How popular is the baby name Chelsea 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 Chelsea.

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Popularity of the baby name Chelsea


Posts that mention the name Chelsea

Baby names that fell the fastest in the U.S. data, 1881 to today (absolute decrease)

fallen leaves

A couple of weeks a go we checked out the list of top raw-number rises in the U.S. baby name data, so today let’s balance things out with the list of top raw-number drops.

Just remember that the SSA data doesn’t become very accurate until the mid-to-late 20th century, so many of the numbers below don’t reflect reality all that well.

Same format as usual: Girl names on the left, boy names on the right. Numbers represent single-year decreases in usage. From 1880 to 1881, for instance, usage of the girl name Mary dropped by 146 babies and usage of the boy name William dropped by 1,008 babies.

  • 1881: Mary, -146; William, -1,008
  • 1882: Lulu, -34; Garfield, -78
  • 1883: Mary, -136; William, -911
  • 1884: Mina, -33; Albert, -61
  • 1885: Sarah, -94; William, -853
  • 1886: Nancy, -35; Grover, -361
  • 1887: Minnie, -157; John, -916
  • 1888: Dorothea, -24; Rudolph, -17
  • 1889: Emma, -203; William, -933
  • 1890: Mollie, -53; William, -278
  • 1891: Mary, -375; John, -821
  • 1892: Jennie, -26; Enoch & Irving, -16 each (tie)
  • 1893: Mary, -390; John, -990
  • 1894: Ruth, -286; Grover, -171
  • 1895: Laura, -87; Charles, -155
  • 1896: Jessie, -197; John, -182
  • 1897: Anna, -431; John, -589
  • 1898: Sophie, -49; Hobart, -63
  • 1899: Mary, -1,234; William, -1,314
  • 1900: Manila, -24; Dewey, -154
  • 1901: Mary, -3,572; John, -2,931
  • 1902: Sophie, -45; Manuel, -32
  • 1903: Mary, -211; William, -305
  • 1904: Lillie, -121; Leo, -83
  • 1905: Florence, -94; Alton, -138
  • 1906: Minnie, -173; Theodore, -146
  • 1907: Bessie & Alice, -85 each (tie); Austin, -27
  • 1908: Evelyn, -178; Theodore, -69
  • 1909: Mae, -154; Ernest, -115
  • 1910: Allie, -35; Delmar & Bruce, -24 each (tie)
  • 1911: Annie, -220; Willie, -405
  • 1912: Dessie, -20; Lawyer & Blas, -12 each (tie)
  • 1913: Carrie, -62; Emerson, -28
  • 1914: Tomasa, -27; Woodrow, -547
  • 1915: Juana, -32; Kermit, -79
  • 1916: Mollie, -88; Willard, -476
  • 1917: Edna, -204; Woodrow, -239
  • 1918: Rose, -215; Frederick, -103
  • 1919: Helen, -2,447; John, -3,029
  • 1920: Sophie, -234; Woodrow, -1,033
  • 1921: Gertrude, -449; Willie, -391
  • 1922: Helen, -2,314; Warren, -3,315
  • 1923: Helen, -1,017; George, -321
  • 1924: Elizabeth, -512; Warren, -1,231
  • 1925: Mary, -2,910; John, -1,878
  • 1926: Mary, -2,773; William, -1,358
  • 1927: Helen, -1,582; William, -479
  • 1928: Mary, -3,756; William, -2,360
  • 1929: Mary, -3,361; John, -1,652
  • 1930: Ruth, -1,079; Herbert, -2,187
  • 1931: Dorothy, -3,884; John, -4,026
  • 1932: Betty, -1,688; Robert, -1,255
  • 1933: Mary, -4,381; Robert, -5,052
  • 1934: Dorothy, -761; Franklin, -1,209
  • 1935: Betty, -2,408; Franklin, -1,543
  • 1936: Shirley, -7,202; Donald, -1,025
  • 1937: Shirley, -8,337; Donald, -771
  • 1938: Shirley, -3,048; Donald, -1,207
  • 1939: Shirley, -3,320; Robert, -2,630

(From the SSA: “Note that many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so their names are not included in our data.”)

