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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On July 27, 2009, Wisconsin couple Matthew and Annmarie Schulte tried to reach Aurora Sinai Medical Center in time for the birth of their fourth daughter. But they didn’t quite make it.
Their baby girl ended up being born on I-43, in the front passenger seat of their 1998 Toyota Corolla.
They’d planned to name the baby Cecilia Violet Marie, but in honor of her unusual birthplace they settle upon Cecilia Freeway instead.
Cecilia’s three older sisters are named Megan, Millie and Libby.
Here are some of the most popular baby names of 2009 in various places (hospitals, cities, states, etc.) around the USA and elsewhere. I’ll add to this list as I spot other articles and news releases. In the meanwhile, if you see something that I’ve missed, please comment or e-mail me (with the source).
| Location | Girl name | Boy name |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta, Canada (source) | Olivia | Ethan |
| Australian Capital Territory (source) | Olivia | William |
| Arizona, USA (source) | Isabella | Jacob |
| Black River Memorial Hospital in Black River Falls, WI, USA (source) | Emily | Samuel |
| British Columbia, Canada (source) | Olivia | Ethan |
| Chile (source) | Martina | Benjamín |
| Derry, Northern Ireland, UK (source) | Ava & Ellie (tie) | Matthew |
| Evansville, IN, USA (source) | Olivia | Aidan |
| Finley Hospital in Dubuque, IA, USA (source) | Emma | Carter |
| Germany (source) | Marie | Maximilian |
| Greater Baltimore Medical Center in MD, USA (source) | Mary | William |
| Knox County, IL, USA (source) | Addison | Logan |
| Luther Midelfort in Eau Claire, WI, USA (source) | Sophia | Jacob |
| Macomb County, MI, USA (source) | Ava | Anthony |
| Malta (post) | Maria/Mariah/Marie | Luke/Luca |
| Manitoba, Canada (source) | Ava | Liam |
| Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque, IA, USA (source) | Isabella | Aidan |
| Nebraska, USA (source) | Addison | Alexander |
| New South Wales, Australia (source) | Isabella | William |
| New Zealand (source) | Sophie | Jack |
| Newcastle, England, UK (source) | Lexi | Oliver |
| Northern Territory, Australia (source) | Isabella | Jack |
| Peterborough, England, UK (source) | Sophie | Mohammed |
| Oakland County, MI, USA (source) | Isabella | Jack |
| Quebec, Canada (source) | Léa | William |
| Queensland, Australia (source) | Chloe | William |
| Riverview Hospital in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA (source) | Madelyn | Mason |
| San Mateo County, CA, USA (source) | Sophia | Alexander |
| Saskatchewan, Canada (source) | Emma | Ethan |
| Scotland, UK (source) | Sophie | Jack |
| Sheffield, England, UK (source) | Chloe | Harry |
| South Australia, Australia (source) | Charlotte | Jack |
| Spectrum Health-Butterworth in Grand Rapids, MI, USA (source) | Emma | Jacob |
| St. Cloud Hospital in MN, USA (source) | Ella | Carter |
| St. John Medical Center in Longview, WA, USA (source) | Peyton | Noah |
| Sweden (source) | Alice | Lucas |
| Tasmania, Australia (source) | Ruby & Charlotte (tie) | Oliver |
| Tennessee, USA (source) | Emma | William |
| The Netherlands (source) | Emma | Daan |
| United States (source) | Isabella | Jacob |
| Victoria, Australia (source) | Olivia | William |
| Wyoming, USA (source) | Madison | Aiden |
P.S. Some of the names above actually represent several variants of the name.
Actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick welcomed twin girls (via surrogate) yesterday.
Their daughters’ names are Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge Broderick, according to People.
I’ll admit, those names confuse me. Here’s the way People has it written:
Born at 3:58 p.m., Marion Loretta Elwell weighed 5 lbs., 11 oz, and Tabitha Hodge Broderick weighed 6 lbs.
Is Broderick being used as a middle name for one girl, or as a surname for both? I was under the impression that their first child, James Wilkie, had Broderick as a surname. So I’m not sure what to make of the twins’ full names just yet. (I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more information.)
In the meanwhile, I’ll say that I do really like the first names, Marion and Tabitha. I especially like Marion. (Did you know that John Wayne‘s birth name was Marion?)
What do you think of the names?
Update: Both AP and NY Daily News are saying the twins are Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick and Tabitha Hodge Broderick. So it seems that Broderick is the surname, and that Marion has two middle names while Tabitha has just one.
And…here they are the new top-10 lists!
Girl names
Boy names
The first thing I had to check was Michael. I’d be so upset if it slipped any lower than #2. Just seems like tradition at this point. :)
There is one newbie on each top ten list: Alexander for boys, Chloe for girls. On the flip side of that are the “biggest losers,” Andrew (which has dropped to 12th) and Hannah (which has dropped to 17th).
And which two names just missed the cut? 11th-place Jayden and 12th-place Addison, two rather trendy names riding their newfound fame to the top. (Will they ever make it? Tune in next year — same baby name-time, same baby name-channel!)
I haven’t really delved into anything more than the top names at this point. I’m seeing news articles about Barack and Miley being more popular this year — have yet to check that out.
Have you combed through the new list yet? If so, did you see anything interesting?
Update: Here’s more from the SSA’s news release:
A brand new feature to the website this year is the “Change in Name Popularity” page. This year’s winner for the biggest jump is Khloe, which is undoubtedly related to the popularity of Khloe Kardashian from the show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” Khloe with a K increased 469 spots to number 196 in 2008, up from 665 in 2007 and 960 in 2006 (her first year on the list). Also, Chloe with a C is in the Top 10 for the first time ever. Another fast riser is Miley, moving up 152 spots to number 127 for 2008, a rather impressive increase given this is only her second year on the list. On the downside for fans of Miley Cyrus’ fictional character, the name Hannah fell out of the Top 10 and landed down at number 17. Jacoby had the biggest increase for the boys, moving up 200 spots to number 423. Commissioner Michael Astrue, a die-hard Red Sox fan, attributed the rise of Jacoby to the appeal of last year’s star rookie centerfielder, Jacoby Ellsbury.
The name everybody is wondering about, Barack, did not make this year’s top 1,000 boy’s list, but it did set what is believed to be a record by skyrocketing more than 10,000 spots in rising from number 12,535 in 2007 to 2,409 in 2008. Social Security’s sophisticated predictive models are forecasting an increase well into the top 1,000 for Barack for 2009.
In this year of change, many unfamiliar names debuted on the top 1,000 list. These names include Isla (623), Mareli (718), Dayami (750), Nylah (821) and Jazlene (831) to name a few for the girls. For the boys: Aaden (No. 343), Chace (655), Marley (764), Kash (779), Kymani (836), Ishaan (851), Jadiel (874) and Urijah (889). Social Security officials expressed hope that parents were not naming their sons Marley after the badly behaved dog who starred in the movie “Marley and Me.” Beckham also made the list for the first time, coming in at number 893—undoubtedly influenced by the arrival in the United States of British soccer star David Beckham.
Sources: SSA, America’s Parents Vote for Change on Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names List – SSA
Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)
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