How popular is the baby name Matthew 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 Matthew.

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Popularity of the baby name Matthew


Posts that mention the name Matthew

Popular baby names in Arizona, 2012

Flag of Arizona
Flag of Arizona

The most popular baby names in Arizona were announced recently.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona’s top names are Jacob and Sophia — same as the top names in the nation right now.

Here are Arizona’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Mia
5. Olivia
6. Emily
7. Ava
8. Abigail
9. Madison
10. Sofia
11. Victoria
12. Camila
13. Natalie
14. Zoey
15. Elizabeth
16. Ella
17. Aaliyah
18. Zoe
19. Charlotte
20. Brooklyn		1. Jacob
2. Ethan
3. Daniel
4. Liam
5. Alexander
6. Anthony
7. Noah
8. Mason
9. Aiden
10. Michael
11. David
12. Jayden
13. Julian
14. Matthew
15. Andrew
16. Elijah
17. Isaac
18. William
19. Gabriel
20. Joshua

(For more, see the full list of Arizona’s top 100 baby names of 2012.)

To compare, here are Arizona’s top names of 1912:

Girl Names (1912)Boy Names (1912)
1. Mary
2. Maria
3. Helen
4. Dorothy
5. Margaret
6. Ruth
7. Mildred
8. Anna
9. Elizabeth
10. Frances		1. John
2. Jose
3. William
4. James
5. Robert
6. Joseph
7. George
8. Charles
9. Edward
10. Frank

José was the second most popular name in the state in 2002 and 2007 as well. It didn’t even make the top 20 in 2012, though.

Source: Arizona’s top baby names of 2012: Sophia, Isabella, Jacob, Ethan

Image: Adapted from Flag of Arizona (public domain)

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2012

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

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

According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, the #1 names were Jack for boys and Sophie for girls.

Here are Northern Ireland’s provisional top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Baby Girl NamesBaby Boy Names
1. Sophie
2. Emily
3. Grace
4. Amelia
5. Jessica
6. Lucy
7. Sophia
8. Katie
9. Eva
10. Aoife
11. Chloe
12. Lily
13. Ella
14. Mia
15. Ellie
16. Anna [tie]
16. Emma [tie]
16. Olivia [tie]
19. Erin
20. Sarah		1. Jack
2. James
3. Daniel
4. Harry
5. Charlie
6. Ethan
7. Matthew
8. Ryan
9. Riley
10. Noah
11. Adam
12. Joshua
13. Jacob
14. Thomas
15. Conor
16. Jake [tie]
16. Oliver [tie]
18. Dylan
19. Alfie
20. Mason

The highest climbers within the top 20 lists were Aoife (15th to 10th) and Riley (18th to 9th).

Other high climbers were Bobby (124th to 59th), Blake (111th to 71st) and Olly (131st to 93rd) for boy names, and Miley (135th to 79th) and Layla (135th to 83rd) for girl names.

[Very curious about Bobby! Can anybody explain that one?]

Names that decreased in popularity include Calum (down 93 spots), Padraig (-49) and Conan (-28) on the boys’ list, and Ciara (-53), Victoria (-49) and Julia (-48) on the girls’ list.

Finally, here are some of the more unusual names registered in 2012:

Girl NamesBoy Names
Aibhailia, Anna-bell, Blathnait, Cait-erin, Caollaidhe, Clodagh-rose, Clover-leoni, Connemara, Haianabragadiska, Iretenevesho, Napsugar, Poppyanna, Scarlett-imogen, Shammahwisdom, TuleighzaBoen-rua, Caelum, Conghaile, Connlaodh, Everley-eric, Gavin-og, Iarfhlaith, Iggi, Kekeli, Kyzler, McCoist, Naoise, Rolex, Sean-og, Setanta, Shea-pearse, Somhairle, Steven-og, Uate, Ugnius

Those “og” endings on some of the boy names are the Irish word Óg, which means “young” or “junior.” It can be used after girl names, too.

Here are Northern Ireland’s top baby names of 2007, if you’d like to compare.

Source: NISRA

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

Popular baby names in Ontario (Canada), 2012

Flag of Ontario
Flag of Ontario

The most popular baby names in Ontario, Canada, were announced yesterday.

According to the Ontario Registrar General, the winners were Liam for boys and Olivia for girls.

Here are Ontario’s top 25 girl names and top 25 boy names of 2012:

Baby Girl NamesBaby Boy Names
1. Olivia
2. Emma
3. Sophia
4. Ava
5. Isabella
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Charlotte
9. Chloe
10. Lily
11. Ella
12. Sophie
13. Madison
14. Grace
15. Victoria
16. Sarah
17. Maya
18. Mia
19. Leah
20. Sofia
21. Hannah
22. Amelia
23. Brooklyn
24. Alexis
25. Julia		1. Liam
2. Ethan
3. Jacob
4. Lucas
5. Noah
6. Nathan
7. Benjamin
8. William
9. Alexander
10. Logan
11. Mason
12. Owen
13. Joshua
14. Matthew
15. Daniel
16. Ryan
17. James
18. Jack
19. Michael
20. Evan
21. Gabriel
22. Jackson
23. Carter
24. Samuel
25. Nicholas

Ontarians are apparently not “keeping up with the Kardashians,” as Mason hasn’t shot up to #2 in Ontario like it did in the U.S. last year.

Source: Liam and Olivia Most Popular Baby Names in Ontario

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ontario (public domain)

Baby name story: Dulles

airplane

On Nov. 23, 1994, the de Bara family of three — mom Theresa, dad Santiago, and 3-year-old Amanda — became a family of four when Theresa, who was seven months pregnant, unexpectedly went into labor aboard a TWA flight headed from New York to Florida.

The baby was delivered (with the help of several medically trained passengers) about an hour into the flight, just as the plane was beginning its descent into Virginia’s Dulles (pronounced DUH-luhs) International Airport, where it was making an emergency landing.

The baby boy was named Matthew Dulles de Bara.

The airport was named in honor of John Foster Dulles, who served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Eisenhower.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Air Canada Boeing 777-333ER by MarcusObal under CC BY-SA 3.0.