How popular is the baby name Alexander 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 Alexander.

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Popularity of the baby name Alexander


Posts that mention the name Alexander

Popular and unique baby names in Scotland (UK), 2023

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, the country of Scotland — which covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain — welcomed nearly 46,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Isla and Luca.

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

Girl names

  1. Isla, 274 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 266
  3. Freya, 254
  4. Emily, 232
  5. Amelia, 225
  6. Ella, 213
  7. Charlotte, 210
  8. Millie, 206
  9. Grace, 205
  10. Ava, 203
  11. Lily, 201
  12. Aria, 190
  13. Sophie, 189
  14. Orla, 173
  15. Maisie, 166
  16. Sophia, 164
  17. Rosie, 155
  18. Ivy, 149
  19. Evie, 146
  20. Lucy, 141
  21. Sofia, 140
  22. Harper, 139
  23. Willow, 138
  24. Bonnie, 128
  25. Jessica, 123
  26. Eilidh, 122 [tie]
  27. Ellie, 122 [tie]
  28. Maya, 119
  29. Mia, 118
  30. Daisy, 117
  31. Elsie, 116
  32. Poppy, 115
  33. Esme, 114
  34. Hallie, 111 [tie]
  35. Zara, 111 [tie]
  36. Ruby, 107
  37. Mila, 102
  38. Isabella, 101
  39. Anna, 96 [tie]
  40. Maeve, 96 [tie]
  41. Lottie, 95
  42. Robyn 92
  43. Emma, 90 [2-way tie]
  44. Georgia, 90 [2-way tie]
  45. Ada, 88 [2-way tie]
  46. Phoebe, 88 [2-way tie]
  47. Erin, 85 [2-way tie]
  48. Sienna, 85 [2-way tie]
  49. Layla, 84
  50. Eva, 80 [tie]
  51. Gracie, 80 [tie]

Boy names

  1. Luca, 344 baby boys
  2. Noah, 336
  3. Leo, 288
  4. Jack, 285
  5. Harris, 266
  6. Rory, 254
  7. Oliver, 250
  8. Theo, 238
  9. Archie, 235
  10. Finlay, 231
  11. Muhammad, 225
  12. James, 223
  13. Brodie, 220 [tie]
  14. Finn, 220 [tie]
  15. Alexander, 214
  16. Thomas, 195
  17. Jude, 193
  18. Lucas, 186
  19. Alfie, 182
  20. Lewis, 180
  21. Freddie, 172
  22. Arlo, 164
  23. Max, 155
  24. Charlie, 151
  25. Tommy, 149
  26. Arthur, 147
  27. Mason, 143
  28. Oscar, 139
  29. Logan, 134
  30. Blake, 129
  31. Sonny, 127
  32. Kai, 122
  33. Roman, 121
  34. Caleb, 120 [3-way tie]
  35. Cameron, 120 [3-way tie]
  36. Harrison, 120 [3-way tie]
  37. Adam, 118 [tie]
  38. Jacob, 118 [tie]
  39. Louie, 111
  40. Ethan, 110
  41. Ollie, 108
  42. Harry, 106
  43. Reuben, 104
  44. Albie, 103 [2-way tie]
  45. Angus, 103 [2-way tie]
  46. Daniel, 102 [2-way tie]
  47. Liam, 102 [2-way tie]
  48. Hudson, 100
  49. Aaron, 98
  50. Arran, 95 [tie] – likely inspired by Scotland’s Isle of Arran.
    • The similar names Aaron and Arran have been neck and neck for several years in a row.
  51. Carter, 95 [tie]

The fastest-rising names in the girls’ top 100 were Mabel, Delilah, Mollie, and Lottie.

The fastest-rising names in the boys’ top 100 were Oakley, Rowan, Ruairidh, and Muhammad.

