How popular is the baby name Philip 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 Philip.

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Popularity of the baby name Philip


Posts that mention the name Philip

What turned Blade into a baby name in the early 1980s?

The character Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) from the movie "Blade Runner" (1982)
Rick Deckard from “Blade Runner”

The name Blade first emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 1982:

  • 1984: 8 baby boys named Blade
  • 1983: unlisted
  • 1982: 7 baby boys named Blade [debut]
  • 1981: unlisted
  • 1980: unlisted

Why?

I think the influence was the 1982 movie Blade Runner, which was based on the dystopian sci-fi novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Philip K. Dick.

The movie was set in Los Angeles in 2019. The main character, Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford), worked as a “blade runner” — a police officer tasked with tracking down and killing genetically-engineered humans known as “replicants” (which were designed to work in space colonies, but sometimes escaped to Earth).

This is one of several cases in which a baby name seems to have been inspired by a movie title as opposed to a movie character. Another example is Seattle, which debuted the year after Sleepless in Seattle came out.

The baby name Blade went on to see a steep rise in usage during the first half of the 1990s, no doubt thanks to the Young and the Restless character Alexander “Blade” Bladeson (played by Michael Tylo). The character appeared on the soap opera from early 1992 to late 1995.

The character Blade (played by Wesley Snipes) from the movie "Blade" (1998)
Blade from “Blade”

Blade never managed to crack the boys’ top 1,000, but it did reach and maintain its highest level of popularity from the mid-’90s through the first years of the 2000s.

  • 2003: 89 baby boys named Blade
  • 2002: 112 baby boys named Blade (peak popularity)
  • 2001: 103 baby boys named Blade
  • 2000: 95 baby boys named Blade
  • 1999: 99 baby boys named Blade

During most of this period, the primary pop culture influence would have been the movie character Blade, who was featured in a trilogy of superhero/horror films: Blade (1998), Blade II (2002), and Blade: Trinity (2004).

Blade (played by Wesley Snipes) was an African-American dhampir (half-human, half-vampire) whose mission was to hunt and kill vampires. His birth name was Eric Brooks; his nickname was a reference to his proficiency with bladed weapons such as swords and daggers. (Like Black Panther, Blade originated as a Marvel comic book character.)

What are your thoughts on the baby name Blade? Would you use it?

Sources: Blade Runner – Wikipedia, List of The Young and the Restless characters (1990s) – Wikipedia, Blade (character) – Wikipedia, Blade (Eric Brooks) – Marvel, SSA

Images: Screenshots of Blade Runner and Blade

Popular baby names in Norway, 2022

Flag of Norway
Flag of Norway

Last year, the Scandinavian country of Norway (which shares a border with three other countries: Sweden, Finland, and Russia) welcomed 51,480 babies — over 25,000 girls and nearly 26,500 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Nora for girls, and tie between Jakob and Noah for boys.

Here are Norway’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Nora/Norah/Noora, 359 baby girls
  2. Emma, 337
  3. Olivia, 331
  4. Ella, 326
  5. Sofie/Sophie, 315
  6. Leah/Lea, 288
  7. Frida, 269
  8. Iben, 266 (tie)
  9. Sofia/Sophia, 266 (tie)
  10. Sara/Sarah/Zara, 262
  11. Maja/Maya/Maia, 258
  12. Ingrid, 253
  13. Alma, 249
  14. Selma, 247
  15. Emilie, 243
  16. Ada, 242
  17. Astrid/Astri, 235
  18. Hedda, 233
  19. Anna, 218
  20. Amalie, 211
  21. Ellinor, 210
  22. Aurora, 208
  23. Hedvig, 205
  24. Tiril/Tirill, 203
  25. Hanna/Hannah, 198
  26. Eva, 195
  27. Jenny, 186
  28. Mia, 184
  29. Vilde, 180
  30. Mathilde/Matilde, 177
  31. Ida, 176
  32. Lilly/Lily, 172
  33. Linnea/Linea/Linnéa, 163 (tie)
  34. Live, 163 (tie)
  35. Marie, 151
  36. Ellie, 150
  37. Sigrid, 149
  38. Thea, 145
  39. Julie, 143
  40. Amelia, 142 (tie)
  41. Luna, 142 (tie)
  42. Amanda, 141 (tie)
  43. Solveig, 141 (tie)
  44. Tuva, 139
  45. Mie, 133
  46. Agnes, 131
  47. Josefine/Josephine, 129
  48. Hermine, 121 (3-way tie)
  49. Signe, 121 (3-way tie)
  50. Ylva, 121 (3-way tie) – based on the Old Norse word ulfr, meaning “wolf.”

Boy Names

  1. Jakob/Jacob, 414 baby boys (tie)
  2. Noah/Noa, 414 (tie)
  3. Emil, 405 (tie)
  4. Lucas/Lukas, 405 (tie)
  5. Oliver, 382
  6. Isak/Isac/Isaac, 381
  7. William, 348
  8. Filip/Philip/Fillip/Phillip, 343
  9. Aksel/Axel, 321 (tie)
  10. Theodor/Teodor, 321 (tie)
  11. Ludvig/Ludvik, 310
  12. Oskar/Oscar, 300
  13. Liam, 282
  14. Johannes, 280
  15. Elias, 277
  16. Kasper/Casper/Kacper, 276
  17. Magnus, 270 (tie)
  18. Tobias, 270 (tie)
  19. Henrik, 263
  20. Mathias/Matias, 247 (tie)
  21. Olav, 247 (tie)
  22. Viktor/Victor/Wiktor, 235
  23. Ulrik, 230
  24. Matheo, 223
  25. Adam, 215
  26. Gustav, 208
  27. Muhammad/Mohammad/Mohammed/Mohamed/Muhammed, 206
  28. Sander, 205
  29. Alfred, 203
  30. Håkon/Haakon, 201 (tie)
  31. Theo/Teo, 201 (tie)
  32. Herman/Hermann, 185
  33. Benjamin, 179
  34. Jonas, 178
  35. Mikkel, 174
  36. Odin, 165
  37. Birk, 164
  38. Johan, 163 (tie)
  39. Leon, 163 (tie)
  40. Felix, 162
  41. Even, 157 (tie)
  42. Sebastian, 157 (tie)
  43. Vetle, 156 – based on the Old Norse word vetrliði, meaning “winter-farer,” and, by extension, “bear cub” (i.e., a bear that has lived one winter).
  44. Iver, 155
  45. Leo, 150
  46. Jens, 144 (tie)
  47. Markus/Marcus, 144 (tie)
  48. Alexander/Aleksander, 140
  49. Kristian/Christian, 133
  50. Sverre, 132 – based on the Old Norse verb sverra, meaning “to spin or swirl about,” and, by extension, “troublemaker.”

The two fastest-climbing names were Birk, which rose from 70th to 37th on the boys’ list, and Hedvig, which rose from 38th to 23rd on the girls’ list.

Home to more than 5.4 million people, Norway is — at the moment — divided into 11 administrative regions, or “counties.” (The original 19 counties were reduced to 11 in 2020; the current 11 counties will be expanded to 15 in 2024.)

Map of the 11 administrative regions of Norway
Norway’s 11 administrative regions

The top baby names within each of Norway’s 11 counties last year were…

Girl namesBoy names
Viken1. Olivia, 85
2. Leah, 76
3. Ella, 75
4. Emma, 71
5. Ingrid, 67
1. Noah, 102
2. Oliver, 97
3. Jakob, 95
4. Theodor, 88
5. Filip/Lucas/Oskar, 81 each (3-way tie)
Oslo1. Sofia, 63
2. Hedvig, 56
3. Nora, 50
4. Sofie, 48
5. Ada/Anna, 47 each (tie)
1. Mohammad, 77
2. Jakob, 65
3. Olav, 59
4. Noah, 57 (tie)
5. William, 57 (tie)
Vestland1. Ella, 52
2. Nora, 51
3. Emma, 50
4. Sara, 43
5. Sofie, 41
1. Emil, 61
2. Jakob, 53
3. Oliver, 48
4. Ulrik, 47
5. Lucas, 44
Rogaland1. Sara, 37
2. Frida, 36
3. Maja, 32 (3-way tie)
4. Nora, 32 (3-way tie)
5. Sofie, 32 (3-way tie)
1. Emil, 43
2. Noah, 42
3. Filip, 38 (tie)
4. Oliver, 38 (tie)
5. Lucas, 35
Trøndelag1. Selma, 33
2. Ada, 32 (4-way tie)
3. Emma, 32 (4-way tie)
4. Leah, 32 (4-way tie)
5. Nora, 32 (4-way tie)
1. Emil, 50
2. Oliver, 47
3. Aksel, 46 (tie)
4. Isak, 46 (tie)
5. Magnus, 38
Vestfold og Telemark1. Nora, 30
2. Olivia, 28
3. Ella, 23
4. Iben, 21
5. Emma/Sofie, 20 each (tie)
1. Emil, 34 (tie)
2. Noah, 34 (tie)
3. Lucas, 33
4. William, 31
5. Jakob, 29
Innlandet1. Aurora, 25 (tie)
2. Sofie, 25 (tie)
3. Ella, 24
4. Emma/Ingrid/Nora/Olivia, 22 each (4-way tie)
1. Emil, 35
2. Lucas, 31
3. Magnus, 29
4. Filip, 28
5. Oliver, 25
Agder1. Emma, 31 (tie)
2. Olivia, 31 (tie)
3. Nora, 27
4. Ella, 26
5. Leah, 24
1. Lucas, 40
2. Isak, 27 (tie)
3. Theodor, 27 (tie)
4. Henrik, 26 (tie)
5. Noah, 26 (tie)
Møre og Romsdal1. Anna, 18 (tie)
2. Nora, 18 (tie)
3. Olivia, 17 (tie)
4. Selma, 17 (tie)
5. Alma/Aurora/Emma, 16 each (3-way tie)
1. Noah, 26
2. Kasper, 22
3. Emil, 20 (tie)
4. Isak, 20 (tie)
5. Lucas, 19
Troms og Finnmark1. Ella, 18
2. Anna, 16
3. Amalie/Astrid/Emilie/Maja/Olivia/Sigrid, 14 each (6-way tie)
1. Jakob, 27
2. Isak, 25
3. Emil, 23
4. Johannes, 22
5. Elias, 19
Nordland1. Nora, 21
2. Ella, 15 (tie)
3. Iben, 15 (tie)
4. Emma/Frida/Ingrid/Signe, 12 each (4-way tie)
1. Isak, 29
2. Jakob, 24
3. Filip/Henrik/William, 17 each (3-way tie)

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum?

Single-use names were given to nearly 8% of the baby girls and 7% of the baby boys born in Norway last year. We don’t have access to these unique names — the country doesn’t release names given to three or fewer babies per year (due to privacy concerns) — but here’s a selection of the names given to four babies:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aase, Agathe, Annabelle, Anneli, Anny, Aud, Azra, Bjørg, Borghild, Cassandra, Cecilia, Daria, Eden, Elizabeth, Emely, Felicia, Gabrielle, Grete, Helen, Helin, Henrikke, Irina, Kamila, Kate, Kaya, Leni, Lidia, Marita, Martyna, Nadine, Norunn, Ragne, Ruby, Savannah, Signy, Silvia, Solvår, SylviaAbbas, Abdul, Adem, Ahmet, Ammar, Ansgar, Are, Arvid, Bogdan, Brynjar, Christer, Dani, Denis, Evald, Fred, Haris, Hassan, Hauk, Hubert, Hussain, Idar, Ingmar, Jamal, Jaran, Jarl, Kenan, Mahad, Mattias, Mehdi, Morgan, Niclas, Nikola, Oddvar, Olivier, Ove, Ravn, Roald, Rolf, Rune, Sean, Sigvald, Stanislaw, Steinar, Svein, Søren, Tønnes, Viggo, Wojciech, Yasin, Yosef, Youssef

Finally, here’s a link to Norway’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Navn – Statistics Norway, Sjekk listen over de mest populære navnene i 2022 – Statistics Norway, Uvanlige navn – før og nå – Statistics Norway, Births – Statistics Norway, Regions of Norway – Wikipedia, Counties of Norway – Wikipedia, Behind the Name, Nordic Names

Image: Adapted from Flag of Norway (public domain)
Map: Nye fylker by Furfur (public domain)

What gave the baby name Christiaan a boost in 1968?

South African cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard (1922-2001)
Dr. Christiaan Barnard

The baby name Christiaan (pronounced KRIS-tee-ahn) — the Dutch and Afrikaans form of Christian — saw peak usage in the U.S. in two different years: 1968 and 1970.

  • 1972: 22 baby boys named Christiaan
  • 1971: 30 baby boys named Christiaan
  • 1970: 43 baby boys named Christiaan
  • 1969: 24 baby boys named Christiaan
  • 1968: 43 baby boys named Christiaan
  • 1967: 8 baby boys named Christiaan
  • 1966: unlisted

The name’s 1968 upswing represents the second-steepest rise among baby boy names that year (after Dustin).

Here’s the graph:

Graph of the usage of the first name Christiaan in the U.S. since 1880.
Usage of the first name Christiaan

What was calling attention to the name Christiaan in the late ’60s and early ’70s?

South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard, who made headlines worldwide after performing the first human heart transplant on December 3, 1967, at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

Dr. Barnard led a team of 20 surgeons as they transplanted a heart from the body of donor Denise Darvall (a 25-year-old woman who’d been fatally injured in a car accident) into the body of recipient Louis Washkansky (a 55-year-old man terminally ill with heart disease).

The operation was considered a success, even though Washkansky died of pneumonia 18 days later.

The transplant attracted unprecedented media coverage, turning Dr. Barnard into an overnight celebrity:

Charismatic and photogenic, he appeared on magazine covers, met dignitaries and film stars, drawing crowds and photographers wherever he went.

Dr. Barnard performed a second human heart transplant on January 2, 1968 — just one month after the first. The second recipient, 59-year-old Philip Blaiberg, not only survived the operation, but lived for another 19 months and 15 days before dying of organ rejection in August of 1969.

The success of this second operation “secured the future of heart transplants.” It also likely caused the usage of Christiaan to peak again in 1970.

(That said, news about Dr. Barnard’s personal life may have also been a factor. He divorced his wife of twenty years, Aletta, in mid-1969 and married a 19-year-old Johannesburg socialite named Barbara Zoellner in early 1970.)

I’m not sure how many of the baby boys named Christiaan during the late ’60s and early ’70s were taught to pronounce their names KRIS-tee-ahn, as I couldn’t find any clips of U.S. newscasters using the Afrikaans pronunciation. Even talk show host Dick Cavett defaulted to the American pronunciation, KRIS-chen, when Dr. Christiaan Barnard appeared on The Dick Cavett Show [vid] in May of 1970.

What are your thoughts on the name Christiaan?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Professor Barnard photo by Jac. de Nijs via Nationaal Archief under CC0.

Baby born in England, named after entire soccer team (1973)

soccer game

In November of 1973, the Oatway family of London welcomed a baby boy.

The Oatways were big fans of Queens Park Rangers Football Club, so they decided to name the baby “Anthony Philip David Terry Frank Donald Stanley Gerry Gordon Stephen James” after QPR’s entire first team squad.

I wasn’t able to find any QPR players from 1973 named Stephen or James, but I did find players with the other names:

NamePlayer(s)
Anthony
Philip
David
Terry
Frank
Donald
Stanley
Gerry
Gordon
Stephen
James
Tony Hazell
Phil Parkes
Dave Clement or Dave Thomas
Terry Venables or Terry Mancini
Frank McLintock
Don Givens
Stan Bowles
Gerry Francis
Gordon Jago (manager)
?
?

Ironically, the baby was never known by any of those 11 given names. He simply went by “Charlie.” As he later explained,

Charlie is just a nickname. An aunt told my parents they couldn’t name me after the QPR team because I’d look a right Charlie — and the name just stuck.

Charlie Oatway — unlike the other people I know of who were named after soccer teams (Liverpool F.C., Leeds United F.C., Burnley F.C.) — grew up to become a professional footballer. He played on various teams during the 1990s and 2000s, though, unfortunately, he never played for Queens Park Rangers.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Portugal 2-3 Denmark, Football by José Goulão under CC BY-SA 2.0.