According to the U.S. baby name data, the rare name Yasiel saw a relatively steep increase in usage from 2012 to 2014. Much of this new usage took place in the state of California specifically.
- 2015: 48 baby boys named Yasiel, 12 (25%) born in CA
- 2014: 69 baby boys named Yasiel, 20 (29%) born in CA
- 2013: 39 baby boys named Yasiel, 15 (38%) born in CA
- 2012: 12 baby boys named Yasiel
- 2011: 18 baby boys named Yasiel
What accounts for the increase?
Cuban-born professional baseball player Yasiel Puig (yah-see-el pweeg), who played all but one of his seven MLB seasons (2013-2019) with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Yasiel, an outfielder, had an impressive rookie season. (In June, his very first month in the Majors, he won two National League awards: Rookie of the Month and Player of the Month.) The following year, he was a starter in the 2014 All-Star Game.
The usage of his name rose again in 2017 and 2018, corresponding to the two years Yasiel made it all the way to the World Series with the Dodgers. (They lost to the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox, respectively.)
What are your thoughts on the name Yasiel?
P.S. Another Cuban ballplayer with a Y-name, Yoenis Céspedes, had a (small) influence on baby names around the same time…
Sources: Yasiel Puig – Wikipedia, SSA
Image: Adaped from Yasiel Puig during game against Yankees 9-13-16 (5) by Arturo Pardavila III under CC BY 2.0.
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Cuba has sent several unique “Y” names to the MLB, in addition to Yasiel & Yoenis, Yandy Diaz is the Rays 1st baseman. There are actually a bunch more, but I’m not sure any have been as successful as those three.
And starting tomorrow you can add outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez to the list of Y-named Cubans in major league baseball as the Rockies are calling him up.
Of those four, I like the name Yandy the best, but Yasiel is a close second.
Thank you for the extra Y-names. :)
(I hope Yanquiel can help the Rockies out! They need all the help they can get right now…)