How popular is the baby name Alex 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 Alex.

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Popularity of the baby name Alex


Posts that mention the name Alex

Popular baby names in Spain, 2023

Flag of Spain
Flag of Spain

Two years ago, the country of Spain welcomed 320,656 babies — 156,039 (49%) girls and 164,617 (51%) boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Lucia and Hugo.

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

Girl names

  1. Lucia, 3,076 baby girls
  2. Sofia, 2,990
  3. Martina, 2,507
  4. Maria, 2,242
  5. Julia, 2,162
  6. Valeria, 2,047
  7. Olivia, 1,838
  8. Emma, 1,770
  9. Paula, 1,720
  10. Vega, 1,719
  11. Mia, 1,660
  12. Alma, 1,615 (tie)
  13. Carmen, 1,615 (tie)
  14. Daniela, 1,543
  15. Carla, 1,507
  16. Lara, 1,418
  17. Sara, 1,389
  18. Jimena, 1,362
  19. Lola, 1,355
  20. Gala, 1,339
  21. Noa, 1,298
  22. Alba, 1,283
  23. Claudia, 1,269
  24. Chloe, 1,221
  25. Valentina, 1,197
  26. Aitana, 1,037
  27. Alejandra, 1,005
  28. Manuela, 986
  29. Triana, 980
  30. Laia, 936
  31. Candela, 917
  32. Abril, 898
  33. Ana, 897 (tie)
  34. Zoe, 897 (tie)
  35. Ines, 880
  36. Victoria, 866
  37. Vera, 864
  38. Elena, 857
  39. Adriana, 828
  40. Blanca, 813
  41. Carlota, 746
  42. Nora, 727
  43. Marina, 723
  44. Rocio, 702
  45. Clara, 693
  46. Lia, 679
  47. Luna, 666
  48. Amira, 608
  49. Marta, 606
  50. Alicia, 583

Boy names

  1. Hugo, 3,126 baby boys
  2. Mateo, 3,100
  3. Martin, 2,917
  4. Leo, 2,542
  5. Lucas, 2,394
  6. Manuel, 2,339
  7. Pablo, 2,224
  8. Alejandro, 2,102
  9. Enzo, 2,062
  10. Daniel, 1,957
  11. Alvaro, 1,919
  12. Thiago, 1,560
  13. Adrian, 1,506
  14. Mario, 1,505
  15. Liam, 1,493
  16. Diego, 1,422
  17. Luca, 1,394
  18. Bruno, 1,367
  19. Oliver, 1,331
  20. Gonzalo, 1,278
  21. David, 1,243
  22. Alex, 1,223
  23. Marcos, 1,201
  24. Gael, 1,199
  25. Nicolas, 1,171
  26. Miguel, 1,162
  27. Izan, 1,158
  28. Marco, 1,148
  29. Antonio, 1,118
  30. Javier, 1,105
  31. Juan, 1,056
  32. Gabriel, 980
  33. Angel, 924
  34. Dylan, 911
  35. Carlos, 905
  36. Marc, 899
  37. Rodrigo, 868
  38. Jose, 866
  39. Dario, 860
  40. Adam, 818
  41. Samuel, 718
  42. Noah, 713
  43. Jaime, 703 (tie)
  44. Jorge, 703 (tie)
  45. Francisco, 657
  46. Santiago, 654
  47. Sergio, 647
  48. Guillermo, 630 (tie)
  49. Pau, 630 (tie)
    • Pau, the Catalan and Occitan form of Paul, is also a homophone of pau, the Catalan word for “peace.” This makes it similar to the Spanish name Paz, which comes from the Marian title Nuestra Señora de la Paz (transl. “Our Lady of Peace”).
  50. Eric, 616

In the girls’ top 10, Vega replaced Daniela.

In the boys’ top 10, Enzo replaced Alvaro.

A year earlier, in 2022, the top names in Spain were Lucia and Martin.

Sources: Apellidos y nombres más frecuentes – INEbase, Estadística de nacimientos – INEbase, Pau – Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Spain (public domain)

What popularized the baby name Corbin in 1987?

The character Arnie Becker (played by Corbin Bernsen) from the TV series "L.A. Law" (1986-1994)
Corbin Bernsen as Arnie Becker

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Corbin nearly tripled in usage in 1987:

  • 1989: 525 baby boys named Corbin [rank: 406th]
  • 1988: 374 baby boys named Corbin [rank: 473rd]
  • 1987: 234 baby boys named Corbin [rank: 592nd]
  • 1986: 79 baby boys named Corbin
  • 1985: 54 baby boys named Corbin

Why?

Because of actor Corbin Bernsen, who played Arnold “Arnie” Becker on the popular NBC legal drama L.A. Law, which began airing (on Thursday nights) in September of 1986.

Arnie Becker was an “oily but effective” divorce attorney who drove a Porsche 911 (license plate: LITIG8R) and led a promiscuous lifestyle. He was described as “television’s first unapologetically yuppie antihero” by a Rolling Stone writer (who noted that Alex P. Keaton was a mere “cuddly yuppie puppy” compared to Becker).

For his portrayal of Becker, Corbin Bernsen received nominations for both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

The first name Corbin often comes from the surname Corbin, which has several possible derivations — including the Old French/Middle English word corbin, a diminutive of corb, meaning “crow, raven.”

P.S. The name saw another jump in usage in the late 1990s, thanks to the sci-fi movie The Fifth Element…

Sources:

  • L.A. Law – Television Academy Interviews
  • Kilday, Gregg. “Networking Class Hero.” Rolling Stone 4 Jun. 1987.
  • Asimow, Michael, Kathryn Brown and David Ray Papke. (Eds.) Law and Popular Culture: International Perspectives. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014.
  • Hanks, Patrick, Simon Lenarcic and Peter McClure. (Eds.) Dictionary of American Family Names. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
  • SSA

Image: Screenshot of L.A. Law

Baby name story: Daehlie

Bjørn Dæhlie greeting Philip Boit at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Bjørn Dæhlie greeting Philip Boit

Norwegian cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie (pronounced DAHL-ee) placed first in the men’s 10km classic at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

He held off going to the medal ceremony, though, until Kenyan skier Philip Boit — a former middle-distance runner who, after switching sports, became the very first Kenyan to compete at the Winter Games — crossed the finish line in last place, twenty minutes later.

Philip Boit welcomed his first child, a baby boy, just weeks after the Olympics. The baby’s name? Daehlie, after Bjørn Dæhlie. As Boit explained,

All my friends and family said he had to be a very good-hearted man because he waited for me in Nagano, and that I should keep his name in my family.

Philip Boit went on to have three more children: Olympia, Faith, and Alex.

P.S. Philip Boit’s uncle, middle-distance runner Mike Boit, competed alongside Kipchoge Keino at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of the 1998 Winter Olympics

Popular baby names in Ireland, 2024

Flag of Ireland
Flag of Ireland

The top baby names in the Republic of Ireland last year were Sophie and Jack.

Here are Ireland’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Sophie, 294 baby girls
  2. Éabha, 293
  3. Grace, 291
  4. Emily, 290
  5. Fiadh, 286
  6. Lily, 253
  7. Olivia, 246
  8. Amelia, 220
  9. Sadie, 216
  10. Mia, 213
  11. Lucy, 204
  12. Freya, 196
  13. Isla, 193
  14. Ella, 192
  15. Ellie, 190
  16. Croía, 188
  17. Emma, 187 (tie)
  18. Maya, 187 (tie)
  19. Sophia, 180
  20. Chloe, 179 (tie)
  21. Hannah, 179 (tie)
  22. Molly, 171
  23. Evie, 167
  24. Saoirse, 164
  25. Sofia, 154
  26. Ava, 152
  27. Robyn, 148
  28. Millie, 145
  29. Anna, 140
  30. Ruby, 134
  31. Caoimhe, 131 (tie)
  32. Rosie, 131 (tie)
  33. Róisín, 126
  34. Bonnie, 123
  35. Erin, 120 (tie)
  36. Isabelle, 120 (tie)
  37. Cara, 118
  38. Sadhbh, 117
  39. Holly, 115
  40. Éala, 114
  41. Annie, 112
  42. Clodagh, 109 (tie)
  43. Daisy, 109 (tie)
  44. Hazel, 108
  45. Aoife, 107 (tie)
  46. Katie, 107 (tie)
  47. Kate, 106 (tie)
  48. Willow, 106 (tie)
  49. Maisie, 105
  50. Ada, 104 (tie)
  51. Méabh, 104 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Jack, 490 baby boys
  2. Noah, 486
  3. Rían, 432
  4. Cillian, 352
  5. James, 336
  6. Tadhg, 318
  7. Fionn, 304
  8. Liam, 303
  9. Oisín, 286
  10. Charlie, 258
  11. Daniel, 257
  12. Finn, 255
  13. Theo, 252
  14. Thomas, 226
  15. Seán, 222
  16. Patrick, 220
  17. Michael, 218
  18. Luke, 217
  19. Conor, 210
  20. Harry, 209
  21. Tommy, 202
  22. Leo, 201 (tie)
  23. Páidí, 201 (tie)
  24. Luca, 197
  25. Adam, 188
  26. Darragh, 184
  27. Oliver, 181
  28. Bobby, 179
  29. John, 168
  30. Jamie, 162 (tie)
  31. Kai, 162 (tie)
  32. Oscar, 159
  33. Cian, 158 (tie)
  34. Max, 158 (tie)
  35. Ollie, 157
  36. Alex, 155
  37. Callum, 154
  38. Sonny, 147
  39. Dylan, 141
  40. David, 134
  41. Ben, 132
  42. Matthew, 131
  43. Caelan, 128
  44. Alexander, 127
  45. Muhammad, 126
  46. Ryan, 124
  47. Arthur, 119
  48. Arlo, 118
  49. Alfie, 117
  50. Shay, 107

The trendy name Croía (pronounced KREE-a) rose from 95th in 2020, to 52nd in 2021, to 38th in 2022, to 24th in 2023, to 16th last year. Do you think it will reach the top 10 in 2025?

Speaking of names on the upswing, the fastest-rising girl names in the top 100 were Maya (in terms of number of babies) and Rhea (in terms of rank). Likewise, the fastest-rising boy names in the top 100 were Rían (in terms of number of babies) and Caleb (in terms of rank).

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the names given to just 3 babies each in Ireland last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Annalivia, Brídín, Ceoladh, Dolcie, Elira, Fearne, Goldie, Heather, Iveagh, Jessa, Kenza, Líobhan, Morrigan, Nollaig, Oonagh, Peach, Réalta, Saffi, Tiffany, Vega, Willa, ZariaAhan, Bento, Chulainn, Daróg, Enda, Fearghal, Gene, Hughie, Íarlaith, Jameson, Keelin, Laith, Mick, Naomhán, Oilibhéar, Pat, Ralphie, Séadh, Téidí, Vlad, Willie, Zeke

The Irish word réalta means “star.”

Source: Irish Babies’ Names – CSO (Irish Babies’ Names 2024)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)