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Scotland last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Angharad, Babel, Camellia, Doileag, Ellerby, Fenn, Griva, Hubavena, Iris-Davinia, Jafina, Kinvara, Linamandla, Mhuilinn, Neven, Orlie, Pollaidh, Quinza, Rhumer, Senga, Tweedie, Uxia, Vhairi, Welwitschia, Xiwei, Yolandra, ZarminaAonghas, Brandonlee, Caoimhin-Caolan, Dubhlainn, Excellent, Fragkiskos, Gibby, Howl, Ivaylo, Jophil, Kenai, Lavish, Malverde, Oakes, Padruig, Quinlann, Riordan, Seocaidh, Talorcan, Ultan, Venkata, Wullie, Xabier, Yuan, Zuriel

Possible explanations/associations for several of the above:

  • Pollaidh comes from the name of the Scottish mountain Stac Pollaidh (pronounced “stack polly”). The Scottish name is based on the Norse name for the mountain, Stakkr Pollå, which means “the pinnacle of the pool river.”
  • Senga could be Agnes backwards…or it could be based on the Scottish word seang, meaning “slender.” (Here’s a post about Scotland’s Senga syndrome.)
  • Talorcan is a Pictish name that belonged to several Pictish kings. It’s often spelled Talorgan.
  • Welwitschia (pronounced vel-VIH-chee-uh) is the name of a genus of plants that includes a single species, Welwitschia mirabilis, endemic to the Namib desert in Africa. The genus was named after Austrian physician/botanist Friedrich Welwitsch (1806-1872).

Here’s what Welwitschia mirabilis — often referred to as a “living fossil” — looks like:

Welwitschia mirabilis
Welwitschia mirabilis

(I haven’t been this fascinated by a science-y baby name since Petrichor popped up in Alberta in 2016!)

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

Sources:

Images:

Popular and unique baby names in Sonoma County (California), 2023

Flag of California
Flag of California

Sonoma County is the northernmost county in the San Francisco Bay Area region.

Last year, Sonoma welcomed 4,463 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Mateo.

