How popular is the baby name Sanford 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 Sanford.

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Popularity of the baby name Sanford


Posts that mention the name Sanford

80+ Hidden gems: Rare baby boy names

gems

Want a boy name that’s not popular, but also not unheard of?

I looked through all the names at the bottom of SSA’s 2011 mega-list and found a bunch of hidden gems:

  1. Alaric (48 baby boys)
  2. Alban (12)
  3. Aldous (11)
  4. Aldric (7)
  5. Alphonse (20)
  6. Archibald (14)
  7. Astor (5)
  8. Augustin (50)
  9. Balthazar (13)
  10. Barclay (6)
  11. Barnabas (8)
  12. Bartholomew (19)
  13. Booker (22)
  14. Chadwick (34)
  15. Cyril (41)
  16. Clancy (14)
  17. Claude (44)
  18. Clement (34)
  19. Crispin (21)
  20. Darcy (15)
  21. Dirk (40)
  22. Doyle (10)
  23. Ernst (6)
  24. Ferdinand (20)
  25. Garrick (42)
  26. Giles (20)
  27. Gregor (14)
  28. Griffith (18)
  29. Grover (9)
  30. Gustaf (7); Gustav (29)
  31. Horatio (10)
  32. Hubert (46)
  33. Ignatius (49)
  34. Isidore (7)
  35. Kermit (6)
  36. Lambert (6)
  37. Laird (17)
  38. Laurence (48)
  39. Laurent (9)
  40. Leander (48)
  41. Leith (7)
  42. Lemuel (50)
  43. Lowell (29)
  44. Maxfield (22)
  45. Newton (14)
  46. Nicanor (8)
  47. Norbert (9)
  48. Norris (21)
  49. Ogden (13)
  50. Orson (33)
  51. Osborn (5); Osborne (7)
  52. Oswald (18)
  53. Pascal (25)
  54. Percival (13)
  55. Peregrine (9)
  56. Piers (16)
  57. Regis (10)
  58. Remis (11)
  59. Roscoe (47)
  60. Rudolph (44)
  61. Rufus (39)
  62. Rupert (8)
  63. Sanford (6)
  64. Seymour (6)
  65. Sherman (40)
  66. Sinclair (8)
  67. Tavish (16)
  68. Thane (48)
  69. Tobiah (14)
  70. Walton (14)
  71. Warner (48)
  72. Watson (42)
  73. Webster (8)
  74. Weldon (27)
  75. Werner (11)
  76. Wilbert (42)
  77. Wilbur (20)
  78. Winfield (7)
  79. Winfred (7)
  80. Winslow (10)
  81. York (5)
  82. Zebulon (25)
  83. Zeno (13)

(In some cases, a different spelling of the name is more popular than what’s shown here. For instance, Laurence is rare, but Lawrence is moderately popular.)

Like any of these?

Spot any other good names at the end of the list?

P.S. Here’s the girls’ list.

Image: Adapted from Birmanian rock crystals by Mauro Cateb under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Babies born on days of eclipses, named Eclipse

Lunar eclipse (Dec. 2011)
Lunar eclipse

This Saturday’s lunar eclipse will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2014, so today is a good day to post about people who have been named Eclipse!

Below are people with Eclipse as either a first or a middle name. I’ve even matched a few with specific historical solar eclipses listed on NASA’s website.

1700s

  • Maria Eclipse Moor, born in England on September 5, 1793, the day of a partial solar eclipse.

1800s

  • Emma Eclipse Earl, born in England on September 7, 1820, the day of a partial solar eclipse.
  • William Moore Eclipse Reddall, born in England in 1820.
  • Eclipse Mitchell, born in South Carolina circa 1828.
  • Eclipse Sabourin, born in Quebec circa 1823.
  • Eclipse Thomas, born in North Carolina in 1829. (Father of Eclipse J. Thomas, below.)
  • Eclipse Northeast, born in England circa 1831.
  • Charles Eclipse Bennett, born in England in 1836.
  • Maria Eclipse Wilson, born in England in 1836.
  • Augusta Caroline Eclipse Golden, born in England in 1837.
  • Eclipse Scott, born in Virginia on May 26, 1854, the day of a partial solar eclipse.
  • Eclipse Hilsden, born in England circa 1862.
  • Eclipse J. Thomas, born in Georgia in 1867. (Son of Eclipse Thomas, above.)
  • Eclipse Smith, born in Kentucky circa 1869.
  • Eclipse Newton, born in Missouri circa 1871.
  • Nina Eclipse Gain, born in Canada circa 1873.
  • Luna Eclipse Hill, born in Texas on October 24, 1874. (Daughter of Luna Eclipse Weaver, birth date unknown.)
  • Ida/Ada Eclipse Wade, born in Massachusetts in 1874. (I found records for both Ida and Ada — could be a misspelling, or could mean twins.)
  • Eclipse Green, born in Mississippi in 1877.
  • Lily Eclipse Monks, born in England circa 1878.
  • Henry Eclipse Monheim, born in Utah on July 29, 1878, the day of a partial solar eclipse.
  • Marvin Eclipse Wallace, born in Texas on July 29, 1878, the day of total solar eclipse.
  • Sanford Eclipse Gantt, born in Texas on July 29, 1878, the day of a total solar eclipse.
  • May Eclipse Glass, born in England circa 1890.
  • Essie Eclipse McGill, born in Tennessee on January 29, 1892.
  • Eclipse Blackman, born in Georgia circa 1898.

1900s

  • Eclipse Eley, born in Georgia circa 1900.
  • Eclipse Ruth Green, born in Mississippi circa 1914.
  • Vivian Eclipse Cubine, born in Oklahoma on May 2, 1920.
  • Eclipse Deutschman, born in New York circa 1925.
  • Eclipse De Marco, born in Rhode Island circa 1925.
  • Angelina Eclipse Ramos, born in Hawaii on May 5, 1941.
  • Jennifer Eclipse Kerr, born in Texas on July 6, 1982, the day of a total lunar eclipse.
  • Kathleen Eclipse Hernandez, born in Texas on July 11, 1991, the day of a partial solar eclipse.
  • Kathleen Eclipse Long, born in Texas on June 12, 1992.

And, in June of 2001, at least a few kids in southern Africa were given eclipse-related names (like Eclipse Glasses, Annular and Totality) around the time of the total solar eclipse.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from December 10th Lunar Eclipse by SteveB under CC BY 2.0.

Baby names for sports lovers (Namestorm #6)

I know, I know — sports is a huge topic. So huge that one could come up with dozens of names for just about any sport that’s ever existed.

But I thought taking a general approach would be more fun than focusing on a specific sport, so here are notable names culled from a range of sports:

James

  • Canadian-born sports coach James Naismith invented basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts in late 1891.
  • American athlete James “Jesse” Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.
  • American athlete James “Jim” Thorpe was named the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century by the Associated Press in 1950.
  • American football player James “Jim” Brown was named the greatest professional football player ever by The Sporting News in 2002.

Mildred and Charlotte
American athlete Mildred “Babe” Didrikson and English athlete Charlotte “Lottie” Dod were named the most versatile female athletes of all time by The Guinness Book of Records.

George
American baseball player George “Babe” Ruth is widely regarded as the greatest baseball player of all time.

Gertrude
American swimmer Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to swim across the English Channel, in 1926.

Roger
English athlete Roger Bannister was the first man to run a mile in fewer than four minutes, in 1954.

Althea
American tennis player Althea Gibson was the first African-American woman to win a Grand Slam title, in 1956.

Edison
Brazilian soccer player Edison Arantes do Nascimento, also known as Pelé, is widely regarded as the best soccer player of all time.

Jack

  • American baseball player Jack “Jackie” Robinson was the first African-American to play Major League Baseball, in 1947. He was also the first African American inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1962.
  • American golfer Jack Nicklaus is regarded by some as the greatest professional golfer of all time.

Sanford
American baseball player Sanford “Sandy” Koufax is the youngest person to have been inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1972.

Muhammad
American boxer Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay) was a three-time World Heavyweight Champion.

Bonnie
American speedskater Bonnie Blair is one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history.

Wayne
Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky is regarded by some as the greatest professional hockey player of all time.

Michael
American basketball player Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the best basketball player of all time.

And now, two questions:

  • What other sports-inspired names can you come up with?
  • What other interests or activities should we namestorm about next?

Sources: Smithsonian Institution, Top North American Athletes of the Century