How popular is the baby name Olive in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Olive and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Olive.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Olive

Number of Babies Named Olive

Born in the U.S. Since 1880

Posts that Mention the Name Olive

Rare Girl Names from Early Cinema: V

valli valli, v names, baby names, girl names, actress,
Valli Valli (1882-1927)
Here’s the next installment of uncommon female names collected from very old films (released from the 1910s to the 1940s).

Vail
Vail was a character played by actress Vivian Rich in the short film Via Cabaret (1913).

  • Usage of the baby name Vail.

Val
Val Lorraine was a character played by actress Evelyn Brent in the film Attorney for the Defense (1932).

  • Usage of the baby name Val.

Valda
Valda Valkyrien was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s. She was born in Iceland in 1894. Her birth name was Adele Eleonore Freed.

  • Usage of the baby name Valda.

Vale
Vale Harvey was a character played by actress Shirley Mason in the film My Husband’s Wives (1924).

  • Usage of the baby name Vale.

Valentine
Valentine Grant was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s. She was born in Indiana in 1881.

Valeska
Valeska Suratt was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s. She was born in Indiana in 1882. Valeska was also a character name in multiple films, including For a Woman’s Honor (1919) and Broadway Scandals (1929).

Valette
Valette Bedford was a character played by actress Margaret Sullavan in the film So Red the Rose (1935).

Valia
Valia Venitshaya, often credited simply as Valia, was an actress who appeared in films in the 1920s. She was born in England in 1899.

  • Usage of the baby name Valia.

Vallery
Vallery Grove was a character played by actress Dolores Costello in the film Second Choice (1930).

Valli
Valli Valli was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s. She was born in Germany in 1882. Her birth name was Valli Knust. Alida Valli, often credited simply as Valli, was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 2000s. She was born in Italy (now Croatia) in 1921. Valli was also a character played by actress Margaret Livingston in the film What a Widow! (1930).

  • Usage of the baby name Valli.

Vallie
Vallie Martin was a character played by actress Marin Sais in the short film The Man in Irons (1915).

  • Usage of the baby name Vallie.

Vanda
Vanda Muroff was a character played by actress Greta Nissen in the film Danger in Paris (1937).

  • Usage of the baby name Vanda.

Vanina
Vanina Vanini was a character played by actress Alida Valli in the film Passione (1940).

Vanna
Vanna was a character name in multiple films, including The Romance of a Movie Star (1920) and Vanity’s Price (1924).

  • Usage of the baby name Vanna.

Vantine
Vantine was a character played by actress Jean Harlow in the film Red Dust (1932).

Varda
Varda Ropers was a character played by actress Claire Du Brey in the film A Man and His Money (1919).

  • Usage of the baby name Varda.

Varlia
Varlia Lloyd was a character played by actress Helen Vinson in the film Transatlantic Tunnel (1935).

Varvara
Princess Varvara was a character played by actress Dorothy Revier in the film The Red Dance (1928).

Vashti
Vashti was a character played by actress Thelma “Butterfly” McQueen in the film Duel in the Sun (1946).

  • Usage of the baby name Vashti.

Vedah
Vedah Bertram was an actress who appeared in films in the early 1910s. She was born in Massachusetts in 1891. Her birth name was Adele Buck.

  • Vedah, who died of appendicitis at the age of 20 in 1912, “became the first noted film player to be mourned by the movie-going public.” According to the San Francisco Call, her East Coast family had not been aware of her film career. “Hoping to keep her actions from her friends and relatives, she assumed the name under which she has been acting.”

Vee
Vee Newell was a character played by actress Olive Borden in the film Hello Sister (1930).

  • Usage of the baby name Vee.

Veeda
Veeda was a character played by actress Lois Collier in the film Cobra Woman (1944).

  • Usage of the baby name Veeda.

Veerah
Veerah Vale was a character played by actress Mary Thurman in the film Love of Women (1924).

Vee-Vee
Vee-Vee was a character played by actress Nora Swinburne in the film A Girl of London (1925).

Velda
Velda was a character played by actress Elissa Landi in the film The Inseparables (1929).

  • Usage of the baby name Velda.

Velma
Velma Whitman was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s. She was born in Ohio in 1885. Velma was also a character name in multiple films, including The Greatest Menace (1923) and The Lone Wolf’s Daughter (1929).

  • Usage of the baby name Velma.

Velvet
Velvet Brown was a character played by actress Elizabeth Taylor in the film National Velvet (1944).

  • Usage of the baby name Velvet.

Venetia
Venetia was a character name in multiple films, including The Story of the Rosary (1920) and Week Ends Only (1932).

Venice
Venice was a character name in multiple films, including Lady with a Past (1932) and Outcast Lady (1934).

  • Usage of the baby name Venice.

Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen was an actress who appeared in films in the 1940s and 1950s. She was born in Ohio in 1921.

Verbena
Verbena was a character name in multiple films, including A Darktown Wooing (short, 1914) and Should Sailors Marry? (short, 1925).

Verebel
Verebel Featherstone was a character played by the actress Dorothy Christy in the film Sierra Sue (1941).

Vergie
Vergie was a character name in multiple films, including The Impalement (short, 1910) and Heaven on Earth (1931).

  • Usage of the baby name Vergie.

Vermuda
Vermuda was a character played by actress Martha Sleeper in the short film Sure-Mike! (1925).

Verna
Verna Mersereau was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in 1894. Verna was also a character name in multiple films, including His Temporary Wife (1920) and Here Comes Carter (1936).

  • Usage of the baby name Verna.

Verne
Verne Drake was a character played by actress Iris Adrian in the film I Killed That Man (1941).

  • Usage of the baby name Verne.

Vernie
Vernie was a character played by actress Anna Q. Nilsson in the film Babe Comes Home (1927).

  • Usage of the baby name Vernie.

Verona
Verona Babbitt was a character played by actress Maxine Elliott Hicks in the film Babbitt (1924).

  • Usage of the baby name Verona.

Veronique
Veronique Sauviat was a character played by actress Louise Vale in the short film The Country Parson (1915).

Verree
Verree Teasdale was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was born in Washington in 1903.

  • Usage of the baby name Verree.

Vesta
Vesta Tilley was an actress who appeared in films from the 1900s to the 1910s. She was born in England in 1864. Her birth name was Matilda Alice Powles. Vesta was also a character name in multiple films, including The House in Suburbia (short, 1913) and The Duke of Chimney Butte (1921).

  • Usage of the baby name Vesta.

Veya
Countess Veya was a character played by actress Myrna Loy in the film The Climbers (1927).

  • Usage of the baby name Veya.

Vianna
Vianna Courtleigh was a character played by the actress Ruth Clifford in the film Mothers-in-Law (1923).

  • Usage of the baby name Vianna.

Vicki
Vicki was a character name in multiple films, including I Loved You Wednesday (1933) and A Star Is Born (1937).

  • Usage of the baby name Vicki.

Victoire
Victoire was a character name in multiple films, including Arsene Lupin (1917) and Just Married (1928).

Victorine
Victorine was a character name in multiple films, including Paris at Midnight (1926) and After the Ball (1932).

Vilda
Vilda was a character name in multiple films, including The Return of the Riddle Rider (1927) and Timothy’s Quest (1936).

  • Usage of the baby name Vilda.

Vilma
Vilma Banky was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in Austria-Hungary (now Hungary) in 1898. Vilma was also a character name in multiple films, including Federal Agent (1936) and Meet the Boy Friend (1937).

  • Usage of the baby name Vilma.

Vima
Countess Vima Walden was a character played by actress Madge Evans in the film Heartbreak (1931).

Vincenza
Vincenza was a character played by actress Rose Tapley in the short film An Infernal Tangle (1913).

Viney
Viney was a character name in multiple films, including The Last of the Hargroves (short, 1914) and The Overland Stage (1927).

  • Usage of the baby name Viney.

Vinnie
Vinnie was a character played by actress Irene Dunne in the film Life with Father (1947).

  • Usage of the baby name Vinnie.

Vinuella
Vinuella was a character played by actress Anita Hendrie in the short film The Road to the Heart (1909).

Violante
Violante was a character played by actress Mrs. A. C. Marston in the short film The Ring and the Book (1914).

Violantha
Violantha Zureich was a character played by actress Henny Porten in the film Violantha (1928).

Violey
Violey was a character played by Loretta Weaver in multiple films, including Jeepers Creepers (1939) and Grand Ole Opry (1940).

Virgie
Virgie was a character name in multiple films, including Lend Me Your Husband (1935) and The Littlest Rebel (1935).

  • Usage of the baby name Virgie.

