How popular is the baby name Isaac 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 Isaac.

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Popularity of the baby name Isaac


Posts that mention the name Isaac

What popularized the baby name Shelby in the early 1990s?

Shelby Lynne album "Sunrise" (1989)
Shelby Lynne album

According to the U.S. baby name data, usage of the name Shelby increased sharply among baby girls (and moderately among baby boys) from 1989 to 1991:

Girls named ShelbyBoys named Shelby
19929,396 [rank: 34th]453 [rank: 474th]
199110,219† [rank: 33rd]524† [rank: 427th]
19903,517 [rank: 100th]354 [rank: 525th]
19891,203 [rank: 229th]205 [rank: 694th]
1988881 [rank: 284th]184 [rank: 691st]
†Peak usage

That surge of over 6,700 baby girls from 1990 to 1991 was the biggest raw-number increase of the year. (The next-biggest jump was made by Mariah.)

Here’s the popularity graph:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Shelby in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Shelby

Usage was strongest (relatively speaking) in rural western states. In 1991, Shelby ranked 5th among baby girls in Montana, 6th in Oklahoma and Wyoming, 8th in Kansas, 11th in Nebraska, 12th in both of the Dakotas as well as Alaska, and 13th in Utah.

What made the name Shelby so trendy all of a sudden?

Country singer Shelby Lynne.

(The names Shelbylynn and Shelbylyn both debuted in 1991. Curiously, “Shelbylynne” has never popped up in the data.)

Shelby Lynne was born Shelby Lynn Moorer in 1968. She was raised in Alabama and started putting out music in 1989.

Ten of her singles made Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. The most successful, “Things Are Tough All Over” [vid], peaked at #23 in January of 1991.

Several months later, at the 26th Academy of Country Music Awards, she won the title of “Top New Female Vocalist” over fellow nominees Matraca Berg and Carlene Carter.

In an interview she gave toward the beginning of her career, Shelby Lynne was asked about the origin of her first name, which she described as “a guy’s name.” She answered,

I don’t know. My Daddy came up with it. Driving through Shelby County, I think, at one time or another, going through Birmingham or somewhere down there. Who knows, I’m just glad I got the name. There’s not many of us.

(Alabama is one of nine U.S. states with a Shelby County. All nine of these counties were named in honor of early American soldier and politician Isaac Shelby.)

What are your thoughts on the name Shelby? Do you like it better as a boy name or as a girl name?

P.S. Wondering what gave Shelby a boost during the 1930s?

Sources:

What gave baby name Oveta a nudge in 1953?

Government official Oveta Culp Hobby (1905-1995)
Oveta Culp Hobby (c. 1953)

According to the U.S. baby name data, the rare name Oveta saw its highest usage during the 1950s:

  • 1955: 11 baby girls named Oveta
  • 1954: 12 baby girls named Oveta
  • 1953: 14 baby girls named Oveta (peak usage)
  • 1952: 7 baby girls named Oveta
  • 1951: unlisted

Why?

My guess is Texas-born government official Oveta (pronounced oh-VEE-tuh) Culp Hobby.

In April of 1953, she was appointed by Dwight Eisenhower as the first secretary of the newly formed U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. This made Oveta the second woman to hold a U.S. Cabinet position. (The first was Frances Perkins, under FDR.)

Oveta was featured on the cover of Time magazine in May of 1953. The lengthy cover article included an explanation of Oveta’s unusual first name:

She was […] the second of Isaac and Emma Hoover Culp’s seven children. Her mother named her Oveta (an Indian word for forget) after a character in a romantic novel, and because it rhymed so pleasantly with Juanita, the name of the first Culp daughter.

She served in the Eisenhower administration until mid-1955. After resigning, she returned to her home in Houston to work as president of the Houston Post Company. (Her husband, William P. Hobby — Oveta’s senior by close to 27 years — was chairman of the board of directors at the Post.)

