How popular is the baby name John 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 John.

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Popularity of the baby name John


Posts that mention the name John

What gave the baby name Dayana a boost in 2008?

Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008
Dayana Mendoza

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Dayana reached peak usage in 2008:

  • 2010: 624 baby girls named Dayana [rank: 484th]
  • 2009: 760 baby girls named Dayana [rank: 421st]
  • 2008: 777 baby girls named Dayana [rank: 412th]
  • 2007: 576 baby girls named Dayana [rank: 541st]
  • 2006: 529 baby girls named Dayana [rank: 557th]

More than 25% of the 2008 babies named Dayana were born in California, and more than 14% were born in Texas.

What gave the name a boost that year?

Venezuelan beauty queen Dayana (pronounced dah-YAH-nah) Mendoza, who won the title of Miss Universe in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in July of 2008.

Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008
Dayana Mendoza

The Latin American name Dayana is based on (and sounds a lot like) the English pronunciation of the name Diana. It also happens to be the name of several different South American orchids, all of which were named in honor of 19th-century English botanist John Day.

In 2012, usage of the name was nudged above 700 babies for a third time — likely because of Dayana Mendoza’s participation in the reality TV competition series Celebrity Apprentice. She placed sixth out of 18 contestants. (The winner that season was Arsenio Hall.)

What are your thoughts on the name Dayana?

Sources: Miss Universe 2008 – Wikipedia, Dayana Mendoza – Wikipedia, Dayana – Behind the Name, SSA

Images: Screenshots of the TV broadcast of the 57th Miss Universe pageant

Minnesota family with 22 children

kinderfest

In the mid-20th century, Alvin Joseph Miller and Lucille Rose Miller (née Kahnke) of Waseca, Minnesota, had 22 children — 15 girls and 7 boys.

Here are the names of all 22 siblings:

  1. Ramona Mary (born in 1940), who became a Franciscan nun
  2. Alvin Joseph, Jr. (b. 1942)
  3. Rose Ann (b. 1943)
  4. Kathleen Edith (b. 1945)
  5. Robert Vincent (b. 1946)
  6. Patricia Jean (b. 1947)
  7. Mary Lucille (b. 1948), nicknamed “Marylu”
  8. Diane Margaret (b. 1949)
  9. John Charles (b. 1950)
  10. Janet Irene (b. 1951)
  11. Linda Louise (b. 1953)
  12. Virginia Therese (b. 1954)
  13. Helen Rita (b. 1955), who wrote a book about growing up in a large family
  14. Arthur Lawrence (b. 1956)
  15. Dolores Maria (b. 1957)
  16. Martin Peter (b. 1959)
  17. Pauline Carmel (b. 1960)
  18. Alice Callista (b. 1961)
  19. Angela Mary (b. 1962)
  20. Marcia Marie (b. 1963)
  21. Gregory Eugene (b. 1964)
  22. Damien Francis (b. 1966)

Eight of the children had been born by April of 1950, when the Miller family was interviewed for the U.S. Census:

The Miller family on the 1950 U.S. Census
The Miller family (1950 U.S. Census)

Alvin and Lucille raised their children on a 300-acre farm that included a seven-bedroom farmhouse. Here’s how Diane (#8) described her childhood:

I remember a lot of rides in the wheelbarrow from the granary to the barn. I remember a lot of grinding feed, a lot of egg washing and packing, a lot of sitting by the wood stove in the basement, singing songs as we candled eggs.

Which of the names above do you like most?

P.S. Thank you to Destiny for letting me know about the Miller family a few months ago! (Destiny also told me about the Jones family of West Virginia.)

Sources:

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2023

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Northern Ireland — which was partitioned from the rest of Ireland more than a century ago — is a constituent country of the United Kingdom (along with England, Scotland, and Wales).

What were the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland last year? Isla and Noah.

