Popular baby names in Albania, 2019

Flag of Albania
Flag of Albania

I’ve never posted rankings for Albania before, so even though these are out-of-date — even more so than the Iowa rankings from earlier this week — I figured it would be better to have one set as opposed to nothing at all. :)

According to Albania’s Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), the most popular baby names in the country in 2019 were Amelia and Noel.

Here are Albania’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl names

  1. Amelia, 499 baby girls
  2. Ajla, 327
  3. Aria, 182 (tie)
  4. Amelja, 182 (tie)
  5. Leandra, 145
  6. Ambra, 144
  7. Klea, 121
  8. Melisa, 114 (tie)
  9. Amaris, 114 (tie)
  10. Reina, 104

Boy names

  1. Noel, 402 baby boys
  2. Aron, 190
  3. Joel, 188
  4. Roan, 178
  5. Amar, 170
  6. Mateo, 146
  7. Alteo, 121
  8. Luis, 115 (tie)
  9. Roel, 115 (tie)
  10. Dion, 113

The following names didn’t make Albania’s top 10, but did rank #1 in at least one Albanian municipality:

Other top girl namesOther top boy names
Adela, Adriana, Ajsela, Alesia, Alesja, Alisja, Ariela, Arilena, Jasmina, Kostandina, Marilena, NataliaAjan, Albi, Albjon, Aleandro, Alesio, Alfjo, Alison, Amelio, Anesti, Angjelo, David, Denis, Enea, Ergi, Hristos, Mihal, Nezir, Rafael, Samuel, Xhoel

An article about Albanian baby names published several years ago mentioned that, in 2014, none of the top ten names of either gender were of Albanian origin. University of Tirana sociology professor Edmond Dragoti argued that the trendiness of foreign names could be traced back to the fall of communism in Albania because, during the communist era, such names had been banned. He explained:

All the frustration about [parents] not being able to name their children as they wished exploded after the 1990s, when Albania opened up. The unlimited and uncontrolled new freedom quickly surpassed the need for a national identity.

Sources: Emrat më të përdorur për bebet shqiptare në 2019-n! Para se të vendosësh shiko listën, Top 10 names used in the last year – INSTAT, Emrat e rinj – INSTAT, Craze For Foreign Names Alarms Albanian Patriots

Image: Adapted from Flag of Albania (public domain)

Where did the baby name Devara come from in 1967?

The name Devara was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data back in 1967:

  • 1969: unlisted
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: 7 baby girls named Devara [debut]
  • 1966: unlisted
  • 1965: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Celebrity gossip…plus a typo. :)

In early 1967, newspapers reported that TV actor Vince Edwards was going to take his ex-wife, actress Kathy Kersh, to court because she “[made] it inconvenient for him to visit their 14-month-old daughter, Devara.”

This relatively minor item landed on the front page of certain (smaller) newspapers.

As we saw the other day, though, their daughter’s first name was actually Devera — making “Devara” yet another baby name inspired by a typo. (Others include Aleeta, Bedar, Clintonia, Glenalee, Kior, Mattlock, Rainelle, Reeshemah, and Terria.)

What are your thoughts on the name Devara? Do you like it more or less than Devera?

Source: “Wants His Ex-Wife Punished.” Salina Journal 15 Mar. 1967: 1.

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2020

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

I’m a little late on this one, considering that we looked at the 2021 state-by-state baby name data last week, but better late than never. :)

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, the most popular baby names in the state in 2020 were Olivia and Oliver.

Here are Iowa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 171 baby girls
  2. Charlotte, 141
  3. Evelyn, 137
  4. Emma, 119
  5. Ava, 116
  6. Amelia, 115
  7. Harper, 113
  8. Sophia, 106
  9. Hazel, 101
  10. Eleanor, 96

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 208 baby boys
  2. Liam, 183
  3. Theodore, 169
  4. Henry, 163
  5. William, 156
  6. Noah, 127
  7. Owen, 126
  8. Wyatt, 119
  9. Jack, 117
  10. Maverick, 112

In the girls’ top 10, Sophia, Hazel, and Eleanor replaced Avery, Nora, and Violet.

In the boys’ top 10, Theodore and Wyatt replaced Lincoln and Jackson. (Notably, Theodore jumped from 12th in 2019 up to 3rd in 2020.)

Over 3,500 girl names and nearly 2,800 boy names were bestowed just once in Iowa in 2020. The state says that unique names are trendy — in fact, “some Iowa counties…regularly reach 100% uniqueness, meaning there are no babies given the same name in a single year.”

Here’s a selection of Iowa’s unique baby names from 2020:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Alula, Brindle, Clorrenty, Dilnaaz, Ellaydrea, Fidelity, Glariel, Hepperli, Imariana, Jacklington, Kissimee, Lalotai, Malofo, Nellatreen, Offranel, Peninnah, Qianna, Rufusline, Sunrae, Tenebris, Ugbaad, Vatsana, Winji, Xyphora, Yliemani, ZenleyAeio, Bazzi, Colique, Drummer, Ezzeldeen, Faltaous, Groseille, Htoo, Invictus, J-Heart, Kalikimaka, Luxender, Mlondani, Noakley, Owendan, Prexy, Qorvyn, Ramazani, Smoltz, Tuxley, Unison, Vaxston, Wirachai, Yolotli, Zantoro

Thoughts on some of the above…

  • Kissimee – close to Kissimmee, the name of both a city and a river in Florida.
  • Tenebris – a form of the Latin word tenebra, meaning “darkness, shadow, gloom.”
  • Groseille – French for “redcurrant.”
  • Htoo – Burmese for “gold.” (Almost 10,000 refugees from Myanmar live in Iowa.)
  • Kalikimaka – Hawaiian for “Christmas.”
  • Vaxston – given the fact that Covid-19 dominated the headlines in 2020, I can’t help but wonder if this one wasn’t influenced by the word vaccine. (A baby in the Philippines was named “Vaccine” in 2020, incidentally.)
  • Yolotli – Nahuatl for “heart.”

Finally, in 2019, the top two names in Iowa were Charlotte and Oliver.

Sources: Top Baby Names – Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal, Baby Names Uniqueness – Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)

What gave the baby name Devera a boost in 1966?

Actors Vince Edwards and Kathy Kersh
Vince Edwards and Kathy Kersh

The baby name Devera saw peak usage in the middle of the 1960s:

  • 1968: 12 baby girls named Devera
  • 1967: 22 baby girls named Devera
  • 1966: 35 baby girls named Devera [peak]
  • 1965: 6 baby girls named Devera
  • 1964: 15 baby girls named Devera

Why?

Because of a celebrity baby.

In late December, 1965, TV actor Vince Edwards (star of the medical drama Ben Casey) and his estranged wife, actress Kathy Kersh, welcomed a baby girl. They named her Devera.

The couple had gotten married (in secret) in June of 1965, but Kathy filed for divorce just four months later.

I’m not sure how they came up with the name, but it does remind me of the Hebrew name Devorah, meaning “bee.”

Do you like the name Devera?

Sources: