)

Summer Solstice Walker
(female, born in 2001 in Minnesota)

Superior Inches Brown
(male, born circa 1858 in Wisconsin)

Supreme Intelligence Thomas
(born in 1983 in New York)

Treasure Trove Kittenger
(female, born circa 1895 in West Virginia)

United States America Cook
(female, born in 1896 in Ohio)

Vernal Equinox Richardson
(female, born in 1898 in Texas)

Vice President Evans
(male, born circa 1918 in South Carolina)

Vocal Refrain Rose
(female, married in 1951 in West Virginia)

Washington Territory Stockand
(male, born circa 1869 in Washington Territory)

Yankee Doodle Norris
(male, born in 1910 in Tennessee)

Similar names from other posts: April Fool Harris, Acts of the Apostles Kennett, Aussie Trooper Kenna, Cash Money Smith, Christmas Carol Porter, Christmas Day Wagstaff, Christmas Eve Hayes, Dawn Siren Lingerman, Dee Day Edwards, Easter Lily Gates, Eclipse Glasses Banda, Eiffel Tower Sutherland, Emancipation Proclamation Coggeshall, Encyclopedia Britannica Dewey, Fearless Mentor Williams, Friday February Eleven Biddle, Harley Quinn Smith, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Legal Tender Coxey, Louisiana Purchase O’Leary, Luna Eclipse Hill, Marijuana Pepsi Sawyer, Nanda Devi Unsoeld, Oregon Territory Winters, Pitbull Shotgun Collier, States Rights Gist, Thursday October Christian, Union Jack Smart, Victory Pearl Harbor Moore.

First Name + Last Name

Superb Bullocks

American Born*
(female, born circa 1854 in Georgia)
*This is her married name. Not sure what her birth name was.

American Crook*
(female, born in 1836 in Tennessee)
*Another married name.

Bitter Apple
(female, born in 1874 in Tennessee)

Bitter Berry
(female, born in 1845 in Alabama)

Black Berry
(female, born circa 1925 in Washington)

Bum Dials
(male, born circa 1934 in Kentucky)

Cashmere Obedience
(male, born in 1907 in the Philippines)

Cheese Bologna
(male, born circa 1879 in Austria)

Continent Walker
(female, born in 1594 in England)

Copious Midgett
(male, born circa 1894 in North Carolina)

Cucumber Pickle
(male, born circa 1850 in Michigan)

Danger Dangervil
(born in 1943 in Florida)

Death Bugg
(male, born in 1746 in England)

Death Knox
(female, born circa 1927 in Mississippi)

Delicious Bacon
(female, born in 1895 in Georgia)

Dewdrop Trulove
(female, born circa 1933 in Mississippi)

Elder Berry
(male, born circa 1901 in Minnesota)

Every Evelyn
(female, born circa 1917 in Alabama)

Gold Mine
(male, born circa 1901 in Alabama)

Green Land
(male, born in 1886 in Tennessee)

Honorable Charming
(male, born circa 1782 in England)

Howdy Guy
(male, born in 1784 in England)

Ineeda Nunn
(female, born circa 1915 in North Carolina)

Larceny Luckydoo
(female, born circa 1914 in Arkansas)

London England
(male, born circa 1914 in Canada)

Magnetic Love
(female, born in 1912 in New York)

Many Moore
(female, born circa 1880 in Pennsylvania)

Married Young
(female, born circa 1923 in Tennessee)

Married Young, born in Tennessee

Minnie Merrycats
(female, born circa 1880 in Utah)

Mud Brown
(born in 1877 in Wisconsin)

Much Moore
(female, born circa 1900 in Georgia)

Mustard Mustard
(female, born circa 1841 in Delaware)

Need Butler
(male, born circa 1933 in Pennsylvania)

Never Fail
(male, married in 1928 in Oklahoma)

Nude Mann
(male, born circa 1871 in Ohio)

Obedient Beard
(male, born circa 1852 in Indiana)

Odious Nutt
(male, born in 1879 in Texas)

One Moore
(male, born circa 1869 in Missouri – the youngest sibling in the family)

Orchestra Harp
(male, born in 1873 in Kentucky)

Phoebe Beebee
(female, born in 1876 in England)

Pullman Carr
(male, born circa 1906 in Illinois)

Scholastic Sauce
(female, born circa 1889 in Louisiana)

Scot Land
(born in 1959 in Wisconsin)

Sea Shore
(male, born circa 1892 in Kansas)

Silence Bellows*
(female, born in 1896 in New York)
*Another married name.

Slipper Wearing
(female, born circa 1873 in South Carolina)

Smart Strong
(male, born circa 1923 in Arkansas)

Smelly Cotton
(male, married in 1906 in Texas)

Some Moore
(male, born in 1850 in Virginia)

Square Kitchen
(born in 1909 in Illinois)

Strong Beer
(male, born in 1846 in Indiana)

Superb Bullocks
(female, gave birth in 1916 in Ohio)

Teaspoon Typhoon
(born in 1953 in Michigan)

Tender Shoulders
(female, born circa 1939 in Kentucky)

Village Millage
(male, born in 1872 in South Dakota)

Wiggle Messenger
(male, born in the 1700s in Massachusetts)

Similar names from other posts: Cole Sellar, Constant Agony, Dill Pickle, Gettysburg Battle, Lottery Lament, Norman Conquest, Orbit Moon, Sacred Mango, Soda Popp, Ten Million, Truly Wright, Wrigley Fields.

Middle Name + Middle Name

Country Cowboy

Beata Apple Tree Hitchens
(female, born circa 1845 in England)

Ernest Big Boy Sloan
(male, born circa 1896 in South Carolina)

Lorelei Pink Dragonfly Dunlap
(female, born in 1996 in Texas)

Mary-Francis Morning Star Adams
(female, born in 1929 in Texas)

Nephi United States Centennial Jensen
(male, born in 1876 in Utah)

Ngan Ha Milky Way T Tran
(female, born in 1976 in Texas)

Oscar Church Bell Kham
(male, born in 1983 in Texas)

Shawn Country Cowboy Cunningham
(male, born in 1978 in Texas)

Shawn Hugh Hefner Moore
(male, born in 1975 in Texas)

Sidney Sweet Apple Granger
(male, born circa 1880 in England)

Similar names from other posts: James Good Hope Sky Martin, John Hodge Opera House Centennial Gargling Oil Samuel J. Tilden Ten Brook, Louis Meadows Brook Verhayden, Isaiah Olive Branch Williams, Rose Mary Echo Silver Dollar Tabor.

First Name + Middle Name + Last Name

Little Bit Moore

Chevy Van Pickup
(male, born circa 1986 in Massachusetts)

Henry Ford Carr
(male, born in 1924 in Minnesota)

Jolly Jingle Bell
(male, born circa 1926 in Arkansas)

Little Bit Moore
(female, born circa 1924 in Tennessee)

South East West
(male, born circa 1932 in Oregon – an older brother was named North)

Sun Shine Summers
(female, born circa 1924 in Texas)

Supreme Knowledge Allah
(born in 2002 in Minnesota)

Tell No Lyes
(born in 1734 in England)

Similar names from other posts: Crimson Tide Redd, Happy New Year, Merry Christmas Easter, Trailing Arbutus Vines.

–

Which of these name combinations is your favorite?

I think I’d have to go with Married Young from the first + last list.

[P.S. For some of the above, I assumed the state where the person was issued a social security number was also the birth-state. I realize now that this isn’t always the case. Sorry about that. If you’ve found a mistake, feel free to correct me in the comments.]

April Fools’ Baby Named April Fool

This name is no joke!

According to Florida birth records, a baby girl named April Fool Harris was born on April 1, 1908, in Pensacola, Florida.

Her father’s name isn’t part of the record, but her mother was named Millie. Both were 19 years old and originally from Tennessee.

To be honest, I’m surprised that I’ve only ever seen one April Fools’ Day baby named April Fool. There have to be others out there…

Want more punny names? Check out these 41 Pun Names for April Fools’ Day.

Source: April Fool Harris

The Truth About Your Baby’s Name

ugly sweaters

Your co-worker saunters into the office wearing an ugly sweater. It’s one of the most unsightly pieces of clothing you’ve ever seen in your life.

She twirls around to show it off. She’s obviously quite proud of it. “How do you guys like it?” she asks.

“Love the colors!”

“Lots of personality!”

“Looks great on you!”

Of course, you’re all a bunch of liars. But what else are you going to say? You don’t want to hurt her feelings. Besides, it’s not like she brought a change of clothes to the office.

So your fashion-challenged co-worker sits down at her desk, confident that everyone in the office genuinely likes her ugly sweater.

What does this have to do with baby names? I’ll show you.

Here’s what the mother of a baby girl named April May June, born in 1995, had to say about her daughter’s name:

“All the girls in (her pediatrician’s) office, they just think that it’s super,” Mrs. June said.

And here’s what one of my readers, who has a son named Atticus Chames, had to say about his name:

The only negative response we have ever gotten was from family, everyone else always tells him how cool it is.

“All the girls” love it? “Everyone” tells him how cool it is? Not quite.

Let’s think about these statements:

All the girls in (her pediatrician’s) office, they just think that it’s super.

Are you kidding? People who work in pediatrician’s offices probably lie about names all the time. I bet they’re experts at it. Same goes for people who work at day cares, preschools, elementary schools, summer camps, toy stores, or anywhere else you find large numbers of babies and/or children.

[E]veryone else always tells him how cool it is.

Well, sure. Telling someone you think a name is “cool” is a clever way to say something vaguely positive about the name without explicitly admitting that you like or dislike it. (The word “unique” also works wonders.)

Now, it’s possible that all the girls at the pediatrician’s office really do like April May June’s name, and it’s possible that everyone Atticus Chames encounters really does think his name is cool. You never know.

But I doubt it.

Because people’s tastes vary. A lot. And it’s unlikely that every single person you encounter will agree with you on any one thing–especially your baby’s name.

It’s far more likely that some people will like the name and others will dislike it. And that those who dislike it will try to be polite by telling you they like it. It’s a lie, sure, but why bother with the truth? It won’t improve the situation. It’ll only insult the parent.

Same goes for the ugly sweater. If your co-worker wears it to the office, you can’t be honest with her and tell her how ugly you think it is. That’ll just make her feel like crap. All you can do is pretend you like it and cross your fingers that she never wears it again.

So the next time you hear someone brag that “everyone loves” her baby’s name, you may want to bring her back down to earth with the ugly sweater story. Hopefully it’ll remind her that compliments from strangers and acquaintances can’t always be taken at face value.

(You could even buy her an ugly sweater to make your point.)

Source: “Parents love their little calendar girl.” St. Petersburg Times 18 Apr. 1995: 5.