How popular is the baby name Zuri in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Zuri.
The graph will take a few seconds to load, thanks for your patience. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take nine months.) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.
A few days ago, a writer with the Monroe News (of Monroe County, Michigan) tallied up all the baby names mentioned in the paper’s 2020 birth announcements. The most frequently occurring names for girls were Abigail and Ava (tie), and for boys was Asher.
Like I mentioned yesterday, I don’t tend to post rankings from non-governmental sources. But, again, this set had a relatively high number of names (451) compared to the size of the county (about 150,000 residents), so here’s the full list…
The intriguing name Shindana appeared in the U.S. baby name data for a total of three years:
1975: unlisted
1974: 6 baby girls named Shindana
1973: unlisted
1972: unlisted
1971: 6 baby girls named Shindana
1970: 5 baby girls named Shindana [debut] – all 5 in California
1969: unlisted
Where did it come from?
Shindana dolls, which were manufactured by Shindana Toys.
Shindana Toys was founded in 1968 as a division of Operation Bootstrap, located in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Operation Bootstrap was a job training center formed in the wake of the Watts riots (mid-August, 1965).
Black-owned and -operated, Shindana Toys was one of the first companies to make black dolls with ethnically correct features. The name of the company means “compete” in Swahili.
Though their very first doll was called Baby Nancy (introduced in 1968), many of their other dolls — such as Malaika (1969), Talking Tamu (1970), and Baby Zuri (1972) — had Swahili names. These Swahili names were “defined on the doll’s boxes or accompanying literature.” Malaika* means “angel,” Tamu means “sweet,” and Zuri means “beautiful.”
59 baby girls (11 in CA, 11 in NY, 6 in MI, 5 in DC)
26 baby girls (5 in NY)
10 baby girls + 5 baby boys
1972
72 baby girls (11 in CA, 5 in NY, 5 in NJ, 5 in MI, 5 in OH)
55 baby girls (9 in CA, in 9 NY)
.
1971
56 baby girls (9 in CA, 7 in IL, 6 in DC, 6 in NY, 5 in MI)
46 baby girls (12 in CA, 5 in IL)
5 baby girls [debut]
1970
37 baby girls (7 in CA)
13 baby girls
.
1969
7 baby girls
7 baby girls [debut]
.
1968
8 baby girls [debut]
.
.
1967
.
.
.
[It’s curious to me that each of these names debuted a year before the corresponding dolls were introduced. Haven’t been able to figure that one out yet…]
Shindana Toys ended up producing over 30 black dolls (along with other types of toys and games). The company reached peak productivity in the mid-1970s, but slowed down after that, and finally ceased operations in 1983. Today, Shindana dolls are sought-after collectibles.
What are your thoughts on the baby name Shindana?
Of course I had to throw in a pic of Baby Nancy. :)
P.S. If you know of any of the other Swahili names used for Shindana dolls, please comment! I couldn’t find a definitive list online.
*”Malaika” was also a song made famous by Miriam Makeba.
Sources:
Garrett, Debbie Behan. The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls. Grantsville, MD: Hobby House Press, 2003.
Here are hundreds of baby names that have a numerological value of “2.”
I’ve sub-categorized them by overall totals, because I think that some of the intermediate numbers could have special significance to people as well.
Within each group, I’ve listed up to ten of the most popular “2” names per gender (according to the current U.S. rankings).
Beneath all the names are some ways you could interpret the numerological value of “2,” including descriptions from two different numerological systems.
2 via 11
The following baby names add up to 11, which reduces to two (1+1=2).
“11” girl names: Adea, Fe
“11” boy names: Aj
2 via 20
The following baby names add up to 20, which reduces to two (2+0=2).
“20” girl names: Jade, Dana, Jia, Deja, Ara, Nada, Amada, Hiba, Ena, Jai
“20” boy names: Abel, Gage, Adan, Kace, Ean, Jai, Chace, Fahad, Jade, Able
2 via 29
The following baby names add up to 29, which reduces to two (2+9=11; 1+1=2).
The following baby names add up to 155, which reduces to two (1+5+5=11; 1+1=2).
“155” boy names: Krystopher, Chrystopher, Muhammadmustafa
What Does “2” Mean?
First, we’ll look at the significance assigned to “2” by two different numerological sources. Second, and more importantly, ask yourself if “2” or any of the intermediate numbers above have any special significance to you.
Numerological Attributes
“2” (the dyad) according to the Pythagoreans:
“The dyad is the first to have separated itself from the monad, whence also it is called ‘daring. ‘ For when the monad manifests unification, the dyad steals in and manifests separation.”
“Among the virtues, they liken it to courage: for it has already advanced into action. Hence too they used to call it ‘daring’ and ‘impulse.'”
“They also gave it the title of ‘opinion,’ because truth and falsity lie in opinion. And they called it ‘movement,’ ‘generation,’ ‘change,’ ‘division,’ ‘length,’ ‘multiplication,’ ‘addition,’ ‘kinship,’ ‘relativity,’ ‘the ratio in proportionality.’ For the relation of two numbers is of every conceivable form.”
“Apart from recklessness itself, they think that, because it is the very first to have endured separation, it deserves to be called ‘anguish,’ ‘endurance’ and ‘hardship.'”
“From division into two, they call it ‘justice’ (as it were ‘dichotomy’)”
“And they call it ‘Nature,’ since it is movement towards being and, as it were, a sort of coming-to-be and extension from a seed principle”
“Equality lies in this number alone…the product of its multiplication will be equal to the sum of its addition: for 2+2=2×2. Hence they used to call it ‘equal.'”
“It also turns out to be ‘infinity,’ since it is difference, and difference starts from its being set against 1 and extends to infinity.”
“The dyad, they say, is also called ‘Erato’; for having attracted through love the advance of the monad as form, it generates the rest of the results, starting with the triad and tetrad.”
“2” according to Edgar Cayce:
“Two – divided” (reading 261-14).
“Two – the combination, and begins a division of the whole, or the one. While two makes for strength, it also makes for weakness” (reading 5751-1).
Personal/Cultural Significance
Does “2” — or do any of the other numbers above (e.g., 38, 47, 83, 101) — have any special significance to you?
Think about your own preferences and personal experiences: lucky numbers, birth dates, music, sports, and so on. Maybe you like how “101” reminds you of education and learning new things, for example.
Also think about associations you may have picked up from your culture, your religion, or society in general.
If you have any interesting insights about the number 2, or any of the other numbers above, please leave a comment!
Source: Theologumena Arithmeticae, attributed to Iamblichus (c.250-c.330).
Wondering what the most popular K-names for baby girls are? How about R-names?
Below are the 10 most popular girl names for each letter, A through Z. (The parenthetical notations show how the current rankings differ from the 2012 rankings.)
The four new #1 names that emerged in 2013 were Charlotte, which replaced Chloe, Delilah, which replaced Destiny, Harper, which replaced Hannah, and Lillian, which replaced Lily.
