How popular is the baby name Matthew 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 Matthew.

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Popularity of the baby name Matthew


Posts that mention the name Matthew

Where did the baby name Louden come from in 1986?

The character Louden Swain from the movie "Vision Quest" (1985)
Louden Swain from “Vision Quest“

The name Louden first appeared in the U.S. baby name data the mid-1980s:

  • 1988: unlisted
  • 1987: 9 baby boys named Louden
  • 1986: 8 baby boys named Louden [debut]
  • 1985: unlisted
  • 1984: unlisted

What put it there?

The coming-of-age movie Vision Quest (1985), which told the story of amateur wrestler Louden Swain.

Louden Swain (played by actor Matthew Modine) was a high school senior in Spokane. He had two goals: to quickly lose 23 pounds so that he could wrestle undefeated Washington state champion Brian Shute (played by Frank Jasper), and to win the affections of an older woman named Carla (played by Linda Fiorentino).

The title of the film is a reference to the Native American “vision quest” — a rite of passage undertaken by adolescent boys that involved (among other things) a period of fasting.

The movie was based on the 1979 novel of the same name by author Terry Davis.

What are your thoughts on the name Louden?

P.S. Did you know that pop singer Madonna made her first movie appearance in Vision Quest? She played a singer at a local bar. The music video for her song “Crazy for You” [vid] features clips of the film.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Vision Quest

Popular baby names in Gibraltar, 2022

Flag of Gibraltar
Flag of Gibraltar

The British overseas territory of Gibraltar is a narrow peninsula jutting out from the southern coast of Spain.

Though the official language of Gibraltar is English, most Gibraltarians also speak Spanish. (In fact, the mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English spoken by locals has its own name: Llanito.)

Last year, Gibraltar welcomed 364 babies — “almost a baby for every day of 2022.” There were 179 baby girls and 185 baby boys.

And what were the most popular names among these babies? Sienna and Elijah/Leo (tie).

Here are Gibraltar’s top girl names and top boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Sienna, 6 baby girls
  2. Ava and Lucia, 5 each (tie)
  3. Emily, Isabella, and Valentina, 4 each (3-way tie)
  4. Amelia, Chloe, Isla, Lauren, and Lily, 3 each (5-way tie)
  5. Charlotte, Eliza, Elsie, Gabriella, India, Luna, Mia, Robyn, Sophie, Thalia, and Tiana, 2 each (11-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Elijah and Leo, 5 baby boys each (tie)
  2. Noah, Oliver, Theo, and Thomas, 4 each (4-way tie)
  3. Jamie, Lewis, Lucas, and Thiago, 3 each (4-way tie)
  4. Amir, Arthur, Erik, Freddie, Gabriel, Hugo, Isaac, Jack, Jacob, James, Jason, Joseph, Kai, Liam, Logan, Louie, Luca, Mason, Matthew, Niall, Nico, Ryan, Theodore, and Zayn, 2 each (24-way tie)

The rest of the names were each bestowed once. (Except for Riley, which was bestowed twice overall — once for each gender.)

Unique girl names (120)Unique boy names (93)
Ada, Adeline, Adelyn, Ahriella, Alba, Alessandra, Alis, Alisha, Aliyanna, Alona, Amaya, Amelie-Rae, Amira, Ana, Andie, Anna, Aoife, April, Arabella, Ari, Aria, Ariana, Arianna, Arieya, Aris, Aubrey, Avery, Cali, Callie, Celeste, Cipbelynn, Cora, Daisy, Daisy-Ray, Dayana, Elise, Ellen, Emma, Esme, Estella, Evelyn, Fae, Farah, Faye, Fern, Florence, Haley, Harlequin, Hayley, Ines, Jessie, Josephine, Josie, Julia, Kairo, Kennan, Kian, Killian, Kyel, Kylo, Kate, Katie, Kyla, Kythea, Layan, Layla, Leah, Leticia, Lina, Lottie, Maeva, Maia, Manuela, Margaret, Margot, Mariam, Matilde, Maya, Mayra, Melianne, Mila, Millie, Molly, Neriah, Nora, Nylah-Mae, Poppy, Presley, Quinn, Radhika, Raya, Renaelia, Rhianne, Riley, Roeeya, Rose, Ruby, Rumi, Sara, Savannah, Selina, Shannah, Siera, Snow, Sophia, Stella, Summer, Talia, Tasnim, Thea, Tillie, Willow, Winter, Yael, Yara, Yasmin, Yui, Zahra, Zaphyr, ZoeAbdurhman, Abel, Airam, Alaa, Alfie, Alfred, Andrei, Anthony, Archie, Ariel, Asher, Ashton, Austin, Axton, Bear, Benas, Bowie, Bradley, Cairo, Carlos, Charlie, Cody, Crislee, Dante, Domenico, Dominic, Dylan, Elias, Elis, Emilian, Emilio, Ethan, Evan, Finley, Frankie, Gary, Gian, Graham, Haroun, Henry, Hudson, Imram, Iyad, Jake, Jax, Jay, Jayce, Jayden, Jesse, Jonah, Joud, Leigh, Louis, Luis, Luke, Manuel, Marco, Mattia, Maxwell, Michael, Millel, Nassim, Nathan, Neo, Nicholas, Nicolas, Nilan, Noa, Nuveshshing, Nyan, Nyle, Oscar, Otis, Otto, Ray, Rayan, Remy, Riley, Rocco, Romeo, Samy, Scott, Sebastian, Shane, Stephen, Teo, Tommy, Tyler, Wael, Yaqub, Zachary, Zack, Zuhayr

Finally, here are Gibraltar’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. Did you know that John Lennon and Yoko Ono got married in Gibraltar in March of 1969?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Gibraltar (public domain)

Popular baby names in the Philippines, 2021

Flag of the Philippines
Flag of the Philippines

The Philippines — the 13th most populous country in the world — is an archipelago of thousands of islands located in the western Pacific Ocean.

In 2021, the Philippines welcomed 1,364,739 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Althea and Jacob.

Here are the Philippines’ top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2021:

Girl names

  1. Althea, 1,875 baby girls
  2. Angel, 1,301
  3. Samantha, 1,280
  4. Sophia, 989
  5. Sofia, 988
  6. Andrea, 969
  7. Nathalie, 964
  8. Princess, 959
  9. Angela, 929
  10. Chloe, 907

Boy names

  1. Jacob, 1,972 baby boys
  2. Nathaniel, 1,845
  3. Gabriel, 1,679
  4. Ezekiel, 1,455
  5. Nathan, 1,429
  6. Ethan, 1,289
  7. Angelo, 1,135
  8. James, 1,122
  9. Matthew, 998
  10. Zion, 986

In the girls’ top 10, Chloe replaced Jasmine.

In the boy’s top 10, Matthew and Zion replaced Joshua and Kyle.

Althea has been the top girl name for six years in a row now.

Jacob ranked #1 in 2020, but was third in 2018. (I haven’t found the data for 2019 yet.)

Sources: Most Common Baby Names of 2021 – Philippine Statistics Authority (PDF), Registered Live Births in the Philippines, 2021 – Philippine Statistics Authority, Philippines – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of the Philippines (public domain)

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2022

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Northern Ireland may be located on the island of Ireland, but it’s been part of the United Kingdom (along with Scotland, England, and Wales — all of which are located on the next-door island of Great Britain) since 1921.

Last year, Northern Ireland welcomed 20,929 babies — 10,242 girls and 10,687 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Grace and James.

Here are the Northern Ireland’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Grace, 168 baby girls
  2. Emily, 152
  3. Fiadh, 148 – pronounced FEE-a
  4. Olivia, 141
  5. Isla, 118
  6. Aoife, 113 – pronounced EE-fa
  7. Lily, 110
  8. Annie, 97
  9. Evie, 94 (tie)
  10. Freya, 94 (tie)
  11. Amelia, 91
  12. Ella, 88
  13. Charlotte, 87
  14. Ava, 84 (tie)
  15. Sophia, 84 (tie)
  16. Anna, 80 (tie)
  17. Erin, 80 (tie)
  18. Eabha, 74 – pronounced EY-va
  19. Katie, 72 (tie)
  20. Ruby, 72 (tie)
  21. Maisie, 71 (tie)
  22. Sophie, 71 (tie)
  23. Lucy, 70
  24. Ellie, 69
  25. Aria, 65
  26. Niamh, 64 – pronounced neev or NEE-iv
  27. Molly, 59 (tie)
  28. Rosie, 59 (tie)
  29. Clodagh, 57 (tie) – pronounced KLOH-da
  30. Mia, 57 (tie)
  31. Hannah, 56
  32. Meabh, 55 (tie) – pronounced mayv
  33. Willow, 55 (tie)
  34. Elsie, 54
  35. Cora, 52 (tie)
  36. Phoebe, 52 (tie)
  37. Ada, 51
  38. Bonnie, 49 (tie)
  39. Isabella, 49 (tie)
  40. Eva, 48 (4-way tie)
  41. Georgia, 48 (4-way tie)
  42. Ivy, 48 (4-way tie)
  43. Sadie, 48 (4-way tie)
  44. Cara, 47 (tie)
  45. Harper, 47 (tie)
  46. Emma, 46 (tie)
  47. Zara, 46 (tie)
  48. Chloe, 45 (tie)
  49. Rose, 45 (tie)
  50. Poppy, 44 (tie)
  51. Saoirse, 44 (tie) – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha

Boy Names

  1. James, 175 baby boys
  2. Jack, 169
  3. Noah, 146
  4. Theo, 132
  5. Charlie, 131
  6. Oliver, 123
  7. Oisin, 119 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  8. Harry, 118
  9. Cillian, 111 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  10. Thomas, 107
  11. Leo, 106
  12. Finn, 98
  13. Tommy, 97
  14. Daniel, 90
  15. Alfie, 87
  16. Luca, 83
  17. Freddie, 81
  18. Arthur, 80
  19. Jacob, 79
  20. Jude, 77
  21. Luke, 74 (tie)
  22. Ollie, 74 (tie)
  23. Caleb, 72 (tie)
  24. Ronan, 72 (tie)
  25. Ethan, 69
  26. Darragh, 67
  27. Shea, 65
  28. Rory, 64
  29. Archie, 63 (tie)
  30. Joshua, 63 (tie)
  31. Adam, 62 (3-way tie)
  32. Jonah, 62 (3-way tie)
  33. Matthew, 62 (3-way tie)
  34. Daithi, 61 – pronounced DAH-hee
  35. Ezra, 60 (3-way tie)
  36. Michael, 60 (3-way tie)
  37. Odhran, 60 (3-way tie) – pronounced OH-rawn
  38. George, 59
  39. Reuben, 58
  40. Henry, 57 (4-way tie)
  41. Isaac, 57 (4-way tie)
  42. Logan, 57 (4-way tie)
  43. Teddy, 57 (4-way tie)
  44. Jake, 55 (tie)
  45. Max, 55 (tie)
  46. Mason, 54
  47. Alexander, 53
  48. Conan, 52 (3-way tie)
  49. Conor, 52 (3-way tie)
  50. Joseph, 52 (3-way tie)

The fastest-rising names in the girls’ top 100 were Pippa, Nevaeh, Lucia, Croia, and Maeve.

The fastest-rising names in the boy’s top 100 were Hugo, Luca, Hudson, Rian, and Nathan.

Northern Ireland’s data technically only goes down to names given to 3 babies, but it also includes all the other names — they just aren’t labeled with a “2” or a “1.” In the data for 2020 and 2021, these rare names were separated into two alphabetized lists, so I could guess which list contained the single-use names. In the data for 2022, however, the double- and single-use names were mixed together. So, this time around, I can only offer you a selection of the country’s uncommon (as opposed to unique) baby names:

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Aeza, Banba/Banbha, Brilliana, Cobhlaith, Della, Eilish, Faoiltiarna, Glencia, Hetty, Israella, Jersey, Kevia, Lilium, Marcy, Neansai, Orlaithi, Prim, Rhaenyra, Simona, Tiggy, Una, Yvonne, ZuzuAlvie, Bonyo, Caolach, Dubhaltach, Evenezer, Fazza, Ghyth, Hamish, Igor, Jivko, Kylian, Lughaidh, Maui, Norrin, Olcan, Plunkett, Rupert, Selkie, Tuathal, Ugnius, Vivaan, Windsor, Yaurik, Zeki

Some explanations/associations for a few of the above…

  • Banba – a goddess in Irish mythology.
    • Banbha – the modern spelling of Banba.
  • Faoiltiarna – an Irish name made up of the elements faol, “wolf,” and tighearna, “lord.”
  • Olcan – a 5th-century Irish saint associated with the village of Armoy in County Antrim.
  • Rhaenyra – a character from the TV series House of the Dragon (a prequel to Game of Thrones).
  • Selkie – a seal/human shapeshifter in Celtic (as well as Norse) mythology.

Finally, let’s take a look at middle names. About 86% of the girls and 89% of the boys born in Northern Ireland last year were given at least one middle name. The middles chosen most often were…

  • Rose, Grace, Elizabeth, Mary, and Marie (for girls), and
  • James, John, Patrick, Michael, and Thomas (for boys).

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing more Irish name pronunciations, just click that link.

Sources: Baby Names 2022 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Northern Ireland – Wikipedia, Faoiltiarna – Oxford Reference

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)