How popular is the baby name Francelia 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 Francelia.

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Popularity of the baby name Francelia


Posts that mention the name Francelia

Where did the baby name Ormi come from in 1916?

Movie actress Ormi Hawley (1889-1942)
Ormi Hawley

Back in the 1910s, when the film industry was just getting off the ground, several early film actors (or “players,” as they were called back then) managed to influence the baby name charts.

The very first actor-inspired baby name to debut on the charts seems to be Francelia, which appeared in 1912.

And the second? Ormi, which came along four years later.

Silent film actress Ormetta Grace “Ormi” Hawley was born in Massachusetts in 1889. “Opulent Ormi” appeared in hundreds of silent films (mostly shorts) from 1911 to 1919, primarily for the Lubin Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The name Ormi appeared in the U.S. baby name data for one year only:

  • 1918: unlisted
  • 1917: unlisted
  • 1916: 5 baby girls named Ormi [debut]
  • 1915: unlisted
  • 1914: unlisted

But the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) reveals that other people (presumably baby girls) were given the first name Ormi during that period:

  • 1919: 1 person
  • 1918: none
  • 1917: 1 person
  • 1916: 5 people
  • 1915: 2 people
  • 1914: 2 people
  • 1913: 2 people
  • 1912: none
  • 1911: none

Ormi Hawley retired from acting in the 1920s and passed away in 1942. Unfortunately, very little of her film work has survived. (In fact, 70% of all films from the silent era are “completely lost to history,” according to the Library of Congress.)

Do you like the name Ormi? How about Ormetta?

Sources: Lottie Briscoe, Octavia Handworth, Ormi Hawley, Helen Marten: Lubin’s Lovely Ladies, Most of America’s Silent Films Are Lost Forever, SSA, SSDI

Where did the baby name Francelia come from in 1912?

Actress Francelia Billington (1895-1934)
Francelia Billington

Here’s a rare, old-fashioned name that’s been given two distinct pop culture boosts over the years — one from the movies, one from the weather.

The movie connection is especially interesting because, as far as I can tell, this is probably the first name to debut on the charts thanks to an actress.

Usage of the name Francelia (pronounced fran-SEE-lee-ah) goes back to at least the 1700s. The name was most popular in the mid-1800s, especially in the Northeastern U.S. (New York state in particular). It seems to be an elaborated form of Frances (“Frenchman”) influenced by either Celia (“sky, heaven”) or Cecilia (“blind”), or both.

Francelia debuted on the SSA’s baby name list in 1912, probably thanks to early silent film actress Francelia Billington, who was born in Texas in 1895 and appeared in silent films from 1912 until the mid-1920s (and in a single talkie in 1930).

Francelia Billington wasn’t the first silent film actress to become famous, but she was the first whose name debuted on the national baby name list while she was famous. Several other silent film actresses of the 1910s also had distinctive names (e.g., Alla Nazimova, Theda Bara, Kathlyn Williams) but their names had all been listed since the late 1800s.

The SSA data from the 1910s isn’t super-reliable, so I’ve put the U.S. baby name data and the Social Security Death Index data side-by-side below. For the SSDI numbers, I only counted people who had Francelia as a first name, not as a middle.

Girls named Francelia (SSA)People named Francelia (SSDI)
191565
1914.5
19131010
19125*10
1911.2
1910.4
1909.5
*Debut

One of the Francelias above was children’s literature scholar/writer Francelia Butler (née McWilliams), who was born in Ohio in 1913.

The name Francelia has remained rare in the U.S. ever since, though it did see a spike in usage in 1969 thanks to the news of Hurricane Francelia, which hit Central America in early September.

  • 1971: 5 baby girls named Francelia
  • 1970: 10 baby girls named Francelia
  • 1969: 23 baby girls named Francelia (and 8 more named Francellia)
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: 7 baby girls named Francelia

Francelia’s last appearance on the SSA’s list was in 1998, with just 7 baby girls. (To be included on the list, a name needs to be given to at least 5 babies.)

Do you like the name Francelia? Would you consider using it for a baby girl?

Sources: SSA, SSDI