How popular is the baby name Zia 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 Zia.

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Popularity of the baby name Zia


Posts that mention the name Zia

Popular baby names in British Columbia (Canada), 2018

According to British Columbia’s Vital Statistics Agency, the most popular baby names in the province in 2018 were Olivia and Liam.

Here are British Columbia’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 246 baby girls
  2. Emma, 222
  3. Amelia, 170 (tie)
  4. Charlotte, 170 (tie)
  5. Chloe, 160
  6. Sophia, 149
  7. Ava, 148
  8. Isla, 137
  9. Emily, 134
  10. Abigail, 132

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 283 baby boys
  2. Lucas, 225
  3. Oliver, 211
  4. Benjamin, 200
  5. Logan, 183
  6. Ethan, 182
  7. Noah, 181 (tie)
  8. William, 181 (tie)
  9. James, 175
  10. Leo, 165

In the girls’ top 10, Isla replaced Hannah.

In the boys’ top 10, Leo replaced Owen.

Names used just five times each in 2018 include…

  • Girl names: Ayda, Bria, Clover, Dilnoor, Ever, Flora, Guneet, Havana, Irene, Jenny, Krystal, Lavinia, Magnolia, Opal, Pippa, Rosha, Sahej, Taryn, Waverly, Zia
  • Boy names: Adriel, Bjorn, Clyde, Drake, Eamon, Fergus, Graydon, Hamza, Ibraheem, Jagger, Kaya, Leland, Malikai, Ollie, Partap, Reginald, Smith, Tegh, Watson, Zephyr

In 2017, the top names were Olivia and Benjamin.

Source: Baby’s Most Chosen Names in British Columbia, 2018

Pop culture baby name game results, 2018

Here are the results of Pop Culture Baby Name Game 2018! For the pop culture context of any of these names, just click back over to the original game post.

Rises

Names that saw higher usage in 2018:

No Change

Names that saw no change in usage in 2018.

Drops

Names that saw lower usage in 2018:

Absent

Names that were absent from the SSA data in 2018:

  • Did not debut: Avicii, Carvena, Chevel, Coco (as a boy name), Cullinan, Ella Mai, Kaavia, Kulture, Mahomes, Majeste, Maquia, Marsai, Nafessa, Osaka, Pineapple, Qira, Ramirez (as a girl name), Reileen, Sanni, Velar, Venom, Villanelle, Xolo, Yanny, Zaxai
  • Did not re-emerge: Cress, Gio, Joji, Jumanji, T’challa

Late Bloomers

Names that were “absent” from 2017’s results, now in 2018:

Plus: Rumi finally rose, and Sircarter unexpectedly surfaced.

What are your thoughts on the results this year? Did anything surprise you?

[Disclaimer: Some of the names above were already moving in the direction indicated, and some were no doubt influenced by more than a single pop culture person/event. I leave it up to you to judge the degree/nature of pop culture influence in each case.]

111 Minimalist baby names

boat, water

Are you a baby name minimalist?

If so, here’s a long list of baby names that fall somewhere between short/simple and modern/stylish.

All 111 of these names have made gains recently — Hank and Linus included!

For details on usage, click through to see the popularity graphs.

  1. Ace
  2. Amal
  3. Amna
  4. Amos
  5. Ander
  6. Ansel
  7. Ari
  8. Arlo
  9. Asa
  10. Asher
  11. Aspen
  12. Atlas
  13. Avi
  14. Aziz
  15. Azra
  16. Beck
  17. Clio
  18. Colt
  19. Cora
  20. Dash
  21. Dax
  22. Dean
  23. Demi
  24. Eden
  25. Elon
  26. Ember
  27. Ender
  28. Enzo
  29. Esme
  30. Ever
  31. Ezra
  32. Felix
  33. Ford
  34. Fox
  35. Gaia
  36. Halo
  37. Hank
  38. Haven
  39. Hawk
  40. Honor
  41. Huck
  42. Hugo
  43. Idris
  44. Io
  45. Juno
  46. Kai
  47. King
  48. Koa
  49. Lane
  50. Lark
  51. Leo
  52. Lev
  53. Levi
  54. Linus
  55. Liv
  56. Loki
  57. Lola
  58. Lotus
  59. Luca
  60. Luna
  61. Lux
  62. Mia
  63. Milo
  64. Mina
  65. Mira
  66. Nala
  67. Nara
  68. Nash
  69. Neo
  70. Nico
  71. Nola
  72. Noor
  73. Nora
  74. Nova
  75. Ori
  76. Orla
  77. Orli
  78. Pax
  79. Reem
  80. Remy
  81. Rex
  82. Rio
  83. Riva
  84. Ronan
  85. Rory
  86. Rush
  87. Sage
  88. Sia
  89. Silas
  90. Sky
  91. Sol
  92. Soren
  93. Taj
  94. Tesla
  95. Thea
  96. Theo
  97. Thor
  98. Titan
  99. Titus
  100. Valor
  101. Vida
  102. West
  103. Zane
  104. Zelda
  105. Zen
  106. Zia
  107. Zion
  108. Ziv
  109. Ziva
  110. Zola
  111. Zora

What are your thoughts on minimalist-style baby names? Will you be using one? (Have you used one already?)

Image: Adapted from La pirogue à balancier by Brigitte Bourger under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How has the game show “Jeopardy!” influenced U.S. baby names?

Title of the TV game show "Jeopardy!" (1984-)
“Jeopardy!“

Last week, Becca commented with some interesting Jeopardy! contestant names (e.g., Hobie, Dorcas) and mentioned J! Archive, which lists tens of thousands of Jeopardy! contestants going back to 1984, when the show premiered.

I skimmed through all the contestants from 1984 to 2015 (as we don’t have baby name data for 2016 yet) and spotted hundreds of unusual names. And it looks like at least two of them got a boost thanks to the show.

Alancia

The name Alancia was a one-hit wonder that popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 2000:

  • 2002: unlisted
  • 2001: unlisted
  • 2000: 9 baby girls named Alancia [debut]
  • 1999: unlisted
  • 1998: unlisted

One-time player Alancia Wynn, a family practice physician from Virginia, was on Jeopardy! in October of 1999.

Brannon

The name Brannon saw an increase in usage in 1998:

  • 2000: 116 baby boys named Brannon
  • 1999: 118 baby boys named Brannon
  • 1998: 158 baby boys named Brannon [peak]
  • 1997: 113 baby boys named Brannon
  • 1996: 114 baby boys named Brannon

One-time player Brannon Denning, a graduate student from Connecticut, was on Jeopardy! in September of 1998. (Looks like Brannon Denning is now a law professor at Samford University.)

Alaric & Ezgi …?

These two names may have gotten a slight boost as well, though it’s hard to tell.

  • Alaric, in 2005. One-time player Alaric Smith was on the show in October of 2005.
  • Ezgi, in 2015. One-time player Ezgi Ustundag was on the show in October of 2015.

Ezgi is a female name that means “melody” in Turkish.

Anjali (false positive)

“Kids Week” contestant Anjali Tripathi was on the show in September of 1999. The same year, the baby name Anjali more than doubled in usage:

  • 2001: 222 baby girls named Anjali
  • 2000: 230 baby girls named Anjali
  • 1999: 202 baby girls named Anjali
  • 1998: 93 baby girls named Anjali
  • 1997: 80 baby girls named Anjali

But this was a suspiciously steep rise. And it was accompanied by the debut of an alternate spelling (Anjalie). And usage didn’t drop back to normal levels the next year, as one would expect. These facts pointed me to something more high-profile than a Jeopardy! contestant.

Turns out the very successful Hindi coming-of-age romantic comedy Kuch Kuch Hota Hai had been released in 1998. The movie featured not one but two main characters named Anjali.

More names!

Here are the rest of the names that caught my eye, sorted by year:

  • 2015: Chandreyi, Dava-Leigh, Desta, Ezgi, Kynan, Mags, Praggya, Rook, Tiombi
  • 2014: Ben-Hur, Dinu, FeiFei, Gudrun, Ilissa, Kenesha, LaWanda, Leszek, Mariusz, Myfanwy, Osei, Shloka, Sirena
  • 2013: Arne, Berek, Diva, Kelton, Kinu, Nilai, Nishanth, Ramsin, Rhea, Salvo, Shuli, Sonrisa, Tahne, Twyla, Waymond, Xan, Yellowlees
  • 2012: Anshika, Benton, Bing, Deniz, Injee, Jessamine, Jia-Rui, Mithun, Pian, Shaanti,
    Vamsi, Vinayak
  • 2011: Bhibha, Boomie, Cosi, Gabor, Gitta, Idrees, Karawan, LuEllen, Milind, Raphie
  • 2010: Huat, Kemi, Marianthe, Raghuveer, Shaama, Surabhi
  • 2009: Ariella, Claxton, Cyn, Daphna, Drusha, Hayes, Henok, Jove, Lysette, Nirav, Ranjan, Seyi, Shyra, Tui, Wright
    • Tui Sutherland (first name pronounced TOO-ee) is a fiction writer. She was named after the tui bird of New Zealand.
  • 2008: Anurag, Babatope, Delano, Elza, Gilah, Kew, Murtaza, Naren, Srinivas, Vibin, Zia
  • 2007: Arlynda, Bethlehem, Clé, Haritha, Khoa, Kai-Ning, Kizzle, Lateefah, Lenzy, Marvene, Mehrun, Ssezi, Tigger, Toho, Tope
  • 2006: Dianisbeth, Iddoshe, Karmie, Lizard, Nemanja, Nissan, Oz, Ozgun, Papa, Pinki, Raena, Reda, Sioux, Tawney
  • 2005: Alaric, Corinth, Jayanth, Kem, Kingslea, LeeAundra, Ruchi, Ruvani, Vanamali
  • 2004: Denele, Kermin, M’Liss, Nithya
  • 2003: Alicen, Amasa, Eok, Freya, Nulty, Snowden, Vane
  • 2002: Anagha, Dileep, Gadi, Hikma, Jara, Kirik, Kunle, Manoj, Muzy (MYOO-zee), Omid, Quyen, Rafi, Seveen, Shasa, Tana, Umiko
  • 2001: Aki, Babu, Gosia, Marek, Mittie, Neha, Ulhas, Vinita
  • 2000: Akshai, Arrington, Celiane, Cinnamon, Iyesatu, Jeeks, Manx, Meri-Jane, Mitali, Sabin, Tarun
  • 1999: Ajuan, Alancia, Anjali, Chacko, Davine, Happy, Mihee, Seale, Wellington, Yancy, Yoni
  • 1998: Ardys, Brannon, Creswell, Kemp, Melizza, Sinan
  • 1998: Boze, Jolyn, Rokshana
  • 1997: Akiva, Atish, Breck, Brick, Davia, Girish, Mita, Murat, Pooja, Sahir, Tanis, Vartan, Zinie
  • 1996: Myretta, Rima, Ulf, Vandana
  • 1995: Albina
  • 1994: Graydon
  • 1993: Bronwyn, Ferris, Leif
  • 1991: India, Kareem
  • 1990: Ardwight, Avrom, Murdock, Peji
  • 1989: Darbi, Ouida
  • 1988: Blaze, Cigus, Doak, Scooter
  • 1987: JoFrannye
  • 1986: Chub, Zanete

Which of the above names do you like best?

P.S. Thanks again, Becca!