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

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 20 baby girls
  2. Camila, 19 (tie)
  3. Mia, 19 (tie)
  4. Emily, 16 (3-way tie)
  5. Mila, 16 (3-way tie)
  6. Sophia, 16 (3-way tie)
  7. Aurora, 15 (4-way tie)
  8. Isabella, 15 (4-way tie)
  9. Sofia, 15 (4-way tie)
  10. Violet, 15 (4-way tie)
  11. Ava, 14 (3-way tie)
  12. Gianna, 14 (3-way tie)
  13. Isla, 14 (3-way tie)
  14. Charlotte, 13 (4-way tie)
  15. Emma, 13 (4-way tie)
  16. Lily, 13 (4-way tie)
  17. Luna, 13 (4-way tie)
  18. Avery, 12 (3-way tie)
  19. Harper, 12 (3-way tie)
  20. Maya, 12 (3-way tie)
  21. Leilani, 11 (tie)
  22. Scarlett, 11 (tie)
  23. Amelia, 10 (11-way tie)
  24. Daniela, 10 (11-way tie)
  25. Elena, 10 (11-way tie)
  26. Eliana, 10 (11-way tie)
  27. Josephine, 10 (11-way tie)
  28. Kennedy, 10 (11-way tie)
  29. Logan, 10 (11-way tie)
  30. Quinn, 10 (11-way tie)
  31. Ryan, 10 (11-way tie)
  32. Valentina, 10 (11-way tie)
  33. Victoria, 10 (11-way tie)
  34. Eleanor, 9 (6-way tie)
  35. Grace, 9 (6-way tie)
  36. Madison, 9 (6-way tie)
  37. Nora, 9 (6-way tie)
  38. Riley, 9 (6-way tie)
  39. Stella, 9 (6-way tie)
  40. Charlie, 8 (11-way tie)
  41. Emilia, 8 (11-way tie)
  42. Evelyn, 8 (11-way tie)
  43. Jade, 8 (11-way tie)
  44. Lainey, 8 (11-way tie)
  45. Natalie, 8 (11-way tie)
  46. Penelope, 8 (11-way tie)
  47. Poppy, 8 (11-way tie)
  48. Samantha, 8 (11-way tie)
  49. Sawyer, 8 (11-way tie)
  50. Valeria, 8 (11-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Mateo, 29 baby boys
  2. Noah, 27
  3. Liam, 22 (tie)
  4. Luca, 22 (tie)
  5. Oliver, 21 (tie)
  6. Sebastian, 21 (tie)
  7. Dylan, 20
  8. Leonardo, 19 (tie)
  9. Levi, 19 (tie)
  10. Anthony, 17 (3-way tie)
  11. Henry, 17 (3-way tie)
  12. Lucas, 17 (3-way tie)
  13. Benjamin, 16 (tie)
  14. Julian, 16 (tie)
  15. Emiliano, 15
  16. Ethan, 14
  17. Santiago, 13 (tie)
  18. Wyatt, 13 (tie)
  19. Angel, 12 (5-way tie)
  20. Cooper, 12 (5-way tie)
  21. Daniel, 12 (5-way tie)
  22. Matteo, 12 (5-way tie)
  23. Miles, 12 (5-way tie)
  24. Alexander, 11 (8-way tie)
  25. Christopher, 11 (8-way tie)
  26. Elias, 11 (8-way tie)
  27. Hudson, 11 (8-way tie)
  28. Jack, 11 (8-way tie)
  29. Leo, 11 (8-way tie)
  30. Matias, 11 (8-way tie)
  31. Thomas, 11 (8-way tie)
  32. Bennett, 10 (9-way tie)
  33. Damian, 10 (9-way tie)
  34. Elijah, 10 (9-way tie)
  35. Emilio, 10 (9-way tie)
  36. Ezra, 10 (9-way tie)
  37. Ian, 10 (9-way tie)
  38. Luka, 10 (9-way tie)
  39. Luke, 10 (9-way tie)
  40. William, 10 (9-way tie)
  41. Caleb, 9 (5-way tie)
  42. James, 9 (5-way tie)
  43. Jose, 9 (5-way tie)
  44. Luis, 9 (5-way tie)
  45. Parker, 9 (5-way tie)
  46. Adriel, 8 (16-way tie)
  47. Cameron, 8 (16-way tie)
  48. Colton, 8 (16-way tie)
  49. Connor, 8 (16-way tie)
  50. David, 8 (16-way tie)
  51. Dean, 8 (16-way tie)
  52. Diego, 8 (16-way tie)
  53. Gabriel, 8 (16-way tie)
  54. Isaac, 8 (16-way tie)
  55. Jesus, 8 (16-way tie)
  56. Lorenzo, 8 (16-way tie)
  57. Milo, 8 (16-way tie)
  58. River, 8 (16-way tie)
  59. Samuel, 8 (16-way tie)
  60. Theo, 8 (16-way tie)
  61. Thiago, 8 (16-way tie)

And here’s a sampling of the many names that were bestowed just once in Sonoma last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Ameyalli, Beliana, Colette, Delphie, Ellora, Fiadh, Gwendolyn, Honorae, Ilisapeci, Jessune, Khilana, Lucibell, Merari, Norma, Oriah, Pixel, Riyana, Soluna, Teteoinnan, Ume, Velexia, Wrenlee, Xochitl, Yetzi, ZantedechiaAriodante, Bruce, Canaan, Dovydas, Endrick, Favian, Gedaliah, Hewitt, Itztli, Jessiah, Kidder, Ledson, Miro, Nash, Orbelin, Paz, Rapha, Sigaserau, Tovius, Uniquo, Ventura, Wicahpi, Xolotl, Yoali, Zianni

Some possible explanations/influences for a few of the above:

  • Ameyalli means “spring, fountain” in Nahuatl.
  • Ariodante is the name of an opera (first performed in 1735) by George Frideric Handel.
  • Itztli refers to an “obsidian blade” in Nahuatl.
  • Teteoinnan is the name of a Nahua deity. (The name means “mother of the gods” in Nahuatl.)
  • Wicahpi means “star” in Lakota.
  • Xolotl refers to the “divine force of lightning and death” (among other things) in Nahuatl.
  • Zantedechia is one letter away from Zantedeschia, the name of a genus of flowering plants. (The calla lily is a member of this genus.) The genus was named after Italian physician/botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi (1773-1846).

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

Sources: Sonoma County Baby Names – Open Data, Sonoma County, Sonoma County Births by Year – Open Data, Sonoma County, Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Zantedeschia – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of California (public domain)

Popular baby names in Gibraltar, 2023

Flag of Gibraltar
Flag of Gibraltar

The British overseas territory of Gibraltar — located at the southern tip of Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, just a few miles away from Northern Africa — is home to roughly 32,700 people

Last year, Gibraltar welcomed 319 babies — 149 baby girls, and 170 baby boys. (My source article said the final tally was 318, but the full list [PDF] included an extra name.)

What were the most popular names among these babies? Ava/Lucia (tie) and Luca.

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

Girl names

  1. Ava and Lucia, 4 baby girls each (tie)
  2. Evie, Lily, Olivia, and Sienna, 3 each (4-way tie)
  3. Alba, Arabella, Brielle, Emma, Esme, Indie, Lena, Luna, Madison, Mia, Noa, Sofia, Sophia, Sophie, Talia, and Valentina, 2 each (16-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Luca, 5 baby boys
  2. Jack, Leon, and Liam, 4 each (3-way tie)
  3. James, Noah, Theo, and William, 3 each (4-way tie)
  4. Aiden, Alexander, Axel, Daniel, Dylan, Evan, Hugo, Jackson, Jake, Joey, Julian, Karim, Leo, Leonardo, Lucas, Matthew, Michael, Mohamed, Rafael, Robin, and Ryan, 2 each (21-way tie)

The rest of the names were each bestowed once. (Except for Reign, which was bestowed twice overall — once for each gender.)

Unique girl names (97)Unique boy names (99)
Aasiyah, Abigail, Adrianna, Alexandra, Alma, Amelia, Amiah, Anastasia, Anoushka, Anya, Aria, Arianna, Arianne, Arna, Avery, Bassma, Blossom, Carla, Charlotte, Chloe, Cole, Cora, Daisy, Daniella, Deborah, Devorah, Eadie, Eleanor, Elena, Eliana, Elie, Ella, Elodie, Elouisa, Elsie, Emilia, Emilie, Emily, Faith, Farah, Gia, Giselle, Grace, Gracie-Rae, Hallie, Hannah, Holly, Irene, Isabella, Isadora, Jawhara, Joudia, Julietta, Kaila, Kylie, Layan, Lia, Lilijana, Lilya, Lorena, Lucie, Lucy, Luella, Maram, Matilda, Maya, Mila, Miral, Molly, Niah, Niv, Nora, Nylah, Ottilie, Paige, Penelope, Reign, Rhea, Ria, Riley-Mae, Rina, Rivka, Ruth, Sabrina, Sage, Sara, Scarlett, Sia, Skye, Souhaila, Sydney, Tania, Teresa, Tillia, Vivienne, Yashu, ZainabAaron, Adonis, Alejandro, Alfei, Anthon, Aries, Ashton, August, Ayaan, Ayman, Brooke, Caleb, Charles, Christian, Cody, Colby, Cory, Elai, Eliyahu, Elliott, Eneko, Eoin, Etienne, Evren, Ezio, Finley, Frederick, Gino, Godred, Grayson, Harvey, Hayden, Hiyaan, Ilan, Indra, Jai, Jamie, Jayce, Jayme, Jesse, Johar, Joseph, Joshua, Jovan, Justin, Kai, Keenan, Kobe, Koen, Laurence, Lawson, Lee, Logan, Louay, Louie, Luke, Mael, Mason, Matteo, Max, Milan, Musa, Nasir, Nate, Nathan, Nathaniel, Nial, Nicholas, Nicolas, Nikolai, Nolan, Nyle, Oliver, Ori, Owen, Ramy, Raphael, Ray, Refael, Reign, Rex, Rian, Ricardo, River, Romeo, Roux, Ruben, Rylee, Salman, Sam, Samuel, Scott, Stefan, Theodore, Thiago, Yaakov, Yisroel, Zachary, Ziggy

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

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Gibraltar (public domain)

Where did the baby name Amadeus come from in 1985?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the movie "Amadeus" (1984)
Mozart from “Amadeus”

The name Amadeus — created from the Latin words amare, meaning “to love,” and deus, meaning “god” — can be interpreted as meaning either “lover of god” or “loved by god.”

It first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1985:

  • 1987: 17 baby boys named Amadeus
  • 1986: 15 baby boys named Amadeus
  • 1985: 11 baby boys named Amadeus [debut]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

What caused the debut?

Well, it all starts with famed Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) — specifically, with an unfounded rumor regarding the mysterious circumstances of his premature death at age 35.

According to the rumor, Mozart was poisoned by one of his professional rivals, Italian-born composer Antonio Salieri. In reality, the two men were cordial with one another. (Also, the symptoms of Mozart’s final illness do not line up with a case of poisoning.) Regardless, the rumor persisted.

In 1830, Russian poet Alexander Pushkin was inspired by the rumor to write a short (two-scene) play called Mozart and Salieri.

A century and a half later, English playwright Peter Shaffer — inspired by Pushkin’s play — created a longer (two-act) play called Amadeus (1979).

In Shaffer’s highly fictionalized play, Salieri has lived a virtuous life, and enjoyed professional success, but remains a mediocre composer. Mozart, on the other hand, is a brilliant composer despite being a “foul-mouthed, gleeful young lout.” Upon realizing that he’s been denied the gift of musical genius — that the one “loved by god” is undeserving Mozart (with the symbolic middle name) — Salieri decides to take revenge upon god by sabotaging Mozart’s career.

The Broadway production of Amadeus, which starred Ian McKellen as Salieri and Tim Curry as Mozart, ran from December of 1980 to October of 1983. It won five Tony Awards, including Best Play.

The successful play was then made into an equally successful movie, also entitled Amadeus, which was released in September of 1984. The movie starred F. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as “goofy, immature” Mozart. It won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

And the movie is what accounts for nearly a dozen U.S. baby boys being named Amadeus in 1985.

Falco's single "Rock me Amadeus" (1985)
Falco single

Then, in an unexpected twist, Austrian musician Falco (birth name: Johann Hölzel) — inspired by the movie Amadeus — created the German-language synth-pop song “Rock Me Amadeus” [vid], which was released in Europe in early 1985. A year later, in the spring of 1986, it reached the #1 spot on Billboard‘s U.S. Hot 100 chart and stayed there for three weeks straight.

The song — in which Falco repeats the name Amadeus dozens of times — likely accounts for the name’s rising usage on birth certificates in both 1986 and 1987.

…But now let’s circle back to the original Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose middle name, as it turns out, wasn’t actually “Amadeus.”

Mozart was baptized Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. His first two given names (which were rarely used) honored St. John Chrysostom, his third given name came from his maternal grandfather, and his fourth given name came from his godfather.

During his life, multilingual Mozart translated his Greek middle name Theophilus into various other languages. He sometimes used the German form Gottlieb, or the French form Amadè, or the Italian form Amadeo. But he never used the Latin form, Amadeus.

What are your thoughts on the name Amadeus? Would you use it? (Do you prefer one of the other forms?)

P.S. Mozart’s older sister, Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart, also has at least one U.S. namesake…

Sources:

Top image: Screenshot of Amadeus