How popular is the baby name Ki 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 Ki.

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Popularity of the baby name Ki


Posts that mention the name Ki

Baby names inspired by the solar eclipse: Helios, Mahina, Blake

Total solar eclipse (August 2017)
Total solar eclipse

On August 21, the United States will see its first coast-to-coast solar eclipse since 1918. If you’re planning to have (or conceive!) a baby around the time of the eclipse, you might be interested in a name that marks the event (but that perhaps isn’t as obvious as Eclipse itself).

So what are your options?

Names with “celestial” associations

A solar eclipse involves the alignment of three celestial bodies — the sun (a star), the moon, and the Earth — in the sky. You could use a name that is associated in some way with one of these elements, such as…

“Sun” names

  • Haru (Japanese)
  • Helios (ancient Greek)
  • Hina (Japanese)
  • Inti (Quechua)
  • Nou (Hmong)
  • Ra (ancient Egyptian)
  • Ravi (Sanskrit)
  • Shams (Arabic)
  • Sol (Spanish & Portuguese, ultimately from Latin)
  • Solaris (Latin)
  • Soleil (French)
  • Sunniva (Old English)
  • Sunny (English)
  • Surya (Sanskrit)

“Star” names

  • Aster (ancient Greek)
  • Astra (based on the ancient Greek word)
  • Citlalli (Nahuatl)
  • Estelle (French)
  • Estrella (Spanish)
  • Hoshi (Japanese)
  • Najm & Najma (Arabic)
  • Seren (Welsh)
  • Star (English)
  • Starla (based on the English word)
  • Stjarna (Icelandic)
  • Stella (Latin)
  • Tähti (Finnish)
  • Tara (Sanskrit)

“Moon” names

  • Aylin (Turkish)
  • Badr (Arabic)
  • Chandra (Sanskrit)
  • Dal (Korean)
  • Dawa (Tibetan)
  • Ilargi (Basque)
  • Luna (Latin)
  • Lusine (Armenian)
  • Mahina (Hawaiian & Tongan)
  • Máni (Icelandic)
  • Metztli (Nahuatl)
  • Moon (English)
  • Qamar (Arabic)
  • Selene (ancient Greek)

“Earth” names

  • Avani (Sanskrit)
  • Bhumi (Sanskrit)
  • Eartha (based on the English word)
  • Gaia (ancient Greek)
  • Ki (Sumerian)
  • Tierra (Spanish)
  • Tlalli (Nahuatl)

“Sky” names

  • Akash (Sanskrit)
  • Alya (Arabic)
  • Anu (Sumerian)
  • Caelus (Latin)
  • Céleste (French)
  • Ciel (French)
  • Cielo (Spanish)
  • Lani (Hawaiian)
  • Ortzi (Basque)
  • Sky (English)
  • Skyla (based on the English word)
  • Sora (Japanese)

You could even look for a name that contains more than one of these elements. I’ve come across a handful of names that happen to contain both an element meaning “sun” and an element meaning “moon,” for instance. Examples include Ravichandra (Sanskrit), Künnei (Yakut), Aygün (Turkish), and Günay (also Turkish).

Names with “dark” associations

The main event, from an Earthling’s perspective, is the darkening of the sun thanks to the moon getting in the way and casting its shadow over us. So you could use a name associated in some way with darkness, such as…

“Shadow” names

  • Chhaya (Sanskrit)
  • Shade (English)
  • Shadow (English)
  • Umbra (Latin)
  • Zalaph (Hebrew)
  • Zillah (Hebrew)

“Dark” or “Black” names

  • Adham (Arabic)
  • Blake (English surname)
  • Charna (Yiddish)
  • Ciar & Ciara (Irish)
  • Ciarán (Irish)
  • Dubhán (Irish)
  • Duff (Irish surname)
  • Jett (English)
  • Kara (Turkish)
  • Krishna (Sanskrit)
  • Melaina (ancient Greek)
    • Melania (Latin, based on melaina)
    • Mélanie (French form of Melania)
  • Raven (English)
  • Sullivan (Irish surname)

“Night” names

  • Layla (Arabic)
  • Nisha (Sanskrit)
  • Njóla (Icelandic)
  • Noctis (Latin)
  • Nox (Latin)
  • Nyx (ancient Greek)
  • Rajani (Sanskrit)
  • Rajnish (Sanskrit)
  • Tuta (Quechua)
  • Yoalli (Nahuatl)

I think Blake and Sullivan are particularly intriguing choices.

The English surname Blake can come from either of two similar Middle English words that happen to have opposite definitions: blac, meaning “black,” or blac, meaning “wan, pale, white, fair.” So it manages to encapsulate the concepts of both darkness and lightness — two key elements of an eclipse.

And the Irish surname Sullivan, “descendant of Súileabhán,” is based on the Gaelic personal name Súileabhán, meaning “little dark eye” — which sounds a lot like a poetic description of an eclipse.

Name pairings with both “celestial” and “dark” associations

You could combine some of the “celestial” and “dark” names above to get something more specific, like…

  • Layla Soleil: “night” and “sun”
  • Jett Helios: “black” and “sun”
  • Ciarán Sol: “black” and “sun”
  • Mélanie Stella: “dark” and “star” (“Dark Star” is also a Grateful Dead song)
  • Luna Zillah: “moon” and “shadow” (“Moon Shadow” is also a Cat Stevens song)

Names (or name pairings) featuring the letters “S” and “E”

This is as inconspicuous as it gets. Commemorate the solar eclipse simply by using the letters “S” and “E” in combination. You could choose a single name that starts with “Se-,” like…

Sela
Selene (“moon” in Greek)
Selma
Seraphina
Seren (“star” in Welsh)
Serenity
Sean
Sebastian
Sefton
Sergio
Seth
Severino

Or, you could use a pair of names that start with “S-” and “E-,” such as…

Sabrina Eden
Sydney Elise
Sarah Evangeline
Susanna Elizabeth
Simon Elijah
Spencer Ellis
Shane Everett
Samuel Edward

Which of the above names (or combos) do you like most? What other solar eclipse-themed ideas would you add to this list?

P.S. Did you know that Cleopatra gave her twins the middle names Selene and Helios?

Update, 5/15/2018: The baby name Eclipse debuted in the 2017 SSA data! The baby name Moon also more than tripled in usage last year.

Update, 12/31/2022: The rare Icelandic name Myrkvi can mean “eclipse” (also “darkness”).

Update, 2/28/2023: Actress Soleil Moon Frye‘s given names mean “sun” and (of course) “moon.”

Sources:

Image: Adapted from 2017 Total Solar Eclipse by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center under CC BY 2.0.

Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2014

Flag of Alberta
Flag of Alberta

According to data from Service Alberta, the most popular baby names in Alberta in 2014 were (again) Olivia and Liam.

Here are Alberta’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2014:

Girl Names

1. Olivia
2. Emma
3. Emily
4. Sophia
5. Ava
6. Isabella
7. Abigail
8. Ella
9. Charlotte
10. Hannah

Boy Names

1. Liam
2. Ethan
3. Benjamin
4. William
5. Logan
6. Noah
7. Jacob
8. Oliver
9. Lucas
10. Carter

In the girls’ top 10, Isabella, Ella, and Hannah replaced Avery, Chloe and Lily.

In the boys’ top 10, Oliver replaced Mason, and Lucas dropped from 2nd to 9th.

A total of “6,110 distinct boy names and 7,409 distinct girl names” were registered last year. Here are some of the more unusual picks:

