How popular is the baby name Francesca 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 Francesca.
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The Italian name Gia is a pet form of Gianna, which itself is a contracted form of Giovanna (akin to Joanna). But Gia as a standalone name was very rare in the U.S. until the late 1950s, when usage increased enough for the name to debut in the SSA’s (publicly available) data:
1960: 41 baby girls named Gia
1959: 51 baby girls named Gia
1958: 43 baby girls named Gia
1957: 18 baby girls named Gia [debut]
1956: unlisted
What gave it a boost? The first famous Gia in America, actress Gia Scala, whose career took off in the late 1950s.
Her “real” name is hard to pin down. She was born in England with the name Josephine Scoglio. But…she spent her childhood in Italy, and when she applied for U.S. citizenship in 1957, she said her legal name was Giovanna Scoglio.
In any case, she started going by Gia not long after she moved to the U.S. (in the early 1950s), and Universal Studios gave her the stage name “Gia Scala” at the start of her film career.
Since then, several other famous Gias have also influenced the charts…
Fashion model Gia Marie Carangi was at the peak of her fame in the late ’70s and early ’80s. It doesn’t look like her modeling career had any impact on the baby name Gia, but when the TV movie Gia starring Angelina Jolie came out in 1998, usage of the name more than tripled, and the compound name Giamarie debuted.
Usage more than doubled from 2009 to 2011 (when Gia peaked in the national rankings at 300th place) thanks to two people: reality TV contestant Gia Allamand, who appeared on both The Bachelor and Bachelor Pad in 2010, and celebrity baby Gia Francesca, born to Mario Lopez and his wife in September of 2010.
Here are hundreds of baby names that have a numerological value of “7.”
I’ve sub-categorized them by overall totals, because I think that some of the intermediate numbers could have special significance to people as well.
Within each group, I’ve listed up to ten of the most popular “7” names per gender (according to the current U.S. rankings).
Beneath all the names are some ways you could interpret the numerological value of “7,” including descriptions from two different numerological systems.
7
The girl name Aada adds up to 7.
7 via 16
The following baby names add up to 16, which reduces to seven (1+6=7).
“142” boy names: Huntington, Konstantine, Naetochukwu, Iyanuoluwa, Marquavius
7 via 151
The following baby names add up to 151, which reduces to seven (1+5+1=7).
“151” girl names: Montserrath, Victorious
7 via 160
The boy name Arinzechukwu adds up to 160, which reduces to seven (1+6+0=7).
7 via 169
The boy name Somtochukwu adds up to 169, which reduces to seven (1+6+9=16; 1+6=7).
What Does “7” Mean?
First, we’ll look at the significance assigned to “7” by two different numerological sources. Second, and more importantly, ask yourself if “7” or any of the intermediate numbers above have any special significance to you.
Numerological Attributes
“7” (the heptad) according to the Pythagoreans: …
“Since everything comes together and is distinguished by coincidence and in a critical manner at the place of the hebdomad [group of seven], they called it ‘critical time’ and ‘Chance,’ and custom has entrenched the habit of saying ‘critical time and Chance’ together.”
“Many things, both in the heavens of the universe and on the Earth – celestial bodies and creatures and plants – are in fact brought to completion by it. And that is why it is called ‘Chance,’ because it accompanies everything which happens, and ‘critical time,’ because it has gained the most critical position and nature.”
“It is also called ‘that which brings completion,’ for seven-month children are viable.”
“Everything is fond of sevens.”
“It is called ‘forager’ because its structure has been collected and gathered together in a manner resembling unity, since it is altogether indissoluble, except into something which has the same denominator as itself”
“7” according to Edgar Cayce:
“Seven is the spiritual number” (reading 261-15).
“As does seven signify the spiritual forces, as are seen in all the ritualistic orders of any nature” (reading 5751-1).
Personal/Cultural Significance
Does “7” — or do any of the other numbers above (e.g., 25, 43, 88, 151) — have any special significance to you?
Think about your own preferences and personal experiences: lucky numbers, birth dates, music, sports, and so on. Maybe you like how “88” reminds you of piano keys, for example.
Also think about associations you may have picked up from your culture, your religion, or society in general.
If you have any interesting insights about the number 7, or any of the other numbers above, please leave a comment!
Source: Theologumena Arithmeticae, attributed to Iamblichus (c.250-c.330).
Three recent name stories featuring rescued babies:
Pingan: In March of 2014, a woman in labor and her husband were traveling to the hospital in Fujian, China, when their motorbike was hit by a truck. The couple did not survive, but their baby boy did. He has since been named Pingan, which means “safe and sound” in Chinese.
Jeremy: In April of 2015, Australian paramedics Jeremy Lawrance and Alex May saved the life of a baby boy who “emerged blue with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck.” The baby’s parents named him Jeremy Alex, in honor of paramedics.
Francesca Marina: In May of 2015, the Italian navy (Marina Militare) rescued thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean. One of those migrants was a pregnant Nigerian woman who ended up giving birth aboard a navy vessel. The baby girl was named Francesca Marina — Francesca after Francis of Assisi, Marina in honor of the navy. “To her mother, she is simply called Gift.”
Wondering what the most popular K-names for baby girls are? How about R-names?
Below are the 10 most popular girl names for each letter, A through Z. (The parenthetical notations show how the current rankings differ from the 2012 rankings.)
The four new #1 names that emerged in 2013 were Charlotte, which replaced Chloe, Delilah, which replaced Destiny, Harper, which replaced Hannah, and Lillian, which replaced Lily.