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

Girl names

  1. Isla, 147 baby girls – pronounced IE-la
  2. Fiadh, 138 – pronounced FEE-a
  3. Grace, 137
  4. Emily, 136
  5. Olivia, 126
  6. Lily, 108
  7. Ella, 97
  8. Aoife, 94 – pronounced EE-fa
  9. Amelia, 92
  10. Freya, 90
  11. Charlotte, 87
  12. Annie, 84 (tie)
  13. Sophie, 84 (tie)
  14. Anna, 83
  15. Eabha, 79 – pronounced EY-va
  16. Ellie, 77
  17. Sophia, 76
  18. Evie, 74
  19. Ava, 73
  20. Maisie, 70
  21. Clodagh, 66 – pronounced KLOH-da
  22. Mia, 63 (tie)
  23. Sadie, 63 (tie)
  24. Rosie, 62 (tie)
  25. Ruby, 62 (tie)
  26. Ivy, 60
  27. Molly, 59
  28. Cara, 57 (4-way tie)
  29. Elsie, 57 (4-way tie)
  30. Lottie, 57 (4-way tie)
  31. Meabh, 57 (4-way tie) – pronounced mayv
  32. Zara, 56
  33. Aria, 54
  34. Erin, 53
  35. Ada, 52
  36. Hannah, 51
  37. Saoirse, 50 – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha
  38. Bonnie, 48
  39. Cora, 47 (4-way tie)
  40. Isabella, 47 (4-way tie)
  41. Lucy, 47 (4-way tie)
  42. Phoebe, 47 (4-way tie)
  43. Katie, 46 (tie)
  44. Niamh, 46 (tie) – pronounced neev or NEE-iv
  45. Rhea, 45 (tie)
  46. Willow, 45 (tie)
  47. Rose, 44
  48. Sofia, 42
  49. Daisy, 41 (tie)
  50. Sienna, 41 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 152 baby boys
  2. Jack, 146
  3. James, 131
  4. Cillian, 128 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  5. Charlie, 123
  6. Leo, 119
  7. Oisin, 116 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  8. Oliver, 114
  9. Luca, 108 (tie)
  10. Theo, 108 (tie)
  11. Tommy, 105
  12. Thomas, 103
  13. Jude, 93
  14. Arthur, 91
  15. Alfie, 85
  16. Daniel, 84
  17. Daithi, 82 – pronounced DAH-hee
  18. Harry, 77
  19. Ethan, 74
  20. Caleb, 73
  21. Finn, 71
  22. Henry, 70
  23. Ezra, 67 (tie)
  24. Jacob, 67 (tie)
  25. George, 66 (tie)
  26. Oscar, 66 (tie)
  27. Archie, 64 (3-way tie)
  28. Isaac, 64 (3-way tie)
  29. Ollie, 64 (3-way tie)
  30. Ronan, 63
  31. Lorcan, 62
  32. Reuben, 61 (tie)
  33. Shea, 61 (tie)
  34. Fionn, 60 (tie)
  35. Rory, 60 (tie)
  36. Darragh, 59
  37. Rian, 57
  38. Conor, 55 (tie)
  39. Freddie, 55 (tie)
  40. Arlo, 53 (tie)
  41. Patrick, 53 (tie)
  42. Luke, 52 (tie)
  43. Tom, 52 (tie)
  44. Jonah, 51 (tie)
  45. Odhran, 51 (tie) – pronounced OH-rawn
  46. Joshua, 50
  47. Max, 49 (tie)
  48. Theodore, 49 (tie)
  49. Michael, 47
  50. Mason, 46 (tie)
  51. Teddy, 46 (tie)

The names that qualified as the “top climbers” of 2023 were…

  • Rebecca, Rhea, Aurora, and Raya (for girls), and
  • Leon, Donnacha, Albie, and Seth (for boys).

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just three babies each:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aizal, Blathnaid, Colleen, Dianaimh, Everly, Georgina, Helen, Ivie, Juniper, Keeley, Laney, Meabha, Neala, Orlagh, Paisley, Searlaith, Tillie, Vera, YasmineAngus, Barney, Connlan, Darren, Ewan, Finbarr, Gearoid, Hamish, Jameson, Kieran, Lughan, Milan, Ned, Orhan, Paraic, Ruaidhri, Scott, Tate, Zayn

What about middle names? The top picks for the middle spot were…

  • Rose, Grace, Mary, Elizabeth, and Marie (for girls), and
  • James, John, Patrick, William, and Thomas (for boys).

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

Source: Baby Names 2023 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

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

What popularized the baby name Gage in the 1990s?

The character Gage Creed from the movie "Pet Semetary" (1989)
Gage Creed from “Pet Semetary“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Gage saw a substantial rise in usage during the last decade of the 20th century and achieved peak popularity during the first decade of the 21st century.

Here’s a visual:

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

What kicked off the trendiness of Gage in the 1990s?

  • 1991: 809 baby boys named Gage [rank: 319th]
  • 1990: 666 baby boys named Gage [rank: 361st]
  • 1989: 171 baby boys named Gage [rank: 755th]
  • 1988: 57 baby boys named Gage
  • 1987: 51 baby boys named Gage

A young character from the horror film Pet Sematary (1989), which was set in Maine.

In the movie, Gage Creed (played by Miko Hughes) was the 2-year-old son of Louis Creed (played by Dale Midkiff). After Gage was hit by a truck and killed, Louis, distraught, decided to bury Gage’s body in an ancient Mi’kmaq burial ground known for resurrecting people…as murderous zombies, of course.

The movie was based on the 1983 book of the same name by Maine-based horror writer Stephen King.

How fitting is it that the name Gage — after entering the boys’ top 1,000 in 1989 — nearly quadrupled in usage in 1990 to precisely 666 baby boys? ;)

Gage’s trendiness also gave rise to a handful of variants, including Gaige (which debuted in the data in 1989), Gauge (1990), Gayge (1998), and Gaege (1999).

The character Johnny Gage from the TV series "Emergency!" (1972-1977)
Johnny Gage from “Emergency!“

And, while we’re talking about Gage, let’s take a look at a similar (but much smaller) boost the name got from pop culture back in the 1970s:

  • 1976: 29 baby boys named Gage
  • 1975: 20 baby boys named Gage
  • 1974: 23 baby boys named Gage
  • 1973: 20 baby boys named Gage
  • 1972: 7 baby boys named Gage
  • 1971: 6 baby boys named Gage

In this case, the increase was caused by television.

One of the main characters of the medical drama Emergency!, which aired from 1972 to 1977, was a young firefighter-paramedic named John “Johnny” Gage (played by Randolph Mantooth). He was often addressed as “Gage” on the show.

Incidentally, the realistic series not only inspired dozens of parents to name their sons Gage, but also “motivated many people to embark upon careers in the emergency medical field.”

What are your thoughts on the name Gage?

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of Pet Sematary and Emergency!