How popular is the baby name Agatha 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 Agatha.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Agatha


Posts that mention the name Agatha

Baby names needed: Boy and girl names for Beatrix’s twin siblings

A reader named Marissa, who has a daughter named Beatrix Penelope (nn Bea), is expecting twins–one boy, one girl. She’s got their middle names narrowed down (Anthony or Alexander for the baby boy, Daphne or Jillian for the baby girl) but she’d like some help with their first names.

Here’s what she’s looking for in a boy name:

For the boy I’d like names that are two syllables long and start and end in a consonant. So far I like Robert, Patrick, Daniel and Fabian. The only one he likes is Fabian, but we’re still not sure.

And here’s what she’s looking for in a girl name:

For the girl I’d like names that are three or four syllables long, and start and end in a vowel. So far I like Anastasia, Ophelia, Elena and Ursula, but he likes none of them.

The babies’ last name will sound something like Thisbe.

Here are some of the boy names I came up with:

Calvin
Clement
Chester
Conrad
Curtis
David
Declan
Dexter
Duncan
Felix
Franklin
Holden
Howard
Jasper
Kenneth
Lincoln
Linus
Lucas
Malcolm
Martin
Maxwell
Miles
Mitchell
Nathan
Nelson
Nigel
Nolan
Philip
Raymond
Reuben
Roland
Roman
Silas
Simon
Stuart
Thomas
Victor
Vincent
William
Winston

And here are some ideas for the girl name:

Acantha
Adela
Adelina
Adriana
Agatha
Alexandra
Alexina
Alicia
Allegra
Althea
Amelia
Annabella
Andrea
Angela
Antonia
Arabella
Araminta
Athena
Augusta
Aurelia
Aurora
Azalea
Eleanora
Eliana
Elisa
Eloisa
Estella
Eugenia
Eulalia
Imelda
Iona
Irena/Irina
Isabella
Isidora
Octavia
Odelia
Odessa
Olivia
Olympia
Ottilia

Which of the above do you like best with Beatrix? (And which ones make the best boy/girl pairings, do you think?)

What other names would you suggest to Marissa?

Where did the baby name Orchid come from in 1926?

The character Orchid (played by Gloria Swanson) in the movie "Fine Manners" (1926).
Orchid from “Fine Manners

The flower name Orchid first appeared in the U.S. baby name the data in the mid-1920s:

  • 1928: 6 baby girls named Orchid
  • 1927: 7 baby girls named Orchid
  • 1926: 12 baby girls named Orchid [debut]
  • 1925: unlisted
  • 1924: unlisted

One dozen baby girls remained Orchid’s peak usage for nearly a century (until the record was tied in 2017, then topped in 2020).

Here’s data from the Social Security Death Index for the same span of time:

  • 1928: 1 person with the first name Orchid
  • 1927: 2 people with the first name Orchid (and 1 with Orchid as a middle)
  • 1926: 9 people with the first name Orchid (and 1 with Orchid as a middle)
  • 1925: 2 people with the first name Orchid
  • 1924: 4 people with the first name Orchid

Why were a handful of expectant parents suddenly interested in the name Orchid in 1926?

Because of a silent film called Fine Manners, which was released in August of that year.

Dialogue intertitle featuring the name Orchid from the silent film "Fine Manners" (1926).
Dialogue intertitle from “Fine Manners

It starred Gloria Swanson as a vivacious-yet-unrefined New York chorus girl named Orchid Murphy. Orchid falls in love with a millionaire named Brian Alden, but, right after Brian asks Orchid to marry him, he learns that he will be traveling abroad on business. During the months of his absence, his Aunt Agatha teaches Orchid about social etiquette (e.g., “a lady never makes a vulgar display of her emotions”).

The consequence is that Brian is deeply disappointed when he returns to find a blasé little Orchid. He scolds his Aunt for having robbed the girl of her vivacity and spark.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Orchid? Would you use it?

P.S. Gloria Swanson’s The Love of Sunya — released less than a year after Fine Manners — also had an influence on U.S. baby names…

Sources:

[Latest update: April 2023]

Baby name needed: Boy or girl name for Harvey’s sibling

A reader named Kim has a son named Harvey James. She’s expecting her second baby (gender unknown) this fall. The baby’s last name will be similar to Landsberg.

She and her husband like different types of names, so let’s tackle one gender at a time.

For a girl, I like (stodgy?) old fashioned names like Matilda, Agatha, and Wilhelmina, and he likes more common names like Kate and Anna.

I looked for girl names that have an old-fashioned feel, but a contemporary look/sound (i.e. shorter, simpler, more melodic than Matilda, Agatha, Wilhelmina). Here’s what I came up with:

Ada
Alice
Beatrix
Bettina
Celeste
Celia
Charlotte
Clara
Cora
Delia
Edith
Eliza
Flora
Frida/Frieda
Georgia
Greta
Jane
Leona
Louisa
Lucy
Lydia
Martha
Mina
Nina
Nora
Petra
Phoebe
Rose
Rowena
Sabina
Sylvia
Vita
Willa

Now boys:

For a boy, I love the more classical / romantic Oliver and Frederick, but my husband likes the more (stalwart? masculine? mainstream?) Connor and Owen.

Finding middle-ground male names was a bit trickier, but I think most of the names below fit the bill. (I also sprinkled in a few random others that I happen to like with Harvey.)

Bennett
Charles
Clancy
Conrad
Desmond
Dominic
Duncan
Edgar
Emil
Emmett
Evan
Everett
Felix
Garrett
Gavin
Graham
Grant
Jasper
Leo/Leonard
Luther
Malcolm
Maxwell
Morris
Nathan
Nolan
Oscar
Sebastian
Simon
Stanley
Stuart
Theo/Theodore
Travis
Walter

Which of the names above do you like best? What other names would you suggest to Kim and her husband?

Update – The baby has arrived! Scroll down to see what name Kim chose.