How popular is the baby name Lightning 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 Lightning.

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Popularity of the baby name Lightning


Posts that mention the name Lightning

Boy names that debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 2021

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Which boy names emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2021 for the first time ever?

Exactly 500 boy names debuted in the data last year, and the most impressive debut was made by Azaire. Here are the other top debuts:

  1. Azaire, 25 baby boys
  2. Gediz, 21
  3. Jeyvier, 15
  4. Damiri, 14
  5. Ripton, 14
  6. Zakius, 13
  7. Kampbell, 12
  8. Biden, 11
  9. Khaizer, 11
  10. Nuta, 11
  11. Shrithik, 11

The name Biden was no doubt inspired by Joe Biden, who was elected president in late 2020.

Some more debuts:

10 baby boysAmaias, Azekial, Howl, Maclen, Oceano, Oleander
9 baby boysAathiran, Atlus, Avyaanreddy, Cymere, Dhamir, Eleo, Ice, Kapree, Kenshi, Kyza, Riftyn, Three, Yankiel
8 baby boysAadrik, Ador, Amirii, Anansi, Aurum, Ayaat, Bucklee, Emerett, Gervonta, Henlee, Hiyaan, Hyndrix, Inzo, Jerzi, Jetzyn, Jhayco, Karlisle, Kyngdom, Ledgend, Maaran, Ovi, Ovin, Rhiatt, Rodas, Sicarii, Svar, Wilden, Yahnis, Yasuke, Yzael, Zeldris

Finally, here’s a sampling of the rest of the debuts:

  • 7 baby boys: Arcturus, Arminius, Brixson, Darlington, Finnin, Habibullah, Jahvani, Kovie, Lobo, Mellow, Neptune, Osaro, Riften, Ropyr, Teghbir, Zagreus
  • 6 baby boys: Anwyll, Cardinal, Debonair, Evansh, Five, Gilber, Huxtin, Jovial, Kalki, Khrome, Koufax, Lightning, Lugh, Minhaj, Niqo, Pure, Rhema, Rizvan, Saturn, Torbjorn, Varenya, Whiskey, Ymir, Zeelan
  • 5 baby boys: Amnon, Benelli, Caique, Costner, Dhev, Endymion, Grit, Haaland, Henzo, Hotchner, Iyah, Jheico, Kazarion, Keeper, Laiku, Maestro, Nyne, Ohtli, Preacher, Quban, Regulus, Sango, Sansar, Science, Tancredi, Wickham, Woodensley, Yester, Yoshiyahu

Zagreus is the main character of the recently released video game Hades.

Haaland goes hand-in-hand with the fast-rising boy name Erling, as they both refer to Norwegian soccer player Erling Haaland (which alex has already noted — thank you!).

I think it’s particularly interesting that several number-names — Three (9), Five (6), and Nyne (5) — popped up last year. I have no idea why, though.

If you can explain any of the above debuts, please leave a comment!

Source: SSA

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

Baby names in the news: Mia, Lilibet, Sonusood

Some recent baby names from the news…

Lilibet Diana: The baby girl born in California in June 2021 to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was named Lilibet Diana — first name inspired by Queen Elizabeth II (whose family nickname is Lilibet), middle name inspired by Diana, Princess of Wales. (NYT)

Mia: A baby girl born in a restroom at Miami International Airport (MIA) in June 2021 was named Mia after her birthplace. (Miami Herald)

Saint Leo and Thunder (Bolt): The twin boys born to Jamaican sprinter Usain St. Leo Bolt and his girlfriend Kasi Bennett sometime during the first half of 2021 were named Saint Leo and Thunder. (Twitter)

Sonusood: A baby boy born in India in late 2020 was named Sonusood in honor of Indian actor Sonu Sood, who has been praised for his humanitarian efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Telugu Bulletin)

Baby names in the news: Betty, Onyx, Olympia

Some recent baby names from the news…

Betty: The baby girl born to actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in October of 2019 was named Betty, as revealed by the recent Taylor Swift song “Betty.” (US Weekly)

Olympia Lightning (Bolt): The baby girl born to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and his girlfriend Kasi Bennett in May was named Olympia Lightning. (Twitter)

Onyx: The baby boy born to rappers Iggy Azalea (real name: Amethyst Kelly) and Playboi Carti (Jordan Carter) earlier this year was named Onyx, which, like mom’s first name, refers to a semi-precious gemstone. (Page Six)

Name quotes #62

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Ready for another batch of name-related quotes gathered from all over the place?

Let’s start with Liberian midwife Alice Sumo:

…[S]he was both surprised and delighted when quickly babies were named after her.

“I said ‘oh wow’ because with some of them I didn’t even know that they had named the baby after me! When you go to the market everybody is called Alice of Alex or Ellis. The last time I counted it was 862 Alices but now it has increased to 1,000 plus!

“To me the name Alice is an action name. Alice people are active people, they are caring people, they are loving people. A, the first letter in the alphabet. A for action.”

From an article about names in Israel by Abigail Klein Leichman:

I figured [Forest Rain’s] parents must have been hippies or Native Americans. In mainstream American culture, it is unusual to name children after elements of nature. How many people do you know named Rainbow, Lightning, Juniper Bush, Boulder, Valley, Oak, Prairie, Wellspring, or Wave?

In Israel, such names are extremely commonplace. If Forest Rain translated her name to Ya’ara Tal, no Israeli would think it exotic in the least. The words mentioned above translate to the everyday Hebrew names Keshet, Barak, Rotem, Sela, Guy, Alon, Bar, Ma’ayan, and Gal.

Another difference is that many modern Israeli names are unisex. You often cannot tell by name alone if someone is male or female. Tal, Gal, Sharon, Noam (pleasant), Shachar (Dawn), Inbar (amber), Inbal (bell), Neta (sapling), Ori (my light), Hadar (splendor), Amit (friend), and myriad other common names are used for either gender.

From an Irish newspaper article about the CSO disregarding fadas in Irish baby names:

The CSO recently unveiled its Baby Names of Ireland visualisation tool recently published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) tool allowing users to check the popularity of names officially registered in Ireland. However, it does not allow for names with the síneadh fada or other diacritical marks that denote pronunciation or meaning.

[…]

“Our language, while having a special status afforded it in the Constitution has been progressively marginalised to the fringes of bureaucracy.

“It behoves the Central Statistics Office above all other institutions to be correct in all matters it reports. This is where historians will first go to research,” [author Rossa Ó Snodaigh] said.

For more quotes about names, check out the name quotes category.