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, check out all the blog posts that mention the name April.

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Popularity of the Baby Name April


Posts that Mention the Name April

Name Quotes 78: Brene, Neal, SanDeE*

The name SanDeE* from LA Story (1991).
SanDeE* from LA Story

From the 1991 movie LA Story, a conversation between Harris (played by Steve Martin) and SanDeE* (played by Sarah Jessica Parker):

H: What was your name again?

S: SanDeE*

H: I’m sorry, Sandy, Sandy… It’s a nice name. Everybody has such weird names now, it’s like Tiffany with a P-H-I, and instead of Nancy it’s Nancine. [He begins to write her name down.]

S: Big S, small A, small N, big D, small E, big E.

H: What?

S: Big S, small A, small N, big D, small E, big E. [She grabs his hand and writes directly on it.] Big S, small A, small N, big D, small E, big E. Then there’s a little star at the end.

Anna Wintour recently talking about her new puppy, named Finch [vid]:

She’s called Finch because we call all of our dogs after characters in To Kill a Mockingbird. So we have had a Scout, a Radley, and a Harper. And let me tell you, they are not happy about Finch’s arrival.

From a 1995 interview with R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe, whose paternal grandfather was a Methodist minister:

Well, Methodism was started by John Wesley, who was, in his way, a really radical guy who believed in a lot of individual responsibility. It’s not the kind of religion that’s right around your throat. Actually, I was named after him, John Michael Stipe.

From an article about Lara Prescott, author of the new book The Secrets We Kept, a fictional account of the dangers of publishing Doctor Zhivago in the 1950s:

You could say she was born to write this historical novel: Prescott’s mother named her after the doomed heroine from her favorite movie, the 1965 adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s epic.

A non-edited tweet from Cardi B, whose sister’s name is Hennessy:

Fun fact :Always wanted a daughter and I always used to say imma name her HennyLynn. It’s a cute mix of my sisters name but then I started calling my sister HennyLynn then it became one of the nicknames I gave my sister so it woulda been weird naming my daughter that .

From an article about a Georgia man whose name, Neal, came from a POW bracelet:

His father, the late John Carpenter, was an aircraft mechanic in the Navy and was deployed overseas at the time. He arrived home in time for his son’s birth. When it became necessary to scramble and find a boy’s name, John Carpenter looked down at the POW/MIA bracelet he was wearing.

The engraved name was Neal Clinton Ward Jr. He had been listed as Missing in Action since June 13, 1969. An airman, his plane had been shot down over Laos in the jungles of Southeast Asia, nine days before his 24th birthday.

The Carpenters named their son Neal Ward Carpenter.

(Neal’s mom had been convinced the baby would be a girl. Neal said: “I was going to be April Michelle, and that’s all there was to it.”)

Research professor and author Brené Brown on her unique name:

Growing up, every time we drove from San Antonio to Houston, going to Stuckey’s — all these places where you buy monogrammed shirts and glasses — I was so put out because there was never a “Brené.” So I think I made up in my head that it was French. And then I hitchhiked across Europe after high school and I got to France and I was like, “Je suis Brené!” And they were like, “What kind of name is that?” They’d never heard of it. My parents just made it up. I had a whole narrative in high school — “When I bust out of this suburban Spring, Texas, high school I’m going to go back to France where my people are!” But, no, it’s not French — it’s south side San Antonio.

Marketing expert Seth Godin’s take on the best middle name ever:

It’s not Warren or Susan or Otis or Samuel or Tricia.

It’s “The.”

As in Attila The Hun or Alexander The Great or Zorba The Greek.

When your middle name is ‘The’, it means you’re it. The only one. The one that defines the category. I think that focus is a choice, and that the result of appropriate focus is you earn the middle name.

For more name-related quotes, check out the name quotes category.

Numerology & Baby Names: Number 2

baby names that add up to 2, numerologically

Here are hundreds of baby names that have a numerological value of “2.”

I’ve sub-categorized them by overall totals, because I think that some of the intermediate numbers could have special significance to people as well.

Within each group, I’ve listed up to ten of the most popular “2” names per gender (according to the current U.S. rankings).

Beneath all the names are some ways you could interpret the numerological value of “2,” including descriptions from two different numerological systems.

2 via 11

The following baby names add up to 11, which reduces to two (1+1=2).

  • “11” girl names: Adea, Fe
  • “11” boy names: Aj

2 via 20

The following baby names add up to 20, which reduces to two (2+0=2).

  • “20” girl names: Jade, Dana, Jia, Deja, Ara, Nada, Amada, Hiba, Ena, Jai
  • “20” boy names: Abel, Gage, Adan, Kace, Ean, Jai, Chace, Fahad, Jade, Able

2 via 29

The following baby names add up to 29, which reduces to two (2+9=11; 1+1=2).

  • “29” girl names: Aria, Diana, Alana, Nadia, Ann, Asha, Dania, Sia, Adina, Kacie
  • “29” boy names: Beau, Aidan, Dax, Khai, Isa, Kael, Alek, Lake, Sai, Abiel

2 via 38

The following baby names add up to 38, which reduces to two (3+8=11; 1+1=2).

  • “38” girl names: Sadie, Alaina, Paige, Amina, Nina, Aisha, Hanna, Cecelia, Jamie, Chaya
  • “38” boy names: Noah, Max, Bodhi, Jared, Jaime, Jamie, Jair, Amare, Isai, Deon

2 via 47

The following baby names add up to 47, which reduces to two (4+7=11; 1+1=2).

  • “47” girl names: Sarah, Rachel, Kamila, Hallie, Leona, Adley, Reina, Galilea, Myah, Leanna
  • “47” boy names: John, Isaiah, Adrian, Malachi, Legend, Omar, Cody, Shane, Damon, Callen

2 via 56

The following baby names add up to 56, which reduces to two (5+6=11; 1+1=2).

  • “56” girl names: Ivy, Norah, Charlie, Aliyah, Selena, Dylan, April, Elianna, Maisie, Emmy
  • “56” boy names: Lucas, Dylan, Nolan, Oscar, Charlie, Felix, Mario, Armani, Omari, Pierce

2 via 65

The following baby names add up to 65, which reduces to two (6+5=11; 1+1=2).

  • “65” girl names: Rylee, Isabelle, Eloise, Alondra, Carter, Kelly, Palmer, Bridget, Vienna, Chandler
  • “65” boy names: Carter, Andrew, Javier, Prince, Conor, Collin, Shawn, Uriel, Chandler, Dennis

2 via 74

The following baby names add up to 74, which reduces to two (7+4=11; 1+1=2).

  • “74” girl names: Aurora, Audrey, Madelyn, Melody, London, Marley, Daleyza, Zuri, Lucille, Margot
  • “74” boy names: Joshua, Easton, Jesus, Myles, Matteo, Messiah, Desmond, Muhammad, Ryland, Tony

2 via 83

The following baby names add up to 83, which reduces to two (8+3=11; 1+1=2).

  • “83” girl names: Evelyn, Violet, Margaret, Catherine, Emmalyn, Addilynn, Giovanna, Valery, Yuliana, Memphis
  • “83” boy names: Jonathan, Jaxson, Bentley, Memphis, Alonzo, Shepherd, Branson, Thatcher, Brysen, Judson

2 via 92

The following baby names add up to 92, which reduces to two (9+2=11; 1+1=2).

  • “92” girl names: Sydney, Kaitlyn, Mckinley, Oaklynn, Madilynn, Marilyn, Estrella, Sylvie, Heavenly, Rilynn
  • “92” boy names: Julius, Porter, Santino, Yusuf, Wilson, Salvador, Watson, Tyrell, Zakariya, Ozzy

2 via 101

The following baby names add up to 101, which reduces to two (1+0+1=2).

  • “101” girl names: Josephine, Christina, Jaylynn, Kristina, Brynley, Murphy, Sherlyn, Kiersten, Christian, Kylynn
  • “101” boy names: Christian, Tristan, Forrest, Kristian, Brentley, Murphy, Garrison, Jovanny, Marquez, Tyrion

2 via 110

The following baby names add up to 110, which reduces to two (1+1+0=2).

  • “110” girl names: Loyalty, Stormy, Sullivan, Sparrow, Amaryllis, Rozlyn, Kynsleigh, Paislynn, Brylynn, Justus
  • “110” boy names: Alexzander, Justus, Youssef, Tyshawn, Octavius, Joseluis, Loyalty, Torryn, Arlington, Suleyman

2 via 119

The following baby names add up to 119, which reduces to two (1+1+9=11; 1+1=2).

  • “119” girl names: Gwendolyn, Josselyn, Serinity, Carrington, Jessalynn, Pressley, Suttyn, Samyuktha, Pryncess, Sirenity
  • “119” boy names: Kingstyn, Treyvon, Aristotle, Tyberius, Carrington, Marcellous, Thorsten, Theodoros, Romulus, Grayston

2 via 128

The following baby names add up to 128, which reduces to two (1+2+8=11; 1+1=2).

  • “128” girl names: Kensington, Jazzlynn, Scottlyn, Yuritzi, Remmington, Oluwanifemi, Courtlyn, Josslynn, Mattilynn, Averyrose
  • “128” boy names: Remmington, Huckleberry, Vittorio, Kensington, Treyvion, Florentino, Quintrell, Patterson, Pratyush, Oluwanifemi

2 via 137

The following baby names add up to 137, which reduces to two (1+3+7=11; 1+1=2).

  • “137” girl names: Riverlynn, Savannahrose, Taylormarie
  • “137” boy names: Konstantin, Joseantonio, Kentavious, Toluwanimi

2 via 146

The following baby names add up to 146, which reduces to two (1+4+6=11; 1+1=2).

  • “146” girl names: Oluwadarasimi, Winterrose, Scarlettrose
  • “146” boy names: Oluwadarasimi, Jontavious

2 via 155

The following baby names add up to 155, which reduces to two (1+5+5=11; 1+1=2).

  • “155” boy names: Krystopher, Chrystopher, Muhammadmustafa

What Does “2” Mean?

First, we’ll look at the significance assigned to “2” by two different numerological sources. Second, and more importantly, ask yourself if “2” or any of the intermediate numbers above have any special significance to you.

Numerological Attributes

“2” (the dyad) according to the Pythagoreans:

  • “The dyad is the first to have separated itself from the monad, whence also it is called ‘daring. ‘ For when the monad manifests unification, the dyad steals in and manifests separation.”
  • “Among the virtues, they liken it to courage: for it has already advanced into action. Hence too they used to call it ‘daring’ and ‘impulse.'”
  • “They also gave it the title of ‘opinion,’ because truth and falsity lie in opinion. And they called it ‘movement,’ ‘generation,’ ‘change,’ ‘division,’ ‘length,’ ‘multiplication,’ ‘addition,’ ‘kinship,’ ‘relativity,’ ‘the ratio in proportionality.’ For the relation of two numbers is of every conceivable form.”
  • “Apart from recklessness itself, they think that, because it is the very first to have endured separation, it deserves to be called ‘anguish,’ ‘endurance’ and ‘hardship.'”
  • “From division into two, they call it ‘justice’ (as it were ‘dichotomy’)”
  • “And they call it ‘Nature,’ since it is movement towards being and, as it were, a sort of coming-to-be and extension from a seed principle”
  • “Equality lies in this number alone…the product of its multiplication will be equal to the sum of its addition: for 2+2=2×2. Hence they used to call it ‘equal.'”
  • “It also turns out to be ‘infinity,’ since it is difference, and difference starts from its being set against 1 and extends to infinity.”
  • “The dyad, they say, is also called ‘Erato’; for having attracted through love the advance of the monad as form, it generates the rest of the results, starting with the triad and tetrad.”

“2” according to Edgar Cayce:

  • “Two – divided” (reading 261-14).
  • “Two – the combination, and begins a division of the whole, or the one. While two makes for strength, it also makes for weakness” (reading 5751-1).
Personal/Cultural Significance

Does “2” — or do any of the other numbers above (e.g., 38, 47, 83, 101) — have any special significance to you?

Think about your own preferences and personal experiences: lucky numbers, birth dates, music, sports, and so on. Maybe you like how “101” reminds you of education and learning new things, for example.

Also think about associations you may have picked up from your culture, your religion, or society in general.

If you have any interesting insights about the number 2, or any of the other numbers above, please leave a comment!

Source: Theologumena Arithmeticae, attributed to Iamblichus (c.250-c.330).

Name Quotes #70: Silas, Mabel, Ilima

It’s April Fools’ Day! I don’t have any pun names (like April Fool or Seymour Butts) for you today, but here are some name quotes…

From the book Jazz And Its Discontents by Francis Davis, a passage about jazz singer Abbey Lincoln (born Anna Marie Wooldridge) :

When the singer Abbey Lincoln gives her autograph, she appends the name Aminata Moseka. During her pilgrimage to Africa in 1975, the president of Guinea christened her “Aminata” in recognition of her inner strength and determination, and Zaire’s minister of education likened her to “Moseka,” the god of love in female form. “I love Aminata Moseka. I’ve added her to myself. But I can’t say that’s my one and only name,” says Lincoln […] “It’s more like a title–something to live up to. That’s why I recorded Stevie Wonder’s ‘Golden Lady.’ It gave me the opportunity to sing to a female god. But I’m still Abbey Lincoln–I still like to wear makeup and glittering dresses and look attractive for an audience. And in many ways, I’m still Anna Marie.”

From an interview with Skid Row bass player Rachel Bolan (born James Richard Southworth):

DC9 at Night: How did you get the name Rachel?

Bolan: It’s not my real first name. When I was first getting into bands, I wanted a cool stage name. I wanted to be like Alice Cooper. Eventually, when I was old enough, I legally changed my name to Rachel. It’s always raised a few eyebrows. It’s funny to hear people pronounce it when I give them a credit card or something. It’s funny to this day. They ask me if I gave them the wrong ID or if I gave them some chic’s credit card.

(According to Wikipedia, he created “Rachel” by combining the names of his brother Richard and his grandfather Manuel.)

From an article about the top baby names across Ontario:

As for Maverick — the number one boy name in Sault Ste. Marie — Government and Consumer Services Minister Bill Walker said it’s an interesting choice, quipping: “It’s better than Goose” — referring to the main characters from the movie Top Gun.

From an ESPN article about MMA fighter Ilima-Lei Macfarlane:

She was named after the official island flower of Oahu — the ilima — recognizable for its delicate yellow petals.

“It was considered a flower for royalty,” Macfarlane said during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, “because it would take hundreds of flowers to make a lei, they’re so paper thin.”

From an article about baby naming trends being linked to the stock market:

Alan [Hall] compared seven decades of stock market records to baby naming data from the same period and found that parents tend to give their children unique and unusual names during and right after rallies in the market. On the flip side, when the market is down, parents revert to safer, more traditional names.

In contrast with the above…from an article called “It’s Not the Economy: Why Unique Baby Names Are Trending Up“:

The researchers also examined the naming trends against the background of the economy. Some theorists had speculated that increased economic hardship might make people more focused on the community, and thus cause a decline in individualism. One study, published in 2013 in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, found increases of communal behavior like charitable activity among high-schoolers during the 2008 recession. But baby names didn’t follow that pattern, [psychologist Jean] Twenge said.

[…]

“There’s just a longer-scale trend toward uniqueness and individualism that isn’t necessarily rooted in these economic cycles,” Twenge said.

From an article about Justin Timberlake’s latest album:

Timberlake’s interview comes weeks before the release of his new album Man of the Woods, which is set to hit stores on February 2. He said his son inspired the name of the record and its title track.

“I literally just went on Google like, ‘meaning of the name Silas,’ and it sent me to this to this site and it said, ‘of Latin origin, meaning ‘Man of the woods,'” he said. “I was like, ‘How serendipitous that my last is Timberlake, like what does that mean?'”

From a collection of baby name stories contributed by Long Island moms:

My grandfather hated tattoos. He used to tell his standard stories and would say only people who had tattoos in ‘his day’ were sailors. He said their tattoos always said either ‘death before dishonor’ or ‘true love Mabel.’ He always used Mabel as the example name. I’m not sure why. He died in 2013. We named our daughter Mabel as a nod to him.

Want to see more blog posts like this one? Check out the name quotes category.

Ten Animals with Interesting Names

nipper, dog,
The “Victor” dog is named Nipper (not Victor).

Here are ten interestingly named animals to start the week:

  • Canuck, crow. He was hand-raised in Vancouver, Canada, and his ongoing crazy behavior is being chronicled via Facebook, naturally.
  • John L Sullivan, elephant. He was a circus elephant trained to “box” (standing on hind legs and wearing boxing gloves). He was named for boxing’s first heavyweight champion.
  • Mattie, donkey. He was the baby of a mama donkey rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Matthew last year.
  • Mrs. Chippy, (male) cat. He sailed with Ernest Shackleton aboard the Endurance. He was owned by the ship’s carpenter, whose nickname was Chippy.
  • Nipper, terrier mix. He was the model for the famous “His Master’s Voice” ads used originally by the Victor Talking Machine Company. He was named for the fact that he nipped at people’s legs.
  • Owney, border terrier. He was a stray dog who became the unofficial mascot of the Railway Mail Service in the late 1800s. He was named after an Albany postal worker called Owen.
  • Pot-8-os (or Potoooooooos), horse. He was a successful 18th-century racehorse. He “gained his extraordinary name by the stable-boy writing the word potatoes on his box, “potoooooooos.”” Other versions of the story spell the name other ways.
  • Tajiri, giraffe. He’s April’s calf, and his live birth was broadcast on YouTube [vid] earlier this year. His name was chosen via contest.
  • Uno, bear. She’s a bear at Katmai National Park whose missing part of one of her ears, hence the name Uno.
  • Wojtek, bear. He was adopted by members of the Polish II Corps during WWII. He was named by the soldiers.

Some previous animal names I’ve posted about include Dolly (sheep) and Mike Bison (buffalo).

Sources:

Normandie, Take Two

comics, normandie, 1930sLast 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 probably not the strongest theory. The debut was much more likely caused by Normandie Drake than by the SS Normandie. Though the ship (and related novelty items, like Normandie perfume) could have been a secondary influence here.

(That said…heiress Normandie Drake herself may have been named with the luxurious ocean liner in mind. So maybe my initial theory wasn’t so far off after all?)

Anyway, sorry I didn’t have the full story on this one before posting. Better late than never!

*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: