How popular is the baby name Demelza 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 Demelza.

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Popularity of the baby name Demelza


Posts that mention the name Demelza

How did “Poldark” influence U.S. baby names in the late 1970s?

The characters Ross Poldark and Demelza Carne from the British TV series "Poldark" (1975-1977).
Ross and Demelza from “Poldark

The curious name Demelza first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1978:

  • 1980: unlisted
  • 1979: 6 baby girls named Demelza
  • 1978: 6 baby girls named Demelza [debut]
  • 1977: unlisted
  • 1976: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The character Demelza Carne from the BBC television series Poldark, which aired in the U.S. — as part of Masterpiece Theater, on PBS — from 1977 to 1978. (It was originally broadcast in the UK from 1975 to 1977.)

The 29-episode series, based on the Poldark novels by author Winston Graham, was set in Cornwall during the last two decades of the 1700s.

The protagonist was Ross Poldark (played by Robin Ellis), who, at the start of the story, had just returned to Cornwall after fighting for the British in the American Revolutionary War.

The character Demelza Carne from the British TV series "Poldark" (1975-1977).
Demelza Carne from “Poldark

In the second episode, Ross impulsively hired 13-year-old Demelza Carne (played by actress Angharad Rees) as a housemaid.

Over the next several episodes (which cover several years), Demelza grew to become a “smart and vivacious and charming” young woman. She and Ross eventually got married.

Demelza’s name is not a traditional Cornish personal name. Instead, it’s a Cornish place name. The meaning isn’t known for certain, but one theory holds that it refers to an “eel house” (which would be a fitting definition, given the history of the fishing industry in Cornwall).

Other Poldark characters also influenced U.S. baby names. Thanks to Ross Poldark, for instance, the baby name Ross started rising again in 1977. And Ross’s cousin, the good-natured Verity Poldark, boosted the virtue name Verity to then-peak usage the same year.

Boys named RossGirls named Verity
19791,002 [rank: 227th]17
1978919 [rank: 229th]13
1977823 [rank: 250th]20
1976680 [rank: 279th]7
1975678 [rank: 283rd].

During the second half of the 2010s, the BBC released a brand new, five-season adaptation of Poldark.

The name Demelza re-emerged in the U.S. data (after a absence of nearly four decades) in 2018. The same year, the name Verity, which was already on the rise, saw a higher-than-expected increase in usage.

And in 2020, the traditional Cornish name Morwenna, which is based on an Old Cornish word meaning “maiden,” made its first appearance in the U.S. data:

  • 2022: unlisted
  • 2021: 8 baby girls named Morwenna
  • 2020: 16 baby girls named Morwenna [debut]
  • 2019: unlisted
  • 2018: unlisted

Character Morwenna Chynoweth, introduced at the start of the third season, was the governess of one of Ross Poldark’s young relatives.

What are your thoughts on these Poldarkian names? Would you use any of them?

P.S. An earlier BBC show, The Forsyte Saga, also had an influence on U.S. baby names…

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of Poldark

Popular girl names in the United States, 2020

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The 2020 batch of U.S. baby names was released by the SSA this morning!

I’ve been toying with the data for a few hours and, in this post and the next, I’ll give you some of the highlights.

Here are the most popular girl names overall:

  1. Olivia, 17,535 baby girls
  2. Emma, 15,581
  3. Ava, 13,084
  4. Charlotte, 13,003
  5. Sophia, 12,976
  6. Amelia, 12,704
  7. Isabella, 12,066
  8. Mia, 11,157
  9. Evelyn, 9,445
  10. Harper, 8,778

These ten names were also in the 2019 top ten.

The girl names that saw the largest increases in usage in terms of absolute numbers of babies were…

  1. Gianna, increased by 4,414 babies
  2. Alaia, 654
  3. Nova, 635
  4. Isla, 500
  5. Haisley, 451
  6. Oaklynn, 406
  7. Kehlani, 387
  8. Ariella, 374
  9. Maeve, 337
  10. Natalia, 332

Gianna was influenced by the tragic death of Gianna Bryant, daughter of Kobe Bryant.

The girl names that saw the largest increases in usage in terms of relative numbers of babies were…

  1. Ehlani, increased by 2,100%
  2. Anayra, 483%
  3. Nihan, 482%
  4. Xiamara, 460%
  5. Kiora, 440%
  6. Yahri, 420%
  7. Alessi, 418%
  8. Eryss, 400%
  9. Gianina, 400%
  10. Giannina, 400%

Some explanations…

  • Ehlani is the daughter of social media influencer Elsy Guevara. (Commenter alex called this one months ago. Here’s Ehlani’s “name reveal” video, from May 2020.)
  • Anayra could be from Anayra Sharma, the baby of Indian comedian/celebrity Kapil Sharma (who has 32 million Instagram followers and 18 million twitter followers).
  • Alessi is the the daughter of Siesta Key cast member Alex Kompothecras.
  • Eryss is the daughter of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta cast member Erica Dixon.
  • Giannina was a contestant on the reality TV show Love is Blind.

Here are the girl names that debuted most impressively in the 2020 data:

  1. Dalett, debuted with 94 baby girls
  2. Cennet, 84
  3. Ulanni, 44
  4. Souline, 36
  5. Amavi, 30 (this one double-debuted, actually, with 12 boys as well)
  6. Ayzal, 30
  7. Brixleigh, 19
  8. Kazleigh, 19
  9. Yoatzi, 19
  10. Morwenna, 16

Some explanations…

  • Dalett is the third child (born in May, 2020) of Larrymania stars Larry and Kenia Hernandez. (Their older daughters are Daleyza and Dalary.)
  • Cennet is the main character of the Telemundo show Cennet, which looks to be a remake of a Turkish show (Cennet’in Gözyaslari) from a few years earlier. The name means “heaven” in Turkish.
  • Yoatzi is probably from YouTuber Yoatzi Castro.
  • Morwenna might be from the most recent adaptation of Poldark. (Supporting evidence: the name Demelza returned to the data a few years ago.)

The girl names that saw the largest decreases in usage in terms of absolute numbers of babies were…

  1. Harper, decreased by 1,686 babies
  2. Emma, -1,574
  3. Ava, -1,390
  4. Emily, -1,373
  5. Abigail, -1,317
  6. Mia, -1,295
  7. Isabella, -1,278
  8. Victoria, -1,103
  9. Aria, -994
  10. Olivia, -973

The girl name that saw the largest decrease in usage in terms of relative numbers of babies was Diala (-81%), and the girl name that saw the steepest drop off the list was Yarishna (from 28 babies in 2019 to fewer than 5 in 2020).

If you can explain any of the rises (or drops), please leave a comment!

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)

[Latest update: 5/11/2021]