How popular is the baby name Linux 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 Linux.

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Popularity of the baby name Linux


Posts that mention the name Linux

Popular baby names in Austin (Texas), 2017

Flag of Texas
Flag of Texas

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a set of baby name data for Austin, Texas, for the year 2017. While it isn’t current, it does seem to be complete — so it includes hundreds of rare and single-use names (which are always fascinating!).

The data accounts for nearly 19,900 births (9,733 girls and 10,163 boys), and features nearly 6,100 names (3,431 given to girls, 2,656 given to boys).

According to this data, which comes from the City of Austin’s Open Data Portal, the top baby names in the capital of Texas five years ago were Emma and James.

Here are Austin’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 98 baby girls
  2. Isabella, 88
  3. Olivia, 84
  4. Mia, 81
  5. Evelyn, 77
  6. Sophia, 75
  7. Ava, 73
  8. Abigail, 59 (tie)
  9. Charlotte, 59 (tie)
  10. Emily, 58
  11. Camila, 56 (tie)
  12. Elizabeth, 56 (tie)
  13. Harper, 53
  14. Amelia, 52
  15. Penelope, 51 (tie)
  16. Sofia, 51 (tie)
  17. Scarlett, 46
  18. Ella, 45
  19. Avery, 43 (tie)
  20. Zoe, 43 (tie)
  21. Lillian, 41
  22. Layla, 40 (tie)
  23. Madison, 40 (tie)
  24. Eleanor, 39
  25. Victoria, 38
  26. Allison, 37
  27. Claire, 36 (3-way tie)
  28. Elena, 36 (3-way tie)
  29. Luna, 36 (3-way tie)
  30. Aria, 35 (tie)
  31. Chloe, 35 (tie)
  32. Ellie, 34 (tie)
  33. Katherine, 34 (tie)
  34. Samantha, 33
  35. Hannah, 30 (4-way tie)
  36. Hazel, 30 (4-way tie)
  37. Mila, 30 (4-way tie)
  38. Stella, 30 (4-way tie)
  39. Leah, 29
  40. Cora, 28 (5-way tie)
  41. Genesis, 28 (5-way tie)
  42. Grace, 28 (5-way tie)
  43. Natalie, 28 (5-way tie)
  44. Ximena, 28 (5-way tie)
  45. Clara, 27 (3-way tie)
  46. Eliana, 27 (3-way tie)
  47. Ruby, 27 (3-way tie)
  48. Audrey, 26 (tie)
  49. Sarah, 26 (tie)
  50. Alexa, 25 (3-way tie)
  51. Everly, 25 (3-way tie)
  52. Lily, 25 (3-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. James, 104 baby boys
  2. Noah, 85
  3. Daniel, 83
  4. Benjamin, 82
  5. William, 80
  6. Oliver, 75
  7. Liam, 74
  8. Alexander, 73
  9. Sebastian, 70
  10. Henry, 67
  11. Elijah, 66 (tie)
  12. Mateo, 66 (tie)
  13. Ethan, 65
  14. Jackson, 63
  15. Anthony, 61
  16. Jacob, 60
  17. Aiden, 59 (tie)
  18. Luke, 59 (tie)
  19. David, 58 (tie)
  20. Samuel, 58 (tie)
  21. John, 56
  22. Isaac, 55 (tie)
  23. Julian, 55 (tie)
  24. Michael, 54
  25. Charles, 53 (3-way tie)
  26. Jack, 53 (3-way tie)
  27. Matthew, 53 (3-way tie)
  28. Jose, 52 (tie)
  29. Joshua, 52 (tie)
  30. Wyatt, 50
  31. Aaron, 49 (4-way tie)
  32. Grayson, 49 (4-way tie)
  33. Joseph, 49 (4-way tie)
  34. Levi, 49 (4-way tie)
  35. Dylan, 48
  36. Hudson, 47
  37. Josiah, 46 (3-way tie)
  38. Logan, 46 (3-way tie)
  39. Santiago, 46 (3-way tie)
  40. Jayden, 45
  41. Nathan, 44
  42. Christopher, 43 (tie)
  43. Thomas, 43 (tie)
  44. Andrew, 42 (4-way tie)
  45. Gabriel, 42 (4-way tie)
  46. Luis, 42 (4-way tie)
  47. Owen, 42 (4-way tie)
  48. Lucas, 41
  49. Adrian, 40 (3-way tie)
  50. Axel, 40 (3-way tie)
  51. Christian, 40 (3-way tie)

On the girls’ list, Allison caught my eye. It ranked 26th in Austin in 2017, but 61st nationally the same year. Interesting.

Further down on the boys’ list was Austin itself, in 95th place — vs. 75th nationally — with 21 baby boys. Much further down was Texas, with 2 baby boys.

And now it’s time for the unique names!

One-of-a-kind names were given to 24% of the baby girls and 17% of the baby boys born in Austin in 2017. Here’s a sampling of the names that were bestowed just once:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Aubrion, Autry, Blue Jay, Cadeau, Ceiba, Dulceluna, Eeriemoon, Fiza, Gilana, Holleen, Itzigueri, Jill, Kasleen, Lillabee, L’Oreal, Mauzie, Millioni, Nincye, Nobelina, Orchid, Princess Plethora, Qiwei, Roshnee, Scepter, Shanze, Thais, Tsumugi, Umutoni, Vyga, Wengiel, Xyzla, Ynafets, ZieglindAshton Alchimist, Bruges, Cayenne, Dalbus, Eames, Fenghua, Ganesh, Getsai, Hackett, Itzae, Jizael, Kavelli Kaine, Linnaeus, Linux, Mazoree, Mistral, Naranna, Nimbus, Olince, Penn, Qhing, Rigveda, Shooter, Syphax, Tavoric, Templar, Urfan, Vetri, Wajahat, Xavi, Yoonbin, Zaxton

Some possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:

  • Cadeau is the French word for “present, gift.”
  • Ceiba is a type of tree.
  • Tsumugi Shirogane is a character from the 2017 video game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
  • Ynafets is “Stefany” spelled backwards.
  • Bruges is the capital of West Flanders (a province of Belgium).
  • Mistral is a strong late-winter wind in southern France.
  • The Rigveda is a sacred Hindu text.

I’ve never posted rankings for Austin before, but I have posted rankings recently for two nearby Texas cities: Houston (which is more than twice the size of Austin, population-wise) and College Station (which is about an eighth of the size of Austin).

Sources: From Aadhav to Zyva: 6,087 Names of Babies Born in Austin in 2017 | Open Data | City of Austin Texas, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Texas (public domain)

The top girl-name debuts of 2016

lotus bud

Movie-inspired Rey was the girl name that debuted most impressively on the U.S. charts in 2016.

In order for a rare baby name to debut on the Social Security Administration’s annual baby name list, it has to be given to at least 5 babies of either one gender or the other within a given year.

Of all the girl names that debuted in 2016, the following were the most popular:

1. Rey, 63 baby girls
2. Khelani, 29
3. Yurany, 18
4. Eretria, 17
5. Cirilla, 16
6. Mehlani, 16
7. Osinachi, 16
8. Ahitana, 14
9. Iselis, 14
10. Shivanya, 13

Other girl names that debuted were Hathaway, Dashly, Thatcher, Riverly, Wrenlee, Skaii, Yaz, Zyva, Furiosa, Kylo, Lagertha, Brilliance, Finely, Liss, Million, Tafari, Amaranth, Artist, Blessence, Caliber, Ceridwen, Curie, Flourish, Linux, Pryor, Versailles, and Veruca.

Where do these names come from? Here are a few explanations:

  • Rey – from the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
  • Khelani – variant of Kehlani, last year’s top debut name.
  • Eretria – from the TV show The Shannara Chronicles.
  • Cirilla – from the video game The Witcher.
  • Iselis – from the reality TV show Gran Hermano (USA version).
  • Shivanya – from the TV show Naagin.
  • Furiosa – from the movie Mad Max.

Can you come up with explanations for any of the others?

Here are the top girl name debuts of 2015.

Source: SSA

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

Have babies been named Linux?

Tux the penguin, the Linux mascot
Tux the Linux mascot

In August of 2008, a couple in Sweden named their baby boy Linux after the open-source operating system.

Linux’s dad said that “[t]he reaction from family and friends has been positive — they all like it. Our families think it’s a bit of an unusual name but still a nice one, and our friends like it because it sounds cool!”

He announced the name to fellow Linux users that October, asking community members to send along “any stuff with the name Linux on [it], like stickers, pens, and so on” that they could spare.

The baby name Linux is also being used in the U.S these days:

  • 2015: 6 baby boys named Linux
  • 2014: unlisted
  • 2013: 8 baby boys named Linux
  • 2012: 5 baby boys named Linux [debut]
  • 2011: unlisted

The operating system was created by Finnish software engineer Linus Torvalds. “Linux,” which Torvalds pronounces LEE-nux, is a portmanteau of Linus and Unix (the name of an earlier operating system).

What do you think of the name Linux? Do you like it more or less than Linus?

Update, 5/13/2017: Linux debuted as a girl name in the U.S. baby name data in 2016!

Sources: A baby named Linux – Linux.com, SSA
Image: Tux by Larry Ewing under CC0 1.0.

10 Technology-inspired baby names like “Like”

Facebook "Like"

A few months ago, PCWorld published a list of 10 tech-inspired baby names better than Like.

I thought I’d compile a similar list, but go in the opposite direction. So below are ten real-life, headline-grabbing, tech-inspired names just like Like.

Starting, of course, with Like:

Like

An Israeli baby girl was named Like after the Facebook “Like Button” in 2011. (Go like baby Like, if you like!)

Facebook

A Egyptian baby girl was named Facebook after the social networking site Facebook in 2011.

Google

A Swedish baby boy was named Google after the search engine Google in 2005.

[I’ve never blogged about this one before, surprisingly. Oliver Google Kai was born on September 12, 2005, in Kalmar, Sweden, to Dr. Walid Elias Kai (who is Lebanese) and his wife Carol (who is Swedish). Google’s response: “We wish him long life and good health, and hope his schoolmates aren’t too hard on him.”]

@

A Chinese baby boy was possibly named @ after the “at” symbol found in e-mail addresses in 2007. (The name may or may not have been approved by the Chinese government.)

Vista

A Canadian baby girl was named Vista after the Windows Vista operating system in 2007.

2.0

An American baby boy was named Jon Blake Cusack 2.0 — 2.0 in place of a more traditional suffix, like II or Jr. — in 2004.

Annanova

A Dutch baby girl was named Annanova after virtual newscaster Ananova in 2000.

Iuma

A handful of babies from various countries were named Iuma as part of the Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA) baby naming contest in 2000.

Linux

The name Linux debuted in the U.S. baby name data in the early 2010s.

Dovahkiin

An American baby boy was named Dovahkiin after a video game character just a few days ago. (Other video game baby names include Zelda and Rinoa)

For less-crazy tech-inspired names, try PCWorld’s list, or try my namestorms for internet lovers and/or computer lovers.

Update, 1/2014: Here’s another tech-related name — an American baby girl has been named Tali’Zorah after a video game character.