How popular is the baby name Emmanuel 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 Emmanuel.
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Mexico, the 10th-most-populated country in the world, is located in the southern part of North America.
In 2021, Mexico welcomed 1,912,178 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Sofia and Santiago.
Here are Mexico’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:
Girl Names
Sofia, 6,552 baby girls
Maria Jose, 6,019
Valentina, 5,671
Regina, 5,556
Camila, 5,255
Valeria, 3,890
Ximena, 3,794
Maria Fernanda, 3,779
Victoria, 3,622
Renata, 3,495
Romina, 3,447
Isabella, 3,199
Natalia, 3,036
Daniela, 3,012
Ana Sofia, 2,790
Alexa, 2,528
Fernanda, 2,515
Maria Guadalupe, 2,468
Samantha, 2,322
Andrea, 2,275
Aitana, 2,208
Emily, 2,133
Melissa, 2,107
Guadalupe, 2,030
Elizabeth, 2,002
Mariana, 1,828
Yamileth, 1,730 – a Latin American variant of the Arabic name Jamila
Danna Sofia, 1,696
Ana Victoria, 1,644
Ana Paula, 1,620
Alejandra, 1,581
Fatima, 1,565
Abigail, 1,560
Julieta, 1,543
Evelyn, 1,540
Esmeralda, 1,407
Luciana, 1,395
Lucia, 1,299
Estefania, 1,260
Maria, 1,244
Jimena, 1,227
Vanessa, 1,215
Ivanna, 1,201
Dayana, 1,197
Kimberly, 1,142
Angela, 1,122
Samara, 1,113
Carolina, 1,102
Emma, 1,098
Miranda, 1,096
Boy Names
Santiago, 9,963 baby boys
Mateo, 8,209
Sebastian, 6,381
Leonardo, 5,784
Matias, 4,708
Emiliano, 4,541
Daniel, 4,133
Gael, 4,024
Miguel Angel, 4,019
Diego, 4,014
Alexander, 3,644
Alejandro, 3,640
Jesus, 3,179
Angel, 2,928
David, 2,866
Tadeo, 2,795 – the Spanish form of Thaddeus
Fernando, 2,676
Luis Angel, 2,632
Rodrigo, 2,533
Jose Angel, 2,442
Maximiliano, 2,411
Jose Luis, 2,374
Gabriel, 2,365
Eduardo, 2,357
Emmanuel, 2,344
Dylan, 2,325
Rafael, 2,142
Juan Pablo, 2,080
Samuel, 2,066
Juan Carlos, 2,052
Jose Manuel, 2,046
Nicolas, 1,989
Isaac, 1,972
Leonel, 1,966
Elias, 1,940
Damian, 1,899
Liam, 1,880
Axel, 1,850
Emilio, 1,822
Ricardo, 1,778
Adrian, 1,770
Jose Miguel, 1,739
Jonathan, 1,710
Carlos, 1,689
Antonio, 1,680
Francisco, 1,678
Javier, 1,675
Alexis, 1,672
Alan, 1,657
Miguel, 1,636
The girls’ top 100 included Dulce Maria (51st), Aylin (58th), Itzayana (67th), and Lucero (93rd).
The boys’ top 100 included Juan (56th), Abraham (66th), Erick (83rd), and Brayan (87th).
Compound first names tend to be shortened for everyday use (e.g, “Juan Carlos” into “Juanca”), but few of these shortened forms have evolved into popular legal names, which I find surprising. I didn’t spot any examples on the boys’ side of the rankings, and only a handful — such as Mayte/Maite, short for María Teresa, and Maribel, short for María Isabel — on the girls’ side.
The simplest answer is “Biblical names,” but that’s not the full answer.
Because certain Biblical names are preferred over others, and Biblical names aren’t used exclusively.
Plus, the prevalence of a name could vary depending upon the specific Amish settlement you’re talking about.
I’ve gathered about 100 of the most common Amish names below. Before we get into specifics, though, here’s a bit of background on the Amish…
Who are the Amish?
The Amish are an Anabaptist group that intentionally maintain a degree of separation from the wider world. They wear plain clothing, eschew modern conveniences (like cars), and partake in traditional occupations such as farming, carpentry, blacksmithing, and (for women) homemaking.
The Anabaptist movement began in Europe in the 1520s, at the time of the Protestant Reformation. The Anabaptists were particularly known for the practice of adult baptism. They were also opposed to war, and they believed in the separation of church and state.
Considered radicals, the Anabaptists were widely persecuted.
In 1693, the Swiss branch of the Anabaptist movement (a.k.a., the Swiss Brethren) experienced a schism. Those who followed reformer Jacob Amman came to be known as the Amish, whereas those who did not came to be known as the Mennonites (after Dutchman Menno Simons, one of the original Anabaptist leaders).
In the early 1700s, many Amish (and Mennonites) immigrated to the New World — specifically to the Province of Pennsylvania, which had been founded upon the principle of religious freedom.
Today, over 367,000 Amish live in the U.S., and roughly two-thirds of them reside in three states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.
Common Amish names
The most comprehensive source of Amish names I came across was also the oldest, so let’s go through all the sources chronologically.
In 1960, researcher Elmer L. Smith published data on the most common male and female names among the Amish of southeastern Pennsylvania from 1890 to 1956.
The 1,337 Amish males in the study shared a total of just 72 different first names. Over a quarter of the males had one of the top three names (John, Amos, or Jacob), and over 81% had one of the top 20 names.
The 1,356 Amish females in the study shared even fewer first names: only 55. Over a quarter of the females had one of the top three names (Mary, Sarah, or Annie), and over 88% had a top-20 name.
According to Smith’s research, these were the 20 most common names per gender (plus their frequency of usage):
Amish female names
Amish male names
1
Mary, 10.0%
John, 11.9%
2
Sarah, 7.9%
Amos, 7.3%
3
Annie, 9.1%*
Jacob, 6.5%
4
Katie, 7.1%
David, 6.4%
5
Lizzie, 6.4%
Samuel, 6.2%
6
Rebecca, 6.1%
Christian, 6.1%
7
Fannie, 5.3%
Daniel, 5.5%
8
Barbara, 5.1%
Benjamin, 3.8%
9
Rachel, 5.1%
Levi, 3.7%
10
Lydia, 4.9%
Aaron, 3.1%
11
Emma, 3.8%
Jonas, 3.0%
12
Malinda, 3.5%
Elam, 2.8%
13
Susie, 3.2%
Stephen, 2.8%
14
Sadie, 2.5%
Isaac, 2.5%
15
Leah, 1.9%
Henry, 2.4%
16
Hannah, 1.5%
Jonathan, 1.8%
17
Naomi, 1.4%
Eli, 1.7%
18
Mattie, 1.3%
Gideon, 1.6%
19
Lavina, 1.1%
Moses, 1.5%
20
Arie, 1.1%
Joseph, 1.1%
*Annie was ranked below Sarah in the research paper, but this seems to be a typo, given the percentages.
Smith also wrote the following:
Other given names for males may reflect the important place the martyred forefathers hold in the minds of the sect members. The given name Menno is frequently found; this honors Menno Simmons [sic] an early leader of the plain sects. Ammon is also quite common, and is traced to Jacob Amman for whom the Amish sect is named; otherwise given names are from the Bible.
(Menno, a form of the Dutch name Meine, can be traced back to the Old High German word magan, meaning “strength.” The occupational surname Amman(n), which was derived from the German word amtmann, originally referred to someone employed as an official or administrator.)
A couple of years after Smith’s study came out, Dr. William Schreiber (a professor at the College of Wooster in Ohio) published a book about the Amish of east-central Ohio. In one paragraph, he mentioned some of the names he’d encountered:
One learns here that the good old biblical names are still common with the Amish but are in competition with modern or more euphonious ones. The names of the children of large families are often a study in contrasts. In one family there are, for example, Benjamin, Samuel, Isaac, Stephen, John, Israel, Christ, Barbara, Mary, Hannah, Annie, Mattie, and Lizzie. Another family has chosen these names for its children: Sarah, Lizzie, Samuel, Benjamin, John, Annie, Marie, Daniel, David, Enos, Sylvia, and Malinda. Then there are three Amish brothers named Isaac, Levi, and Elmer. One wonders how Vesta, Delila, Dena, Saloma, Drusilla, or Verba, or boys’ names like Junie, Venus, or Aquilla came into strict Christian families?
Speaking of east-central Ohio, Barbara Yoder Hall — who was born in 1940 and grew up with ten siblings in the Amish community of Holmes County — recalled in her book Born Amish (1980) the following first names:
First names for girls are usually Cora, Mattie, Annie, Lizzie, Barbara, Fannie, Katie, Mary, Naomi, Emma, Jemima, Ella, Sarah, Levina and Mandy.
First names for boys are John, Mose, Ferdinand, Dannie, Sam, Amos, Albert, Emanual, Levi, Rudy, Enos, Eli, Jacob and Joseph.
Now for a pair of sources from the digital age…
The website Amish America, run by Erik Wesner (who is not Amish, but has visited Amish communities in 15 different states), lists the following names as being common among the Amish. He found many of the male names in Raber’s Almanac, which “contains a listing of Amish church ministers,” while many of the female names came from various church directories.
Common Amish female names
Common Amish male names
Elizabeth Emma Fannie Hannah Katie Linda Lizzie Lovina/Lavina Martha Mary Miriam Naomi Rebecca Ruby Ruth Sadie Sarah Waneta
Abram Amos Atlee Eli Elmer Harley Isaac Jacob John Lavern Leroy Mark Melvin Mervin Samuel Vernon Wayne Willis
Some of Erik’s commentary…
Eli: “You see a lot of Elis among Amish, but not many Elijahs.”
Leroy: “Seems to be more common in Midwestern communities.”
Lizzie: “Lizzie is a popular form in some Pennsylvania communities.”
Naomi: “Amish, at least in Lancaster County, pronounce this ‘Nay-oh-mah.'”
Ruby: “Quite a few Rubies in northern Indiana.”
Vernon: “[P]retty common in places like northern Indiana and Holmes County, Ohio.”
Finally, according to the blog Amish Heritage, written by a woman named Anna (who grew up Amish in Pennsylvania), common Amish names include…
Common Amish female names
Common Amish male names
Amanda Anna/Annie Barbara Betty Clara Edna Elizabeth Esther Fannie Hannah Lavina Lena Lydia Malinda Martha Mary Miriam Naomi Priscilla Rachel Rebecca Ruth Sadie Sarah Susie
Aaron Abner Abram Amos Benuel Christian/Christ Daniel David Eli Elmer Emmanuel Henry Isaac Jacob John Jonas Leroy Lloyd Mark Melvin Mervin Moses Omar Paul Samuel Steven/Stephen Vernon
Both websites noted that some Amish communities (particularly New Order Amish communities) have recently started giving their children less traditional first names.
So how do these lists square with what we’ve observed in the U.S. baby name data?
It’s hard to tell with historically popular names like Mary and John, but we can see some interesting things when we focus on relatively rare names.
For instance, the names Atlee, Benuel, Delila, Dena, Lavina, Menno, Saloma, and Willis have all been mentioned recently in my posts about names with a high degree of state specificity (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021). As you’d expect, they were associated with the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and/or Indiana. (Benuel, in fact, has only ever appeared in the Pennsylvania data — going all the way back to the 1940s.)
Several of the other names — including Amos, Elam, Fannie, Malinda, and Mervin — saw higher usage in Pennsylvania than in any other state in 2021.
I was surprised that none of my sources listed the name Barbie. Most of them mentioned Barbara (one of them was even named Barbara), and all of them included nicknames (like Lizzie). But Barbara’s diminutive form was curiously absent — even though most of its usage occurs in Pennsylvania:
Girls named Barbie, U.S.
Girls named Barbie, Penn.
2021
37
22 (59%)
2020
26
17 (65%)
2019
33
20 (61%)
2018
21
13 (62%)
2017
29
16 (55%)
2016
28
14 (50%)
Rhoda and Mahlon are two more names that I somewhat expected to see.
Ammon is a very interesting case, because the name also has significance to an entirely different religious group: the Mormons. (The Book of Mormon features two prominent figures named Ammon.) From the 1910s to the 1960s, the name Ammon — much like Benuel — only appeared in the Pennsylvania data. Since the 1980s, though, the state with the largest number of baby boys named Ammon has been Utah.
What are your thoughts on the first names used by the Amish? Which of the above do you like the most?
And, for anyone out there with close ties to an Amish family/community: What other names would you add to this list?
P.S. This post is dedicated to my delightful commenters alex and Andrea. :)
Goyer, Tricia. The One Year Book of Amish Peace. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013.
Hall, Barbara Yoder. “Our Own Cute Baby.” Amish Roots: A Treasury of History, Wisdom, and Lore, ed. by John A. Hostetler, The John Hopkins University Press, 1989, pp. 219-220.
Schreiber, William Ildephonse. Our Amish Neighbors. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.
Which boy names decreased in usage the most from 2020 to 2021?
Here’s a table of the fastest-falling boy names of 2021. On the left are the top 25 decreases in terms of absolute numbers of babies, and on the right are the top 25 decreases in terms of relative numbers of babies.
Rank
Boy name
Absolute fall
Boy name
Relative fall
1
Mason
-1,035
Dontavious
-78%
2
Alexander
-880
Karder
-75%
3
Jacob
-860
Azarius
-74%
4
Michael
-742
Daelan
-74%
5
Ethan
-717
Daijon
-73%
6
Matthew
-685
Alante
-72%
7
Connor
-650
Jafari
-72%
8
Ryan
-613
Kova
-72%
9
Hunter
-595
Dasan
-71%
10
William
-525
Issiah
-71%
11
Joshua
-509
Aldair
-70%
12
Emmanuel
-491
Makbel
-70%
13
Jaxson
-489
Kyre
-69%
14
Christian
-487
Joaopedro
-69%
15
Colton
-477
Khiro
-69%
16
Andrew
-466
Kix
-69%
17
Brayden
-452
Naoki
-69%
18
Jaxon
-440
Carrick
-68%
19
Karter
-434
Feliciano
-68%
20
Carson
-430
Drexel
-67%
21
Elijah
-428
Dairon
-67%
22
Benjamin
-418
Marken
-67%
23
Daniel
-411
Amarri
-67%
24
Kobe
-399
Shyheim
-67%
25
Carter
-389
Braxxton*
-65%
*Also at -65% was Montavious.
Kobe was 2020’s largest absolute increase by a good margin. (The second name on that list, Theodore, broke into the top 10 in 2021.)
Here are the boy names that saw the steepest dives out of the data (i.e., to below 5 instances of usage) in 2021:
given to 26 babies in 2020: Burhanuddin
given to 20 babies in 2020: Bader
given to 18 babies in 2020: Hyatt, Reylan
given to 17 babies in 2020: Abdelrahman
given to 16 babies in 2020: Kymeir
Do you have thoughts/insights about any of the above names?
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