How popular is the baby name Miata 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 Miata.

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Popularity of the baby name Miata


Posts that mention the name Miata

Where did the baby name Miata come from in 1989?

Mazda Miata
Mazda Miata

The name Miata appeared in the U.S. baby name data for a little more than a decade, 1989 to 1999, and saw peak usage in the early ’90s:

  • 1993: 19 baby girls named Miata
  • 1992: 17 baby girls named Miata
  • 1991: 25 baby girls named Miata [peak]
  • 1990: 25 baby girls named Miata [peak]
  • 1989: 23 baby girls named Miata [debut]
  • 1988: unlisted
  • 1987: unlisted

The inspiration, of course, was the Mazda MX-5 Miata — a lightweight, two-seat, open-top roadster that was unveiled in February of 1989 and went on sale in the U.S. the following May.

The sporty car became popular right away, with the help of enthusiastic reviews like this one from Car and Driver (Sept. 1989):

With the new Miata, Mazda has brought back the simple, honest sports car we feared had vanished forever. No longer will we gaze in frustration at 1960s movies and their rakish Triumph TR4s and Lotus Elans and MGBs. Mazda has resurrected those barnstorming sports-car times in one spectacular, up-to-date package.

According to one source, the name of the car came from the Old High German word miata, meaning “a reward” or “due amount of praise.” Interestingly, the name was used only in the North American market.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Miata?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Mazda MX-5 ND 2.0 SKYACTIV-G 160 i-ELOOP Side View by Kickaffe (Mario von Berg) under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where did the baby name Capri come from in 1953?

1955 Lincoln Capri Sport Coupe
Lincoln Capri

The Italian island of Capri has been inhabited for millennia, but very few Americans were naming their babies Capri before Ford introduced the Lincoln Capri in the early 1950s:

  • 1955: 6 baby girls named Capri
  • 1954: 5 baby girls named Capri
  • 1953: 7 baby girls named Capri [debut]
  • 1952: unlisted
  • 1951: unlisted

The car was on the market from 1952 to 1959 and, as far as I can tell, it was the very first car-inspired baby name to appear in the data. Since then, many different cars have inspired baby names (e.g., Camry, DeLorean, Miata, Porsche).

These days the name Capri is given to close to 200 baby girls per year, which puts it pretty close to the top 1,000.

The origin of the island name “Capri” isn’t known for certain, but it could be derived from the ancient Greek word kapros, meaning “wild boar,” or from the Latin word capreae, meaning “goats.”

Do you like the name Capri? Would you use it for a baby girl?

Sources: Lincoln Capri – Wikipedia, SSA
Image: Adapted from a 1955 Lincoln Capri magazine ad

Wrangler, the ’80s baby name enigma!

The baby name Wrangler debuted on the U.S. baby name charts in 1987.

So here’s the mystery: What caused the debut? Was the name inspired by Wrangler Jeans, or by the Jeep Wrangler? Or both?

The '80s Baby Name Wrangler - Was it inspired by the jeans or the jeep?

Wrangler Jeans, which have been around since the 1940s, were available in trendy, tight-fitting “designer” styles during the ’80s (just like Jordache, and Gloria Vanderbilt by Murjani). Wrangler commercials from that time period (e.g., 1, 2, 3) all featured the same catchy “live it to the limit in Wrangler” theme song.

The Jeep Wrangler was introduced in 1986. The Jeep Wrangler ads weren’t as eye-catching as the Wrangler Jeans ads, but it’s hard to overlook the correlation between the year the car came out and the year the name debuted, and the fact that new cars with decent names often do inspire baby name debuts (e.g., Chevelle, Allante, Miata).

My opinion? I think both products had some influence here.

A small number babies born prior to 1987 were named Wrangler, and I’m sure a few of them were named with the Jeans in mind. (Favorite example: James Levi Wrangler Dunlap, born in 1984.)

But I think the Jeep Wrangler is what gave the name enough of a boost in 1987 for us to see it on the baby charts.

What do you think?

(Interestingly, the baby name Wrangler was only on the SSA’s list once in the ’80s and a few more times during the ’90s, but it has appeared consistently on the charts since the turn of the century. Its best showing so far was in 2011, with 16 baby boys named Wrangler that year.)

Sources:

Kids named for cars: Porsche, Mercedes, Alfa

Porsche coupe
Porsche

Last month, Joy Lowther of Norfolk, England, went into labor while shopping in a local supermarket. Ten minutes later, she gave birth to a baby girl.

She and her boyfriend decided to name the baby Porsche, as one of their older children is called Mercedes. The other two are Frank* and Alfie — who’s now called Alfa, says Joy, “because the girls are named after cars.”

Joy plans to have one more baby. If it’s a boy, he’ll be called Bentley (a name that’s very trendy in the U.S. right now thanks to reality TV).

Joy didn’t mention what she’d name another baby girl, but I know of a Porsche in Texas who has sisters named Audi and Lexus, so there are two ideas. Another possibility is Cressida, which might be picking up steam soon. Other car names that have been used as girl names include Camry, Jetta, Miata and Kia.

*Poor Frank. He’s the only sibling without a car name.

On that note, here’s a question for you: If you had a bunch of siblings (4+) and all but one of you had a name that fit a pattern, would you want one of the “in” names, or would you rather be the odd one out?

Source: Alfa, Mercedes and now Porsche! (via Abby)

Image: Adapted from 1964 Porsche coupe by Edgy01 under CC BY-SA 3.0.