How popular is the baby name Fanta 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 Fanta.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Fanta


Posts that Mention the Name Fanta

Popular Baby Names in Luxembourg, 2014

According to the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort, the most popular baby names in Luxembourg in 2014 were Emma and Gabriel.

Here are Luxembourg’s top 7 girl names and top 7 boy names of 2014:

Girl Names Boy Names
1. Emma
2. Lara
3. Zoé
4. Amy
5. Sarah
6. Charlotte
7. Emily 		1. Gabriel
2. Leo
3. Luca
4. Noah
5. David
6. Tom
7. Ben

In Luxembourg, “[r]egistrars have the right to refuse names they deem ridiculous, discriminating, against the welfare of the child or infringing on the rights of third parties.” One of the rejected baby names of 2014 was Fanta; one of the newly approved names was Mewa.

Luxembourg’s first baby of 2014, born in January 1, was a girl named Sailey.

Source: Luxembourg’s most popular baby names

Biggest Baby Name Debuts of All Time: Girls, 50 to 41

biggest baby name debuts of all time, girl names, 50 to 41

For years now I’ve been talking about baby name debuts. But one thing I keep forgetting to blog about is the biggest baby name debuts of all time.

So this week I’m going to fix that oversight.

Well, half of it.

I’ll be counting down the 50 most popular girl name debuts in five posts, from today until Friday. (The boys’ list I’ll do another week.)

You’d think this would be 50 names, right? But I decided not to break ties, so the list actually contains 67 names.

I came up with explanations for as many names as I could, though a number of them are still mysteries to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these.

So here’s 50 to 41:

Jashanti, Tamre & Yuliza, 3-way tie for #50

  • Jashanti debuted with 63 baby girls in 2002.
    Inspired by singer Ashanti.
  • Tamre debuted with 63 baby girls in 1958.
    Inspired by the song “Tammy,” theme song of the movie Tammy and the Bachelor.
  • Yuliza debuted with 63 baby girls in 1997.
    Inspired by singer Julissa.

Natori, #49

  • Natori debuted with 64 baby girls in 1995.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by the Avon perfume Natori. (Thank you Blue Juniper!)

Yatzari, #48

  • Yatzari debuted with 65 baby girls in 2000.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.

Brieanna, Fanta & Kherington, 3-way tie for #47

  • Brieanna debuted with 66 baby girls in 1979.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Fanta debuted with 66 baby girls in 1977.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Fanta, a character on the TV miniseries “Roots.”
  • Kherington debuted with 66 baby girls in 2008.
    Inspired by Kherington Payne, a contestant on the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Chantay, Charde & Laryssa, 3-way tie for #46

  • Chantay debuted with 67 baby girls in 1960.
    Inspired by Chantay, a character on the TV western “Lawman.”
  • Charde debuted with 67 baby girls in 1985.
    Inspired by singer Sade [shah-DAY].
  • Laryssa debuted with 67 baby girls in 1968.
    Inspired by Laryssa Lauret, an actress on the soap opera “The Doctors.”

Jennavecia & Laquita, 2-way tie for #45

  • Jennavecia debuted with 68 baby girls in 2008.
    Inspired by Jennavecia Russo, a cast member on the reality TV show “The Bad Girls Club.”
  • Laquita debuted with 68 baby girls in 1930.
    Inspired by…I’m not sure what.

Zhane, #44

  • Zhane debuted with 69 baby girls in 1993.
    Inspired by the duo Zhane.

Kaydence, Phaedra & Shalawn, 3-way tie for #43

  • Kaydence debuted with 70 baby girls in 2002.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Cadence, a character from Shallow Hal. (Thank you Angela!)
  • Phaedra debuted with 70 baby girls in 1963.
    Inspired by Phaedra, a character in the movie Phaedra.
  • Shalawn debuted with 70 baby girls in 1974.
    Inspired by Shalawn (b. 1974), baby of O’Jays singer Walter Williams.

Tyechia, #42

  • Tyechia debuted with 71 baby girls in 1982.
    Inspired by orphaned toddler named Tyechia who had been in the news.

Adilene, #41

  • Adilene debuted with 72 baby girls in 1987.
    Inspired by the song “Adilene” by Los Yonics.

Do you have any ideas about where Kaydence, Fanta, Brieanna, Yatzari or Natori might have come from?

If you want to make guesses about the names higher up on the list, here are some posts that will help:

*The Top 50 Baby Name Debuts for Girls: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1*

Baby Names from Alex Haley’s “Roots”

In late 1976, Alex Haley’s novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family was published.

The book tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African man who is captured, brought to North America, and sold as a slave to a Virginia plantation owner.

In January of 1977, an 8-episode TV miniseries based on the novel aired in on ABC.

The televised version of Roots was wildly popular — 9 Emmy Awards, 1 Golden Globe, 1 Peabody, and some of the highest Nielsen ratings of all time.

More importantly, though, it had an unprecedented influence on baby names, inspiring thousands African-American parents to name their babies after Roots characters and actors. Below are some examples.

Kizzy and Kunta Kinte, Roots
Kizzy (Leslie Uggams) and Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) of Roots © Ebony

Levar & Kizzy

The top debut names of 1977 were Levar and Kizzy.

Levar comes from actor LeVar Burton, who played protagonist Kunta Kinte in the miniseries.

  • 1979: 175 baby boys named Levar [rank: 645th]
  • 1978: 254 baby boys named Levar [rank: 512th]
  • 1977: 523 baby boys named Levar [rank: 343rd] [debut]
  • 1976: not listed

The names Lavar, Levarr, Lavarr and Lavare also got a boost in 1977. (The last three were debuts.)

Kizzy comes from the character Kizzy, daughter of Kunta Kinte.

  • 1979: 269 baby girls named Kizzy [rank: 648th]
  • 1978: 456 baby girls named Kizzy [rank: 439th]
  • 1977: 1,115 baby girls named Kizzy [rank: 223rd] [debut]
  • 1976: not listed

So far, Kizzy’s 1977 debut is the highest baby name debut ever.

The names Kizzie, Kizzi, Kizzey, Lakizzy and Kizi also got a boost in 1977. (The last four were debuts.)

Kunta & Kinte

Kunta not only debuted in 1977, but it popped into the top 1,000 for the first and only time that year as well.

  • 1979: 16 baby boys named Kunta
  • 1978: 52 baby boys named named Kunta
  • 1977: 215 baby boys named Kunta [rank: 572nd] [debut]
  • 1976: not listed

Kinte also reached the top 1,000 for the first and only time in 1977, after debuting the year before.

  • 1978: 38 baby boys named Kinte
  • 1977: 104 baby boys named Kinte [rank: 839th]
  • 1976: 5 baby boys named Kinte [debut]
  • 1975: not listed

Related 1977 debuts include Kuntakinte, Kinta, Quinte, and Kunte.

Fanta, Jitu, Kairaba, Lamin, Omoro & Yaisa

Here are some other Roots-related debuts I’ve noticed.

Fanta, the name of a woman captured and enslaved along with Kunta Kinte (in the miniseries, not in the book):

  • 1979: 31 baby girls named Fanta
  • 1978: 34 baby girls named Fanta
  • 1977: 66 baby girls named Fanta [debut]
  • 1976: not listed

Jitu, from Ji-Tu Cumbuka, the name of the actor who played a wrestler in the miniseries:

  • 1979: not listed
  • 1978: not listed
  • 1977: 7 baby boys named Jitu [debut & one-hit wonder]
  • 1976: not listed

Kairaba, the name of Kunta Kinte’s grandfather:

  • 1979: not listed
  • 1978: not listed
  • 1977: 8 baby boys named Kairaba [debut & one-hit wonder]
  • 1976: not listed

Lamin, the name of Kunta Kinte’s brother:

  • 1979: not listed
  • 1978: 7 baby boys named Lamin
  • 1977: 12 baby boys named Lamin [debut]
  • 1976: not listed

Omoro, the name of Kunta Kinte’s father:

  • 1979: 8 baby boys named Omoro
  • 1978: 11 baby boys named Omoro
  • 1977: 19 baby boys named Omoro [debut]
  • 1976: not listed

Yaisa, the name of Kunta Kinte’s grandmother:

  • 1979: 6 baby girls named Yaisa
  • 1978: 11 baby girls named Yaisa
  • 1977: 17 baby girls named Yaisa [debut]
  • 1976: not listed

Binta, Haley & Toby

Finally, two names that were given a boost by Roots, and one that was definitely not.

Binta, the name of Kunta Kinte’s mother:

  • 1979: 10 baby girls named Binta
  • 1978: 11 baby girls named Binta
  • 1977: 16 baby girls named Binta
  • 1976: not listed
  • 1975: 5 baby girls named Binta

Haley, from Alex Haley, the name of the author:

  • 1979: 512 baby girls named Haley [rank: 414th]
  • 1978: 516 baby girls named Haley [rank: 398th]
  • 1977: 462 baby girls named Haley [rank: 442nd]
  • 1976: 117 baby girls named Haley
  • 1975: 110 baby girls named Haley

Toby, the name given to Kunta Kinte by the plantation owner:

  • 1981: 458 baby boys named Toby [rank: 375th]
  • 1980: 648 baby boys named Toby [rank: 304th]
  • 1979: 666 baby boys named Toby [rank: 299th]
  • 1978: 884 baby boys named Toby [rank: 239th]
  • 1977: 1,060 baby boys named Toby [rank: 209th]
  • 1976: 1,095 baby boys named Toby [rank: 201st]

The usage of Toby declined quickly after Roots aired. Was it already on its way out? Was it pulled down by the slave-name association? Both? Hm…

Source: “Pride in ‘Roots’ Inspiring Blacks to Name Babies After Characters.” Morning Record and Journal 19 Mar. 1977: 14.
Image from Ebony, June 1977, page 76.