How popular is the baby name Echo in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Echo.

The graph will take a few seconds to load, thanks for your patience. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take nine months.) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the Baby Name Echo


Posts that Mention the Name Echo

Babies of Silverites Named “Silver” in 1896

“Silver Lunatics”

The baby name Silver is now a regular on the SSA’s annual baby name list. But it wasn’t quite as common back in the 1890s when it suddenly debuted with an impressive 10 baby boys:

  • 1898: unlisted
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: 10 baby boys named Silver [debut]
  • 1895: unlisted
  • 1894: unlisted

If we look at SSDI data we see a similar spike in the number of people named Silver in 1896:

  • 1898: 8 people named Silver
  • 1897: 6 people named Silver
  • 1896: 18 people named Silver
  • 1895: 6 people named Silver
  • 1894: 8 people named Silver

Can you guess the cause?

I’ll give you two hints. First, look what happens to the name Bryan that year:

  • 1898: 57 baby boys named Bryan
  • 1897: 97 baby boys named Bryan
  • 1896: 157 baby boys named Bryan
  • 1895: 27 baby boys named Bryan
  • 1894: 9 baby boys named Bryan

Now check out how the name Jennings peaks a year later:

  • 1898: 28 baby boys named Jennings
  • 1897: 50 baby boys named Jennings
  • 1896: 40 baby boys named Jennings
  • 1895: 9 baby boys named Jennings
  • 1894: 5 baby boys named Jennings

No doubt you’ve pieced it together: 1896 was the year William Jennings Bryan ran for president, and the central issue for Democrats that year was Free Silver.

The U.S. was in the middle of a depression, and Free Silver supporters (the “Silverites”) thought the depression could be alleviated via the coinage of silver.

“For true believers,” the Encyclopedia Britannica states, “silver became the symbol of economic justice for the mass of the American people.”

And those “true believers” were very likely the ones naming their kids Silver back in 1896.

But Bryan’s opponent, William McKinley, was able to convince voters that Free Silver was a bad thing — that the resultant inflation would harm the economy — and won the election.

What do you think of the baby name Silver?

Sources: William Jennings Bryan – Wikipedia, Free Silver – Wikipedia, Free Silver Movement | United States history | Britannica.com
Image: A down-hill movement – LOC

P.S. Want to see other money-inspired monikers? Try Legal Tender, Depression, Cash Money, Rose Mary Echo Silver Dollar, Millionaire, Billionaire, Trillionaire, Free Silver, Gold Standard.

The Story of Mister Splashy Pants

mister-splashy-pants

In late 2007, Greenpeace held a competition to name some endangered humpback whales in the South Pacific Ocean.

After gathering over 11,000 suggestions from people across the globe, the organization narrowed it down to just 30 contenders:

  1. Aiko
  2. Amal
  3. Anahi
  4. Atticus
  5. Aurora
  6. Babu
  7. Bumi
  8. Cian
  9. Echo
  10. Gana
  11. Humphrey
  12. Jacques
  13. Kaimana
  14. Kigai
  15. Libertad
  16. Madiba
  17. Malaya
  18. Manami
  19. Mira
  20. Mister Splashy Pants
  21. Moya
  22. Nurani
  23. Paikea
  24. Paz
  25. Sedna
  26. Shanti
  27. Suzuki
  28. Talei
  29. Veikko
  30. Yarrindi

When the polls opened, the rule was one vote per person. But things didn’t go quite as planned.

An anonymous voter in Arizona disabled cookies on his/her computer and was able to cast thousands of votes for Mister Splashy Pants early on.

This attracted the attention of various websites (Digg, Reddit, BoingBoing, Fark, etc.) which led to even more votes for Mister Splashy Pants.

Mister Splashy Pants ended up winning by a landslide, with over 78% of the vote. In 2nd place was Humphrey, with less than 3%.

So let’s play a game. Though I love the name “Mister Splashy Pants” (reminds me of Sparklemuffin!) let’s pretend Greenpeace had disqualified MSP mid-competition. Out of the 29 remaining names, which one would you have voted for?

Source: Mister Splashy Pants – Wikipedia

Edmonton’s First Baby of 2015: Echo Frejya Grey

Echo Frejya Grey Adams
© Ian Kucerak/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency

I haven’t seen many New Year’s baby announcements yet (fewer hospitals are participating in the tradition these days) but one of the announcements I have seen featured a rather distinctive name: Echo Frejya Grey.

Echo Frejya Grey Adams was the first baby of 2015 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She was born to Kayla McEvoy and Jared Adams at 12:02 am on New Year’s Day.

Where did her three given names come from?

  • Echo came from the character Echo of the short-lived sci-fi TV series Dollhouse, created by Joss Whedon. “The couple agreed on the name Echo before she was even conceived, admiring the TV character’s strong personality and “take no prisoners” attitude.”
  • Frejya commemorates Iceland, which is where Kayla and Jared got married.
  • Grey came from the character Jean Grey of the X-Men comic series.

Frejya has never been on the SSA’s list, but Echo and Grey have.

Which of these three names do you like best?

Sources: Edmonton’s 2015 New Year’s baby named for Dollhouse character Echo

Unique Name – Rose Mary Echo Silver Dollar

rose mary echo silver dollar tabor

Rose Mary Echo Silver Dollar Tabor is another name I discovered while wandering around a Colorado mountain town.

Rose Mary Echo Silver Dollar Tabor, known simply as “Silver,” was born in 1889.

She was the second daughter of “Silver King” Horace Tabor — whose silver mines had made him one of the wealthiest men in Colorado — and Elizabeth “Baby Doe” McCourt, his second wife.

On the back of the photo at right, a friend of Silver’s wrote this about Silver’s name:

‘Rosemary’ given by her mother after the saint and ‘Echo’ given by her mother because she loved the echoes in the mts around Leadville. ‘Silver Dollar’ given by her father because it was the Silver ore that made him his millions. This picture was given to me in Leadville, Colo. 1903 by Silver.

Other sources say the “Silver Dollar” part was suggested by none other than William Jennings Bryan, a family friend.

Unfortunately the Tabors lost their fortune in the early 1890s, thanks in large part to the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.

The family’s riches-to-rags story was made into both a film (Silver Dollar, 1932) and an opera (The Ballad of Baby Doe, 1956). Sadly, Silver didn’t live to see either; she died in 1925 at just 36 years old.

Image: Rose Mary Echo Silver Dollar Tabor, Denver Library