  • 1940: Shirley, -2,573; Donald, -962
  • 1941: Betty, -1,172; Wendell, -533
  • 1942: Deanna, -408; Billy, -352
  • 1943: Carole, -1,900; Douglas, -3,001
  • 1944: Barbara, -4,242; Robert, -4,008
  • 1945: Mary, -3,184; James, -2,497
  • 1946: Victoria, -280; Victor, -492
    • Top 5 boy-name drops of ’46, in order: Victor, Truman, Franklin, Delano, Roosevelt/Homer (tie)
  • 1947: Carole, -793; Richard, -369
  • 1948: Patricia, -5,144; Richard, -7,570
  • 1949: Linda, -5,192; Ronald, -2,026
  • 1950: Linda, -10,549; John, -1,642
  • 1951: Linda, -6,553; Larry, -1,016
  • 1952: Linda, -6,808; Larry, -2,224
  • 1953: Linda, -5,819; Larry, -3,081
  • 1954: Linda, -5,884; Dennis, -2,860
  • 1955: Mary, -4,830; Gary, -3,499
  • 1956: Deborah, -4,476; David, -4,588
  • 1957: Deborah, -7,778; Gary, -2,286
  • 1958: Cynthia, -8,311; James, -5,502
  • 1959: Debra, -4,166; Michael, -5,209
  • 1960: Debra, -4,626; Richard, -3,619
  • 1961: Donna, -5,468; Richard, -2,432
  • 1962: Mary, -4,163; Mark, -4,234
  • 1963: Linda, -3,754; Mark, -4,150
  • 1964: Lori, -5,280; Mark, -4,073
  • 1965: Mary, -6,709; John, -10,972
  • 1966: Karen, -7,431; John, -6,519
  • 1967: Lisa, -4,483; James, -3,495
  • 1968: Mary, -3,592; David, -3,058
  • 1969: Lisa, -4,494; Timothy, -3,153
  • 1970: Lisa, -6,077; David, -1,953
  • 1971: Lisa, -6,053; David, -8,650
  • 1972: Lisa, -5,357; John, -8,340
  • 1973: Lisa, -4,883; David, -5,267
  • 1974: Lisa, -2,889; Robert, -1,681
  • 1975: Jennifer, -4,926; Brian, -3,864
  • 1976: Michelle, -3,116; Scott, -1,571
  • 1977: Amy, -4,613; Scott, -1,541
  • 1978: Amy, -3,509; Jason, -4,027
  • 1979: Kelly, -1,686; Kevin, -1,373
  • 1980: Melissa, -2,420; Jason, -2,203
  • 1981: Melissa, -3,623; Jason, -6,268
  • 1982: Brooke, -2,183; Jeremy, -2,643
  • 1983: Jennifer, -2,767; Jason, -5,512
  • 1984: Jennifer, -3,784; Jason, -5,167
  • 1985: Jennifer, -7,903; Jason, -3,905
  • 1986: Jennifer, -6,474; Joshua, -4,655
  • 1987: Jennifer, -3,483; Jason, -3,054
  • 1988: Ashley, -4,873; Jason, -3,441
  • 1989: Jennifer, -3,888; Jason, -3,292
  • 1990: Tiffany, -2,555; Adam, -2,216
  • 1991: Brittany, -7,446; Christopher, -5,219
  • 1992: Jessica, -5,047; Michael -6,409
  • 1993: Chelsea, -4,885; Michael, -4,821
  • 1994: Ashley, -4,571; Michael, -5,089
  • 1995: Jessica, -4,175; Michael, -3,060
  • 1996: Jessica, -3,752; Michael, -3,043
  • 1997: Jessica, -3,142; Cody, -2,660
  • 1998: Jessica, -2,816; Christopher, -2,104
  • 1999: Brittany, -1,903; Austin, -2,710
  • 2000: Brittany, -2,760; Austin, -4,824
  • 2001: Hannah, -2,366; Brandon, -2,445
  • 2002: Taylor, -2,220; Jacob, -1,968
  • 2003: Ashanti, -1,983; Austin, -2,850
  • 2004: Hannah, -2,034; Zachary, -1,832
  • 2005: Alexis, -1,503; Jacob, -2,059
  • 2006: Emily, -2,540; Ryan, -1,557
  • 2007: Emily, -2,050; Joshua, -1,664
  • 2008: Hannah, -3,738; Christopher, -2070
  • 2009: Emily, -2,084; Anthony, -2,099

I’ve already written about some of the names above (click the links to see the posts) and will write about others in the future. In the meanwhile, feel free to beat me to it! Comment below with the backstory on the fall of Shirley in the late ’30s, Linda in the early ’50s, etc.

Source: SSA

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

Popular baby names in Yukon (Canada), 1991-2015

yukon

Ever wonder what the top baby names in Yukon are?

Me too! So I looked them up.

Turns out the sparsely populated Canadian territory — which is next door to Alaska, larger than California, and home to only about 34,000 people — releases baby name rankings that cover 5 years at a time. So let’s roll the five most recent lists (i.e., 25 years of popular names) into a single post, shall we?

According to the Yukon Bureau of Statistics, these were the most popular baby names in the territory over the last quarter century…

From 1991 to 1995, the top baby names in Yukon were Ashley/Brittany/Samantha (3-way tie) and Michael:

Girl names (1991-95)Boy names (1991-95)
Ashley, 14 baby girls
Brittany, 14
Samantha, 14
Kayla, 13
Sarah, 13
Emily, 12
Jessica, 12
Heather, 10
Megan, 9
Nicole, 9
Jennifer, 8
Kaitlyn, 8
Sara, 8
Alexandra, 7
Amanda, 7
Jasmine, 7
Rebecca, 7
Christina, 6
Jenna, 6
Robyn, 6
Shelby, 6		Michael, 28 baby boys
Ryan, 19
Cody, 18
Kyle, 18
Matthew, 18
Joshua, 17
Tyler, 16
James, 15
Daniel, 14
David, 14
Logan, 14
Alexander, 13
Jordan, 13
William, 13
Benjamin, 12
Brandon, 12
John, 12
Nathan, 12
Nicholas, 11
Patrick, 11
Dylan, 10
Steven, 10

From 1996 to 2000, the top baby names in Yukon were Emily and Alexander:

Girl names (1996-2000)Boy names (1996-2000)
Emily, 15 baby girls
Samantha, 14
Sarah, 14
Hannah, 11
Jessica, 11
Taylor, 10
Emma, 9
Erin, 8
Jasmine, 8
Sydney, 8
Amber, 7
Julia, 7
Madison, 7
Megan, 7
Nicole, 7
Amy, 6
Brittany, 6
Chelsea, 6
Cheyenne, 6
Kathleen, 6
Lauren, 6		Alexander, 17 baby boys
Brandon, 16
Joshua, 16
Jacob, 15
Matthew, 14
Andrew, 13
Benjamin, 13
David, 12
William, 12
Jordan, 11
Kyle, 11
Tyler, 11
Dylan, 10
Michael, 10
Nathan, 10
Ryan, 10
Tristan, 10
Anthony, 9
Cody, 9
Daniel, 9
James, 9

From 2001 to 2005, the top baby names in Yukon were Emily and Logan:

Girl names (2001-05)Boy names (2001-05)
Emily, 13 baby girls
Hannah, 12
Emma, 11
Madison, 10
Olivia, 10
Alyssa, 7
Sarah, 7
Brooke, 6
Jessica, 6
Morgan, 6
Taylor, 6		Logan, 12 baby boys
Ethan, 11
Andrew, 10
Daniel, 10
James, 10
Joshua, 10
Tristan, 10
Cameron, 9
Jacob, 9
Adam, 8
Christopher, 8
Cole, 8
Liam, 8
Michael, 8
Nathan, 8
Nicholas, 8
Aidan, 7
Alexander, 7
Austin, 7
Jesse, 7
Justin, 7
Matthew, 7
Noah, 7
William, 7
Dylan, 6
Max, 6
Seth, 6
Thomas, 6
  • From 2001-2005, Yukon welcomed 857 baby girls. A total of 586 girl names were bestowed, and 462 (78.8%) of those names were used only once.
  • From 2001-2005, Yukon welcomed 870 baby boys. A total of 478 boy names were bestowed, and 339 (70.9%) of those names were used only once.

From 2006 to 2010, the top baby names in Yukon were Madison and James:

Girl names (2006-10)Boy names (2006-10)
Madison, 11 baby girls
Olivia, 9
Brooklyn, 8
Emma, 8
Lily, 8
Mia, 8
Avery, 7
Chloe, 7
Isabelle, 7
Sophie, 7
Abigail, 6
Ava, 6
Ella, 6
Emily, 6
Hailey, 6
Layla, 6
Sophia, 6		James, 11 baby boys
Liam, 10
Logan, 10
Gabriel, 9
Jacob, 9
Matthew, 9
Noah, 9
Ryan, 8
Alexander, 7
Daniel, 7
Oliver, 7
Samuel, 7
William, 7
Andrew, 6
Ethan, 6
Gavin, 6
Joseph, 6
Marcus, 6
Mason, 6
Nathan, 6
Thomas, 6
Xavier, 6
  • From 2006 to 2010, Yukon welcomed 912 baby girls. A total of 601 girl names were bestowed, and 479 (79.7%) of those names were used only once.
  • From 2006 to 2010, Yukon welcomed 989 baby boys. A total of 559 boy names were bestowed, and 402 (71.9%) of those names were used only once.

From 2011 to 2015, the top baby names in Yukon were Ava and Liam:

Girl names (2011-15)Boy names (2011-15)
Ava, 13 baby girls
Emma, 12
Hannah, 12
Sophia, 10
Avery, 9
Emily, 9
Grace, 9
Amelia, 7
Aurora, 6
Ella, 6
Lily, 6
Olivia, 6
Sadie, 6
Sophie, 6		Liam, 17 baby boys
Mason, 14
Jack, 13
William, 13
Alexander, 11
Benjamin, 11
Levi, 11
Hunter, 10
Ethan, 9
Jacob, 9
Thomas, 9
Eli, 8
Gavin, 8
Noah, 8
Oliver, 8
Samuel, 8
Carter, 7
Charles, 7
Connor, 7
Jaxon, 7
Aiden, 6
Luke, 6
Owen, 6
Xavier, 6
  • From 2011 to 2015, Yukon welcomed 962 baby girls. A total of 654 girl names were bestowed, and 511 (78.1%) of those names were used only once.
  • From 2011 to 2015, Yukon welcomed 1,088 baby boys. A total of 589 boy names were bestowed, and 400 (67.9%) of those names were used only once.
  • According to the CBC, the top names in Yukon in 2015 specifically were Sophia and Jack.

Sources: Yukon Baby Names 2001-2005 [pdf], Yukon Baby Names 2006-2010 [pdf], Baby Names in Yukon, 2011–2015 [pdf]

[Latest update: 7/2022]

Which “CrossFit workout” name do you like best?

Kettlebells
Kettlebells

I’m not part of CrossFit (which is a fitness club that’s become trendy in the last few years) but I do know that many CrossFit workouts have human names.

The first set of named workouts — Angie, Barbara, Chelsea, Diane, Elizabeth, and Fran — were introduced by CrossFit founder Greg Glassman in September 2003. Next came Grace and Helen. In late 2004, Isabel, Jackie, Karen, Linda, Mary, and Nancy were added to the lineup.

Here are the workouts that correspond to each name:

  • Angie: 100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 air squats
  • Barbara: 5 rounds of 20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups and 50 air squats
  • Chelsea: 30 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 air squats
  • Diane: 3 rounds of 21-15-9 reps of deadlifts (225 lb.) and handstand push-ups
  • Elizabeth: 3 rounds of 21-15-9 reps of cleans (135 lb.) and ring dips
  • Fran: 3 rounds of 21-15-9 reps of thrusters (95 lb.) and pull-ups
  • Grace: 30 reps of clean and jerks (135 lb.)
  • Helen: 3 rounds of a 400 meter run, 21 kettlebell swings (52 lb.) and 12 pull-ups
  • Isabel: 30 snatches (135 lb.)
  • Jackie: a 1,000-meter row, 50 thrusters (45 lb.) and 30 pull-ups
  • Karen: 150 wall ball shots (20 lb.)
  • Linda: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of deadlifts (1.5x body weight), bench presses (1x bw) and cleans (.75x bw)
  • Mary: as many rounds as possible of 5 handstand push-ups, 10 pistols and 15 pull-ups (for 20 minutes)
  • Nancy: 5 rounds of a 500-meter run and 15 overhead squats (95 lb.)

Man, I’m exhausted just typing that.

Many more named workouts have since been introduced, but these 14 “girls” were the first.

What inspired Glassman to give his workouts female names? Hurricanes, actually. (Here’s more on the history of hurricane names.) Glassman was born in the mid-1950s, so it doesn’t surprise me that many of the names he chose (including my own!) sound a bit dated.

Now for the question of the day: Which is your favorite CrossFit workout name? Why?

And, if you’re a CrossFitter, which workout do you like best?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from DSC_0014 by Gregor under CC BY 2.0.

The demise of the baby name Hillary

Hillary Clinton (in 1992)
Hillary Clinton

A cool post on the 14 most “poisoned” baby names by data scientist Hilary Parker reminded me that I haven’t yet written about the demise of the baby name Hillary. (Or Hilary. Or Chelsea.)

So let’s travel back to 1992 for a minute.

In mid-July, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was selected as the Democratic candidate for the presidency. His wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea were now in the national spotlight.

In early November, Bill managed to beat Republican incumbent George H. W. Bush to become the 42nd president of the United States. Hillary and Chelsea would now stay in the national spotlight.

And in late November, a few weeks after the election, the Miami Herald printed this:

Now that the Clinton women are set to move into the White House, both names are becoming more popular among new parents.

For the first time, Chelsea has cracked the top 10 list of the most popular girl names in Florida. Name expert Leonard R. N. Ashley, a Brooklyn College professor, said he expects Hillary to also catch on.

[…]

The popularity of Chelsea, on the rise long before the presidential pre-teen made her Democratic convention appearance, is likely to get a boost from the first family pedigree, Ashley said.

The “name expert” got it wrong, of course.

Hillary did not catch on. Nor did Chelsea. Both names had been on the rise, but usage dropped significantly after 1992. Here’s the data:

Hillary

graph of usage of baby name hillary
  • 1995: 310 baby girls named Hillary [rank: 686th]
  • 1994: 408 baby girls named Hillary [rank: 566th]
  • 1993: 1,064 baby girls named Hillary [rank: 261st]
  • 1992: 2,521 baby girls named Hillary [rank: 132nd]
  • 1991: 1,789 baby girls named Hillary [rank: 166th]
  • 1990: 1,524 baby girls named Hillary [rank: 192nd]

That’s a 58% drop from 1992 to 1993. Hillary fell so low that it got pushed out of the top 1,000 entirely for two years (2002 and 2003).

Hilary

graph of usage of baby name hilary
  • 1995: 125 baby girls named Hilary [rank: 1,326th]
  • 1994: 145 baby girls named Hilary [rank: 1,210th]
  • 1993: 343 baby girls named Hilary [rank: 651st]
  • 1992: 1,170 baby girls named Hilary [rank: 234th]
  • 1991: 1,149 baby girls named Hilary [rank: 242nd]
  • 1990: 1,216 baby girls named Hilary [rank: 232nd]

A 71% drop from 1992 to 1993. Hilary was out of the top 1,000 by 1994 and hasn’t been back since. (Hilary Parker says the name Hilary is “clearly the most poisoned.”)

Chelsea

graph of usage of baby name chelsea
  • 1995: 6,760 baby girls named Chelsea [rank: 47th]
  • 1994: 7,717 baby girls named Chelsea [rank: 38th]
  • 1993: 11,288 baby girls named Chelsea [rank: 25th]
  • 1992: 16,174 baby girls named Chelsea [rank: 15th]
  • 1991: 13,511 baby girls named Chelsea [rank: 18th]
  • 1990: 12,782 baby girls named Chelsea [rank: 24th]

The drop here isn’t as dramatic — just 30% — but Chelsea was out of the top 100 by 1999. It currently ranks 222nd.

Why?

Why did the name Hillary slip after Hillary Clinton became a fixture in the White House?

Because she violated gender norms — that’s my guess.

Hillary Clinton was a new kind of First Lady. She was a lawyer, a businesswoman, a scholar and an activist. She was the first First Lady with an earned (vs. honorary) post-graduate degree, and the first to have her own professional career.

But, instead of being praised for her intelligence and ambition, she was criticized for it.

Just two months after the inauguration, Anna Quindlen of the New York Times made note of the double standard:

Maybe some of our daughters took notice of how Hillary Clinton was seen as abrasive, power-hungry and unfeminine when to some of us she seemed merely smart, outspoken and hard-working. Maybe they saw the masquerade and recognized intuitively the age-old message about how much more attractive women are when they are domestic, soft, contented, the message aimed over the years at Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger, Eleanor Roosevelt and many, many others.

To expectant parents, it didn’t matter that Hillary Clinton was smart and successful. They began avoiding the name Hillary in 1993 because the First Lady — the most high-profile Hillary in the nation — was making her name seem “unfeminine.”

Do you agree? Disagree?

P.S. What are the 13 other “poisoned” names? The 9 to drop since the 1960s are Ashanti, Catina, Deneen, Farrah, Iesha, Infant, Katina, Khadijah and Renata. The other four — Celestine, Clementine, Dewey and Minna — are from the 1800s, a time when SSA data wasn’t too reliable.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Hillary Clinton in 1992 (public domain)