How popular is the baby name Dara 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 Dara.

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Popularity of the baby name Dara


Posts that mention the name Dara

Popular baby names in Ireland, 2012

Flag of Ireland
Flag of Ireland


The most popular baby names in Ireland came out a few days ago.

According to the Central Statistics Office, the country’s top names are Emily for girls and Jack for boys.

Here are the top 100 girl names and top 100 boy names of 2012:

Girl Names

  1. Emily
  2. Sophie
  3. Emma
  4. Grace
  5. Lily
  6. Mia
  7. Ella
  8. Ava
  9. Lucy
  10. Sarah
  11. Aoife
  12. Amelia
  13. Hannah
  14. Katie
  15. Chloe
  16. Caoimhe
  17. Saoirse
  18. Kate
  19. Holly
  20. Ruby
  21. Sophia
  22. Anna
  23. Lauren
  24. Leah
  25. Amy
  26. Isabelle
  27. Molly
  28. Ellie
  29. Jessica
  30. Olivia
  31. Roisin
  32. Ciara
  33. Kayla
  34. Julia [tie]
  35. Zoe [tie]
  36. Laura
  37. Niamh
  38. Abbie
  39. Erin
  40. Rachel
  41. Robyn
  42. Aisling
  43. Faye
  44. Rebecca
  45. Eva [tie]
  46. Layla [tie]
  47. Ellen
  48. Cara
  49. Freya
  50. Abigail [tie]
  51. Eve [tie]
  52. Isabella [tie]
  53. Megan
  54. Aine [tie]
  55. Clodagh [tie]
  56. Aoibhinn
  57. Millie
  58. Nicole
  59. Aoibheann
  60. Maja
  61. Sadhbh
  62. Eabha
  63. Charlotte
  64. Amber [tie]
  65. Caitlin [tie]
  66. Sofia [tie]
  67. Alannah
  68. Zara
  69. Alice
  70. Maria
  71. Elizabeth [tie]
  72. Lena [tie]
  73. Mary [tie]
  74. Emilia
  75. Aimee [tie]
  76. Lilly [tie]
  77. Hollie
  78. Aoibhe
  79. Victoria
  80. Eimear [tie]
  81. Maya [tie]
  82. Isabel [tie]
  83. Orla [tie]
  84. Evie
  85. Kayleigh
  86. Brooke [tie]
  87. Clara [tie]
  88. Meabh
  89. Lexi
  90. Tara
  91. Daisy [tie]
  92. Katelyn [tie]
  93. Ailbhe [tie]
  94. Amelie [tie]
  95. Natalia [tie]
  96. Sara [tie]
  97. Hanna [tie]
  98. Laoise [tie]
  99. Ruth [tie]
  100. Madison [tie]
  101. Maeve [tie]
  102. Maisie [tie]
  103. Rose [tie]

Boy Names

  1. Jack
  2. James
  3. Daniel
  4. Sean
  5. Conor
  6. Adam
  7. Harry
  8. Ryan
  9. Dylan
  10. Michael
  11. Luke
  12. Charlie
  13. Liam
  14. Oisin
  15. Cian
  16. Jamie
  17. Thomas
  18. Alex
  19. Noah
  20. Darragh
  21. Patrick
  22. Aaron
  23. Cillian
  24. Matthew
  25. John
  26. Nathan
  27. David [tie]
  28. Fionn [tie]
  29. Evan
  30. Ethan
  31. Jake
  32. Kyle
  33. Rian
  34. Ben [tie]
  35. Max [tie]
  36. Eoin
  37. Tadhg
  38. Finn
  39. Callum
  40. Samuel
  41. Joshua
  42. Rory
  43. Jayden
  44. Joseph
  45. Tyler
  46. Sam
  47. Shane
  48. Mark [tie]
  49. Robert [tie]
  50. Aidan
  51. William
  52. Ronan
  53. Eoghan
  54. Alexander [tie]
  55. Leon [tie]
  56. Cathal
  57. Mason
  58. Tom
  59. Oliver
  60. Andrew
  61. Oscar
  62. Ciaran
  63. Bobby
  64. Jacob
  65. Senan
  66. Rhys
  67. Scott
  68. Benjamin [tie]
  69. Cormac [tie]
  70. Kevin
  71. Lucas
  72. Alan
  73. Donnacha [tie]
  74. Jakub [tie]
  75. Christopher
  76. Filip [tie]
  77. Killian [tie]
  78. Josh
  79. Alfie
  80. Tommy
  81. Ruairi
  82. Odhran
  83. Oran
  84. Leo
  85. Isaac
  86. Dara [tie]
  87. Jason [tie]
  88. Zach
  89. Martin [tie]
  90. Peter [tie]
  91. Brian
  92. Danny
  93. Niall [tie]
  94. Tomas [tie]
  95. Edward [tie]
  96. Stephen [tie]
  97. Logan
  98. Kacper
  99. Anthony
  100. Billy

New to the top 100 list are Isaac, Danny and Logan for boys and Evie, Amelie, Hanna, Maisie and Rose for girls.

Some of the specifically Irish names in the top 100 are…

  • Girls: Aoife, Caoimhe, Saoirse, Roisin, Ciara, Niamh, Aisling, Aine, Clodagh, Aoibhinn, Aoibheann, Sadhbh, Eabha, Aoibhe, Eimear, Meabh, Ailbhe, Laoise, Maeve
  • Boys: Liam, Oisin, Cian, Darragh, Cillian, Fionn, Rian, Eoin, Tadhg, Finn, Callum, Rory, Ronan, Eoghan, Cathal, Ciaran, Senan, Cormac, Donnacha, Ruairi, Odhran, Niall

Sources: Jack and Emily most popular baby names, Irish Babies’ Names – CSO

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)

Baby names needed: Girl names for twin sisters

A reader named Grace would like some help naming her twin girls, due in a couple of months. She and her husband John already have three boys, Jackson, Samuel and Lucas.

So far, their favorite girl names are Juliet, Isla, Susannah and Norah. But they’re also considering a family name:

We would love to honor my mother, Denise Marie, but we despise both names. I would love some ideas on how to use that without actually using those names.

For the middle spots, they’re aiming for virtue names. They already have Honor picked out, and “[i]f there is another virtue name you would suggest so they both had one that would be great!”

Their last name is similar to Cawston.


On the current favorites…
I like all of the current favorites. The pairing I like best, though, is Juliet and Susannah. I just think they sound good together. I also like how they can both be shortened, just like the boys’ names — Jack, Sam, Luke, Jules & Sue (or Julie & Susie).

On incorporating Denise Marie…
One way to incorporate Denise Marie would be to find a name that features the sounds of both Denise and Marie (especially those D- and M-sounds). Names with these sounds include Madeline, Demetria, Dominique/Domenica, Damaris, Adamina, Amadea and Idamae.

Another approach would be to use initials — either the initials “D. M.” for one twin or a D-name for twin #1 and an M-name for twin #2. Some possibilities (beyond the names above) include Dahlia, Daisy, Damiana, Daphne, Dara, Delphine, Diana, Dina, Dora, Dorothy and Drusilla for D-names and Mara, Marian, Marlene, Martina, Mina, Mirabelle, Miranda, Miriam, Molly, Monica and Mona for M-names.

On virtuous middles…
My first thought was Mercy, because it sounds a lot like Marie. Other virtue names that might make nice middles are Amity, Charity, Clementine/Clemency, Hope, Joy, Patience, Peace/Pax, Temperance and Verity.


Now it’s your turn! Which of Juliet, Isla, Susannah and Norah do you like best for twins? What names can you come up with to honor Denise Marie? Which virtue names do you like best for middle names?

Where did the baby name Iuma come from in 2000?

IUMA's main menu from 1996 to 1997.
IUMA’s main menu (1996-1997)

Long before MySpace and Napster, there was the Internet Underground Music Archive, or IUMA (pronounced ie-YOO-mah).

Created in 1993 by a trio University of California computer science students, IUMA (www.iuma.com) was the first major music distribution website. Its goal was to help unsigned artists publicize their music and talk directly to fans.

In mid-2000, IUMA launched the “Name Your Baby IUMA” contest.

You love your baby. You love new music. Prove your love and devotion to both by naming your baby IUMA!

Why a baby name contest?

We had a really small advertising budget. And we were looking for a way to let the whole world know about IUMA and IUMA artists. We couldn’t afford TV or radio ads, and we couldn’t afford giant billboards! Then we realized that these ads get far fewer impressions than someone’s name! We decided to throw our advertising dollars into a campaign that will have a lifetime of impact!

The parents of the first ten U.S. babies named “Iuma” between August 1, 2000, and November 1, 2000, would get their choice of either $5,000 or $100-worth of music downloads per month for (the baby’s) life.

Iuma logo in 2000
IUMA’s logo (2000)

So did any parents take the bait?

Yes, a handful of babies were indeed named Iuma in 2000. Enough baby girls got the name, in fact, that the music site’s acronym appeared for the first and only time in the U.S. baby name data that year:

  • 2002: unlisted
  • 2001: unlisted
  • 2000: 8 baby girls named Iuma [debut]
  • 1999: unlisted
  • 1998: unlisted

And that’s not all. Several baby boys also got the name, as did a handful of international babies (in Brazil, Germany and Russia).

Which of these babies became the 10 verified winners? Here’s the official list:

  • Iuma Dylan-Lucas Thornhill, born on August 11, 2000, in Hutchinson, Kansas
  • Iuma Ross, born on August 21, 2000, Williamsburg, Pennsylvania
  • Iuma Becht born on September 1, 2000, in Augusta, Georgia
  • Iuma Carlton, born on September 8, 2000, in St. Petersburg, Florida
  • Iuma Farish, born on September 13, 2000, in Dallas, Texas
  • Iuma Devi, born on August 31, 2000, in Cambria, California
  • Iuma Godfrey, born on September 21, 2000, in Los Angeles, California
  • Iuma Daigre, born on October 5, 2000, in Houston, Texas
  • Iuma Radnedge, born on October 6, 2000, in Dallas, Texas
  • Iuma Hebert, born on October 6, 2000, in Dallas, Texas

The rest of the babies named Iuma (including Iuma Rose Carter of Carvers, Nevada; Iuma Heidi VanRyker of Darmstadt, Germany; and Iuma Dara Lewis of New York City) didn’t make the cut.

Here’s what Travis Thornhill — father of the first-born winner, and bass player whose band used IUMA for promotion — told reporters upon winning (and choosing the $5,000 option):

My wife was overdue, and the hospital had to induce labor for the child to be born. On the day we were going into the hospital, I logged into IUMA and saw the ‘Name Your Baby IUMA’ contest, which I took as a sign. My wife liked the idea because the child’s grandma said this baby would bring prosperity, and this contest could be what she was talking about. Plus, the kid will have a cool story when he grows up.

Hopefully the other winners also went with the one-time payment of $5,000, as IUMA went belly-up about a year after the contest. It was offline entirely by 2006.

Sources:

P.S. Though the company is long gone, much of the music itself is still online! Check out the Internet Archive’s IUMA collection.

Baby name needed: Girl name for Anna’s twin sister

A reader named Dana writes:

We are expecting twin girls and know we want to use Anna as one of our choices. Do you have any suggestions for our second baby girl? We already have two boys who are named Ivan and Ben, so you can see we like short, simple, traditional names…and nothing that rhymes! (Also Emma is not an option!)

Here are some names that I think Dana might like:

Cleo
Cora
Dara
Elsa
Eve/Eva
Gina
Gwen
Jane
Jill
Joan
Judy
Kate
Leah
Lucy
Mary
Mina
Nora
Olga
Rhea
Roma
Ruth
Sara
Sue
Tara
Tess
Thea
Vera
Zoe

Like Ben, many of these originated as nicknames but are now used as independent names.

Which do you like best with Anna, Ivan and Ben? What other short, simple, traditional girl names would you suggest to Dana?