Virginie
Virginie Harbrok was a character played by actress Marguerite Courtot in the film The Unbeliever (1918).

Visakha
Visakha was a character played by actress Lotus Liu in the film The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938).

Vittoria
Vittoria was a character played by actress Gladys Hulette in the film Enemies of Women (1923).

Viva
Viva Hamilton was a character played by actress Edna Flugrath in the film A Dear Fool (1921).

  • Usage of the baby name Viva.

Viveca
Viveca Lindfors was an actress who appeared in films from the 1940s to the 1990s. She was born in Sweden in 1920.

  • Usage of the baby name Viveca.

Vivette
Vivette was a character played by actress Evelyn Dumo in the film The Strange Story of Sylvia Gray (1914).

Viviette
Viviette was a character played by actress Vivian Martin in the film Viviette (1918).

Vola
Vola Vale was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in New York in 1897. Her birth name was Violet Irene Smith.

  • Usage of the baby name Vola.

Vonia
Vonia was a character played by actress Eva Novak in the film The Man Who Saw Tomorrow (1922).

Vonnie
Vonnie was a character played by actress Minna Gombell in the film Sob Sister (1931).

  • Usage of the baby name Vonnie.

Vroni
Vroni was a character played by actress Esther Ralston in the film Betrayal (1929).

Vultura
Vultura was a character played by actress Lorna Gray in the film Perils of Nyoka (1942).

*

Which of the above names do you like best?

Sources:


Most Popular First Letters for Baby Names, 2016

What were the most popular first letters for baby names in 2016?

Here’s a chart showing the first letter breakdown for girl names:

first letter, girl names, baby names, 2016, chart

For girls, the most-used first letter was A, followed by M and E. The least-used first letter was U.

The three most-used girl names per letter last year were…

A: Ava, Abigail, Amelia
B: Brooklyn, Bella, Brianna
C: Charlotte, Chloe, Camila
D: Delilah, Daisy, Daniela
E: Emma, Emily, Evelyn
F: Faith, Finley, Fiona
G: Grace, Genesis, Gabriella
H: Harper, Hannah, Hazel
I: Isabella, Isabelle, Ivy
J: Julia, Josephine, Jade
K: Kennedy, Kaylee, Kylie
L: Lily, Lillian, Layla
M: Mia, Madison, Mila
N: Natalie, Nora, Naomi
O: Olivia, Olive, Oakley
P: Penelope, Paisley, Piper
Q: Quinn, Queen, Quincy
R: Riley, Ruby, Reagan
S: Sophia, Sofia, Scarlett
T: Taylor, Trinity, Teagan
U: Unique, Uma, Una
V: Victoria, Violet, Vivian
W: Willow, Willa, Winter
X: Ximena, Xiomara, Xena
Y: Yaretzi, Yareli, Yamileth
Z: Zoey, Zoe, Zara

Here’s the breakdown for boy names:

first letter, boy names, baby names, 2016, chart

For boys, the most-used first letter was J, followed by A and C. The least-used letter was U.

The three most-used boy names per letter last year were…

A: Alexander, Aiden, Anthony
B: Benjamin, Brayden, Bryson
C: Carter, Christopher, Caleb
D: Daniel, David, Dylan
E: Elijah, Ethan, Eli
F: Finn, Felix, Francisco
G: Gabriel, Grayson, Gavin
H: Henry, Hunter, Hudson
I: Isaac, Isaiah, Ian
J: James, Jacob, Jackson
K: Kevin, Kayden, Kingston
L: Liam, Lucas, Logan
M: Mason, Michael, Matthew
N: Noah, Nathan, Nicholas
O: Oliver, Owen, Oscar
P: Parker, Patrick, Preston
Q: Quinn, Quentin, Quincy
R: Ryan, Robert, Roman
S: Samuel, Sebastian, Sawyer
T: Thomas, Theodore, Tyler
U: Uriel, Uriah, Ulises
V: Vincent, Victor, Valentino
W: William, Wyatt, Wesley
X: Xavier, Xander, Xzavier
Y: Yusuf, Yosef, Yahir
Z: Zachary, Zayden, Zane

Finally, here are both genders side-by-side:

first letter, baby names, 2016, chart

Overall, the top first letter was A, followed by J and M. And the least popular letter was, of course, U.

Here’s last year’s post on the most and least popular first letters of 2015.

Top 50 Nature Names for Baby Girls

Nature is waking up again! Let’s celebrate by checking out which nature names are the most popular for baby girls right now. Ironically the top 50 list below includes all the seasons except for “Spring,” but it does feature lots of springtime things: flowers, birds, trees…

nature names, girl names, top 50, baby names,

For this list I stuck to names that are also correctly spelled English words. This means that I skipped names that are non-English words (like Stella and Luna) and alternative spellings of words (like Brooke and Briar). I should also mention that several of the above (including Rowan, Robin, and Clementine) do have more than one etymology to choose from.

Here are links to the popularity graphs:

1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50
Lily
Violet
Hazel
Autumn
Ruby
Willow
Jasmine
Jade
Ivy
Rose 		Daisy
Summer
Iris
Olive
Rowan
Amber
River
Ember
Aspen
Sage 		Magnolia
Meadow
Wren
Ivory
Laurel
Sky
Clementine
Dahlia
Juniper
Raven 		Holly
Savanna
Rosemary
Winter
Crystal
Azalea
Pearl
Jewel
Heather
Robin 		Diamond
Poppy
Opal
Sunny
Coral
Emerald
Clover
Pepper
Sapphire
Amethyst

Which nature name(s) do you like best?

P.S. Nature names that didn’t quite make the top 50 included Stormy, Zinnia, Sandy, and Acacia.

Poll: Favorite “Feminine Blend”?

Nope, this isn’t a post about a pink smoothies. “Feminine blend” was a phrase Henry Louis (H. L.) Mencken used in his 1921 book The American Language to describe a female name created by blending two other names together. Here are the feminine blends he lists:

Adelloyd
(Addie + Lloyd)

Adnelle
(Addison + Nellie)

Adrielle
(Adrienne + Belle)

Armina
(Ardelia + Wilhelmina)

Bethene
(Elizabeth + Christine)

Birdene
(Birdie + Pauline)

Charline
(Charles + Pauline)

Leilabeth
(Leila + Elizabeth)

Lunette
(Luna + Nettie)

Marjette
(Marjorie + Henrietta)

Maybeth
(May + Elizabeth)

Olabelle
(Ola + Isabel)

Olouise
(Olive + Louise)

Romiette
(Romeo + Juliette)

Rosella
(Rose + Bella)

If you had to use one of the above in real life, which one would you choose?

Favorite "feminine blend"?

View Results

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Source: H. L. Mencken. The American Language. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1921.

How Did Thurgood Marshall Get His Name?

Thurgood Marshall, 1967Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from 1967 until 1991.

Prior to that, he was known for having won 29 of the 32 cases he’d argued argued before the Supreme Court. Most were civil rights cases, including the famous Brown v. Board of Education case that ended legal segregation in public schools in 1954.

The year he died, the name Thurgood debuted on the U.S. baby name charts:

  • 1994: unlisted
  • 1993: 5 baby boys named Thurgood [debut]
  • 1992: unlisted

…and it never returned, making Thurgood a statistical one-hit wonder.

So how did Thurgood Marshall get his unusual first name?

It was passed down from his paternal grandfather, who apparently went by either of two names: Thorneygood and Thoroughgood.

The elder Thoroughgood/Thorneygood served in the U.S. Army, and he didn’t know which name to use when he enlisted, so he used both. And he ended up getting two sets of retirement checks because of it.

Thurgood Marshall told TIME: “I was named Thoroughgood after him but by the time I was in the second grade, I got tired of spelling all that and shortened it.”

His maternal grandfather also had a distinctive name: Isaiah Olive Branch Williams. Isaiah and his wife Mary had six children, all with fascinating names — several inspired by Isaiah’s travels abroad with the U.S. merchant marine.

  • Avonia Delicia – first name after Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon
  • Avon Nyanza – first name also after Stratford-upon-Avon
  • Denmedia Marketa – after the family’s grocery store, located on Baltimore’s Denmead Street
  • Norma Arica – after the opera Norma and the place where Isaiah first heard it, the Chilean port city of Arica
  • Fearless Mentor – because, according to Isaiah:

    Most kids don’t open their eyes until they’re at least a few hours old. This one looked me straight in the eye as soon as I came in. He’s a fearless little fellow and Fearless will be his name.

  • Ravine Silestria – after a ravine in the Bulgarian/Romanian port city of Silistra

Norma was Thurgood Marshall’s mother. He called Fearless and Denmedia “Uncle Fee” and “Aunt Medi.”

Sources: