How popular is the baby name Christopher 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 Christopher.

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Popularity of the baby name Christopher


Posts that mention the name Christopher

Popular and unique baby names in Sonoma County (California), 2023

Flag of California
Flag of California

Sonoma County is the northernmost county in the San Francisco Bay Area region.

Last year, Sonoma welcomed 4,463 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Mateo.

Here are Sonoma’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 20 baby girls
  2. Camila, 19 (tie)
  3. Mia, 19 (tie)
  4. Emily, 16 (3-way tie)
  5. Mila, 16 (3-way tie)
  6. Sophia, 16 (3-way tie)
  7. Aurora, 15 (4-way tie)
  8. Isabella, 15 (4-way tie)
  9. Sofia, 15 (4-way tie)
  10. Violet, 15 (4-way tie)
  11. Ava, 14 (3-way tie)
  12. Gianna, 14 (3-way tie)
  13. Isla, 14 (3-way tie)
  14. Charlotte, 13 (4-way tie)
  15. Emma, 13 (4-way tie)
  16. Lily, 13 (4-way tie)
  17. Luna, 13 (4-way tie)
  18. Avery, 12 (3-way tie)
  19. Harper, 12 (3-way tie)
  20. Maya, 12 (3-way tie)
  21. Leilani, 11 (tie)
  22. Scarlett, 11 (tie)
  23. Amelia, 10 (11-way tie)
  24. Daniela, 10 (11-way tie)
  25. Elena, 10 (11-way tie)
  26. Eliana, 10 (11-way tie)
  27. Josephine, 10 (11-way tie)
  28. Kennedy, 10 (11-way tie)
  29. Logan, 10 (11-way tie)
  30. Quinn, 10 (11-way tie)
  31. Ryan, 10 (11-way tie)
  32. Valentina, 10 (11-way tie)
  33. Victoria, 10 (11-way tie)
  34. Eleanor, 9 (6-way tie)
  35. Grace, 9 (6-way tie)
  36. Madison, 9 (6-way tie)
  37. Nora, 9 (6-way tie)
  38. Riley, 9 (6-way tie)
  39. Stella, 9 (6-way tie)
  40. Charlie, 8 (11-way tie)
  41. Emilia, 8 (11-way tie)
  42. Evelyn, 8 (11-way tie)
  43. Jade, 8 (11-way tie)
  44. Lainey, 8 (11-way tie)
  45. Natalie, 8 (11-way tie)
  46. Penelope, 8 (11-way tie)
  47. Poppy, 8 (11-way tie)
  48. Samantha, 8 (11-way tie)
  49. Sawyer, 8 (11-way tie)
  50. Valeria, 8 (11-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Mateo, 29 baby boys
  2. Noah, 27
  3. Liam, 22 (tie)
  4. Luca, 22 (tie)
  5. Oliver, 21 (tie)
  6. Sebastian, 21 (tie)
  7. Dylan, 20
  8. Leonardo, 19 (tie)
  9. Levi, 19 (tie)
  10. Anthony, 17 (3-way tie)
  11. Henry, 17 (3-way tie)
  12. Lucas, 17 (3-way tie)
  13. Benjamin, 16 (tie)
  14. Julian, 16 (tie)
  15. Emiliano, 15
  16. Ethan, 14
  17. Santiago, 13 (tie)
  18. Wyatt, 13 (tie)
  19. Angel, 12 (5-way tie)
  20. Cooper, 12 (5-way tie)
  21. Daniel, 12 (5-way tie)
  22. Matteo, 12 (5-way tie)
  23. Miles, 12 (5-way tie)
  24. Alexander, 11 (8-way tie)
  25. Christopher, 11 (8-way tie)
  26. Elias, 11 (8-way tie)
  27. Hudson, 11 (8-way tie)
  28. Jack, 11 (8-way tie)
  29. Leo, 11 (8-way tie)
  30. Matias, 11 (8-way tie)
  31. Thomas, 11 (8-way tie)
  32. Bennett, 10 (9-way tie)
  33. Damian, 10 (9-way tie)
  34. Elijah, 10 (9-way tie)
  35. Emilio, 10 (9-way tie)
  36. Ezra, 10 (9-way tie)
  37. Ian, 10 (9-way tie)
  38. Luka, 10 (9-way tie)
  39. Luke, 10 (9-way tie)
  40. William, 10 (9-way tie)
  41. Caleb, 9 (5-way tie)
  42. James, 9 (5-way tie)
  43. Jose, 9 (5-way tie)
  44. Luis, 9 (5-way tie)
  45. Parker, 9 (5-way tie)
  46. Adriel, 8 (16-way tie)
  47. Cameron, 8 (16-way tie)
  48. Colton, 8 (16-way tie)
  49. Connor, 8 (16-way tie)
  50. David, 8 (16-way tie)
  51. Dean, 8 (16-way tie)
  52. Diego, 8 (16-way tie)
  53. Gabriel, 8 (16-way tie)
  54. Isaac, 8 (16-way tie)
  55. Jesus, 8 (16-way tie)
  56. Lorenzo, 8 (16-way tie)
  57. Milo, 8 (16-way tie)
  58. River, 8 (16-way tie)
  59. Samuel, 8 (16-way tie)
  60. Theo, 8 (16-way tie)
  61. Thiago, 8 (16-way tie)

And here’s a sampling of the many names that were bestowed just once in Sonoma last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Ameyalli, Beliana, Colette, Delphie, Ellora, Fiadh, Gwendolyn, Honorae, Ilisapeci, Jessune, Khilana, Lucibell, Merari, Norma, Oriah, Pixel, Riyana, Soluna, Teteoinnan, Ume, Velexia, Wrenlee, Xochitl, Yetzi, ZantedechiaAriodante, Bruce, Canaan, Dovydas, Endrick, Favian, Gedaliah, Hewitt, Itztli, Jessiah, Kidder, Ledson, Miro, Nash, Orbelin, Paz, Rapha, Sigaserau, Tovius, Uniquo, Ventura, Wicahpi, Xolotl, Yoali, Zianni

Some possible explanations/influences for a few of the above:

  • Ameyalli means “spring, fountain” in Nahuatl.
  • Ariodante is the name of an opera (first performed in 1735) by George Frideric Handel.
  • Itztli refers to an “obsidian blade” in Nahuatl.
  • Teteoinnan is the name of a Nahua deity. (The name means “mother of the gods” in Nahuatl.)
  • Wicahpi means “star” in Lakota.
  • Xolotl refers to the “divine force of lightning and death” (among other things) in Nahuatl.
  • Zantedechia is one letter away from Zantedeschia, the name of a genus of flowering plants. (The calla lily is a member of this genus.) The genus was named after Italian physician/botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi (1773-1846).

Finally, here are Sonoma’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Sonoma County Baby Names – Open Data, Sonoma County, Sonoma County Births by Year – Open Data, Sonoma County, Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Zantedeschia – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of California (public domain)

Popular baby names in Johnston County (North Carolina), 2023 & 2022

Flag of North Carolina
Flag of North Carolina

In 2023, North Carolina’s Johnston County welcomed 1,931 babies — 950 girls and 981 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Charlotte and Liam.

Here are Johnston County’s top 10+ girl names and top 10+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names, 2023

  1. Charlotte
  2. Olivia & Sophia (tie)
  3. Camila, Emma, Isabelle & Scarlett (4-way tie)
  4. Abigail & Amelia (tie)
  5. Delilah
  6. Ava, Eliana, Elizabeth, Layla, Luna & Willow (6-way tie)
  7. Chloe, Ellie, Emily, Harper, Hazel, Mia, Paisley, Sadie & Sofia (9-way tie)
  8. Eliza, Kinsley, Leah, Leilani & Presley (5-way tie)
  9. Evelyn, Genesis, Kailani, Lucy, Madison, Raelynn, Riley, Valentina & Victoria (9-way tie)
  10. Adalyn, Autumn, Isabel, Ivey, Jade, Josie, Kaylani, Lainey, Madeline, Madelyn, Milani, Nova, Penelope, Peyton, Samantha, Violet, Whitley & Zoe (18-way tie)

Boy names, 2023

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Sebastian
  4. William
  5. Asher & Levi (tie)
  6. Julian & Mateo
  7. Carter, Elijah, Grayson, Lucas, Waylon (5-way tie)
  8. Aiden & Chase (tie)
  9. Benjamin, Carson, Charles, Christopher, Hudson, Jackson, Joseph, Maverick, Oliver, Thomas & Wyatt (11-way tie)
  10. Alexander, Amir, Angel, Elias, Ezra, Gael, Ian, Josiah, Legend, Leonardo, Owen & Samuel (12-way tie)

The county’s 2022 rankings — topped by Charlotte and Noah — included total numbers of babies:

Girl names, 2022

  1. Charlotte, 12 baby girls
  2. Amelia & Scarlett, 11 each (tie)
  3. Ava, Harper & Sophia, 10 each (3-way tie)
  4. Camila & Isabella, 9 each (tie)
  5. Elizabeth, 8
  6. Emma, Olivia, & Paisley, 7 each (3-way tie)
  7. Abigail, Ella, Kinsley, Luna, Mia, Riley & Willow, 6 each (7-way tie)
  8. Angela, Brooklyn, Delilah, Ellie, Emily, Everly, Gianna, Hannah, Kailani, Layla, Leah, Madelyn & Savannah, 5 each (13-way tie)
  9. Addison, Andrea, Ashley, Aurora, Avery, Belen, Bella, Carsyn, Chloe, Eleanor, Julia, Lydia, Magnolia & Violet, 4 each (14-way tie)
  10. Ada, Alora, Alyssa, Aria, Callie, Carolina, Elena, Eliana, Eliza, Elliana, Emely, Evelyn, Genesis, Genevieve, Grace, Gracie, Khloe, Lillian, Lilly, Lily, Lucy, Madilyn, Madison, Naomi, Peyton, Presley, Ryleigh, Sara, Skylar, Sofia, Stephanie & Zara, 3 each (32-way tie)

Boy names, 2022

  1. Noah, 16 baby boys
  2. Liam, 12
  3. Mason, 11
  4. Oliver, 10
  5. William & Wyatt, 9 each (tie)
  6. Carter, Jayden & Sebastian, 8 (3-way tie)
  7. Elijah, Lucas, Mateo & Waylon, 7 each (4-way tie)
  8. Alexander, Angel, Asher, Christopher, Dylan, Elias, Ethan, Henry, Isaac, Lincoln & Nathan, 6 each (11-way tie)
  9. Amir, Eli, Jacob, Jameson, Jaxon, River, Ryan & Thomas, 5 each (8-way tie)
  10. Anthony, Chance, Charles, Hendrix, Hudson, Ivan, Jackson, Jordan, Julian, Leo, Levi, Logan, Luke, Matthew, Maverick & Ryder, 4 each (16-way tie)

If you’d like to go back even further, here are links to earlier sets of baby name rankings for Johnston County:

  • 2021 (top names: Olivia and Liam)
  • 2020 (top names: Olivia and Noah)
  • 2019 (top names: Emma and Liam)
  • 2018 (top names: Olivia and Elijah)
  • 2017 (top names: Ava and Liam)

Sources: Top Baby Names of 2023 – Johnston County Register of Deeds, Top 2023 Baby Names In Johnston County – JoCo Report, 2022 Top Johnston County Baby Names – JoCo Report

Image: Adapted from Flag of North Carolina (public domain)

What gave the baby name Madonna a boost in the mid-1980s?

Madonna's album "Like a Virgin" (1984)
Madonna album

From the early 1900s to the late 1960s, Madonna was one of the top 1,000 girl names in the United States. In terms of rankings, it was most popular in the 1930s; in terms of raw numbers of births, it was most popular in the ’50s and ’60s.

The name has been in decline ever since, but it did see a sudden spike in usage in 1985:

  • 1987: 61 baby girls named Madonna
  • 1986: 70 baby girls named Madonna
  • 1985: 146 baby girls named Madonna
  • 1984: 63 baby girls named Madonna
  • 1983: 23 baby girls named Madonna

In fact, it almost landed back inside the top 1,000 that year. (It ranked 1,033rd, just seven babies shy of 1,000th place.)

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Madonna in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Madonna

What gave it a boost?

Mononymous pop superstar Madonna (birth name: Madonna Louise Ciccone).

The singer was born into a Catholic family in Michigan in 1958. She was named after her mother. (Her five siblings are named Anthony, Martin, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie.)

Madonna rose to fame in the mid-1980s with a string of catchy hits:

  • “Holiday,” which peaked at #16 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in January of 1984
  • “Borderline,” which peaked at #10 in June of 1984
  • “Lucky Star,” which peaked at #4 in October of 1984
  • “Like a Virgin,” which peaked at #1 for six weeks starting in December of 1984
  • “Material Girl,” which peaked at #2 in March of 1985
  • “Crazy for You,” which peaked at #1 in May of 1985
    • It was written for the movie Vision Quest, in which Madonna had a cameo.
  • “Angel,” which peaked at #5 in June of 1985
  • “Into the Groove,” which was never technically released as a single
    • It was featured in the movie Desperately Seeking Susan, in which Madonna had a leading role.
  • “Dress You Up,” which peaked at #5 in October of 1985

She also got a lot of exposure on MTV. One of her most memorable MTV moments was the suggestive “Like a Virgin” performance at the very first Video Music Awards (in September of 1984):

In 1991, during a Vanity Fair interview, Madonna posed the question: “How could I be anything else but what I am having been named Madonna?”

Her name is based on the word madonna (which meant “my lady” in Old Italian). Today it’s associated with the Virgin Mary — hence its usage as a given name in Catholic families — but, centuries ago, it was simply a polite form of address similar to madame or milady. (Madonna’s first child, a daughter born in 1996, was also given a Virgin Mary-associated name: Lourdes.)

What are your thoughts on the name Madonna? Would you use it?

Sources:

P.S. Coincidentally, the primary male characters in two of Madonna’s early movies — Vision Quest and Who’s That Girl — had nearly the same (rather uncommon) first name: Louden/Loudon.

Which boy names are the most Canadian?

Maligne Lake, Canada

Yesterday we came up with some girl names that were either particularly Canadian or particularly American. So today let’s do the same thing for boy names.

Again, here are the two different methods:

First, we’ll look at the most popular names that appeared in only one set of data (either Canada or the U.S.) in 2022.

Second, we’ll look at the names that appeared in both sets of data, focusing on how proportionally popular each name was in each place. For the boy names below, I calculated the proportions by dividing each name’s U.S. usage by the total number of boys born in the U.S. last year (1,863,582) and each name’s Canadian usage by the total number of boys born Canada last year (180,763).

Top Canada-only boy names

The 2022 Canadian data included 261 boy names that were not in the U.S. data. Below are the 10 most popular Canada-only boy names.

Number of boys (Can.)Rank (Can.)
1. Edouard49249th
2. Arnaud35285th
3. Florent73394th
4. Laurier60460th
5. Loik57485th
6. Ludovick45588th
7. Renaud42627th
8. Gregoire30831st
9. Charles-Edouard27 (tie)902nd (tie)
10. Gurniwaz27 (tie)902nd (tie)

Nine out of ten are French names used primarily in Quebec:

  • Edouard: 482 of 492 born in Quebec
  • Arnaud: 349 of 352
  • Florent: 71 of 73
  • Laurier: 60 of 60 (all)
  • Loik: 47 of 57
  • Ludovick: 45 of 45 (all)
  • Renaud: 40 of 42
  • Gregoire: 30 of 30 (all)
  • Charles-Edouard: 25 of 27

The Sikh name Gurniwaz, however, was not used in Quebec at all.

Boy names particularly popular in Canada

Now let’s look at the more than 2,950 boy names that appeared in both sets of data. Of the boy names used more frequently in Canada than in the U.S., the 10 below had the largest pro-Canada differentials. (I added the rankings for both countries as well.)

Differential (Pro-Can.)Rank (Can.)Rank (U.S.)
1. Leo0.3578%4th22nd
2. Adam0.3460%16th97th
3. Felix0.3408%23rd192nd
4. Theo0.3217%17th99th
5. Thomas0.3197%8th45th
6. Arthur0.3030%22nd140th
7. Nathan0.2830%13th57th
8. Muhammad0.2675%35th297th
9. Louis0.2576%34th246th
10. Emile0.2473%60th2,076th

Top U.S.-only boy names

The 2022 U.S. data included 11,297 boy names that were not in the Canadian data. Below are the 10 most popular U.S.-only boy names.

Number of boys (U.S.)Rank (U.S.)
1. Jesus2,247165th
2. Iker830385th
3. Jaziel779412th
4. Baker709433rd
5. Major701441st
6. Marcos614491st
7. Roberto607498th
8. Jamari577512th
9. Tadeo567519th
10. Jamir555534th

Many of these are used primarily by Spanish speakers.

Boy names particularly popular in the U.S.

Now, back to the names that both countries had in common. Of the boy names used more frequently in the U.S. than in Canada, the 10 below had the largest pro-U.S. differentials.

Differential (Pro-U.S.)Rank (U.S.)Rank (Can.)
1. Elijah0.3147%5th37th
2. Mateo0.2833%11th50th
3. Santiago0.2620%48th285th
4. Sebastian0.2584%13th62nd
5. Angel0.2474%62nd603rd
6. Julian0.2467%35th125th
7. John0.2219%26th80th
8. Josiah0.2152%51st199th
9. Michael0.2143%16th52nd
10. Christopher0.1936%56th179th

What are your thoughts on the names above?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Sunrise at Maligne lake 2 by Sergey Pesterev under CC BY-SA 4.0.