How popular is the baby name Louise in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Louise.
The graph will take a few seconds to load, thanks for your patience. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take nine months.) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.
According to Statistics Greenland, the most popular baby names in the country in 2018 were Inuk & Norsaq (boy names) and Ivaana & Malu (girl names).
The year before, in 2017, the top baby names were Inuk and Pipaluk.
Greenland doesn’t release top-10 lists every year, but does occasionally put out a name report. The most recent, published in mid-2011, includes top-10 lists for five recent decades…
Top Baby Names in Greenland, 1960s
Girl Names (1961-1970)
Boy Names (1961-1970)
1. Ane 2. Marie 3. Karen 4. Sofie 5. Johanne 6. Kristine 7. Margrethe 8. Dorthe 9. Else 10. Anna
1. Hans 2. Jens 3. Karl 4. Lars 5. Peter 6. Niels 7. Ole 8. Kristian 9. Jørgen 10. Johan
Top Baby Names in Greenland, 1970s
Girl Names (1971-1980)
Boy Names (1971-1980)
1. Ane 2. Karen 3. Marie 4. Dorthe 5. Johanne 6. Mette 7. Naja* 8. Susanne 9. Anna 10. Sofie
1. Hans 2. Karl 3. Jens 4. Peter 5. Lars 6. Niels 7. Thomas 8. Jakob 9. Martin 10. Knud
*Naja means “younger sister (of a male)” in Greenlandic.
Top Baby Names in Greenland, 1980s
Girl Names (1981-1990)
Boy Names (1981-1990)
1. Ane 2. Johanne 3. Marie 4. Karen 5. Paninnguaq* 6. Sofie 7. Louise 8. Anna 9. Nivi* 10. Naja
1. Hans 2. Karl 3. Jens 4. Malik* 5. Peter 6. Lars 7. Kristian 8. Ole 9. Thomas 10. Niels
*Paninnguaq means “little daughter,” Nivi means “girl, maiden,” and Malik means “wave.”
Top Baby Names in Greenland, 1990s
Girl Names (1991-2000)
Boy Names (1991-2000)
1. Paninnguaq 2. Ane 3. Nivi 4. Naja 5. Ivalu* 6. Pipaluk* 7. Sofie 8. Sara 9. Marie 10. Camilla
1. Malik 2. Hans 3. Karl 4. Jens 5. Peter 6. Kristian 7. Lars 8. Aputsiaq* 9. Inunnguaq* 10. Nuka*
*Ivalu means “sinew,” Pipaluk means “little possession,” Aputsiaq means “snow flake,” Inunnguaq means “little person/human being,” and Nuka means “younger brother (of a male).”
1. Malik 2. Aputsiaq 3. Minik* 4. Hans 5. Inunnguaq 6. Kristian 7. Nuka 8. Salik* 9. Peter 10. Inuk* and Ivik* (tied)
*Ivaana means “brood egg,” Naasunnguaq means “little flower,” Kimmernaq means “lingonberry,” minik is a glue-like whale oil that is used as a sealing for skin boats, Salik means “the cleanser,” Inuk means “human being” — Inunnguaq from the ’90s list is a diminutive form of Inuk — and Ivik means “(blade of) grass.”
The recent rise of Salik can be traced back to the 1980s:
In the beginning of the ’80s the artist Keld Hansen published a series of children’s books about a boy named Salik, who lived in Greenland in the 1600s. In that same period, Peter Berliner, a psychologist, did a series of radio programs where the main character was named Salik. Statistics Greenland depicted a rise in the number of boys names immediately after that.
The 2011 report includes many other Greenlandic names as well, but I’ll put those into a separate post a few days from now. Until then, which of all the above names do you like best?
P.S. Almost forgot to define Malu and Norsaq from the first sentence! Malu is a short form of Marie-Louise, and a norsaq is a harpoon-throwing stick.
Looking for an off-the-radar J-name for your baby girl? Here’s the latest installment of rare female names collected from very old films (released from the 1910s to the 1940s).
For the names that saw enough usage to register in the U.S. data, I’ve included links to the popularity graphs.
Jacala
Jacala Auehli was a character played by actress Priscilla Dean in the film The Brazen Beauty (1918).
Jacinta
Jacinta was a character played by actress Nanci Price in the film In Gay Madrid (1930).
Jeanne
Jeanne d’Alcy was an actress who appeared in films from the 1890s to the 1900s. She was born in 1865 in France. Her birth name was Charlotte Lucie Marie Adèle Stephanie Adrienne Faës. Jeanne Eagels was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in 1890 in Missouri. Her birth name was Amelia Jean Eagles. Jeanne Aubert was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1960s. She was born in 1900 in France. Jeanne was also a character name in multiple films, including The Phantom’s Secret (1917) and The Flower of the North (1922).
Jesseva
Jesseva was a character played by actress Bobbie Gould in the film The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914).
Jetta
Jetta [pronounced ZHET-eh] Goudal was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1930s. She was born in 1891 in the Netherlands. Her birth name Juliette Henriette Goudeket.
Jinjur
Jinjur was a character played by actress Marie Wayne in the film The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914).
Jinx Jinx Falkenburg was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1940s. She was born in Spain in 1919. Her birth name was Eugenia Lincoln Falkenburg. Jinx was also a character name in the film Juke Box Jenny (1942).
Jonesy
Jonesy was a (female) character name in multiple films, including Hollywood Hotel (1937) and Babes on Broadway (1941).
José
José Collins was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in England in 1887. Her birth name was Josephine Charlotte Collins.
Josephita
Josephita Guerrero was a character played by actress Renée Adorée in the film Tide of Empire (1929).
Josette
Josette Andriot was an actress who appeared in films from the 1900s to the 1910s. She was born in France in 1886. Her birth name was Camille Élisa Andriot. Josette was also a character played by actress Tala Birell in the film Josette (1938).
Josseline
Josseline Gaël was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was born in France in 1917. Her birth name was Jeannine Augustine Jeanne Blanleuil.
My husband and I hung out in New Orleans for about 48 hours in mid-December. It rained almost the entire time, but we still managed to get out and spot a few interesting names!
First, an unexpected food name: Beignet (pron. ben-YAY), which literally means “bump” in French. In terms of food, it’s fried dough with sugar on top. In terms of names, though, it’s been bestowed as a middle at least three times, according to the records I’ve seen. These human Beignets were all girls born in the ’80s and ’90s in Texas and Oklahoma.
We briefly visited the New Orleans Jazz and Jean Lafitte National Historical Parks, where we learned about people like…
Fate Marable, African American jazz pianist/bandleader (“Fate” could be short for Lafayette)
We also learned about various locations, including Atchafalaya.
Speaking of locations…while wandering around the city, we spotted ghost signs for Antoine’s Restaurant (which I mentioned in the Caresse post) and Uneeda Biscuits (I discovered the name “Uneeda” on a trip to Kansas City):
And finally, how about the name “New Orleans” itself? In the records I found dozens, including New Orleans Taylor, a 13-year-old girl living with her family in Louisiana at the time of the 1930 U.S. Census:
Laloe
Laloe Berchmans was a character played by actress Julie Suedo in the film The Woman from China (1930).
Lamentina
Lamentina was a character played by actress Nancy Brown in the film Red Wagon (1933).
Lammchen
Emma “Lammchen” Pinneberg was a character played by actress Margaret Sullavan in the film Little Man, What Now? (1934). Lammchen means “little lamb” in German.
Landra
Landra was a character played by actress June Collyer in the film Revenge at Monte Carlo (1933).
Laraine
Laraine Day was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1960s. She was born in Utah in 1920. Her birth name was La Raine Johnson.
Laurette
Laurette Taylor was an actress who appeared in films in the 1920s. She was born in New York in 1884. Her birth name was Loretta Cooney. Laurette was also a character played by actress Molly Lamont in the film Scared to Death (1947).
Lavolia
Lavolia was a character played by actress Etta McDaniel in the film Magnificent Brute (1936).
Leatrice
Leatrice Joy was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1950s. She was born in Louisiana in 1893. Leatrice Joy Gilbert (Leatrice Joy’s daughter) was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1940s. She was born in California in 1924.
Leontine
Leontine Dranet was an actress who appeared in 2 films in the 1910s. Leontine was also a character name in multiple films, including The Closing Net (1915) and The Shielding Shadow (serial, 1916).
Lita
Lita Grey was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was born in California in 1908. Her birth name was Lillita MacMurray. Lita was also a character name in multiple films, including Bachelor Apartment (1931) and The Girl from Monterrey (1943).
Lorna
Lorna Gray was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was born in Michigan in 1917. Her birth name was Virginia Pound. Lorna was also a character name in multiple films, including Traffic in Souls (1913) and The Butterfly Girl (1921).
Luana
Luana Walters was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was born in California in 1912. Luana Patten was an actress who appeared in films from the 1940s to the 1980s. She was born in California in 1938. Luana was also a character played by actress Dolores del Rio in the film Bird of Paradise (1932).
Lucile
Lucile Watson was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1950s. She was born in Canada in 1879. Lucile Browne was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was born in Tennessee in 1907. Lucile was also a character played by actress Marguerite Snow in the short film Lucile (1912).
Luya
Luya was a character played by actress Edith Roberts in the film Black Cargoes of the South Seas (1928).
Lya
Lya De Putti was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in Austria-Hungary (now Slovakia) in 1897. Her birth name was Amalia Putti.
Looking for an uncommon girl name with a retro feel?