Baby name story: Champ

Super Bowl LVI logo

While Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Vanchi LaShawn “Van” Jefferson was playing in Super Bowl LVI last month, his pregnant wife Samaria suddenly went into labor (several days early).

Samaria was forced to leave SoFi Stadium mid-game — before the Rams eventually beat the Bengals, 23-20 — to go to her birthing center.

Not long after the game ended, the couple welcomed a baby boy.

They considered the names Miles and Wynn, but finally settled on Champ, which Van said was “very fitting for the type of situation we just had.”

(I discovered this story via Appellation Mountain — thanks Abby!)

Sources:

Free lighthouse tour for people named Patrick, Patricia

Hook lighthouse in Ireland
Hook Lighthouse

Is your name is Patrick or Patricia? Do you live in Co. Wexford, Ireland?

If so, go check out Hook Lighthouse (“the oldest operational lighthouse in the world”) on St. Patrick’s Day — you’ll get a free guided tour!

Here’s the announcement from the Hook Lighthouse events page:

Celebrate all that is uniquely Irish at hook Lighthouse this St. Patrick’s Day … from a green theme in the café and the celebration of Paddy’s… yes, that’s right, if your name is Patrick, Pat, Paddy or Patricia you can enjoy access to a free Lighthouse tour on St. Patrick’s Day and enjoy snake hunts at 2 pm and 3 pm on the lighthouse lawns!

The tours don’t actually cost much — just €10 per adult, and about half that per child — but it sounds like a fun promotion nonetheless.

Source: Hook Lighthouse offering free tours for Patricks and Patricias this St Patrick’s Day

Image: Adapted from Hook Head Lighthouse at coast’s edge by Ianfhunter under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where did the baby name Averell come from in 1956?

Politician W. Averell Harriman (1891-1986)
W. Averell Harriman

In 1956, the rare name Averell appeared for the first time in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: 6 baby boys named Averell
  • 1956: 6 baby boys named Averell [debut]
  • 1955: unlisted
  • 1954: unlisted

My best guess on this one is businessman and politician William Averell Harriman, who served as the Governor of New York from 1955 to 1958. He was also a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination twice: in 1952 and in 1956.

His middle name — also his mother’s maiden name — looks to be a variant of Averill, which has several possible derivations, including the Old French word Avrill (meaning “April”) and the English place name Haverhill, made up of the Old English words hafri (“oats”) and hyll (“hill”).

(To complicate things…socialite “Mrs. Averell Clark Jr.” of Seattle was on the cover of LIFE in late 1955. This may have given the name an extra nudge. Incidentally, Mrs. Clark’s first name was Armene, and her mother’s was Armenouhie. The family was of Armenian descent.)

P.S. Harriman also developed America’s first destination winter resort — Sun Valley, Idaho — in the 1930s.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Averell Harriman (public domain)

Popular baby names in Italy, 2020

Flag of Italy
Flag of Italy

According to Italy’s ISTAT (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica), the most popular baby names in the country in 2020 were Sofia and Leonardo.

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

Girl Names

  1. Sofia, 5,604 baby girls (2.87%)
  2. Giulia, 5,012
  3. Aurora, 4,987
  4. Ginevra, 3,657
  5. Alice, 3,333
  6. Beatrice, 3,162
  7. Emma, 3,069
  8. Giorgia, 2,701
  9. Vittoria, 2,677
  10. Matilde, 2,545

Boy Names

  1. Leonardo, 8,604 baby boys (4.15%)
  2. Francesco, 5,422
  3. Alessandro, 5,009
  4. Lorenzo, 4,841
  5. Mattia, 4,711
  6. Tommaso, 4,308
  7. Gabriele, 4,237
  8. Andrea, 4,041
  9. Riccardo, 4,025
  10. Edoardo, 3,785

In the girls’ top 10, Matilde replaced Greta (now in 16th place).

The boys’ top 10 includes the same names, but in a slightly different order.

Notably, Leonardo held an even more commanding lead in 2020 (4.15%) than in 2019 (3.64%). More than 1 in 25 baby boys were named Leonardo last year.

Also notable is the rise of Azzurra during the early 21st century. I didn’t realize until writing about a Scots-Italian baby named Azzurra last year that this name could be a reference to Italy’s national soccer team, known as gli Azzurri (“the Blues”) because the players wear Savoy azure. The baby name Azzurra entered Italy’s top 50 in 2017 and was ranked 27th for girls last year.

Graph of the popularity of the baby name Azzurra in Italy from 1999 to 2020.
Popularity of Azzurra in Italy, 1999-2020
  • 2020: 1,334 Italian baby girls named Azzurra (ranked 27th)
  • 2019: 1,059 Italian baby girls named Azzurra (ranked 38th)
  • 2018: 1,041 Italian baby girls named Azzurra (ranked 40th)
  • 2017: 926 Italian baby girls named Azzurra (ranked 47th)
  • 2016: 788 Italian baby girls named Azzurra
  • 2015: 848 Italian baby girls named Azzurra
  • 2014: 628 Italian baby girls named Azzurra
  • 2013: 652 Italian baby girls named Azzurra
  • 2012: 540 Italian baby girls named Azzurra
  • 2011: 459 Italian baby girls named Azzurra

How high do you think it could climb?

In 2019, the top two names in Italy were also Sofia and Leonardo.

Sources: How many babies are named…? – Istat, Italy national football team – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of Italy (public domain). Graph from Istat.