How popular is the baby name Centennial 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 Centennial.

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Popularity of the baby name Centennial


Posts that mention the name Centennial

The 4 most patriotic names of all time?

Happy 4th! To celebrate this year, here are the 4 most patriotic names I’ve ever come across.

United States America Cook

United States America Cook. Source: Birth register.
“Cook, United States America”

She was born in Ohio in 1896. I’ve found people named “United States,” and even more named “America,” but she’s the only “United States America” I’ve ever found.

Nephi United States Centennial Jensen

Nephi United States Centennial Jensen. Source: Death certificate.
“Nephi United States Centennial Jensen”

He was born in Utah in 1876. Similar to United States America, I’ve seen “United States” more than once, and “Centennial” was downright trendy for babies born circa 1876, but this is the only “United States Centennial” I know of.

Star Spangled Banner Osborne

Star Spangled Banner Osborne. Source: 1870 U.S. Census.
“Star Spangled Banner”

He was born in Illinois in 1860. I’ve seen patriotic song titles as names before — “Yankee Doodle” included — but, as far as I can tell, he’s the only “Star Spangled Banner” that exists. In most records, he simply goes by “Banner.”

E Pluribus Unum Ford

E. Pluribus Unum Ford. Source: Death certificate.
“E. Pluribus Unum Ford”

She was born in Texas in 1884. This is the only name of the four that isn’t unique; I’ve found a handful people named e pluribus unum, which is the Latin phrase meaning “out of many, one” that many consider a de facto U.S. motto.

Which one of the above would you say is the most patriotic name? Or, if you know of one that could trump these, tell us about it!

Baby named for opera house, oil company, Samuel J. Tilden

John Hodge Opera House Centennial Gargling Oil Samuel J. Tilden Ten Brook was born in Olcott, New York, in the early 1870s.

His father initially named him “John Hodge” after family friend John Hodge of Lockport, New York. But at the christening in 1876, when the boy was four years old, Hodge himself suggested that they add the following middle names:

  • Opera House – Hodge owned the Lockport Opera House
  • Centennial – for the Philadelphia Centennial that year
  • Gargling Oil – Hodge was the proprietor of Merchant’s Gargling Oil Company
  • Samuel J. Tilden – Hodge was a “staunch supporter of Samuel J. Tilden and his presidential campaign”

The boy didn’t end up going by any of these names as an adult, though. He was known simply as “Buck.”

The Dutch surname Ten Brook, btw, means “near the marsh.”

Sources:

  • “Autograph Fans Irk Man of Many Names.” Montreal Gazette 22 Jan. 1938: 9.
  • Miscellany, Mar. 22, 1948.TIME Magazine 22 Mar. 1948.
  • “Ten Names, But Call Him ‘Buck’.” Ellensburg Daily Record 25 Jan. 1938: 2.