Unusual Girl NamesUnusual Boy Names
Aafreen, Acadia, Adefolarin, Alimothy, Aluex, Anemone, Angelbert, Athens-Ava, Azhettea, Bandit, Baybee, Borbala, Brisbane, Caylex, Ceroxity, Cersei, Clairity, Cleony, Cyzarine, Daydence, Dazzlin, Ddendyll, Denali, Dibdrisht, Eiffel, Elisapea, Ellyndriel, Ethiopia, Felizity, Finfinne, Gai-Inn, Gnouma, Hattie-Kay, Izna, Iztlixochitl, Jeinezt, Jimiefer, Kestrel, Koblenz, Leiralita, Louange, Maghfira, Maisley, Marshall-Heigl, Melon, Mentallah, Mintge, Morning-Star, Nof, Nomingoo, Phahannah, Qiersteine, Raineeville, Rhadio, Rteel, Schneidine, Selvaria, Serastella, Sixx, Syaffa, Talimia, Thumbelina-Jane, Vando-Vandu, Vermond, Vhia, Via-star, Vimbai, Vinoruveze, Wahpan-ah-chak, ZethandraAlecvander, Agbomk, Arcadian, Arkham, Bellicose, Border, Beowulf, Brenor, Bronxdyn, Cadillac, Clarenziel, Clarksicnarf*, Clench, Cobain, Colt-Wesson, Confucius, Dazareth, Dokter, Drew-Donnelly-Donald, Drizelle, Erbenstan, Eulliejhay, Evanescence, Fteen, Gavisht, Gibson-Rush, Helix, Jaffredson, Kakwa, Kgotso, K’i, KiiyosaahKomapii, Kreydd, Macxinier, Madiba, Markonal, Mavallus, MC-Jerry, McYusef, NorthernSky, Ollivander, Pitch, Qambarali, Quark, Reech, Ricarlisle, Ringo, Seanex**, Shaddix, Soloolo, Spur, Strife, Tenor, Tesla, Thaxter, Theologis, Thrain, Thunderboy, Uel, Uzuvira, Vangelis, Venzuela, Whizkie-Czar, WindyBoy, Xeighdrey, Xyber, Zabartor, Zabit, Zarillious, Zegee

*Clarksicnarf is the combination of Clark (forwards) and Francis (backwards).
**Seanex is very close to Seanix.

Sources: Alberta’s Top Babies Names – Service Alberta, Liam and Olivia top baby names for 2014

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)

How to pronounce Asian names

Yesterday I discovered the “Asian Name Pronunciation Guide,” which was created by California State Polytechnic University (Pomona) to help its students “more accurately pronounce some common Asian first and last names.” What a cool thing for the school to make available.

There are pages for names in Cambodian, Cantonese, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Thai and Vietnamese. Best of all, most pages include audio files of native speakers correctly pronouncing selected names.

Here are all the first names listed:

Cambodian First Names & Pronunciations

  • Bopha, bohpah
  • Chanda, chahndah
  • Chandarith, chahnrit
  • Chhoun, choo-en
  • Dara Khan, dahrah kahn
  • Khan, kahn
  • Kosal, kohsahl
  • Kunthea, kunt-hee-ah
  • Lai, lah-ee
  • Lun Ang, loom-ang
  • Maly, mahlee
  • Map, mahp
  • Moeuk, mew
  • Pean, pee-in
  • Phalla, pahlah
  • Phireak, pee-re
  • Poew, pohew
  • Rith, rit
  • Ry, ree
  • Sarit, sahrit
  • Srey, sray
  • Soas, soo-uh
  • Socheat, sohjee-et
  • Soeun, sew-in
  • Sok, sawk
  • Somally, sawmahlee
  • Sopea, sohpeeah
  • Sophal, sohpahl
  • Sophat, sohpaht
  • Sophea, sohpeeah
  • Sopheap, sohpee-up
  • Suon, soo-in
  • Theary, t-ih-ree
  • Thy, tee
  • Tren, trayng
  • Vanna, wahnah
  • Vannak, wahnak
  • Vantha, wahntah
  • Veng Kim, wayng kum
  • Vuthy, wootee

Cantonese (Chinese) First Names & Pronunciations

  • Chi-Kung, chee-kahng
  • Chi-Man, chee-mahn
  • Ka-Ling, gah-leeng
  • Kok-Wing, kaw-wing
  • Lai-Ying, ly-ying
  • Mei-Yee, may-yee
  • Pui-Pui, puhyee-pahyee
  • Sau-Ha, sow-han
  • Shuk-Yee, suh-yee
  • Sin-Feng, sin-fuhng
  • Siu-Kao, seeyoo-kayoo
  • Tak-Wah, duh-wah
  • Wai-Keung, wy-kuhung
  • Wai-Ling, wy-ling

Filipino First Names & Pronunciations

  • Adelaide, ahdelydah
  • Angelita, ahngheleetah
  • Annal, ahnah
  • Antonio, ahntoneeyo
  • Aunor, awnor
  • Carlo, karlo
  • Catalina, kahtahleena
  • Dakila, dahkeelah
  • Dalisay, dahleesy
  • Diego, deeyaygo
  • Floricel, florreesel
  • Gemma, jemah
  • Guillermo, geelyermo
  • Honesto, ohnesto
  • Irma, irmah
  • Isabel, eesahbel
  • Ligaya, leegahyah
  • Liwayway, leewaiwai
  • Luningning, looningning
  • Lourdes, lordess
  • Magdalena, mahgdahleena
  • Manuel, mahnoowel
  • Maria, mahreeyah
  • Maricar, mahrikahr
  • Miguel, meegel
  • Norma, normah

Indonesian First Names & Pronunciations

Female Names

  • Ade, ada
  • Devi, day (silent y)-vee
  • Dewi, day (silent y)-we
  • Erlin, arleen
  • Fanny, funny
  • Farida, fareeda
  • Glenna, glenna
  • Harjanti, harjantee
  • Hartanti, hartantee
  • Ida, eda
  • Inge, enge
  • Lanny, lunny
  • Leony, leony
  • Liana, leeana
  • Liani, leeanee
  • Ratna, rutna
  • Shinta, shinta
  • Siska, sisca
  • Sri, seri
  • Sucianty, soocianty
  • Susanti, soosantee
  • Utami, utami
  • Vera, vera
  • Verawati, verawatee
  • Veronika, veronica
  • Widya, wedya
  • Widyawati, wedyawati
  • Yanti, yunti
  • Yenny, yenny
  • Yulia, yoolia
  • Yuliana, yooleeana
  • Yuliani, yooleeanee

Male Names

  • Ade, ada
  • Adi, adee
  • Agus, agoos
  • Ari (Ary), ari
  • Bambang, bumbung
  • Benny, banny
  • Budi, boodee
  • Deddy, deddy
  • Djaja (Djaya, Jaya), jaya
  • Doddy, doddy
  • Hadi, hudee
  • Hadian, hudeean
  • Hamdani, hamdani
  • Handoko, handoko
  • Hartono, hartono
  • Hendra, hendra
  • Hendri, hendori
  • Hengki (Hengky), hanki
  • Herman, herman
  • Indra, endra
  • Irwan, erwan
  • Ivan, evan
  • Iwan, ewan
  • Johan, johan
  • Ridwan, ridwan
  • Sonny, sonny
  • Sudirman, soodirman
  • Sudomo, soodoomo
  • Sugiarto, soogiarto
  • Suharto, sooharto
  • Suhendra, soohendra
  • Sukarno, sookarno
  • Suparman, sooparman
  • Surya, soorya
  • Suryadi, sooryadee
  • Susanto, soosanto
  • Teguh, taguh
  • Yandi, yundee
  • Yohanes, yohanes

Japanese First Names & Pronunciations

Female Names

  • Akiko, a-ki-o
  • Etsuko, eh-tsu-ko
  • Hiroko, he-ro-ko
  • Hiromi, he-ro-me
  • Junko, june-ko
  • Kaoru, ka-o-ru
  • Kazuko, ka-zu-ko
  • Keiko, keh-ko
  • Kuniko, koo-ni-ko
  • Kyoko, kyoh-ko
  • Mariko, ma-ri-ko
  • Masako, ma-sa-ko
  • Michiko, me-chi-ko
  • Miho, me-ho
  • Miki, me-ki
  • Miyuki, me-you-ki
  • Naoko, na-o-ko
  • Noriko, no-lee-ko
  • Reiko, reh-ko
  • Sachiko, sa-chi-ko
  • Takako, ta-ka-ko
  • Tomoko, to-mo-ko
  • Yoko, yoh-ko
  • Yoshiko, yo-shi-ko
  • Yuki, you-ki
  • Yumi, you-me
  • Yumiko, you-me-ko

