Baby names galore! Lists, graphs, stories, trivia, games…
How popular is the baby name Darcy in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Darcy and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Darcy.
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Number of Babies Named Darcy Born in the U.S. Since 1880
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Avast! Did you know that today is Talk Like a Pirate Day?
“Arrr” itself doesn’t make a great name — even for pirates — but here’s the next best thing: over 120 names that feature the “ar”-sound.
Which of the “ar”-names above do you like best? Did I miss any good ones?
(Image from Pixabay)
Additions, 9/20:
This is my last post on the 2013 England and Wales baby name list, I promise.
Here are five names from the list that made me curious enough to do some digging…
Darcy just keeps rising, doesn’t it? Wonder how high it will go. Two variants of the name are now in the top 100, and a third is just three spots away:
Lower down on the list there are 22 more variants (I’m including compound names here):
In total, 1,989 baby girls share these 25 versions of Darcy. If we could rank the entire group, it would fall between #24 Phoebe and #25 Millie on the 2013 list.
As Lou of Mer de Noms noted in a post about female names on the rise, dancer Darcey Bussell became a judge on the TV show Strictly Come Dancing in 2012. This explains why Darcey overtook the more traditional spelling Darcy that year.
And the name is still being used for boys, at least for now. Last year, more than 2 dozen baby boys were named Darcy.
The 5th most popular girl name in England and Wales right now is Isla, which is pronounced EYE-la. The –s– is silent, the same way the –s– is silent in the word “isle.”
But more and more parents are opting to simplify the name by respelling it Iyla. Watch how the number of baby girls named Iyla has been rising in the shadow of skyrocketing Isla:
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isla | 964 | 1,599 | 1,908 | 2,384 | 2,849 | 3,501 | 3,526 |
| Iyla | 9 | 22 | 33 | 46 | 72 | 118 | 137 |
I doubt Iyla will ever overtake the traditional version of the name, but you never know, alternative spellings sometimes catch on. Darcey is now ahead of Darcy, after all, and Zoey has been more popular than Zoe here in the U.S. since 2011.
Last year, two variants of this name entered the girls’ top 1,000 for the first time:
And I found a fourth variant, Minaahil, on the list from 2012.
Manahil is an Arabic name that means “springs, fountains.” It’s the plural form of the word Manhal.
Ruzgar, given to 20 baby boys last year, comes from the Turkish word rüzgâr, meaning “wind.” You can hear the proper pronunciation of Rüzgâr at Forvo.
Usage of the name Tulisa plummeted last year, but that’s only part of the story. The name also increased in popularity markedly from 2009 to 2012:
What accounts for the steep rise and the even steeper drop?
English singer and television personality Tulisa (born Tula Paulinea Contostavlos). She became famous as a member of the hip hop group N-Dubz (2000-2011) and was a judge on the TV show The X Factor (2011-2012).
But 2013 was not a good year for Tulisa. First, she left television. Second, she was arrested on drug charges. These two things were enough to knock the baby name Tulisa out of the top 1,000.
Though the stage name is pronounced tu-lee-sa, her name was originally pronounced tu-litz-a and was used to distinguish her from her grandmother (and namesake) Tula. The Greek name Tula/Toula is a short form of any Greek feminine name ending with the diminutive –toula such as Aretoula, Fotoula, Kostoula, Kritoula, Margaritoula, Panagiotoula or Stamatoula.
Have you had a chance to scan the list? Which of the baby names there made you curious?
Sources:
The most popular baby names in Scotland were announced last week.
According to the General Register Office, the preliminary winners were Jack for boys and Sophie for girls. Jack has been #1 for five years in a row, and Sophie for eight years in a row.
Here are Scotland’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of January-November, 2012:
| Baby Girl Names | Baby Boy Names |
|---|---|
|
1. Sophie 2. Emily 3. Olivia 4. Ava 5. Lucy 6. Isla 7. Lily 8. Jessica 9. Amelia 10. Mia 11. Millie 12. Eva 13. Ellie 14. Chloe 15. Freya 16. Sophia 17. Grace 18. Emma 19. Hannah 20. Holly |
1. Jack 2. Lewis 3. Riley 4. James 5. Logan 6. Daniel 7. Ethan 8. Harry 9. Alexander 10. Oliver 11. Max 12. Tyler 13. Aaron & Charlie [tie] 15. Adam 16. Finlay 17. Alfie 18. Mason 19. Ryan 20. Liam & Lucas [tie] |
Some of the names that increased in popularity from 2011 to 2012:
|
Lola (up 24 places to #63) Mollie (up 24 places to #68) Amelia (up 20 places to #9) Orla (up 19 places to #36) Hollie (up 18 places to #39) Georgia (up 13 places to #58) Lexi (up 12 places to #38) Lacey (up 12 places to #41) Poppy (up 11 places to #34) |
Harris (up 20 places to #29) Harrison (up 20 places to #53) Tyler (up 20 places to #12) Brodie (up 17 places to #54) Max (up 15 places to #11) Mason (up 13 places to #18) Finn (up 13 places to #66) Riley (up 11 places to #3) |
New to the top 100 are Bella, Darcy, Emelia, Lois, Scarlett and Willow (for girls) and Alex, Blake, Calvin, George, Olly, Sebastian, Shay and Zac (for boys).
Among the names moving downward are Abigail, Chloe, Jasmine and Phoebe (for girls) and Aiden, Jayden and Mohammed for boys. (Aiden is down 16 places to #36; Jayden down 10 places to #40.)
To compare, here’s last year’s post on the top baby names in Scotland.
Scotland’s official rankings will be out after the year ends.
Sources: Jack and Sophie are Scotland’s top baby names, Jack and Sophie top Scots baby names list in 2012, Scotland’s favourite baby names revealed
Want a boy name that’s not common, but also not crazy?
I looked through all the names at the bottom of SSA’s 2011 mega-list and found a bunch of hidden gems:
(In some cases, a different spelling of the name is more popular than what’s shown here. For instance, Laurence is rare, but Lawrence is moderately popular.)
Like any of these?
Spot any other good names at the end of the list?
See the girls’ list, or check out the Rare Baby Names page.
A reader named Jennifer has a daughter named Finlay Augustine and is now expecting another baby girl. Here’s what she says:
I would prefer to stay in the Irish or Scottish tradition, but am open. We are considering Evangeline Fae, Raleigh Fiona, and Maevy with either Fae or Fiona as a middle name. But I am open to suggestions. I don’t want a first name that begins with F and I don’t want anything too trendy or that would be difficult for others to spell or pronounce. I’m hoping the perfect name falls out of the sky before the baby comes!
Here are my thoughts on the current contenders:
Evangeline Fae
I like how the combination reminds me of Finlay Augustine in a very subtle way. But the first names on their own are so stylistically different that they might seem mismatched. (Would a nickname be used for Evangeline?)
Raleigh Fiona
Raleigh is a name I rarely see. I think it works well with Finley. The second syllables do sound alike, so there’s a bit of an echo, but that’s my only criticism.
Maevy Fae/Maevy Fiona
I’m so used to seeing Maeve that Maevy caught me off guard. (Not in a good way, to be honest.) And I don’t care for way the v and f sounds are so close together. Maevy would be my last choice of the three.
Here are ten other names I think Jennifer might like. These first 7 are not in the U.S. top 1,000 right now:
*Moira/Maura – Anglicized versions of the Irish form of Mary.
*Keeva – Simplified (and very modern-looking) form of the Irish name Caoimhe, meaning “loveliness.” It’s another v-sound, though, so might not sound terrific next to an f-name.
*Aisling – Irish vocabulary word (meaning “fantasy” or “dream”) that later became a name. The first syllable is pronounced “ash,” so this one will sound trendy (like Ashley, Ashlyn) without technically being trendy.
*Orla – Simplified form of an Irish name that means “golden princess.” Always reminds me of Isla (eye-la), but it’s less popular and easier to pronounce.
*Talulla (nn Lulu?) – Simplified form of an Irish name meaning “abundance princess.” It’s on the long side, like Evangeline, but doesn’t sound as formal.
*Maisie – Diminutive of the Scottish form of Margaret. It’s trendy across the pond, but not over here.
*Darcy – English surname that could mean a few things, including “from Arcy” (in Normandy, France). Was more common during the late ’60s and early ’70s.
And these last 3 are in the top 1,000, but wouldn’t be considered trendy:
*Tara – Irish place name that later became a name. Was trendy in the ’70s and ’80s, but has been decreasing in popularity ever since.
*Caitlin – Irish version of Katherine. Was most popular in the ’80s and ’90s, but has slowly been falling out of favor since then.
*Rory – Form of a (traditionally male) Scottish name derived from the Scottish word for red, ruadh. Has only popped up in the top 1,000 a handful of times.
What are your thoughts on Jennifer’s current favorites? What other names would you suggest for Finlay’s little sister?