How popular is the baby name George 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 George.

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Popularity of the Baby Name George


Posts that Mention the Name George

Babies Named for Sailing Ships (G)

The people below were born aboard — and named after! — ships with G-names…

  • Gainsborough:
    • John Gainsboro Hunt Beaumont, born in 1877
  • Galileo:
    • Esther Galileo Jones, born in 1875
  • Gallia:
    • Alfred Gallia Hall, born in 1882
  • Gananoque:
    • Norris Gananoque Green, born in 1860
  • Ganges:
    • Hedley Theodore Ganges Kempthorne, born in 1886
  • Garonne:
    • Jane Garonne Sparkes, born in 1882
    • Alexander Garonne Bendiksen, born in 1886
  • Gartmore:
    • Cecil Gartmore Ritchie, born in 1889
  • Germanic:
    • Mary Germanic Phillips, born in 1881
  • Gilmore:
    • Rose Gilmore Hallet, born in 1857
  • Gladstone:
    • Sydney Gladstone Myers, born in 1883
    • Mary Elizabeth Gladstone Jackson, born in 1884
  • Glamorgan:
    • Glamorgan Wallace, born in 1875
  • Glenallan:
    • Prince Glenallan Shilston, born in 1870
  • Glenavon:
    • Daniel Glenavon Clinton, born in 1885
  • Glenlora:
    • Mary Glenlora Green, born in 1879
  • Glenmark:
    • Margaret Glenmark McKinley, born in 1864
  • Glen Osmond:
    • Glen Osmond Thomas, born in 1883
  • Goorkha:
    • John Sharp Teele Goorkha Cloquet, born in 1882
  • Gosforth:
    • Gosforth Williamson, born in 1856
  • Granton:
    • John Burns Granton Grundell, born in 1870
  • Grasmere:
    • Caroline Grasmere Hastings, born in 1876
  • Gulf of St. Vincent:
    • Emma St. Vincent McClellan, born in 1886

Do you think any of the ship names above work particularly well as human names?

Source: FamilySearch.org

Would You Bet on “Gamble”?

gamble, news, 1960s, baby name
Gamble on the cover of Life in April, 1960

Like the name Tirrell, the curious name Gamble appears regularly these days in the boys’ data, but it first popped up as a girl name — just once — in 1961:

  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: 5 baby girls named Gamble [debut]
  • 1960: unlisted
  • 1959: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Another runaway heiress! This one was New York debutante/heiress Gamble Benedict, the granddaughter of Henry Harper Benedict (1844-1935), co-owner of the Remington Typewriter Company.

During the last days of 1959, 18-year-old Gamble ran away from home to be with her 35-year-old Romanian-born boyfriend, Andrei Porumbeanu (who already had a wife, Helma, and daughter, Gigi).

Gamble and Andrei first fled to Paris, where they stayed for most of January. (Gamble turned 19 mid-month.) At the end of the month, Gamble was apprehended by Paris police and “flown home to her stern dowager grandmother.”

The pair ran off again in April, after Andrei had obtained a Mexican divorce. This time they went south. They married in North Carolina on the 6th, then took a plane to Florida for a honeymoon.

The story was in the news for months on end during the first half of the year. (Several years later, in 1964, Time magazine summed it up as an “endlessly publicized…runaway marriage.”)

So what became of the couple? They ended up having two sons (George and Gregory) and spent most of their time in Switzerland…before Gamble initiated divorce proceedings in mid-1963.

Though I never found an explanation for Gamble’s unique first name, my guess is that it’s a surname that can be found somewhere in her family tree.

What are your thoughts on the name “Gamble” for a baby (male or female)? Would you use it?

Sources:

Image: © 1960 Life

One-Hit Wonder: Glenalee

glenna lee mccarthy, glenalee, baby name, 1950s

The baby name Glenalee was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. data in 1951. (In fact, it was tied for 1951’s top one-hit wonders of the year.)

  • 1953: unlisted
  • 1952: unlisted
  • 1951: 9 baby girls named Glenalee
  • 1950: unlisted
  • 1949: unlisted

Where did it come from?

An oil heiress who eloped with a cobbler’s son!

The bride was 17-year-old Glenna Lee McCarthy, daughter of famous Texas oilman Glenn McCarthy. She was a student at Lamar High School in Houston at the time.

(Glenn McCarthy was one of the men who inspired Edna Ferber to write the novel Giant in 1952. It was later made into a film starring James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson.)

The groom was 19-year-old George Pontikes, son of a Greek cobbler. He had graduated from Lamar and was now attending Rice University, where he played football.

In early December, 1950, the pair ran off to Waco to be married by a justice of the peace. News of their elopement broke toward the end of the month — right around the time that Glenna’s older sister, Mary Margaret, was getting married in a much more traditional manner. (That must have been awkward.)

