How popular is the baby name Nellie 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 Nellie.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Nellie


Posts that Mention the Name Nellie

Babies Named for Sailing Ships (C)

The people below were born aboard — and named after! — ships with C-names…

  • Caduceus:
    • John Caduceus Mason, born in 1869
    • Pauline Caduceus Pyne, born in 1871
    • Amy Caduceus Ward, born in 1871
  • Calabria:
    • Sarah Elizabeth Calabria Marsden, born in 1874
  • Caledonia:
    • William Caledonia Lowe, born in 1870
    • Jane Caledonia Morrison, born in 1870
    • James Caledonia Terrie, born in 1871
    • Muhelina Caledonia Cardone, born in 1888
  • California:
    • Craig California McGinley, born in 1872
    • Sarah California Boettcher, born in 1877
  • Calliance:
    • William James Calliance Potter, born in 1861
  • Cambodia:
    • Mary Cambodia Pocock, born in 1884
    • Ellen Cambodia Goldthorp, born in 1884
    • Emma Cambodia Gascoigne, born in 1884
  • Cambria:
    • Cambria Wallace Milne, born in 1880
  • Cambrian:
    • Henry Cambrian Bouchier, born in 1863
  • Camorta:
    • John Camorta Bleney, born in 1882
  • Camperdown:
    • Ellen Duncan Camperdown Woods, born in 1876
  • Canada:
    • Amelia Canada Scrivens, born in 1857
    • Mary Canada Furlong, born in 1883
  • Canara:
    • Canara Iunatum, born in 1880
  • Canterbury:
    • Canterbury C. Purdon, born in 1863
  • Cardigan Castle:
    • Cardigan Petersen, born in 1873
  • Carisbrooke Castle:
    • Ellen Carisbrooke Haslett, born in 1875
    • Phoebe Carisbrooke Fleming, born in 1875
  • Carnatic:
    • Elizabeth Ann Carnatic Bowler, born in 1873
    • Agnes Carnatic Keen, born in 1875
    • Maria Carnatic Gauser, born in1880
    • Amy Carnatic Collins, born in 1880
    • David Carnatic Robinson, born in 1880
  • Carrick Castle:
    • Carrick Beatrix Hagerty, born in 1874
  • Cartrale:
    • Arthur Taylor Cartrale Smith, born in 1874
  • Cartsburn:
    • M. B. Cartsburn Watt, born in 1874
    • Cartsburn Baxter, born in 1874
    • A. C. Cartsburn Sloan, born in 1874
  • Caspian:
    • William Caspian Downham, born in 1877
  • Castalia:
    • Castalia Marchesa, born in 1879
  • Catalonia:
    • Gurnod Catalonius Sjoberg, born in 1886
  • Cedric The Saxon:
    • Frank Cedric McNair, born in 1885
  • Cephalonia:
    • Cephalonia Charles Jones, born in 1883
    • Henrietta Cephalonia Colman, born in 1885
    • Cephalonia Brook, born in 1886
  • Ceylon:
    • Archie Ceylon Randle, born in 1885
  • Chalmers:
    • Henry Richard Chalmers Charles Bainton, born in 1859
  • Charles Cox:
    • Carlotta Graham Cox, born in 1878
  • Charlwood:
    • Bertram Charlwood Hiscocks, born in 1881
  • Cheops:
    • Cheops Garthwaite, born in 1874
  • Chimborazo:
    • Daniel Chimborazo Dineen, born in 1879
  • China:
    • George China Ward, born in 1876
  • Chollerton:
    • Robert Chollerton Shepherd, born in 1887
    • Ellen Chollerton Blackwell, born in 1887
    • Gertrude Chollerton Archer, born in 1887
  • Christian McAusland:
    • William Taylor McAusland Nelson, born in 1875
  • Chyebassa:
    • Chyebassa Best, born in 1881
    • Chybasse Pettitgean, born in 1884
    • Godfrey Chyebassa Svensson, born in 1885
    • Chyebassa Lowe, born in 1887
  • Cilla:
    • Cillarius Gustav Guttinger, born in 1865
  • Circassia:
    • Circassia Wray Barrett, born in 1880
  • Cissy:
    • Cisseillia Naughton, born in 1867
  • City of Agra:
    • Marie Florence Agra Tyrell, born in 1876
    • Samson Agra Hay, born in 1877
  • City of Auckland:
    • Jane Auckland Pearce, born in 1872
    • Harry Auckland Wood, born in 1872
  • City of Baltimore:
    • Charlotte Baltimore Hadfield, born in 1856
  • City of Benares:
    • Fanny Benares Casson, born in 1874
  • City of Berlin:
    • James Berlin Felix Gerola, born in 1881
    • Adelaide Berlina Mathews, born in 1881
  • City of Brussels:
    • Timothy Brussels Hogan, born in 1880
    • Charles Brussels Arthur, born in 1880
  • City of Chester:
    • Wilhilmene Lewis Chester Andersson, born in 1887
  • City of Durham:
    • Patrick Durham Hickey, born in 1868
  • City of Montreal:
    • Fanny Lund Montreal Massey, born in 1881
  • City of Nankin:
    • Christina Nankin McLean, born in 1880
  • City of Rome:
    • Rose Roma Monro Colman, born in 1884
    • Romulus Johnson, born in 1884
    • Kate Roma Oliver, born in 1885
  • Clairellen:
    • Clairellen Ada Shepherd, born in 1873
  • Clara:
    • Deliela Clara Wright, born in 1875
  • Clara Mærsk:
    • Clara (surname unknown), born in 1975
  • Clarence:
    • Fanny Clarence Murray, born in 1861
    • Eliza Clarence Cox, born in 1861
  • Claverhouse:
    • Frank Claverhouse Parsons, born in 1879
  • Clio:
    • Charles Clio Greening, born in 1856
  • Clyde:
    • Veronica Clyde Gray, born in 1876
    • Richard Clyde Bordlace, born in 1878
    • George Clyde Baker, born in 1878
    • Louisa Teasdel Clyde Lancaster, born in 1879
    • Agnes Clyde Robertson, born in 1879
    • Alice Maria Clyde Crup, born in 1881
    • Venezia Clyde Mackenzie, born in 1884
  • Collingrove:
    • Isabelle Hope Collingrove Benson, born in 1870
  • Columbia:
    • Nora Columbia Needham, born in 1861
  • Colombo:
    • Robert Colombo Sharp, born in 1885
  • Colorado:
    • Colorado Harris, born in 1868
  • Compta:
    • Rose Compta August Kerutz, born in 1881
    • James Compta Burrows, born in 1882
  • Copenhagen:
    • Copenhagen G. Williams, born in 1862
  • Corean:
    • Corea Catherine Cosgrove, born in 1888
  • Corinthian:
    • Corinthian Macnicol McAtee, born in 1880
  • Corlic:
    • Minnie Corlic Collins, born in 1874
  • Coromandel:
    • Nellie Coromandel Brookes, born in 1880
  • Cotopaxi:
    • Herminia Angela Cotopaxi Shertzer, born in 1886
  • Countess Of Galloway:
    • Galloway Nicholson, born in 1878
  • Countess of Kintore:
    • Thomas Kintore Buer, born in 1871
  • Countess of Seafield:
    • Catherine Horton Seafield Danvers, born in 1864
  • Crusader:
    • Robert Alexander Crusader Rodgers, born in 1879
  • Cuba:
    • Rosetta Cuba Burke, born in 1869
  • Culzean:
    • Culzean Pernie Ryan, born in 1874
  • Cuzco:
    • Agnes Cuzco Johnstone, born in 1878
    • John Cuzco Parker, born in 1883
    • James Ridler Cuzco Hartley, born in 1886
    • Margaret Albany Cuzco Walsh, born in 1888

Do you think any of the ship names above work particularly well as human names?

Source: FamilySearch.org

Famous Female Names from 1916

Over at The Public Domain Review, I found a collection of 51 novelty playing cards — several incomplete decks, mixed together — from 1916 that feature the images and names of popular movie actresses from that era.

Below are all the first names from those cards, plus where those names happened to rank in the 1916 baby name data. (Two-thirds of them were in the top 100, and over 95% fell inside the top 1,000.)

  • Anita (ranked 151st in 1916)
  • Anna (7th)
  • Beatriz (1,281st)
  • Bessie (56th)
  • Blanche (89th)
  • Clara (39th)
  • Cleo (180th)
  • Constance (213th)
  • Dolores (146th)
  • Dorothy (3rd)
  • Edith (28th)
  • Ella (81st)
  • Ethel (25th)
  • Fannie (116th)
  • Florence (14th)
  • Geraldine (94th)
  • Gertrude (35th)
  • Grace (26th)
  • Helen (2nd)
  • Julia (46th)
  • June (86th)
  • Kate (346th)
  • Kathlyn (731st)
  • Lenore (340th)
  • Lillian (16th)
  • Louise (18th)
  • Mabel (65th)
  • Marguerite (78th)
  • Mary (1st)
  • May (190th)
  • Mildred (6th)
  • Myrtle (58th)
  • Nellie (61st)
  • Norma (111th)
  • Olive (132nd)
  • Ormi (4,982nd)
  • Pauline (33rd)
  • Pearl (57th)
  • Ruth (5th)
  • Viola (59th)
  • Violet (83rd)
  • Vivian (77th)
  • Wanda (138th)

Which of the names above do you like best?

Source: Moriarty Playing Cards (1916) – The Public Domain Review

Popular Baby Names in England and Wales, 2019

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the most popular baby names in England and Wales last year were, yet again, Olivia and Oliver.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 4,082 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 3,712
  3. Isla, 2,981
  4. Ava, 2,946
  5. Mia, 2,500
  6. Isabella, 2,398
  7. Sophia, 2,332
  8. Grace, 2,330
  9. Lily, 2,285
  10. Freya, 2,264

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 4,932 baby boys
  2. George, 4,575
  3. Noah, 4,265
  4. Arthur, 4,211
  5. Harry, 3,823
  6. Leo, 3,637
  7. Muhammad, 3,604
  8. Jack, 3,381
  9. Charlie, 3,355
  10. Oscar, 3,334

In the girls’ top 10, Lily and Freya replace Emily and Ella. The boys’ top ten includes the same ten names as in 2018.

In the girls’ top 100, Lara and Mabel replace Aisha and Francesca. In the boys’ top 100, Alfred, Chester, Hudson, Ibrahim and Oakley replace Alex, Dexter, Dominic, Kai, Sonny and Tobias.

The fastest risers within the top 100 were Hallie (on the girls’ list) and Tommy (on the boys’).

Several names that saw increased usage due to pop culture were…

  • The girl name Dua, now at an all-time high thanks to English pop singer Dua Lipa, whose parents were Kosovar refugees.*
  • The boy name Kylo, thanks to the Star Wars sequel trilogy. (Kylo debuted in 2015, the year the first film was released.)
  • The boy name Taron, likely due to actor Taron Egerton, featured in the 2019 Elton John biopic Rocketman.

Here are the top ten lists for England and Wales separately, if you’d like to compare the regions…

England’s top ten…Wales’s top ten…
Girl NamesOlivia, Amelia, Isla, Ava, Mia, Isabella, Grace, Sophia, Lily, EmilyOlivia, Amelia, Isla, Ava, Freya, Willow, Mia, Ella, Rosie, Elsie
Boy NamesOliver, George, Arthur, Noah, Harry, Muhammad, Leo, Jack, Oscar, CharlieOliver, Noah, Charlie, Jacob, Theo, George, Leo, Arthur, Oscar, Alfie

Finally, here are some of the rare baby names from the other end of the rankings. Each one was given to exactly 3 babies in England and Wales last year.

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Aiste, Bella-Blue, Cosmina, Dolcieanna, Elliw, Floella, Gurveen, Harerta, Iffah, Jainaba, Kalsoom, Lussy, Mallie, Nellie-Beau, Otterly, Primavera, Reevie, Saffanah, Tuppence, Venba, Winter-Lily, Yidis, ZeemalAuburn, Boycie, Cybi, Dawsey, Eason, Folarin, Glyndwr, Hadrian, Isaa, Johnjo, Kaniel, Lazo, Madani, Now, Olgierd, Pijus, Rakai, Smit, Taqi, Veselin, Wilby, Yilmaz, Zarel

Cybi, pronounced “kubby,” is the (Welsh) name of a 6th-century Cornish saint.

Sources: Baby names in England and Wales: 2019, Baby names for boys in England and Wales (dataset), Baby names for girls in England and Wales (dataset)

*Kosovar refugees are also mentioned in the posts on Amerikan and Tonibler.

Sheena: Jungle Queen & Baby Name

sheena, queen of the jungle, comic, 1940s, baby name

If you meet someone in the U.S. named Sheena, chances are she was born in the 1980s. That’s when the usage of baby name Sheena spiked impressively thanks to Scottish singer Sheena Easton, whose first big hit was “9 to 5 (Morning Train)” and whose name was no doubt based on Sìne, the Scottish form of Jeanne.

But the name Sheena has been on the onomastic map (here in the U.S.) a lot longer than that. And I think the initial influence was a comic book character.

“Queen of the Jungle” Sheena, who always wore a skimpy, leopard-print outfit, started appearing in the adventure anthology comic book Jumbo Comics in 1938. She’d been created by artist Will Eisner as a female counterpart to Tarzan, and her name was inspired by H. Rider Haggard’s novel She: A History of Adventure.

By the second half of 1940, Sheena was being featured on the cover of Jumbo Comics regularly. And in the spring of 1942, Sheena became the first female character to star in her own comic book in the spin-off series Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. (The first issue of Wonder Woman didn’t appear until later in 1942.)

Around the same time, the baby name Sheena debuted in the SSA’s baby name data:

  • 1945: 14 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1944: 11 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1943: 9 baby girls named Sheena [debut]
  • 1942: unlisted
  • 1941: unlisted

The next decade, Sheena got her own TV series. Sheena, Queen of the Jungle first aired from 1955 to 1956 and the title character was played by Nellie Elizabeth “Irish” McCalla. The show gave the name a boost in the mid-1950s:

  • 1958: 121 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1957: 163 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1956: 136 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1955: 34 baby girls named Sheena
  • 1954: 20 baby girls named Sheena

The name got another (lesser) boost in the late ’70s with the release of the Ramones song “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” (1977), but it was nothing like the rise that was to come a few years later thanks to Sheena Easton.

What are your thoughts on the name Sheena?

Sources: Sìne – Behind the Name, Eisner and Iger – WillEisner.com, First female character to star in her own comic book | Guinness World Records
Image from the Digital Comic Museum.

The Ephemeral Mateel

Kansas newspaper editor Edgar Watson “E. W.” Howe published his first novel, The Story of a Country Town, in his own newspaper, the Atchison Daily Globe, in 1883.

Encyclopedia Britannica said the novel “was the first realistic novel of Midwestern small-town life,” but an early 20th-century review said that the realism wasn’t, in fact, very realistic at all: “[T]he test of veracity fails in the unrelieved gloom of the story, which is bereft of all sunshine and joyousness, and even of all sense of relation to happier things.”

mateel, baby name, book, 1920s
Mateel Howe

One of the characters in the novel was pretty-but-shallow Mateel Shepherd, the daughter of a Methodist minister (named Rev. Goode Shepherd, naturally).

E. W. Howe must have liked the name “Mateel” quite a bit, because he named one of his children Mateel in 1883.

Readers must have like it, too, becase the number of U.S. babies named Mateel rose in the 1880s and was at its highest from the 1890s to the 1910s, judging by the records I’ve seen.

But the rare name Mateel didn’t appear in the U.S. baby name data until 1927, and it only stuck around for a single year:

  • 1929: unlisted
  • 1928: unlisted
  • 1927: 6 baby girls named Mateel [debut]
  • 1926: unlisted
  • 1925: unlisted

Why?

Well, Mateel Howe went on to become a writer like her father. Her career seems to have peaked with her debut novel, Rebellion, which won the Dodd, Mead & Co. and Pictorial Review “First Novel Prize” of $10,000 in 1927.*

What was Rebellion about? Essentially, the book was about “the difficulties of a daughter living with a depressed, authoritative and demanding father.” (Hm…)

Though both Edgar and Mateel publicly denied that the characters and conflict were inspired by real life, Edgar cut Mateel out of his will soon after the book was published. Here’s how Time put it:

Left. By Editor-Author Ed Howe, an estate valued at $200,000; in Atchison, Kans. To Society Editor Nellie Webb of his Globe, he left $1,500. To Niece Adelaide Howe he left $50,000. To Sons Eugene Alexander and James Pomeroy he left the remainder except for $1, which went to Daughter Mateel Howe Farnham who in 1927 won a $10,000 prize for Rebellion, a novel in which she satirized her father.

Old-timey drama aside, I’m still left wondering about the name Mateel. Did E. W. Howe create it for the character, or discover it somewhere? (I do see a couple of early Mateels in Louisiana. “Cloteal” was often used for Clotilde there, so I wonder if “Mateel” arose as a form of Matilde…?)

What are your thoughts on the name Mateel?

Sources:

*The very same year, author Mazo de la Roche also won $10,000 in a novel-writing contest…