A reader recently wrote to me with this question:
My friend just had her fifth child, a girl, after having 4 boys. I was shocked to learn she named her Stuart. Is this EVER a girl’s name?
Yes…but very rarely.
Neither Stuart nor Stewart has appeared in the national baby name data set* since the turn of the century, but they both popped up a number of times during the ’80s and ’90s:
Year | Stuart (girls) | Stuart (boys) | Stewart (girls) | Stewart (boys) |
1999 | . | 241 | 7 | 110 |
1998 | 5 | 259 | . | 139 |
1997 | 7 | 305 | . | 121 |
1996 | 5 | 324 | 5 | 172 |
1995 | 7 | 396 | . | 169 |
1994 | . | 474 | . | 205 |
1993 | . | 450 | . | 226 |
1992 | 6 | 519 | . | 233 |
1991 | 5 | 666 | 5 | 275 |
1990 | . | 708 | 7 | 282 |
1989 | . | 739 | . | 274 |
1988 | 6 | 676 | 8 | 268 |
1987 | 6 | 659 | 6 | 287 |
1986 | 5 | 685 | . | 266 |
1985 | 10 | 780 | . | 282 |
1984 | 5 | 692 | . | 279 |
1983 | 7 | 636 | . | 247 |
1982 | 6 | 586 | . | 254 |
1981 | . | 596 | . | 248 |
1980 | . | 562 | . | 246 |
Both names were used for girls before the ’80s as well.
How do you feel about parents using Stuart/Stewart for baby girls?
*To be included in the SSA data, a name has to be used at least five times per year for either one or the other gender. So non-inclusion means that anywhere from 0 to 4 babies (of that specific gender) got the name that year.
I would say that it only works on a girl if it’s a family name. I find it odd that after having 4 boys the parents choose a very masculine name for their daughter. It makes me wonder if they were hoping for another boy.
This reminds me of an acquaintance who after 4 boys, named her next two children Spencer and Kirby. They are both girls.
I can’t understand naming a girl Stuart, it doesn’t have many feminine qualities.
Woah! Are you serious?!? I’m one out of 7!?! (recorded) This is so cool.
I think Stuart is an awesome name for a female, and I never thought of it as a “masculine” name. Though it does throw people off at first. I’m glad my parents named me Stuart; it’s a unique name.
I recently met a female Stewart. I thought it was very strange. She apeared to be in her early to mid 30’s so she predates all the girls on this list by a few years.
I had a daughter named Stuart on October 10th 2010, after four boys and I cannot help but think that one of my friends wrote this about me. I can tell you that it is a family name and it was our girl name from the start, before my husband and I were even married. We just never had the chance to use it until our fifth child and first girl. I had wanted to name my third son Avery as it is historically a boys name until Pottery Barn had it on a pink towel on the cover of their catalog so, in my opinion, all names are up for grab. Now any Avery under the age of 25 is a girl. I think it is cool to have a genderless name and I enjoy having an unusual name myself. We love her name and it seems to suit her.
I am a grandmother to a girl named Stuart. She is the most gorgeous and feminine little thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I love the name and, like her siblings, (4 boys…what a coincidence!) she has already grown into this fabulous name.
Watch for her in 2040. She’ll be doing great things!
having been John for my whole life I can only applaud the use of singular names. In life we have to form an identity for yourself and those around you-starting out as Stuart with four others already in the family will be a great advantage and a wonderful platform for an interesting life.
I find it strange that a “friend” would worry about what her friend named her child. I guess if you have a plain vanilla name, it’s hard to think out of the box. Stuart is a fabulous name for a girl.
My first name is Stuart and it is a family name. My middle name is Anna which is also a family name. Up until high school I went by Stuart Anna. I still do get called that by my mother and other close friends from childhood. However when I reached high school I didn’t like it and started just going by Anna. I didn’t like my first name as a kid but love it now. It may not be very feminine or popular as a girl’s name, but rest assured its unique and original! I have never in my 26 years met another girl with the first name Stuart.
If I have a daughter I’m naming her Stuart. It’s the most adorable name for a girl. I’ve never thought of it as a masculine name, considering the spelling. I think the name spelled “Stewart” is masculine, but not Stuart. Just my opinion.
I was confused about an individual named as Stuart in an 1851 Census record. She was shown as a daughter to the head of the household and a pensioner wife. I thought” surely this has to be wrong”. No matter how hard I looked I couldn’t make it anything but ‘Stuart’. Looking at these comments, it surely must be right; so the name was being used a girls name over 150 years ago too.
Thanks, Joseph!
I have three daughters. There names are:
Reid Anderson Carter
Wells Stewart Carter
Culpepper McGill Carter
All of these names are family names. The first is our mothers’ maiden names. The second name is our grandmother’s maiden name. The third, grandparents’ last names.
None of these are girl’s name. We made the decision that since we had all daughters, and our grandparents had all daughter, the only way we could pass on family names. My daughter all plan to use their maiden names, Carter, as part of their childrens names. This type of naming is fairly common in the “deep south.”
I want to name my girl Nanne Stuart which are both family names, but in Denmark where we live you cannot name a girl Stuart as a part of a first name. So I have to apply for it and they need proof that it is used as a first name in other countries. Does anyone know where I can find a link to official data on women in eg the US with the first name Stuart? Thanks in advance.
Hi Louise,
If you go to this URL…
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/limits.html
…and download the “national data” text file, that’s where you’ll find proof that hundreds of female babies in the U.S. have been named Stuart. Just open the file and search for “Stuart,f” to find the right entries.
Well I’m one from 1986! My mom took the name from her best girlfriend, first name Stuart, and it was a family name for her.
I love my name! I do catch a lot of grief online for it, because people automatically assume I’m 1) lying or 2)fake. Glad to know there are more out there like me…
We should start a Stuart’s Are Girls Too club… :)
I’m a Stuart and never had been very happy with my name until now.
I’ve never heard of a girl named Stuart, I kinda like it because I’m a guy who always wanted to be a girl.
I’m a Stuart. At the point in time Stuart is probably a better name for a girl.