Interestingly, Oveta may have influenced U.S. baby names a decade earlier as well. In 1942, after a short absence, her name re-emerged in the data with a relatively high number of babies:

  • 1944: unlisted
  • 1943: 6 baby girls named Oveta
  • 1942: 10 baby girls named Oveta
  • 1941: unlisted
  • 1940: unlisted

That was the year she was sworn in as the the first director of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), which was created in May — about five months after the attack on Pearl Harbor — “to enable women to serve in noncombat positions” during World War II.

What are your thoughts on the name Oveta?

Sources:

Image: Oveta (Culp) Hobby (LOC)

Popular and unique baby names in Sonoma County (California), 2023

Flag of California
Flag of California

Sonoma County is the northernmost county in the San Francisco Bay Area region.

Last year, Sonoma welcomed 4,463 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Mateo.

Here are Sonoma’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 20 baby girls
  2. Camila, 19 (tie)
  3. Mia, 19 (tie)
  4. Emily, 16 (3-way tie)
  5. Mila, 16 (3-way tie)
  6. Sophia, 16 (3-way tie)
  7. Aurora, 15 (4-way tie)
  8. Isabella, 15 (4-way tie)
  9. Sofia, 15 (4-way tie)
  10. Violet, 15 (4-way tie)
  11. Ava, 14 (3-way tie)
  12. Gianna, 14 (3-way tie)
  13. Isla, 14 (3-way tie)
  14. Charlotte, 13 (4-way tie)
  15. Emma, 13 (4-way tie)
  16. Lily, 13 (4-way tie)
  17. Luna, 13 (4-way tie)
  18. Avery, 12 (3-way tie)
  19. Harper, 12 (3-way tie)
  20. Maya, 12 (3-way tie)
  21. Leilani, 11 (tie)
  22. Scarlett, 11 (tie)
  23. Amelia, 10 (11-way tie)
  24. Daniela, 10 (11-way tie)
  25. Elena, 10 (11-way tie)
  26. Eliana, 10 (11-way tie)
  27. Josephine, 10 (11-way tie)
  28. Kennedy, 10 (11-way tie)
  29. Logan, 10 (11-way tie)
  30. Quinn, 10 (11-way tie)
  31. Ryan, 10 (11-way tie)
  32. Valentina, 10 (11-way tie)
  33. Victoria, 10 (11-way tie)
  34. Eleanor, 9 (6-way tie)
  35. Grace, 9 (6-way tie)
  36. Madison, 9 (6-way tie)
  37. Nora, 9 (6-way tie)
  38. Riley, 9 (6-way tie)
  39. Stella, 9 (6-way tie)
  40. Charlie, 8 (11-way tie)
  41. Emilia, 8 (11-way tie)
  42. Evelyn, 8 (11-way tie)
  43. Jade, 8 (11-way tie)
  44. Lainey, 8 (11-way tie)
  45. Natalie, 8 (11-way tie)
  46. Penelope, 8 (11-way tie)
  47. Poppy, 8 (11-way tie)
  48. Samantha, 8 (11-way tie)
  49. Sawyer, 8 (11-way tie)
  50. Valeria, 8 (11-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Mateo, 29 baby boys
  2. Noah, 27
  3. Liam, 22 (tie)
  4. Luca, 22 (tie)
  5. Oliver, 21 (tie)
  6. Sebastian, 21 (tie)
  7. Dylan, 20
  8. Leonardo, 19 (tie)
  9. Levi, 19 (tie)
  10. Anthony, 17 (3-way tie)
  11. Henry, 17 (3-way tie)
  12. Lucas, 17 (3-way tie)
  13. Benjamin, 16 (tie)
  14. Julian, 16 (tie)
  15. Emiliano, 15
  16. Ethan, 14
  17. Santiago, 13 (tie)
  18. Wyatt, 13 (tie)
  19. Angel, 12 (5-way tie)
  20. Cooper, 12 (5-way tie)
  21. Daniel, 12 (5-way tie)
  22. Matteo, 12 (5-way tie)
  23. Miles, 12 (5-way tie)
  24. Alexander, 11 (8-way tie)
  25. Christopher, 11 (8-way tie)
  26. Elias, 11 (8-way tie)
  27. Hudson, 11 (8-way tie)
  28. Jack, 11 (8-way tie)
  29. Leo, 11 (8-way tie)
  30. Matias, 11 (8-way tie)
  31. Thomas, 11 (8-way tie)
  32. Bennett, 10 (9-way tie)
  33. Damian, 10 (9-way tie)
  34. Elijah, 10 (9-way tie)
  35. Emilio, 10 (9-way tie)
  36. Ezra, 10 (9-way tie)
  37. Ian, 10 (9-way tie)
  38. Luka, 10 (9-way tie)
  39. Luke, 10 (9-way tie)
  40. William, 10 (9-way tie)
  41. Caleb, 9 (5-way tie)
  42. James, 9 (5-way tie)
  43. Jose, 9 (5-way tie)
  44. Luis, 9 (5-way tie)
  45. Parker, 9 (5-way tie)
  46. Adriel, 8 (16-way tie)
  47. Cameron, 8 (16-way tie)
  48. Colton, 8 (16-way tie)
  49. Connor, 8 (16-way tie)
  50. David, 8 (16-way tie)
  51. Dean, 8 (16-way tie)
  52. Diego, 8 (16-way tie)
  53. Gabriel, 8 (16-way tie)
  54. Isaac, 8 (16-way tie)
  55. Jesus, 8 (16-way tie)
  56. Lorenzo, 8 (16-way tie)
  57. Milo, 8 (16-way tie)
  58. River, 8 (16-way tie)
  59. Samuel, 8 (16-way tie)
  60. Theo, 8 (16-way tie)
  61. Thiago, 8 (16-way tie)