Glenna and George were in the news for several days straight at the very end of 1950. Many papers, including the New York Times, mistakenly called the bride “Glenalee McCarthy.” (Not all did, though, and the baby name Glenna saw peak usage in 1951 as a result.)

Papa Glenn McCarthy was unhappy about the elopement at first, but one paper reported that “trigger-tempered McCarthy” had “calmed down after [the] initial outburst of anger.” Perhaps he was quick to forgive because the situation was eerily familiar: He’d eloped with his own wife, the 16-year-old daughter of a wealthy oilman, back when he was a 23-year-old gas station attendant in 1930.

Do you like the name Glenalee (…even if it started out as a typo)?

Sources:

Babies Named for Sailing Ships (C)

The people below were born aboard — and named after! — ships with C-names…

  • Caduceus:
    • John Caduceus Mason, born in 1869
    • Pauline Caduceus Pyne, born in 1871
    • Amy Caduceus Ward, born in 1871
  • Calabria:
    • Sarah Elizabeth Calabria Marsden, born in 1874
  • Caledonia:
    • William Caledonia Lowe, born in 1870
    • Jane Caledonia Morrison, born in 1870
    • James Caledonia Terrie, born in 1871
    • Muhelina Caledonia Cardone, born in 1888
  • California:
    • Craig California McGinley, born in 1872
    • Sarah California Boettcher, born in 1877
  • Calliance:
    • William James Calliance Potter, born in 1861
  • Cambodia:
    • Mary Cambodia Pocock, born in 1884
    • Ellen Cambodia Goldthorp, born in 1884
    • Emma Cambodia Gascoigne, born in 1884
  • Cambria:
    • Cambria Wallace Milne, born in 1880
  • Cambrian:
    • Henry Cambrian Bouchier, born in 1863
  • Camorta:
    • John Camorta Bleney, born in 1882
  • Camperdown:
    • Ellen Duncan Camperdown Woods, born in 1876
  • Canada:
    • Amelia Canada Scrivens, born in 1857
    • Mary Canada Furlong, born in 1883
  • Canara:
    • Canara Iunatum, born in 1880
  • Canterbury:
    • Canterbury C. Purdon, born in 1863
  • Cardigan Castle:
    • Cardigan Petersen, born in 1873
  • Carisbrooke Castle:
    • Ellen Carisbrooke Haslett, born in 1875
    • Phoebe Carisbrooke Fleming, born in 1875
  • Carnatic:
    • Elizabeth Ann Carnatic Bowler, born in 1873
    • Agnes Carnatic Keen, born in 1875
    • Maria Carnatic Gauser, born in1880
    • Amy Carnatic Collins, born in 1880
    • David Carnatic Robinson, born in 1880
  • Carrick Castle:
    • Carrick Beatrix Hagerty, born in 1874
  • Cartrale:
    • Arthur Taylor Cartrale Smith, born in 1874
  • Cartsburn:
    • M. B. Cartsburn Watt, born in 1874
    • Cartsburn Baxter, born in 1874
    • A. C. Cartsburn Sloan, born in 1874
  • Caspian:
    • William Caspian Downham, born in 1877
  • Castalia:
    • Castalia Marchesa, born in 1879
  • Catalonia:
    • Gurnod Catalonius Sjoberg, born in 1886
  • Cedric The Saxon:
    • Frank Cedric McNair, born in 1885
  • Cephalonia:
    • Cephalonia Charles Jones, born in 1883
    • Henrietta Cephalonia Colman, born in 1885
    • Cephalonia Brook, born in 1886
  • Ceylon:
    • Archie Ceylon Randle, born in 1885
  • Chalmers:
    • Henry Richard Chalmers Charles Bainton, born in 1859
  • Charles Cox:
    • Carlotta Graham Cox, born in 1878
  • Charlwood:
    • Bertram Charlwood Hiscocks, born in 1881
  • Cheops:
    • Cheops Garthwaite, born in 1874
  • Chimborazo:
    • Daniel Chimborazo Dineen, born in 1879
  • China:
    • George China Ward, born in 1876
  • Chollerton:
    • Robert Chollerton Shepherd, born in 1887
    • Ellen Chollerton Blackwell, born in 1887
    • Gertrude Chollerton Archer, born in 1887
  • Christian McAusland:
    • William Taylor McAusland Nelson, born in 1875
  • Chyebassa:
    • Chyebassa Best, born in 1881
    • Chybasse Pettitgean, born in 1884
    • Godfrey Chyebassa Svensson, born in 1885
    • Chyebassa Lowe, born in 1887
  • Cilla:
    • Cillarius Gustav Guttinger, born in 1865
  • Circassia:
    • Circassia Wray Barrett, born in 1880
  • Cissy:
    • Cisseillia Naughton, born in 1867
  • City of Agra:
    • Marie Florence Agra Tyrell, born in 1876
    • Samson Agra Hay, born in 1877
  • City of Auckland:
    • Jane Auckland Pearce, born in 1872
    • Harry Auckland Wood, born in 1872
  • City of Baltimore:
    • Charlotte Baltimore Hadfield, born in 1856
  • City of Benares:
    • Fanny Benares Casson, born in 1874
  • City of Berlin:
    • James Berlin Felix Gerola, born in 1881
    • Adelaide Berlina Mathews, born in 1881
  • City of Brussels:
    • Timothy Brussels Hogan, born in 1880
    • Charles Brussels Arthur, born in 1880
  • City of Chester:
    • Wilhilmene Lewis Chester Andersson, born in 1887
  • City of Durham:
    • Patrick Durham Hickey, born in 1868
  • City of Montreal:
    • Fanny Lund Montreal Massey, born in 1881
  • City of Nankin:
    • Christina Nankin McLean, born in 1880
  • City of Rome:
    • Rose Roma Monro Colman, born in 1884
    • Romulus Johnson, born in 1884
    • Kate Roma Oliver, born in 1885
  • Clairellen:
    • Clairellen Ada Shepherd, born in 1873
  • Clara:
    • Deliela Clara Wright, born in 1875
  • Clara Mærsk:
    • Clara (surname unknown), born in 1975
  • Clarence:
    • Fanny Clarence Murray, born in 1861
    • Eliza Clarence Cox, born in 1861
  • Claverhouse:
    • Frank Claverhouse Parsons, born in 1879
  • Clio:
    • Charles Clio Greening, born in 1856
  • Clyde:
    • Veronica Clyde Gray, born in 1876
    • Richard Clyde Bordlace, born in 1878
    • George Clyde Baker, born in 1878
    • Louisa Teasdel Clyde Lancaster, born in 1879
    • Agnes Clyde Robertson, born in 1879
    • Alice Maria Clyde Crup, born in 1881
    • Venezia Clyde Mackenzie, born in 1884
  • Collingrove:
    • Isabelle Hope Collingrove Benson, born in 1870
  • Columbia:
    • Nora Columbia Needham, born in 1861
  • Colombo:
    • Robert Colombo Sharp, born in 1885
  • Colorado:
    • Colorado Harris, born in 1868
  • Compta:
    • Rose Compta August Kerutz, born in 1881
    • James Compta Burrows, born in 1882
  • Copenhagen:
    • Copenhagen G. Williams, born in 1862
  • Corean:
    • Corea Catherine Cosgrove, born in 1888
  • Corinthian:
    • Corinthian Macnicol McAtee, born in 1880
  • Corlic:
    • Minnie Corlic Collins, born in 1874
  • Coromandel:
    • Nellie Coromandel Brookes, born in 1880
  • Cotopaxi:
    • Herminia Angela Cotopaxi Shertzer, born in 1886
  • Countess Of Galloway:
    • Galloway Nicholson, born in 1878
  • Countess of Kintore:
    • Thomas Kintore Buer, born in 1871
  • Countess of Seafield:
    • Catherine Horton Seafield Danvers, born in 1864
  • Crusader:
    • Robert Alexander Crusader Rodgers, born in 1879
  • Cuba:
    • Rosetta Cuba Burke, born in 1869
  • Culzean:
    • Culzean Pernie Ryan, born in 1874
  • Cuzco:
    • Agnes Cuzco Johnstone, born in 1878
    • John Cuzco Parker, born in 1883
    • James Ridler Cuzco Hartley, born in 1886
    • Margaret Albany Cuzco Walsh, born in 1888

Do you think any of the ship names above work particularly well as human names?

Source: FamilySearch.org

Popular Baby Names in New Zealand, 2020

According to New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs, the most popular baby names in the country in 2020 were Isla and Oliver.

Here are New Zealand’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Isla, 243 baby girls
  2. Charlotte, 222
  3. Amelia, 213
  4. Olivia, 208
  5. Willow, 184
  6. Harper, 177
  7. Ava (tie), 175
  8. Lily (tie), 175
  9. Sophie, 168
  10. Ella, 163

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 315 baby boys
  2. Jack, 261
  3. Noah, 240
  4. Leo, 235
  5. Lucas, 206
  6. George, 197
  7. Charlie, 183
  8. William (tie), 175
  9. Thomas (tie), 175
  10. Hunter, 174

In the girls’ top 10, Lily and Ella replace Mila and Ruby.

In the boys’ top 10, Hunter replaces James.

Notably, top girl name Isla “first made the top 100 girls’ names in 2004.”

Here are a few other factoids:

Taylor and Darcy are the most evenly split gender-neutral names for 2020, with a 51/49 per cent divide between boys and girls.

There were no Jacindas or Judiths on the top 10 list and no increase in Ashleys despite these names appearing often in the media during 2020.

The top Maori baby names of 2020 were Mia, Aria and Maia for girls and Nikau, Manaia, and Ari for boys.

Back in 2019, the top names were Amelia and Oliver.

Sources: Top Baby Names in New Zealand, Top 2020 baby names: Same name tops list eight years in a row