How popular is the baby name Christian in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Christian.

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Popularity of the baby name Christian


Posts that mention the name Christian

Popular baby names in the United States, 2012

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The #1 names in the nation are still Jacob and Sophia!

Here are the full top 50 lists:

Boy NamesGirl Names
1. Jacob, 18899
2. Mason, 18856
3. Ethan, 17547
4. Noah, 17201
5. William, 16726
6. Liam, 16687
7. Jayden, 16013
8. Michael, 15996
9. Alexander, 15105
10. Aiden, 14779
11. Daniel, 14143
12. Matthew, 13834
13. Elijah, 13719
14. James, 13271
15. Anthony, 13105
16. Benjamin, 12695
17. Joshua, 12522
18. Andrew, 12501
19. David, 12422
20. Joseph, 12404
21. Logan, 12390
22. Jackson, 12388
23. Christopher, 11777
24. Gabriel, 11442
25. Samuel, 11290
26. Ryan, 10863
27. Lucas, 10616
28. John, 10505
29. Nathan, 10357
30. Isaac, 9928
31. Dylan, 9920
32. Caleb, 9867
33. Christian, 9530
34. Landon, 9296
35. Jonathan, 9253
36. Carter, 9202
37. Luke, 8922
38. Owen, 8630
39. Brayden, 8451
40. Gavin, 8203
41. Wyatt, 8159
42. Isaiah, 8044
43. Henry, 8006
44. Eli, 7998
45. Hunter, 7967
46. Jack, 7877
47. Evan, 7851
48. Jordan, 7734
49. Nicholas, 7653
50. Tyler, 7628
1. Sophia, 22158
2. Emma, 20791
3. Isabella, 18931
4. Olivia, 17147
5. Ava, 15418
6. Emily, 13550
7. Abigail, 12583
8. Mia, 11940
9. Madison, 11319
10. Elizabeth, 9596
11. Chloe, 9595
12. Ella, 9115
13. Avery, 8272
14. Addison, 8122
15. Aubrey, 8006
16. Lily, 7889
17. Natalie, 7852
18. Sofia, 7767
19. Charlotte, 7418
20. Zoey, 7411
21. Grace, 7304
22. Hannah, 7202
23. Amelia, 7191
24. Harper, 7154
25. Lillian, 7100
26. Samantha, 6874
27. Evelyn, 6837
28. Victoria, 6814
29. Brooklyn, 6728
30. Zoe, 6383
31. Layla, 6227
32. Hailey, 5878
33. Leah, 5724
34. Kaylee, 5571
35. Anna, 5552
36. Aaliyah, 5471
37. Gabriella, 5461
38. Allison, 5387
39. Nevaeh, 5317
40. Alexis, 5306
41. Audrey, 5266
42. Savannah, 5143
43. Sarah, 5107
44. Alyssa, 5054
45. Claire, 4915
46. Taylor, 4825
47. Riley, 4786
48. Camila, 4776
49. Arianna, 4685
50. Ashley, 4678

Liam enters the top 10! 15th last year, 6th this year.

Michael just keeps getting lower and lower.

Avery, on the other hand, keeps rising on the girls’ side — 18th last year, 13th this year.

See any other interesting rises/drops so far?

Update: Here’s more from the SSA’s news release:

Many pop-culture naming trends appear in a popular feature of Social Security’s baby names website–the “change in popularity” page. This year’s winners for biggest jump in popularity in the Top 500 are Major and Arya.

The fastest riser on the girls’ list may have been influenced by the popular cable TV series “Game of Thrones.” Arya is the daughter of a leader of one of the Seven Kingdoms. She also is an expert sword fighter, so doubt her influence on the popular names list at your own risk.

For the boys, parents may associate Major with the military title. Acting Commissioner Colvin added “I have no doubt Major’s rising popularity as a boy’s name is in tribute to the brave members of the U.S. military, and maybe we’ll see more boys named General in the future.” You also might trace Major’s increase in popularity to a cable TV show. “Home by Novogratz” is a popular home design show featuring Major Novogratz, the youngest son of designers Robert and Cortney.

The second fastest riser for boys was Gael, and for girls, Perla. Both names most likely are on the rise due to the increase in the Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Perla is the Latinized version of Pearl and is popular among Hispanic-Americans. Gael’s popularity could be tied to Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

Here is last year’s list.

Sources: SSA, Jacob and Sophia Repeat atop Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names List – SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Quebec (Canada), 2012

Flag of Quebec
Flag of Quebec

The most popular baby names in Quebec were announced a little while ago.

According to the Régie des rentes du Québec, the province’s top names last year were Emma and William.

Here are the top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Girl Names

  1. Emma (505 baby girls)
  2. Lea (474)
  3. Olivia (458)
  4. Florence (439)
  5. Alice (386)
  6. Zoe (385)
  7. Rosalie (377)
  8. Juliette (358)
  9. Camille (348)
  10. Mia (344)
  11. Laurence (335)
  12. Charlie (317)
  13. Jade (293)
  14. Alicia (292)
  15. Anais (292)
  16. Victoria (288)
  17. Maelie (287)
  18. Beatrice (285)
  19. Eva (282)
  20. Chloe (278)

Boy Names

  1. William (855 baby boys)
  2. Nathan (839)
  3. Olivier (798)
  4. Alexis (746)
  5. Samuel (737)
  6. Gabriel (731)
  7. Thomas (707)
  8. Jacob (706)
  9. Felix (702)
  10. Raphael (590)
  11. Antoine (560)
  12. Liam (522)
  13. Noah (462)
  14. Benjamin (446)
  15. Xavier (444)
  16. Emile (440)
  17. Mathis (417)
  18. Adam (412)
  19. Justin (405)
  20. Zachary (389)

Check out Charlie in 12th place for girls. For boys, it’s all the way down in 145th place.

Charlie is being used more and more often as a girl name in the U.S. as well.

The next-most-popular Charl- names for each gender were Charlotte in 24th place and Charles in 21st place. (Though, if you count the hundreds of baby boys with a Charles combination-name, e.g., Charles-Antoine, the total for Charles jumps to over 750, putting the name in 4th place.)

And what about the less-common names?

First, some stats:

  • Of the 9,074 girl names bestowed last year…
    • 6,686 (74%) of them were given to 1 baby girl, and
    • 8058 (89%) of them were given to 1, 2, 3 or 4 baby girls.
  • Of the 7,921 boy names bestowed last year…
    • 6,107 (77%) were given to 1 baby boy, and
    • 7121 (90%) were given to 1, 2, 3 or 4 baby boys.

Here are some of Quebec’s unique names (used only once):

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Ayagutaq
Becky Tillikasak
Cocolo
Desneiges
Euphelie
Fleurange
Garrissa
Ietohrhuostha
Justinique
Katsitsenhawitha
Lyora Lyssandre
Maisie Inuusiq
Nephthalia Elani
Orlguine
Paglianie Stacy
Qullik
Qupanuaq
Roldyanna
Stephanie Daystar
Tally-Ann Uapikuniss
Vinuki Sethlini
Wazberly
Windflower
Yvedianah
Zaely Hyacinthia
Aws
Brudginel-Bryan
Christian Braveheart
Davinnsly
Enbo
Fougnigue
Ghemsley Nollens
Hichembentaiba
Ittulaaq
Judley
Klyf
Lafleche William
Manhattan-Zola
Nyrlberson
Olmo Centeotl
Perseus Koperqualuk
Quindlley
Raniehtenha Wi
Shaquille-Shanqi
Tiesto
Uqittuk
Victor-Sam Ikuagasak
Wa’kenhrawakon
Yanga
Zack Browndly

Among the girl names given to two babies last year, I spotted both Chaya Mushka and Katniss.

P.S. Want to compare the top Quebec baby names of 2012 with those of 2009, or 2006?

Source: List of Baby Names – Retraite Québec, Emma usurps Lea for top spot on Quebec’s baby name list

Image: Adapted from Flag of Quebec (public domain)

Baby names from “Fifty Shades of Grey”?

Cover of "Fifty Shades of Grey" (2011)
Fifty Shades of Grey

Will we see more babies with the names Christian, Grey, Ana and Anastasia in 2012 thanks to E. L. James’ kinky 2011 novel Fifty Shades of Grey (and quick follow-ups Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed)?

A growing number of women are attributing their pregnancies “to sex inspired by the erotic trilogy that went mainstream early this year.”

My source article mentioned three moms with Fifty Shades pregnancies/babies, but only one discussed names, saying she would not give her baby a name from the trilogy:

Christian and Ana aren’t on her name list, though her great-grandmother’s maiden name, Gray, had been a possibility — until now. “Now I don’t think I could do it,” Mrs. Bailey said.

How do you feel about the names Christian, Anastasia, Ana and Grey? Would your opinion of these names change if they suddenly became trendy thanks to Mommy Porn?

Update, 3/11/2021: Of all the names, Grey was the one most clearly influenced by the trilogy. (Which isn’t surprising, seeing as it was the name featured in all three titles.) “Grey” was already on the rise in the early 2010s, but usage jumped higher than expected in 2012. Usage jumped again in 2016, the year after the first Fifty Shades film came out.

Source: Nothing fictional about post-‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ baby boomlet

Biggest changes in boy name popularity, 2010

For the last few years, the SSA has re-ordered the top 500 (or so) baby names according to rank change.

Below I’ve done the same sort of analysis, but I changed two things. First, I focused on the number of babies instead of on rankings. Second, I looked at the entire list, not just the top 500.

And that’s why these lists and the SSA’s lists look so different. :)

The boy names that increased and decreased the most in terms of usage are below. The girl names were in the last post.

Biggest Increases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Mason, +4074 babies (rank change: 34th to 12th)
  2. Bentley, +3221 (515th to 101st)
  3. Liam, +2317 (49th to 30th)
  4. Eli, +1601 (90th to 65th)
  5. Easton, +1330 (253rd to 145th)
  6. Grayson, +1077 (173rd to 122nd)
  7. Elijah, +984 (22nd to 18th)
  8. Levi, +935 (85th to 70th)
  9. Jacob, +839 (1st to 1st)
  10. Bryson, +771 (151st to 120th)
  11. Lucas, +727 (39th to 35th)
  12. Axel, +645 (264th to 187th)
  13. Colton, +516 (93rd to 73rd)
  14. Jeremiah, +485 (65th to 52nd)
  15. Asher, +474 (165th to 139th)
  16. Brayden, +474 (48th to 40th)
  17. Greyson, +451 (347th to 249th)
  18. Henry, +448 (71st to 67th)
  19. Miles, +434 (162nd to 137th)
  20. Jaxon, +423 (124th to 99th)

Biggest Decreases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Joshua, -2311 babies (rank change: 6th to 11th)
  2. Christopher, -2129 (10th to 13th)
  3. Matthew, -1941 (13th to 16th)
  4. Ethan, -1917 (2nd to 2nd)
  5. Daniel, -1777 (7th to 8th)
  6. Michael, -1689 (3rd to 3rd)
  7. Christian, -1620 (23rd to 29th)
  8. Alexander, -1541 (4th to 6th)
  9. Aidan, -1523 (72nd to 94th)
  10. Kevin, -1476 (44th to 58th)
  11. Brandon, -1331 (38th to 43rd)
  12. David, -1328 (14th to 15th)
  13. Nicholas, -1252 (32nd to 38th)
  14. Ryan, -1185 (19th to 23rd)
  15. Joseph, -1162 (15th to 20th)
  16. Gavin, -1159 (33rd to 37th)
  17. Jose, -1139 (43th to 51st)
  18. Tyler, -1130 (28th to 34th)
  19. Angel, -1102 (37th to 42nd)
  20. Juan, -1048 (67th to 75th)

As with the girl names, three of the above (Jacob, Ethan and Michael) were big winners/losers according to the numbers, but their rankings stayed the same.