And here’s a sampling of the many names that were bestowed just once in Sonoma last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Ameyalli, Beliana, Colette, Delphie, Ellora, Fiadh, Gwendolyn, Honorae, Ilisapeci, Jessune, Khilana, Lucibell, Merari, Norma, Oriah, Pixel, Riyana, Soluna, Teteoinnan, Ume, Velexia, Wrenlee, Xochitl, Yetzi, ZantedechiaAriodante, Bruce, Canaan, Dovydas, Endrick, Favian, Gedaliah, Hewitt, Itztli, Jessiah, Kidder, Ledson, Miro, Nash, Orbelin, Paz, Rapha, Sigaserau, Tovius, Uniquo, Ventura, Wicahpi, Xolotl, Yoali, Zianni

Some possible explanations/influences for a few of the above:

  • Ameyalli means “spring, fountain” in Nahuatl.
  • Ariodante is the name of an opera (first performed in 1735) by George Frideric Handel.
  • Itztli refers to an “obsidian blade” in Nahuatl.
  • Teteoinnan is the name of a Nahua deity. (The name means “mother of the gods” in Nahuatl.)
  • Wicahpi means “star” in Lakota.
  • Xolotl refers to the “divine force of lightning and death” (among other things) in Nahuatl.
  • Zantedechia is one letter away from Zantedeschia, the name of a genus of flowering plants. (The calla lily is a member of this genus.) The genus was named after Italian physician/botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi (1773-1846).

Finally, here are Sonoma’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Sonoma County Baby Names – Open Data, Sonoma County, Sonoma County Births by Year – Open Data, Sonoma County, Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Zantedeschia – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of California (public domain)

Popular baby names in Johnston County (North Carolina), 2023 & 2022

Flag of North Carolina
Flag of North Carolina

In 2023, North Carolina’s Johnston County welcomed 1,931 babies — 950 girls and 981 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Charlotte and Liam.

Here are Johnston County’s top 10+ girl names and top 10+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names, 2023

  1. Charlotte
  2. Olivia & Sophia (tie)
  3. Camila, Emma, Isabelle & Scarlett (4-way tie)
  4. Abigail & Amelia (tie)
  5. Delilah
  6. Ava, Eliana, Elizabeth, Layla, Luna & Willow (6-way tie)
  7. Chloe, Ellie, Emily, Harper, Hazel, Mia, Paisley, Sadie & Sofia (9-way tie)
  8. Eliza, Kinsley, Leah, Leilani & Presley (5-way tie)
  9. Evelyn, Genesis, Kailani, Lucy, Madison, Raelynn, Riley, Valentina & Victoria (9-way tie)
  10. Adalyn, Autumn, Isabel, Ivey, Jade, Josie, Kaylani, Lainey, Madeline, Madelyn, Milani, Nova, Penelope, Peyton, Samantha, Violet, Whitley & Zoe (18-way tie)

Boy names, 2023

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Sebastian
  4. William
  5. Asher & Levi (tie)
  6. Julian & Mateo
  7. Carter, Elijah, Grayson, Lucas, Waylon (5-way tie)
  8. Aiden & Chase (tie)
  9. Benjamin, Carson, Charles, Christopher, Hudson, Jackson, Joseph, Maverick, Oliver, Thomas & Wyatt (11-way tie)
  10. Alexander, Amir, Angel, Elias, Ezra, Gael, Ian, Josiah, Legend, Leonardo, Owen & Samuel (12-way tie)

The county’s 2022 rankings — topped by Charlotte and Noah — included total numbers of babies:

Girl names, 2022

  1. Charlotte, 12 baby girls
  2. Amelia & Scarlett, 11 each (tie)
  3. Ava, Harper & Sophia, 10 each (3-way tie)
  4. Camila & Isabella, 9 each (tie)
  5. Elizabeth, 8
  6. Emma, Olivia, & Paisley, 7 each (3-way tie)
  7. Abigail, Ella, Kinsley, Luna, Mia, Riley & Willow, 6 each (7-way tie)
  8. Angela, Brooklyn, Delilah, Ellie, Emily, Everly, Gianna, Hannah, Kailani, Layla, Leah, Madelyn & Savannah, 5 each (13-way tie)
  9. Addison, Andrea, Ashley, Aurora, Avery, Belen, Bella, Carsyn, Chloe, Eleanor, Julia, Lydia, Magnolia & Violet, 4 each (14-way tie)
  10. Ada, Alora, Alyssa, Aria, Callie, Carolina, Elena, Eliana, Eliza, Elliana, Emely, Evelyn, Genesis, Genevieve, Grace, Gracie, Khloe, Lillian, Lilly, Lily, Lucy, Madilyn, Madison, Naomi, Peyton, Presley, Ryleigh, Sara, Skylar, Sofia, Stephanie & Zara, 3 each (32-way tie)

Boy names, 2022

  1. Noah, 16 baby boys
  2. Liam, 12
  3. Mason, 11
  4. Oliver, 10
  5. William & Wyatt, 9 each (tie)
  6. Carter, Jayden & Sebastian, 8 (3-way tie)
  7. Elijah, Lucas, Mateo & Waylon, 7 each (4-way tie)
  8. Alexander, Angel, Asher, Christopher, Dylan, Elias, Ethan, Henry, Isaac, Lincoln & Nathan, 6 each (11-way tie)
  9. Amir, Eli, Jacob, Jameson, Jaxon, River, Ryan & Thomas, 5 each (8-way tie)
  10. Anthony, Chance, Charles, Hendrix, Hudson, Ivan, Jackson, Jordan, Julian, Leo, Levi, Logan, Luke, Matthew, Maverick & Ryder, 4 each (16-way tie)

If you’d like to go back even further, here are links to earlier sets of baby name rankings for Johnston County:

  • 2021 (top names: Olivia and Liam)
  • 2020 (top names: Olivia and Noah)
  • 2019 (top names: Emma and Liam)
  • 2018 (top names: Olivia and Elijah)
  • 2017 (top names: Ava and Liam)

Sources: Top Baby Names of 2023 – Johnston County Register of Deeds, Top 2023 Baby Names In Johnston County – JoCo Report, 2022 Top Johnston County Baby Names – JoCo Report

Image: Adapted from Flag of North Carolina (public domain)