Male Names

  • Akio, a-ki-o
  • Akira, a-ki-ra
  • Hideo, hi-de-o
  • Hiroshi, hi-ro-sih
  • Ichiro, e-chi-roh
  • Junichi, june-e-chi
  • Kazuo, ka-zu-o
  • Kenji, ken-ji
  • Kiyoshi, ki-yo-shi
  • Koichi, ko-e-chi
  • Koji, ko-ji
  • Makoto, ma-ko-toh
  • Osamu, o-sa-mu
  • Shigeru, shi-ge-ru
  • Shinichi, shin-e-chi
  • Shiro, shi-ro
  • Susumu, su-su-mu
  • Tadashi, ta-da-shi
  • Takao, ta-ka-o
  • Takashi, ta-ka-shi
  • Takeo, ta-ke-o
  • Takeshi, ta-ke-shi
  • Toru, toh-ru
  • Tsutomu, tsu-to-mu
  • Yoshio, yo-shi-o
  • Yuji, you-ji
  • Yutaka, you-ta-ka

Korean First Names & Pronunciations

Female Names

  • Eun-A, euna
  • Eun-Hee, eunhee
  • Eun-Ju, eunju
  • Eun-Jung, eunjung
  • Eun-Kyoung, eunkyoung
  • Eun-Mi, eunmi
  • Eun-Su, eunsu
  • Eun-Sun, eunsun
  • Eun-Young, eunyoung
  • Hye-Su, hiesu
  • Hyun-Ja, hyunja
  • Hyun-Ju, hyunju
  • Hyun-Jung, hyunjung
  • Hyun-Young, hiuniung
  • Jin-Sook (Jing-Suk), jinsuk
  • Kun-Sun, keunsun
  • Kyoung-Mi, kyungmi
  • Min-Hee, minhee
  • Min-Hoe, minhoe
  • Min-Jung, minjung
  • Min-Young, miyoung
  • Mi-Kyoung, mikyoung
  • Mi-Sun, misun
  • Mi-Young, miyoung
  • Na-Young, nayoung
  • Sang-Hee, sang/hee
  • Sang-Mi, sangmi
  • So-Young, soyoung
  • Sun-Hee, sunhee
  • Su-Jung, sujung
  • Young-Hee (Yung-Hee), young-hee
  • Young-Ja, youngja
  • Young-Mi, youngmi
  • Yun-Hee, iunhee

Male Names

  • Chang-Ho, changho
  • Chang-Su, changsu
  • Chang-Uk, chang-uk
  • Dong-Min, dongmin
  • Dong-Uk, dong-uk
  • Du-Ho, doho
  • Hyun-Su, hyeonsu
  • In-Ho, inho
  • Jang-Ho, jangho
  • Ja-Hoon, jahoon
  • Jong-Cheol (Jong-Chul), jongchul
  • Jong-Pil, jongpil
  • Jong-Su, jongsu
  • Jung-Hee, jeonghi
  • Jung-Hun (Jung-Hoon), jeonghun
  • Jung-Yeol, jung yeol
  • Ki-Hoon (Ki-Hun), kihun
  • Kwang-Ho, kuangho
  • Man-Su, mansu
  • Min-Ho, minho
  • Min-Ki, minki
  • Min-Kyu, minkiu
  • Min-Su, minsu
  • Sang-Ho, sangho
  • Sang-Ki, sangki
  • Sang-Kyu, sangkiu
  • Sang-Min, sangmin
  • Suk-Chul, sukchul
  • Sung-Uk, sung-uk
  • Yong-Su, youngsu
  • Young-Ho, young-ho
  • Young-Il, young-il
  • Young-Min, youngmin
  • Young-Su, youngsu

Mandarin (Chinese) First Names & Pronunciations

  • Chien, chee-en
  • Chiu, cheeoo
  • Di, dee
  • Du-Wah, doo wah
  • Fah, fah
  • Fong, fong
  • Jinho, rinho
  • Jong, rong
  • Ki, kee
  • Kwai, kwai
  • Lai-Ching, ly ching
  • Len, len
  • Li-Li, lee lee
  • Liang, lee ang
  • Li-Kung, lee kung
  • Lin, lin
  • Ling, ling
  • Li-Sheng, lee sheng
  • Mei, may
  • Riu, ree oo
  • Soon, suhn
  • Sung, sung
  • Wah-Tai, wah tahee
  • Wang, wang
  • Yung-Ling, yung leeng
  • Zhuo-Shing, choh sheeng

Thai First Names & Pronunciations

Female Names

  • Amporn, um-porn
  • Areya, ar-ree-ya
  • Budsaba, bud-sa-ba
  • Chompoo, chom-poo
  • Chompunut, chom-ou-nut
  • Duangrat, duang-rat
  • Intira, in-ti-ra
  • Jutharat, ju-ta-rat
  • Korrakoj, kor-ra-kod
  • Krittiga, krit-ti-ga
  • Nattaporn, nat-ta-porn
  • Nuntida, nun-ti-da
  • Orapan, or-ra-pun
  • Ornanong, on-a-nong
  • Patsaporn, pud-sa-porn
  • Pim, pim
  • Porntip, porn-tip
  • Pradtana, prad-ta-na
  • Premwadee, prem-wa-dee
  • Preyanutch, pre-ya-nut
  • Promporn, prom-porn
  • Sangrawee, sang-ra-wee
  • Sinee, si-nee
  • Sirirat, si-ri-rat
  • Sunisa, su-ni-sa
  • Suttida, soot-ti-da
  • Suwattanee, su-wat-ta-nee
  • Tidarat, to-da-rat
  • Utumporn, au-tum-porn
  • Vipada, wi-pa-da
  • Yada, ya-da

Male Names

  • Adirake, a-di-rake
  • Akkarat, aek-ka-rat
  • Chaowalit, chaow-wa-lit
  • Chayond, cha-yond
  • Chuan, chuan
  • Jettrin, jet-trin
  • Kiettisuk, kiet-ti-suk
  • Kittikorn, kit-ti-korn
  • Krit, krit
  • Ned, nade
  • Niwat, ni-wat
  • Nontawat, non-ta-wat
  • Pairote, pai-rote
  • Paradorn, pa-ra-dorn
  • Petch, petch
  • Pongrit, pong-rit
  • Pracha, pra-cha
  • Prakorb, pra-korb
  • Pramod, pra-mote
  • Prasopchai, pra-soap-chai
  • Sakchai, suk-chai
  • Sarawut, sa-ra-wut
  • Songpole, song-pole
  • Sunya, sun-ya
  • Surat, su-rat
  • Suttipong, sut-ti-pong
  • Thongchai, tong-chai
  • Tuksin, tuk-sin
  • Udom, au-dom
  • Vit, wit
  • Winai, wi-nai
  • Worrawut, wore-ra-wut

Vietnamese First Names & Pronunciations

  • Chi, chee
  • Cuc, kuk
  • Diem, yeeyim
  • Duc, duk
  • Dung, yuhng
  • Duong, yoong
  • Hanh, hahn
  • Ho, hoh
  • Hoa, hwa
  • Hong, howng
  • Hung, huhng
  • Lan, lahn
  • Liem, leeyim
  • Lien, leeyin
  • Loc, lowk
  • Mai, mah-ee
  • Minh, min
  • Nam, nahm
  • Nga, nga
  • Nguyet, nwyit
  • Pham, fam
  • Phu, foo
  • Thi, tee
  • Thien, teeyen
  • Tho, toy or tahoo
  • Thuy, twee
  • Tuan, twahn or twuhn
  • Tuyet, tweeyit
  • Viet, wee-et
  • Xuan, swuhn