How popular is the baby name Jahiem 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 Jahiem.

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Popularity of the baby name Jahiem


Posts that mention the name Jahiem

What gave the baby name Jaheim a boost in 2001?

Jaheim's album "Ghetto Love" (2001)
Jaheim album

In 2000 — a few years after the emergence of Shyheim — the similar name Jaheim appeared for the first time in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 2003: 552 baby boys named Jaheim [rank: 456th]
  • 2002: 752 baby boys named Jaheim [rank: 356th] – peak usage
  • 2001: 554 baby boys named Jaheim [rank: 437th]
  • 2000: 10 baby boys named Jaheim
  • 1999: unlisted
  • 1998: unlisted

The next year, it saw a massive increase in usage — so big that Jaheim became the fastest-rising boy name of 2001. (The fastest-rising girl name of 2001, incidentally, was the notorious Nevaeh.)

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Jaheim in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Jaheim

The sudden trendiness of Jaheim also gave a boost to several variant spellings, such as…

19992000200120022003
Jaheem59131182115
Jahiem..155*235196
Jyheim..9*77
Jahem..6*96
Jyheem..6*6.
Jahim..5*7.
Jaheam...5*5
Jyhiem...5*.
Jaiheem...5*.
Jaheen...5*.
*Debut

The variant spelling Jahiem debuted so impressively in 2001 that it now ranks as the 9th-highest boy name debut of all time.

So what influenced all these names?

New Jersey-born R&B singer Jaheim (pronounced jah-HEEM) Hoagland — known mononymously as Jaheim — who began releasing music in late 2000.

His first hit songs were “Could It Be,” which peaked at #26 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in March of 2001, and “Anything,” which peaked at #28 in April of 2002.

Interestingly, Jaheim referred to himself as “Jah” in the titles of two of the interludes on his debut album, Ghetto Love (2001). This wasn’t enough to have any impact on the name Jah, though.

What are your thoughts on the name Jaheim? (How would you spell it?)

P.S. Jaheim’s grandfather was soul singer Victor Hoagland, who performed under the name “Hoagy Lands.” (Not to be confused with Hoagy Carmichael…)

Sources: Jaheim – Wikipedia, Jaheim – Billboard, Jaheim biography – AllMusic

Top boy-name debuts of all time in the U.S. baby name data (1-10)

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The final installment of the top baby name debuts for boys!

10 to 1:

Unnamed, #10

Jahiem, #9

  • Jahiem debuted with 155 baby boys in 2001.
    Inspired by R&B singer Jaheim.

Khiry, #8

  • Khiry debuted with 159 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by singer Khiry Abdulsamad, a member of The Boys.

Shyheim, #7

  • Shyheim debuted with 168 baby boys in 1994.
    Inspired by rapper Shyheim.

Cordero, #6

  • Cordero debuted with 173 baby boys in 1986.
    Inspired by Cordero Roberts, a character on the soap opera One Life to Live.

Yurem, #5

  • Yurem debuted with 206 baby boys in 2007.
    Inspired by Yurem Rojas, winner of the reality TV show Buscando a Timbiriche, La Nueva Banda.

Kunta, #4

  • Kunta debuted with 215 baby boys in 1977.
    Inspired by Kunta Kinte, a character on the TV miniseries Roots.

Levar, #3

  • Levar debuted with 523 baby boys in 1977.
    Inspired by LeVar Burton, an actor in the TV miniseries Roots.

Nakia, #2

  • Nakia debuted with 611 baby boys in 1974.
    Inspired by Nakia Parker, a character on the TV movie/show Nakia.

Christop, #1

  • Christop debuted with 1,082 baby boys in 1989.
    Not inspired by anything — just part of the great baby name glitch of 1989.

And there it is! The top boy name debuts ever, so far. Did any of the names this week surprise you?

More of the top 50 baby name debuts for boys: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

[Latest update: 7/2021]

Where did the baby name Caillou come from in 2001?

Caillou from the cartoon "Caillou" (1997-2010)
Caillou

The curious name Caillou first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 2001 with an impressive 35 baby boys, making it the second-highest boy-name debut of the year (after Jahiem).

  • 2003: 24 baby boys named Caillou
  • 2002: 23 baby boys named Caillou
  • 2001: 35 baby boys named Caillou [debut]
  • 2000: unlisted
  • 1999: unlisted

The variant spelling Kaillou also debuted in 2001.

Where did these names come from?

The Canadian cartoon Caillou, which premiered in Canada in the late ’90s, but didn’t start airing in the U.S. until the year 2000.

The show’s main character was a 4-year-old boy named — what else? — Caillou (pronounced KYE-yoo).

The animated program was based on a series of children’s books by author Christine L’Heureux, who said the books were “inspired by the work of French psychoanalyst Dr. Françoise Dolto (1908-1988).”

So where does the word caillou come from?

The word “caillou” in French means pebble, which was used in a ritual created by Dr. Françoise Dolto. Reflecting her philosophy of respect for the child as a person, she asked children to give her pebbles as a symbolic payment for her consultations.

Sources: Your Questions – Chouette Publishing, SSA

P.S. Another cartoon-inspired baby name with a pebble-association? Pebbles. :)

Baby names that debuted most impressively in the U.S. data, 1881 to today

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Though most of the baby names in the SSA’s annual datasets are repeats, each dataset does contain a handful of brand-new names.

Below are the most popular debut names for every single year on record, after the first.

Why bother with an analysis like this? Because debut names often have cool stories behind them, and high-hitting debuts are especially likely to have intriguing explanations tied to historical people/events. So this is more than a list of names — it’s also a list of stories.

Here’s the format: “Girl name(s), number of baby girls; Boy name(s), number of baby boys.” Keep in mind that the raw numbers aren’t too trustworthy for about the first six decades, though. (More on that in a minute.)

  • 1881: Adell & Celeste, 14; Brown & Newell, 14
  • 1882: Verda, 14; Cleve, 13
  • 1883: Laurel, 12; Brady, Festus, Jewell, Odell & Rosco, 8
  • 1884: Crystal & Rubie, 11; Benjamen, Jens, Oakley & Whitney, 9
  • 1885: Clotilde, 13; Arley & Terence, 9
  • 1886: Manuelita, 10; Terrence, 10
  • 1887: Verlie, 13; Myles, 11
  • 1888: Ebba, 18; Carlisle, Hughie & Orvel, 9
  • 1889: Garnett, 12; Doyle, 9
  • 1890: Verena, 11; Eduardo & Maggie, 10
  • 1891: Gayle, Idabelle & Zenia, 9; Sheridan, 14
  • 1892: Astrid, Dallas & Jennett, 9; Corbett, 23
  • 1893: Elmyra, 12; Estel, Mayo, Shelley & Thorwald, 8
  • 1894: Beatriz, Carola & Marrie, 9; Arvel, Erby & Floy, 8
  • 1895: Trilby, 12; Roosevelt, 12
  • 1896: Lotus, 11; Hazen, 11
  • 1897: Dewey, 13; Bryon, Frankie, Mario & Rhoda, 7
  • 1898: Manilla, 35; Hobson, 38
  • 1899: Ardis & Irva, 19; Haven, 9
  • 1900: Luciel, 14; Rosevelt, 20
  • 1901: Venita, 11; Eino, 9
  • 1902: Mercie, 10; Clarnce, 9
  • 1903: Estela, 11; Lenon & Porfirio, 7
  • 1904: Magdaline, 9; Adrain, Arbie, Betty, Desmond, Domenic, Duard, Raul & Severo, 8
  • 1905: Oliver, 9; Eliot & Tyree, 9
  • 1906: Nedra, 11; Domenico & Ryan, 10
  • 1907: Theta, 20; Taft, 16
  • 1908: Pasqualina, 10; Robley, 12
  • 1909: Wilmoth, 9; Randal & Vidal, 9
  • 1920: Dardanella, 23; Steele, 11
  • 1921: Marilynne, 13; Norberto, 14
  • 1922: Evelean, 14; Daren, 35
  • 1923: Nalda, 15; Clinard & Dorland, 9
  • 1924: Charis, 14; Melquiades, 13
  • 1925: Irmalee, 37; Wayburn, 11
  • 1926: Narice, 13; Bibb, 14
  • 1927: Sunya, 14; Bidwell, 14
  • 1928: Joreen, 22; Alfread & Brevard, 9
  • 1929: Jeannene, 25; Donnald, Edsol, Rhys & Wolfgang, 8

(From the SSA: “Note that many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so their names are not included in our data.”)

  • 1990: Isamar, 446; Dajour, 26
  • 1991: Emilce, 30; Quayshaun, 93
  • 1992: Akeiba, 49; Devanta, 41
  • 1993: Rosangelica, 91; Deyonta, 37
  • 1994: Ajee, 185; Shyheim, 168
  • 1995: Yamilex, 130; Alize, 30
  • 1996: Moesha, 426; Quindon, 67
  • 1997: Erykah, 279; Cross, 43
  • 1998: Naidelyn, 78; Zyshonne, 26
  • 1999: Verania, 62; Cauy, 32
  • 2000: Kelis, 108; Rithik, 22
  • 2001: Yaire, 184; Jahiem, 155
  • 2002: Kaydence, 70; Omarian, 31
  • 2003: Trenyce, 88; Pharrell, 67
  • 2004: Eshal, 38; Jkwon, 100
  • 2005: Yarisbel, 30; Jayceon, 48
  • 2006: Lizania, 35; Balian, 24
  • 2007: Leilene, 81; Yurem, 206
  • 2008: Aideliz, 91; Yosgart, 72
  • 2009: Greidys, 186; Jeremih, 87

I’ve already written about some of the names above, and I plan to write about all the others as well…eventually. In the meanwhile, if you want to beat me to it and leave a comment about why Maverick hit in 1957, or why Moesha hit in 1996, feel free!

Source: U.S. SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri