How popular is the baby name Vincent 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 Vincent.

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Popularity of the baby name Vincent


Posts that mention the name Vincent

Where did the baby name Caesare come from in 1981?

The character Caesare from the movie "The Idolmaker" (1980)
Caesare from “The Idolmaker”

The rare name Caesare first appeared in the U.S. baby name data — for both genders, notably — in 1981:

  • 1983: unlisted
  • 1982: 27 baby boys and 5 baby girls named Caesare
  • 1981: 6 baby boys and 5 baby girls named Caesare [dual-gender debut]
  • 1980: unlisted
  • 1979: unlisted

The following year, Caesare reached its highest-ever usage. Also in 1982, we see an increase in the number of baby boys with similar names:

1980198119821983
Cesare76128
Chezarae9*
Chezare9*
Ceasare8*
Chazaray6*
Chez55157
*Debut

(Chezarae and Chazaray were both one-hit wonders.)

What was influencing all of these names?

A movie called The Idolmaker, which was released in November of 1980.

The main character, Vincent Vacarri (played by Ray Sharkey), worked as a talent manager in New York City in the late 1950s. (The character was based on real-life Philadelphia talent manager Bob Marcucci, who discovered and developed both Frankie Avalon and Fabian.)

One of Vinnie’s protégés was teenage busboy Guido (played by Peter Gallagher), who had no discernible talent. Vinnie renamed Guido “Caesare” (pronounced CHEZ-uh-ray, similar to the English pronunciation of Désirée) and got to work transforming him into a star.

Caesare became “an unwilling Trilby to Vinnie’s Svengali,” according to one reviewer.

The name Caesare in lights, from the movie "The Idolmaker" (1980)
“Caesare” in lights

The name Caesare — which was occasionally shortened to “Chez” in the movie — is a spelling variant of the name Cesare, the Italian form of Caesar.

What are your thoughts on the name Caesare? (How would you spell it?)

P.S. Other dual-gender debuts include Chaffee, Dasani, Dondi, Illya, Khaalis, Rikishi, Shilo, Sundown, and Tavares.

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of The Idolmaker

Popular baby names in Denmark, 2022

Flag of Denmark
Flag of Denmark

Denmark is second-most populous Nordic country, after Sweden. (The three smaller Nordic countries are Finland, Norway, and Iceland.)

Last year, Denmark welcomed 58,430 babies. The most popular names among these babies? Ella and William.

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

Girl Names

  1. Ella, 442 baby girls
  2. Freja, 413
  3. Alma, 409
  4. Frida, 403
  5. Agnes, 389
  6. Luna, 383
  7. Ida, 381
  8. Nora, 378
  9. Olivia, 377
  10. Sofia, 376
  11. Emma, 375
  12. Clara, 361
  13. Asta, 358
  14. Alberte, 337 (tie)
  15. Karla, 337 (tie)
  16. Lily, 321
  17. Ellie, 320
  18. Anna, 315
  19. Ellen, 303
  20. Esther, 292
  21. Astrid, 238
  22. Isabella, 235
  23. Lærke, 234
  24. Josefine, 231
  25. Laura, 226
  26. Mathilde, 220
  27. Emily, 215 (tie)
  28. Mille, 215 (tie)
  29. Merle, 207
  30. Saga, 201
  31. Victoria, 199
  32. Aya, 197 (tie)
  33. Maja, 197 (tie)
  34. Marie, 192
  35. Vera, 191
  36. Leonora, 181
  37. Hannah, 179
  38. Vilma, 176
  39. Andrea, 165
  40. Liva, 160
  41. Liv, 159
  42. Elina, 158
  43. Lea, 156 (tie)
  44. Molly, 156 (tie)
  45. Gry, 153
  46. Eva, 151
  47. Johanne, 149
  48. Ingrid, 146 (tie)
  49. Rosa, 146 (tie)
  50. Emilie, 137

Boy Names

  1. William, 560 baby boys
  2. Karl, 466
  3. Emil, 459
  4. Oscar, 455
  5. Malthe, 452
  6. Noah, 446
  7. Valdemar, 432
  8. Aksel, 428
  9. August, 398 (tie)
  10. Oliver, 398 (tie)
  11. Lucas, 396
  12. Alfred, 391
  13. Theo, 376
  14. Elias, 370
  15. Arthur, 364
  16. Otto, 332
  17. Elliot, 325
  18. Felix, 314
  19. Victor, 299
  20. Magnus, 296
  21. Hugo, 281
  22. Viggo, 277
  23. Matheo, 276
  24. Louie, 268
  25. Liam, 258
  26. Lauge, 257
  27. Anton, 252
  28. Theodor, 246
  29. Anker, 234
  30. Konrad, 233
  31. Nohr, 219
  32. Holger, 214
  33. Frederik, 205
  34. Alexander, 192
  35. Adam, 187
  36. Erik, 186
  37. Storm, 183
  38. Ebbe, 182 (tie)
  39. Luca, 182 (tie)
  40. Vincent, 174
  41. Albert, 173 (tie)
  42. Pelle, 173 (tie)
  43. Milas, 169
  44. Walter, 166
  45. Marius, 164 (tie)
  46. Vilhelm, 164 (tie)
  47. Asger, 161 (tie)
  48. Johan, 161 (tie)
  49. Christian, 159
  50. Villads, 152

The Kingdom of Denmark also includes two autonomous regions: Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

The top baby names in the Faroes in 2022 were Eva and Bartal (which is related to Bartholomew). Here’s more:

Girl names (Faroes)Boy names (Faroes)
1. Eva, 7 baby girls
2. Anna, 5 (4-way tie)
3. Elvira, 5 (4-way tie)
4. Olivia, 5 (4-way tie)
5. Sólja, 5 (4-way tie)
6. Bára, 4 (7-way tie)
7. Bjarta, 4 (7-way tie)
8. Bjørg, 4 (7-way tie)
9. Lilja, 4 (7-way tie)
10. Lív, 4 (7-way tie)
11. Ronja, 4 (7-way tie)
12. Tóra, 4 (7-way tie)
1. Bartal, 7 baby boys
2. Baldur, 5 (7-way tie)
3. Brandur, 5 (7-way tie)
4. Kristian, 5 (7-way tie)
5. Lukas, 5 (7-way tie)
6. Niels, 5 (7-way tie)
7. Nóa, 5 (7-way tie)
8. Rókur, 5 (7-way tie)
9. Gilli, 4 (4-way tie)
10. Mattias, 4 (4-way tie)
11. Ragnar, 4 (4-way tie)
12. Tóki, 4 (4-way tie)

Names used a single time in the Faroes last year include the girl names Døgg (“dew”) and Royða (“tufa“) and the boy names Bogi (“bow”) and Sproti (“sprout”).

Greenland’s top baby names of 2022, on the other hand, are still unknown at this point. Why? Because whoever edited the country’s English-language statistical booklet, Greenland in Figures 2023 [PDF], forgot to update the small section about baby names on page seven. :)

In 2021, the top baby names in Denmark were Alma and Oscar, the top baby names in the Faroes were Lea/Lív and Jónas, and the top baby names in Greenland were Lea/Luna and Aputsiaq/Marco.

Sources: Names of newborn children – Statistics Denmark, Births – Statistics Denmark, Nordic Countries – Wikipedia, Statistical Database (Names) – Hagstova Føroya, Nordic Names

Image: Adapted from Flag of Denmark (public domain)

Popular baby names in Sweden, 2022

Flag of Sweden
Flag of Sweden

Sweden, home to over 10 million people, is easily the most populous of the five Nordic countries. (Denmark, Finland, and Norway each contain between 5 and 6 million people; Iceland contains fewer than half a million.)

Last year, Sweden welcomed 104,734 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Astrid and William.

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

Girl Names

  1. Astrid, 603 baby girls
  2. Maja, 601
  3. Alma, 596
  4. Vera, 592
  5. Freja, 584
  6. Leah, 570
  7. Ella, 563
  8. Alice, 552
  9. Selma, 540
  10. Lilly, 530
  11. Elsa, 528
  12. Ellie, 513
  13. Ines, 512
  14. Olivia, 504
  15. Stella, 482
  16. Wilma, 474
  17. Signe, 456
  18. Ebba, 453
  19. Ester, 433
  20. Clara, 429
  21. Saga, 412
  22. Alva, 403
  23. Agnes, 402
  24. Alicia, 383
  25. Mila, 378
  26. Juni, 364
  27. Molly, 354
  28. Leia, 349 (tie)
  29. Luna, 349 (tie)
  30. Iris, 348
  31. Hedda, 339
  32. Julia, 321
  33. Alba, 320
  34. Ellen, 302
  35. Sigrid, 292
  36. Elvira, 289
  37. Nora, 283
  38. Edith, 276 (tie)
  39. Sara, 276 (tie)
  40. Meja, 273
  41. Celine, 256
  42. Nellie, 253
  43. Lova, 252
  44. Livia, 251 (tie)
  45. Nova, 251 (tie)
  46. Lykke, 250
  47. Rut, 248
  48. Elise, 244 (tie)
  49. Lo, 244 (tie)
  50. Sofia, 235

Boy Names

  1. William, 690 baby boys
  2. Liam, 679
  3. Noah, 677
  4. Hugo, 643
  5. Oliver, 629
  6. Lucas, 616
  7. Nils, 579
  8. Matteo, 571
  9. Valter, 566
  10. August, 565
  11. Elias, 559 (tie)
  12. Leon, 559 (tie)
  13. Adam, 556
  14. Leo, 545
  15. Ludvig, 507
  16. Alfred, 502
  17. Oscar, 490
  18. Sam, 488
  19. Theo, 474
  20. Otto, 469
  21. Arvid, 450
  22. Harry, 436
  23. Frans, 429
  24. Charlie, 424
  25. Elliot, 407 (tie)
  26. Isak, 407 (tie)
  27. Malte, 401
  28. Theodor, 395
  29. Vincent, 383
  30. Elton, 371
  31. Olle, 366
  32. Louie, 363
  33. Benjamin, 358
  34. Gabriel, 351
  35. Ebbe, 343
  36. Alexander, 338
  37. Adrian, 337 (tie)
  38. Axel, 337 (tie)
  39. Love, 328
  40. Henry, 325
  41. Tage, 317
  42. Filip, 315 (tie)
  43. Ted, 315 (tie)
  44. Noel, 310
  45. Josef, 300
  46. Mohammed, 298
  47. Melvin, 297
  48. Jack, 287
  49. Aron, 286
  50. Viggo, 281

Astrid and William rose from 9th place and 2nd place (respectively) in 2021 to dethrone former #1 names Alice and Noah in 2022.

The girls’ top 100 included Sally (53rd), Tuva (65th), Idun (86th), and Eira (98th).

The boys’ top 100 included Sixten (67th), Vide (81st), Folke (86th), and Algot (90th).

The names in Sweden’s top 100 that rose the fastest from 2021 to 2022 were Ronja and Ture. Ture’s rise was particularly impressive:

  • 2022: 251 baby boys named Ture in Sweden [rank: 58th]
  • 2021: 163 baby boys named Ture in Sweden [rank: 84th]
  • 2020: 175 baby boys named Ture in Sweden [rank: 81st]
  • 2019: 171 baby boys named Ture in Sweden [rank: 84th]

The names that saw the steepest drops in usage were Emilia and Sigge.

Finally, some strange news:

Statistics Sweden will stop producing name statistics as of 2024. The reason for this is that Statistics Sweden will prioritize the production of other statistics.

So, will these 2022 rankings be the last set of Swedish rankings we see for a while? (Perhaps a long while?)

How interesting that, not long after Canada decides to begin releasing national rankings, Sweden decides to stop releasing national rankings…

Sources: Name statistics – Statistics Sweden, Population statistics – Statistics Sweden, Nordic Countries – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of Sweden (public domain)

Name quotes #122: Fingal, Cecil, Madison

double quotation mark

Greetings everyone! Here’s this month’s quote post…

From a 2017 article about the off-Broadway play They Promised Her the Moon (which tells the story of pilot Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb, the first American woman to test for space flight):

“I immediately fell in love with the story,” the show’s director and producer, Valentina Fratti, told Space.com. “I couldn’t believe I didn’t know about Jerrie Cobb.” 

Fratti had been named for the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, but hadn’t known about the “almost first,” her American counterpart. 

From a 1907 article in the Deseret Evening News called “Genealogy“:

A very good guide, in the study of New England genealogy, is given by the Christian name. In some families, Simon, Stephen and Thomas may follow down the line of sons; while others carry only John, James and William. Genealogists have great confidence in this clue, for those Christian old worthies used to name their sons after themselves and their fathers. They had not evolved into the “Vernons” and “Cecils” and “Irvings” of now-a-days; these modern names which mean nothing but a morbid craving for the romantic and unusual. Romances guide the Christian names of babies today, alas, instead of sense of family loyalty. Have we not lost something of the real spirit of genuineness and fealty with the changed nomenclature of our babies?

From a review of the documentary The Ashley Madison Affair in the San Francisco Chronicle:

Ashley Madison launched in 2001 and took its name from the two most popular baby names at the time, “Ashley” and “Madison.” Right away, that’s creepy.

[Not technically true, but close. Ashley and Madison were the 4th- and 2nd-most popular baby girl names in the U.S. that year. In Canada — which is where the dating website is based — they ranked 13th and 4th.]

From a 1964 article in the Eugene Register-Guard called “Quite a Problem, Naming the Baby“:

The American melting pot has made something of a stew of old world cultures. Isaac and Rebecca Goldberg are the parents not of Moses and Rachael, but of Donald and Marie. Hjalmar and Sigrid Johanson are the parents of Richard and Dorothy. It seems rather a shame that Axel and Jens, Helma and Ingeborg, not to mention Stanislaus and Giacomo and Pedro and Vladimir have just about disappeared. The custom seems to be for the first generation to anglicize the given name as soon as possible. The next generation or two branches out and we get Pat Johnson, even Angus Puccini. Then, after a few generations, there is a tentative reach backward for the Shawns or even the Seans. Katy’s real name may again be Caitlin, Pat’s Padriac.

Have you spotted any interesting name-related quotes/articles/blog posts lately? Let me know!