How popular is the baby name Richmond 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 Richmond.

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Popularity of the baby name Richmond


Posts that mention the name Richmond

Top boy-name debuts of all time in the U.S. baby name data (41-50)

lotus bud

This week let’s finish checking out the top baby name debuts of all time.

I’ll be counting down the 50 most popular boy name debuts in five posts, from today until Friday. (I did the top girl name debuts a couple of weeks ago.) I didn’t break any ties, so this “top 50” list actually has 93 names.

I came up with explanations for as many names as I could, but I’m still stumped on a few of them. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these.

Here’s 50 to 41:

Ajee, Baylee, Itzae & Kwamaine, 4-way tie for #50

  • Ajee debuted with 29 baby boys in 1994.
    Inspired by the Revlon perfume Ajee.
  • Baylee debuted with 29 baby boys in 1995.
    Inspired by baby Baylee Almon, victim of the Oklahoma City bombing.
  • Itzae debuted with 29 baby boys in 2011.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Kwamaine debuted with 29 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by rapper Kwame Holland.

Alize, Broderick, Diamante, Hoby, Jevante, Kwamane, Larenz & Savalas, 8-way tie for #49

  • Alize debuted with 30 baby boys in 1995.
    Inspired by the liqueur Alize.
  • Broderick debuted with 30 baby boys in 1950.
    Inspired by Broderick Crawford, an actor in the movie All the King’s Men.
  • Diamante debuted with 30 baby boys in 1991.
    Inspired by the Mitsubishi Diamante (car).
  • Hoby debuted with 30 baby boys in 1958.
    Inspired by Hoby Gilman, a character on the TV western Trackdown.
  • Jevante debuted with 30 baby boys in 1992.
    Inspired by DeVante Swing, a member of Jodeci.
  • Kwamane debuted with 30 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by Kwame Holland as well.
  • Larenz debuted with 30 baby boys in 1994.
    Inspired by Larenz Tate, an actor in the movie Menace II Society.
  • Savalas debuted with 30 baby boys in 1974.
    Inspired by Telly Savalas, an actor on the TV show Kojak.

Cully, Omarian & Yul, 3-way tie for #48

  • Cully debuted with 31 baby boys in 1960.
    Inspired (in part) by Cully Wilson, a character on the TV show Lassie.
  • Omarian debuted with 31 baby boys in 2002.
    Inspired by singer Omarion.
  • Yul debuted with 31 baby boys in 1957.
    Inspired by Yul Brenner, an actor in the movie The Ten Commandments.

Cauy, Kesan, Khari, Kinta, Maverick, Roemello & Shaquel, 7-way tie for #47

  • Cauy debuted with 32 baby boys in 1999.
    Inspired by professional bull rider Cauy Hudson.
  • Kesan debuted with 32 baby boys in 2008.
    Inspired by Kesan, a contestant on the reality TV show From G’s to Gents.
  • Khari debuted with 32 baby boys in 1971.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Kinta debuted with 32 baby boys in 1977.
    Inspired by Kunta Kinte, a character on the TV miniseries Roots.
  • Maverick debuted with 32 baby boys in 1957.
    Inspired by Bret Maverick, a character on the TV western Maverick.
  • Roemello debuted with 32 baby boys in 1994.
    Inspired by Roemello Skuggs, a character in the movie Sugar Hill.
  • Shaquel debuted with 32 baby boys in 1993.
    Inspired by basketball player Shaquille O’Neal.

Tou, #46

  • Tou debuted with 33 baby boys in 1980.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Hmong immigration. (Thanks, Christina!)

Yuvin, #45

  • Yuvin debuted with 34 baby boys in 2016.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.

Caelan, Caillou, Daren, Illya, Kiefer & Quamaine, 6-way tie for #44

  • Caelan debuted with 35 baby boys in 1992.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Caillou debuted with 35 baby boys in 2001.
    Inspired by Caillou, a character on the children’s TV show Caillou.
  • Daren debuted with 35 baby boys in 1922.
    Inspired by Daren Lane, a character in the Zane Grey book The Day of the Beast.
  • Illya debuted with 35 baby boys in 1965.
    Inspired by Illya Kuryakin, a character on the TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
  • Kiefer debuted with 35 baby boys in 1988.
    Inspired by Kiefer Sutherland, an actor in the movie Young Guns.
  • Quamaine debuted with 35 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by Kwame Holland as well.

Argenis, Corderro, Jelani, Kareen & Livan, 5-way tie for #43

  • Argenis debuted with 36 baby boys in 1981.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by either singer Argenis Carruyo or actor Argenis Chirivela, not sure yet…
  • Corderro debuted with 36 baby boys in 1986.
    Inspired by Cordero Roberts, a character on the soap opera One Life to Live.
  • Jelani debuted with 36 baby boys in 1973.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by a list of African names in the newspapers.
  • Kareen debuted with 36 baby boys in 1972.
    Inspired by basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
  • Livan debuted with 36 baby boys in 1997.
    Inspired by baseball player Livan Hernandez.

Deyonta, Tahj & Zeandre, 3-way tie for #42

  • Deyonta debuted with 37 baby boys in 1993.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Tahj debuted with 37 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by singer Tajh Abdulsamad, a member of The Boys.
  • Zeandre debuted with 37 baby boys in 1997.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.

Hobson & Llewyn, 2-way tie for #41

  • Hobson debuted with 38 baby boys in 1898.
    Inspired by Spanish-American War POW Richmond Hobson.
  • Llewyn debuted with 38 baby boys in 2014.
    Inspired by the movie Inside Llewyn Davis.

Do you have any ideas about where Zeandre, Deyonta, Jelani, Caelan, Yuvin, Tou, Khari, or Itzae might have come from?

More of the top 50 baby name debuts for boys: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

[Latest update: 7/2021]

How did the Spanish-American War influence U.S. baby names?

The brief Spanish-American War (1898), which began in April and ended in August, inspired hundreds of patriotic parents in the U.S. to choose war-inspired baby names.

Maine & Havana

One of the events that led to war was the explosion of the USS Maine in Cuba’s Havana Harbor on February 15. The explosion killed more than 260 men. Many people in the U.S. blamed the explosion on Spain.

The baby names Maine and Havana both debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1898.

  • 1900: unlisted
  • 1899: unlisted
  • 1898: 9 baby girls named Maine [debut] (plus 5 more named Mayne)
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: unlisted

Maine was a one-hit wonder in the data — a rarity that never returned — but Havana returned to the data dozens of times since.

  • 1900: unlisted
  • 1899: unlisted
  • 1898: 8 baby girls named Havana [debut]
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: unlisted

The baby name Cuba also saw a spike in usage that year:

  • 1900: 8 baby girls named Cuba
  • 1899: 14 baby girls named Cuba (rank: 884th)
  • 1898: 29 baby girls named Cuba (rank: 597th)
  • 1897: 9 baby girls named Cuba
  • 1896: unlisted
The U.S.S. Maine sinking in Havana harbor, 1898.
The USS Maine sinking in Havana harbor, 1898

According to U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) data — which is more comprehensive than the SSA data for this time period — 25 babies were named Maine, 12 were named Havana, and 79 were named Cuba in 1898.

Dewey & Manila

War was formally declared on April 25. On May 1, the Battle of Manila Bay took place in the Philippines. The U.S. fleet, under the command of Commodore George Dewey, defeated Spain.

Usage of the name Dewey spiked in 1898, both for boys and for girls:

Boys named DeweyGirls named Dewey
1900345
(rank: 75th)
9
1899499
(rank: 39th)
24
(rank: 632nd)
18981,115
(rank: 19th)
104
(rank: 305th)
1897158
(rank: 111th)
13
(rank: 904th)
189663
(rank: 224th)
.

Impressively, Dewey reached the boys’ top 20 in 1898. The spelling variants Dewie and Dewy also debuted that year.

Going back to the SSDI, we see even higher numbers — 6,708 babies named Dewey, 36 named Dewie, and 1 named Dewy in 1898.

We even see evidence of Dewey’s spike on the U.S. Census of 1920:

  • 1910s: over 4,300 people named Dewey were born
  • 1900s: over 11,000 people named Dewey were born
  • 1890s: over 12,100 people named Dewey were born
  • 1880s: over 200 people named Dewey were born
  • 1870s: over 100 people named Dewey were born

An article in the Reading Eagle in 1899 listed ten local babies named for George Dewey, and another article I spotted from decades later joked about starting a George Dewey namesake club.

We see a similar (though less pronounced) spike of in the usage of Manila for baby girls:

  • 1900: 10 baby girls named Manila
  • 1899: 34 baby girls named Manila (rank: 512th)
  • 1898: 104 baby girls named Manila (rank: 306th) [peak usage]
  • 1897: 7 baby girls named Manila [debut]
  • 1896: unlisted

The spelling variant Manilla was the top girl-name debut of 1898, with 35 baby girls (rank: 536th).

Again, the SSDI’s numbers are even higher — 195 babies were named Manila and 118 were named Manilla in 1898.

Hobson, Admiral, Shafter, Maceo, Schley & Philippina

Here are six more war-related names that debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1898.

The baby name Hobson was inspired by Richmond Pearson Hobson, prisoner of war in Cuba. (Hobson was the top boy-name debut of 1898, in fact.)

  • 1900: 13 baby boys named Hobson (rank: 713th)
  • 1899: 15 baby boys named Hobson (rank: 511th)
  • 1898: 38 baby boys named Hobson (rank: 311th) [debut]
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: unlisted

According to the SSDI, at least 161 babies were named Hobson that year.

(Hobson was a handsome Southerner who became a national celebrity following his month-long imprisonment. He became well known for kissing pretty young women as he toured the country. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch jokingly called him “the champion kisser of the universe.”)

The baby name Admiral was the rank of many of the men (e.g. Admiral Dewey, Admiral Sampson, Admiral Schley) who played a part in the war — Dewey especially.

  • 1900: 18 baby boys named Admiral (rank: 579th)
  • 1899: 13 baby boys named Admiral (rank: 549th)
  • 1898: 25 baby boys named Admiral (rank: 394th) [debut]
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: unlisted

According to the SSDI, at least 154 babies were named Admiral.

The baby name Shafter was inspired by army general William Rufus Shafter, who had command of the U.S. forces in Cuba during the war.

  • 1900: 8 baby boys named Shafter
  • 1899: unlisted
  • 1898: 14 baby boys named Shafter (rank: 604th) [debut]
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: unlisted

This was the first and only time the name Shafter landed in the U.S. top 1,000. According to the SSDI, at least 58 babies were named Shafter.

The baby name Maceo was inspired by Cuban revolutionary Antonio Maceo, “one of the outstanding guerrilla leaders in nineteenth century Latin America. (He died in late 1896, actually.)

  • 1900: 8 baby boys named Maceo
  • 1899: 9 baby boys named Maceo (rank: 760th)
  • 1898: 13 baby boys named Maceo (rank: 621st) [debut]
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: unlisted

According to the SSDI, at least 34 babies were named Maceo.

The baby name Schley was inspired by Winfield Scott Schley, hero of the Battle of Santiago Bay.

  • 1900: unlisted
  • 1899: unlisted
  • 1898: 10 baby boys named Schley (rank: 737th) [debut]
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: unlisted

Like Maine, it was a one-hit wonder in the SSA data, and, like Shafter, it was in the top 1,000 just once. According to the SSDI, at least 39 babies were named Schley.

(Winfield Scott Schley — just like Winfield Scott Hancock — had been named in honor of General Winfield Scott (1786-1866), who was a family friend. Scott became Commanding General of the U.S. Army two years after Schley was born.)

Finally, the baby name Philippina, possibly inspired by the Philippines, was another one-hit wonder the year of the war:

  • 1900: unlisted
  • 1899: unlisted
  • 1898: 5 baby girls named Philippina [debut]
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: unlisted

Interestingly, only single Philippina is accounted for in the SSDI data.

Sources: