How popular is the baby name Irish 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 Irish.

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Popularity of the baby name Irish


Posts that mention the name Irish

Girl names on the decline in the U.S. in 2021

fallen leaves

Which girl names decreased in usage the most from 2020 to 2021?

Here’s a table of the fastest-falling girl names of 2021. On the left are the top 25 decreases in terms of absolute numbers of babies, and on the right are the top 25 decreases in terms of relative numbers of babies.

RankGirl nameAbsolute fallGirl nameRelative fall
1Isabella-957Ashvi-76%
2Abigail-936Dessa-75%
3Victoria-603Jaeda-73%
4Alexa-583Amavi-73%
5Sophia-540Yameli-73%
6Brooklyn-504Raela-72%
7Anna-452Reniyah-72%
8Gianna-435Naeema-72%
9Harper-433Avyn-72%
10Aubrey-409Portia-71%
11Ava-401Jadah-71%
12Hannah-400Rona-71%
13Kaylee-366Jocelynne-71%
14Samantha-361Iolana-71%
15Serenity-359Nakshatra-70%
16Emily-358Jatziry-69%
17Genesis-356Irish-69%
18Ella-354Inanna-69%
19Melanie-348Evangaline-69%
20Brielle-346Alula-69%
21Mila-330Rakeb-68%
22Lauren-312Kiaya-68%
23Skylar-303Meral*-67%
24Londyn-300Kemya*-67%
25Arianna-298Jeri*-67%

*Also at -67% were Helayna, Asmara, Arriyah, Anu, Akane, Kimberlin, Jojo, Elianni, Naleya and Leta.

Interestingly, Dessa has dropped before — it was the fastest-falling girl name way back in 1933.

And I don’t think anyone will be surprised about the ongoing decline of Alexa.

Finally, here are the girl names that saw the steepest dives right out of the data (i.e., to below 5 instances of usage) in 2021:

  • given to 20 babies in 2020: Geisha
  • given to 17 babies in 2020: Glorianna, Malai, Taleigha
  • given to 16 babies in 2020: Emili, Kalonni, Nyella, Siaani

Do you have thoughts/insights about any of the above names?

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Fall (6282684630) by Kenny Louie under CC BY 2.0.

Where did the baby name Sheena come from in the 1940s?

sheena, queen of the jungle, comic, 1940s, baby name

If you meet someone in the U.S. named Sheena, chances are she was born in the 1980s. That’s when the usage of baby name Sheena spiked impressively thanks to Scottish singer Sheena Easton, whose first big hit was “9 to 5 (Morning Train)” and whose name was no doubt based on Sìne, the Scottish form of Jeanne.

But the name Sheena has been on the onomastic map (here in the U.S.) a lot longer than that. And I think the initial influence was a comic book character.

“Queen of the Jungle” Sheena, who always wore a skimpy, leopard-print outfit, started appearing in the adventure anthology comic book Jumbo Comics in 1938. She’d been created by artist Will Eisner as a female counterpart to Tarzan, and her name was inspired by H. Rider Haggard’s novel She: A History of Adventure.

By the second half of 1940, Sheena was being featured on the cover of Jumbo Comics regularly. And in the spring of 1942, Sheena became the first female character to star in her own comic book in the spin-off series Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. (The first issue of Wonder Woman didn’t appear until later in 1942.)

Around the same time, the baby name Sheena debuted in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1945: 14 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1944: 11 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1943: 9 baby girls named Sheena [debut]
  • 1942: unlisted
  • 1941: unlisted

The next decade, Sheena got her own TV series. Sheena, Queen of the Jungle first aired from 1955 to 1956 and the title character was played by Nellie Elizabeth “Irish” McCalla. The show gave the name a boost in the mid-1950s:

  • 1958: 121 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1957: 163 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1956: 136 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1955: 34 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1954: 20 baby girls named Sheena

The name got another (lesser) boost in the late ’70s with the release of the Ramones song “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” (1977), but it was nothing like the rise that was to come a few years later thanks to Sheena Easton.

What are your thoughts on the name Sheena?

Sources: Sìne – Behind the Name, Eisner and Iger – WillEisner.com, First female character to star in her own comic book | Guinness World Records, SSA
Image from the Digital Comic Museum.

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2016

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

I love that the Social Security Administration releases so much baby name data to the public. But I’ve always had mixed feelings about that 5-baby threshold for inclusion. (Due to privacy concerns, the government doesn’t release names given to fewer than 5 babies per gender, per year.)

Part of me appreciates the threshold. For instance, I like that it adds significance to the pop culture-inspired debut names I’m always posting about, as these names had to hit a certain minimum level of usage in order to register in the data.

But the other part of me? The other part just really, really wants to see those rare/crazy names at the bottom of the list.

So I get excited when I find U.S. data from an official source that does go down to single-instance usage. Up until recently, I only knew about Sonoma County and Los Angeles County, but recently I discovered that Iowa (an entire state!) also releases down-to-1 baby name data. Yay!

But before we get to the rare names, let’s look at the state of Iowa’s top baby names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Olivia, 203 baby girls
2. Emma, 181
3. Charlotte, 158
4. Harper, 156
5. Ava & Evelyn, 148 each (2-way tie)
6. Amelia, 125
7. Nora, 123
8. Sophia, 112
9. Addison, 101
10. Grace, 96

Boy Names
1. Oliver, 197 baby boys
2. Owen, 178
3. William, 174
4. Wyatt, 170
5. Henry, 165
6. Liam, 159
7. Noah, 149
8. Benjamin, 148
9. Jackson, 144
10. Lincoln, 123

  • In the girls’ top 10, Addison and Grace replaced Avery.
  • In the boys’ top 10, Benjamin and Lincoln replaced Mason and Elijah.
  • In 2015, the top two names were Emma and Liam.

(The SSA rankings for Iowa are similar, but not exactly the same. One notable difference on is that the SSA ranks Grayson 10th on the boys list, and puts Lincoln down in 13th.)

And now for the rarities!

Iowa’s website offers interactive baby name usage graphs that include all names bestowed at least once from 2000 to 2016. Here’s a sampling of rare baby names in Iowa (2000-2016 usage):

Girl NamesBoy Names
Arabia (1)
Bishop (1)
Currency (1)
Dream (3)
Eros (1)
Fairy (1)
Gatsby (1)
Heritage (1)
Irish (5)
Jasper (1)
KeyEssence (1)
Lisbon (1)
Michigan (1)
Nirvana (3)
Orchid (1)
PairoDice (1)
Qy (1)
Reminisce (1)
Scully (1)
Tear (1)
Unity (4)
Veruca (1)
Windy (2)
Xanadu (1)
Yawh (1)
Zinnia (1)
Arcade (1)
Banksy (1)
Cactus (1)
Denali (2)
Elvis (18)
Fonzy (1)
Galaxy (1)
Helium (1)
Indigo (2)
Jeep (3)
Kal-El (3)
Lightning (1)
Mowgli (1)
Notorious (1)
Opttimus (1)
Player (1)
Quest (3)
Racer (3)
Sanctify (1)
Tavern (1)
Universe (1)
Vegas (1)
Winner (4)
Xyn (1)
Young-Sky (1)
Zealand (1)

If you decide to dig through the data, leave a comment and let me know what you spot!

And if you’re friends with any expectant parents in Iowa, tell those lucky ducks that they have access to full sets of baby name rankings for their state. Either send them a link to this post or to one of the pages below…

Sources: Top Baby Names – Iowa Department of Public Health, Baby Names Popularity Over Time – Iowa Department of Public Health

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Idaho, 2010

Flag of Idaho
Flag of Idaho

The state of Idaho recently released its 2010 annual report, and the report includes some baby names.

First, here are Idaho’s most popular baby names of 2010. (More or less the same as what SSA has listed for Idaho that year.)

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 122 baby girls
  2. Emma, 103
  3. Sophia, 99
  4. Ava, 88
  5. Abigail, 85
  6. Elizabeth, 83
  7. Emily, 78
  8. Isabella, 77
  9. Ella, 71
  10. Addison & Brooklyn (tie), 65 each

Boy Names

  1. William, 119 baby boys
  2. Samuel, 116
  3. Logan, 115
  4. Ethan, 101
  5. Jacob, 95
  6. Aiden, 92
  7. Mason, 89
  8. Noah, 82
  9. Alexander, 81
  10. James, 79

Now on to the bizarre stuff!

In the report, Idaho included a selection of unique names:

Unique Boy Names (2010)Unique Girl Names (2010)
Bear, Character, Dagger, Freighter, Genghis, Hatchet, Hemi, Ice-T, Jethreaux, Justify, King Tiberius, Laugh, Nightsky, Permisius, Raysyn, Ripken, Saw, Scythe, Skeeter, Sourish, Theory, Truth, W’dbin, Wisdom, ZytareonArrehli, Aoife, Balou, Bronwyn, Dawnlight, Dixi, Espn, Hickory, Kalifornia, Koal, Legacy, Little Noah, Meeka Bella, Mhyrrauzhe, Moneeq, Moserratt, Omolola, Oo, Rootsy, Saphron, Sparkle, Sunset, Tietsie, Virtue, Xoko

Some thoughts:

Since Idaho’s annual reports for 2003-2010 are all available online, lets look at the selections of unique names from years past, shall we?

2009:

Unique Boy Names (2009)Unique Girl Names (2009)
“Champion” Reese, Civic, Cougar, Domonique, Eleven, Evol, Hopper, Huckleberry, Irish, Jah Kobi, Jaxxon, Kastle, K-Den, Major Jack, Nixon, Noall, Oz, Pledger, Reef, Sabyr, Shade, Shadow, Skeet, Taft, ZebedeeArlington, August Star, Beatriz, Byrkli, Charm, Clarixxa, Daiquiri, Fayte, Goldie-Moon, Gyzzelle, Jubilee, Kanyon, Lala, Love, Montana, Nirvana, Pepper, Prairie, Poppy, Soul, Tottie, Tundra, Zipporah

Yes, those quotation marks were included.

2008:

Unique Boy Names (2008)Unique Girl Names (2008)
Adjrick, Andronicus, Arrow, Blazer, Brayke, Buzz, Casino, Chamillionaire, Dacx, Driggs, Gamble, Heman, Klete, Kodiak, Kroten, Krue, Link, Mitt, Pheonix, Ransom, Rodee, Silynce, Summit, ZzyzxAngelic, Beautifull, Boisen, Byainett, Calloway, Celestial, Ecstacy, Eeleceya, Hadies, Heaven, Infiniti, Integrity, Jewleah, Kaskade, Kozmo, Maplejo, Mishalyn, Remmington, Season, Symphony, Thyme, Ugonna, Xerenity, Zepplyn

2007:

Unique Boy Names (2007)Unique Girl Names (2007)
Aodhan, Braestyn, Buell, Champ, Dazryn, Elisjsha, Enveus, Grimsley, Hayze, Holdem, Kamero, Kay-Sin, Khonnerk, Lowgin, Makaijden, Mickyle, Nykolaus, Painter, Praze, Sander, Shadrack, Solo, Space, Tlaloc, TrackinArbor, Auktober, Blessin, Brizzbin, Brookenzie, Cabella, Clarity, Denym, Eos, Epiphany, Honesty, Kwincee, Lavender, Lybburtie, Miami, Modiesty-Star, Mysticque, Peaches, Perfect, Rebel-Ann, Seattle, Shy, Uneike, Vegas, Zoigh

Casino and Gamble in 2008, Holdem and Vegas in 2007…do I detect a pattern here?

2006:

Unique Boy Names (2006)Unique Girl Names (2006)
Akhilles, Backtash, Blend, Bronco, Chalk, College, Colquohn, Daily, Gid, Hampton, Howdy, Jameraquoi, Karona, Lake, Packer, Polo, Razor, Rythmik, Sacramento, Spur, Trask, Tucson, Winn, Wracer, XzavvyerAllyvia, Anakalia, Aptisam, Aveda, Blayde, Bristol, Cedee, Dorcas, Fall, Heziachiah, Kalispell, Klowie, Lexington, Little Summers, Navy, Northstar, Nutaliay Harmoney, Pennilane Meadow, Phaedra, Russia, Tacheranai, Tragen, Tsunami, Viktoriya, Yochabelle

2005:

Unique Boy Names (2005)Unique Girl Names (2005)
Anthem, Ayerik, Candyladio, Cotton, Dodger, Drizzt, Havoc, Izik, Kaschus, Khargo, Kleveland, Kryzstian, Kudter, Lucky, Nickel, Perrigrine, Quirt, Rook, Salad, Snuepy, Tearin, Trapper, Troix, Truth, WesternAlaska, Alpine, Aquilla, Autumn Hunnie, Cascade, Chili, England, Graceland, Happy, Holland, Itali, Juniper, Jynnjer, Kahlua, Khlover, Kronic, Libbertie, Lixy, Mali, Manhattan, Oyuky, Saoirse, Tanaquil, Wyntre, Zipaya

2004:

Unique Boy Names (2004)Unique Girl Names (2004)
Audi, Boulder, Cairo, Carpenter, Catcher, Cohl, Craeton, Fynyxx, Gairimiah, Honniscrave, Kahlvyn, Kaimbridge, Koa, Ledg, Nike, Qwydion, Nation, Racin, Rhoamen, Sagedricht, Stouffer, Stryker, Tayo, Tracer, WongfeiAmericus, Braenwynne, Cachet, Creedance, Fennel, Freedom, Indyana, Innocence, Libertyann, Mavity, McCall, Mem’Ree, Memphis, Octayvia, Olive, Remedy, Sativalyn, Secret-Destiny, Serendipity, Sicily, Sublym, Surreal, Tennessee, Tuesday-Rain, Zuzu

2003:

Unique Boy Names (2003)Unique Girl Names (2003)
Barnaby, Birch, Boone, Bruin, Cage, Camas, Carbon, Coupe, Dooley, Drakeland, Dutch, Future, Gryphon, Hatch, Huckle, Jex, Kross, Kutter, Magnus, Mir, Pantaleon, Tazyn, Treznor, Tugg, TukerAlastrionna, Ambrosia, Amnesty, Berlyn, Brittanica, Calypso, Capreece, Catalina, Celtic, Crimson, Daytona, Diligence, Divinity, Dublin, Hermyanie, Icelynn, Kazpyr, Kezzi, Lotus, Magnolia, Otila, Payshence, Pranaleyadri, Rainger, Starlit

In Idaho’s 2003-2009 annual reports, the heading of the unique names section was “Selected Unique Names, Yewneek Spellings.” For 2010, it was lengthened to “Selected Unique Baby Names, Yewneek Baybee Spellings.” Aren’t these a bit snarky for an official state document…?

Source: Idaho Vital Statistics – Idaho Department of Health and Welfare

Image: Adapted from Flag of Idaho (public domain)

[Latest update: June 2023]