How popular is the baby name Enid 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 Enid.

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Popularity of the baby name Enid


Posts that mention the name Enid

Girl names that end with a D-sound

Girl names that end with a D-sound

In the U.S., most of the names given to baby girls end with a vowel sound. And many of the remaining names end with an N-sound.

So, what about girl names that end with other sounds?

Below is a selection of girl names that end with a D-sound, regardless of last letter. The names are ordered by current popularity.

Jade
From the type of precious stone. Here’s the popularity graph for Jade.

Adelaide
From the Germanic name Adalheidis, meaning “noble character” or “nobleness.” Here’s the popularity graph for Adelaide.

Astrid
From an Old Norse name made up of elements meaning “god” and “beautiful.” Here’s the popularity graph for Astrid.

Holland
From the region in the Netherlands. Here’s the popularity graph for Holland.

Emerald
From the type of precious stone. Here’s the popularity graph for Emerald.

Marigold
From the type of flower. Here’s the popularity graph for Marigold.

Winifred
Based on the Welsh name Gwenfrewi (which belonged to a 7th-century Welsh martyr). Here’s the popularity graph for Winifred.

Ingrid
From an Old Norse name made up of elements meaning “Ing” (the name of a god) and “beautiful.” Here’s the popularity graph for Ingrid.

Rosalind
From a Germanic name made up of elements meaning “horse” and “mild, pliable.” Here’s the popularity graph for Rosalind.

Ireland
From the island in the North Atlantic. Here’s the popularity graph for Ireland.

Diamond
From the type of precious stone. Here’s the popularity graph for Diamond.

Jude
From the Hebrew name Yehuda, which may mean “praise.” Here’s the popularity graph for Jude.

Mildred
From an Old English name made up of elements meaning “mild” and “strength.” Here’s the popularity graph for Mildred.

Legend
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Legend.

Yocheved
A Hebrew name meaning “Yahweh is glory.” Here’s the popularity graph for Yocheved.

Brigid
A variant of the Irish name Brighid, meaning “the exalted one.” Here’s the popularity graph for Brigid.

Sigrid
From an Old Norse name made up of elements meaning “victory” and “beautiful.” Here’s the popularity graph for Sigrid.

Scotland
From the country in the United Kingdom. Here’s the popularity graph for Scotland.

Island
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Island.

Reid
From the English surname, which is derived from the Middle English word for “red.” Here’s the popularity graph for Reid.

Maude
From the Germanic name Matilda, made up of elements meaning “might, strength” and “battle.” Here’s the popularity graph for Maude.

Adalind
From a Germanic name made up of elements meaning “noble” and “mild, pliable.” Here’s the popularity graph for Adalind.

Gertrude
From a Germanic name made up of elements meaning “spear” and “strength.” Here’s the popularity graph for Gertrude.

Shahd
An Arabic word meaning “honey.” Here’s the popularity graph for Shahd.

Enid
Might be based on the Welsh word enaid, meaning “soul” or “life.” Here’s the popularity graph for Enid.

Jood
An Arabic word meaning “generous.” Here’s the popularity graph for Jood.

Soledad
The Spanish word for “solitude.” Here’s the popularity graph for Soledad.

Hildegard
From a Germanic name made up of elements meaning “battle” and “enclosure, yard.” Here’s the popularity graph for Hildegard.

Mairead
The Scottish form of Margaret, which is derived from the Ancient Greek word for “pearl.” Here’s the popularity graph for Mairead.

Raghad
An Arabic word meaning “affluent.” Here’s the popularity graph for Raghad.


Less-common girl names that end with a D-sound include Jind, England, Rosamund, Sinead, Alanoud, Orchid, and Kindred. I also spotted Ailed and Anaid — names created by spelling Delia and Diana backwards — in the SSA data.

Which of the above do you like most? What others can you think of?

Sources:

  • SSA
  • Behind the Name
  • Hanks, Patrick, Kate Hardcastle and Flavia Hodges. (Eds.) A Dictionary of First Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Where did the baby name Ysobel come from in 1916?

A scene from the movie "The Yaqui" (1916)
The Yaqui

If you like the baby names Isabelle and Isabel but want a something a bit different, here’s an idea: Ysobel, which appeared for the first and only time in the U.S. baby name data in 1916:

  • 1918: unlisted
  • 1917: unlisted
  • 1916: 6 baby girls named Ysobel [debut]
  • 1915: unlisted
  • 1914: unlisted

The inspiration was either (or both?) of two 1916 films featuring characters named Ysobel:

  • The Yaqui, released in March of 1916. Ysobel was played by actress Yona Landowska.
  • Lieutenant Danny, U.S.A., released in August of 1916. Ysobel was played by actress Enid Markey.

(My guess is that the first film had more influence, both because it was released earlier and because another character name, Modesta, also saw higher usage in 1916.)

The rare spelling “Ysobel” is likely based on the Old Spanish version of the name, Ysabel.

In fact, did you know that the historic Spanish queen we call “Isabella” in English was actually known as “Ysabel” during her lifetime? (And her husband Ferdinand was actually “Fernando.”) Their initials, “F” and “Y,” were featured on the banner that Christopher Columbus created for his 1492 expedition to the New World.

Sources:

  • The Yaqui.” Moving Picture World, Mar. 18, 1916: 1847.
  • SSA

The baby names Shevawn and Siobhan

Actress Siobhan McKenna on the cover of LIFE magazine (Sept. 10, 1956)
Siobhán McKenna

Tara, Maeve, and many of the other Irish names used in the U.S. today weren’t introduced and popularized by Irish immigrants. Instead, they gained traction (among the descendants of Irish immigrants) after being introduced to the U.S. public via movies, television, and other types of pop culture.

Siobhan is no different. But it’s also a special case, because Americans heard about the name before they saw it written down. The result? The traditional Irish spelling made a splash on the U.S. baby name charts…but only after an anglicized spelling variant had made a similar splash. In fact, the misspelled version and the correctly spelled version were consecutive top girl name debuts in the mid-1950s.

So who’s the person behind the launch of Siobhan? Irish actress Siobhán McKenna (1923-1986).

In 1955, McKenna was nominated for a Tony for her role as Miss Madrigal in the play The Chalk Garden by Enid Bagnold (who had written National Velvet two decades earlier). The same year, the name Shevawn debuted in the U.S. data:

  • 1958: 9 baby girls named Shevawn
  • 1957: 8 baby girls named Shevawn
  • 1956: 24 baby girls named Shevawn
  • 1955: 36 baby girls named Shevawn [debut]
  • 1954: unlisted
  • 1953: unlisted

The spellings Shevon, Shevonne, Chavonne, and Chevonne also debuted in ’55.

The next year, Siobhán McKenna impressed audiences with her portrayal of Joan of Arc in the George Bernard Shaw play Saint Joan. Her popularity in this role earned her the cover of LIFE magazine in September. Next to her image was her name, Siobhan, spelled correctly (but missing the fada). Right on cue, the name Siobhan debuted in the data:

  • 1958: 54 baby girls named Siobhan
  • 1957: 67 baby girls named Siobhan
  • 1956: 58 baby girls named Siobhan [debut]
  • 1955: unlisted
  • 1954: unlisted
  • 1953: unlisted

Once U.S. parents learned how to spell “Siobhan,” the alternative spellings became less common, though they remained in use.

Siobhan was boosted into the top 1,000 in 1979 and remained popular during the 1980s thanks to the soap opera Ryan’s Hope, which introduced a character named Siobhan in 1978.

It’s rather fitting that Siobhán McKenna was best known for playing Saint Joan, as both “Siobhán” and “Joan” were derived from the name Jeanne, which is French feminine form of John (meaning “Yahweh is gracious”).

How do you feel about the name Siobhan? If you were going to use it, how would you spell it?

Update, 3/2018: Here’s some new info on Shevawn!

Sources: Siobhán McKenna – Wikipedia, SSA
Image: © 1956 Life

The curious name Alkelda

Church of St. Mary and St. Alkelda in Middleham, England
Church of St. Mary and St. Alkelda

I recently read something that mentioned the English village of Giggleswick. That name was so fun I had to look it up: it’s a two-part place name made up of the Old English personal name Gikel or Gichel plus the Old English word wic, meaning “dairy farm” or “dwelling.”

And inside the village is another interesting name: Alkelda. The church of St. Alkelda in Giggleswick is one of two churches in the North Yorkshire region named after a legendary local saint. (The other is the Church of St. Mary and St. Alkelda in Middleham.)

Who was this local saint? Alkelda (also spelled Alcelda or Alchhild) may have been an Anglo-Saxon princess…or may have been entirely made up. Doubters note that the name “Alkelda” is suspiciously similar to haeligkeld, an Anglo-Saxon place name meaning “holy spring” or “holy well.”

So have any real-life babies been named after St. Alkelda? Yes, I found records for more than a dozen Alkeldas — all were born in England, and most were born in Yorkshire specifically.

The earliest Alkelda I found was Alkelda Browne, who married Willus Hill in Giggleswick in 1578. Next was Algitha Alkelda Brenda Orde-Powlett, who was born and died in 1871. (Elea mentioned Algitha Alkelda in her post “Finds from 1871.”)

Here are a few of the other Alkeldas:

  • Olive Alkelda Clark, b. 1879, in Essex
  • Enid Alkelda Brocklehurst, b. 1902 in Yorkshire
  • Frances Alkelda Outhwaite, b. 1904 in Yorkshire
  • Alkelda A. George, b. 1926 in Yorkshire

What are your thoughts on the name Alkelda?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Middleham Church by John Clift under CC BY-NC 2.0.