How popular is the baby name Amanda 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 Amanda.

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Popularity of the baby name Amanda


Posts that mention the name Amanda

Popular baby names in Colorado, 1997

Flag of Colorado
Flag of Colorado

Back in 1997, the western U.S. state of Colorado welcomed 56,505 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Hannah and Jacob, according to data from the Health Statistics Section of Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment.

The state also revealed the top names within each of its three largest racial/ethnic groups, which it defined as “White/non-Hispanic,” “White/Hispanic,” and “Black.”

Number of babiesTop girl nameTop boy name
White/non-Hispanic38,729 (69%)HannahJacob
White/Hispanic12,951 (23%)JessicaJose
Black2,582 (5%)JasmineIsaiah

Here are Colorado’s top 50 girl names (overall) and top 50 boy names (overall) of 1997:

Girl names

  1. Hannah
  2. Emily
  3. Jessica
  4. Sarah
  5. Madison
  6. Samantha
  7. Taylor
  8. Alexandra
  9. Ashley
  10. Megan
  11. Elizabeth
  12. Rachel
  13. Alyssa
  14. Alexis
  15. Lauren
  16. Emma
  17. Kayla
  18. Morgan
  19. Amanda
  20. Brianna
  21. Jennifer
  22. Jordan
  23. Abigail
  24. Victoria
  25. Nicole
  26. Brittany
  27. Rebecca
  28. Danielle
  29. Katherine
  30. Sierra
  31. Anna
  32. Mariah
  33. Olivia
  34. Amber
  35. Sydney
  36. Stephanie
  37. Jasmine
  38. Brooke
  39. Haley
  40. Maria
  41. Kaitlyn
  42. Gabrielle
  43. Savannah
  44. Allison
  45. Marissa
  46. Bailey
  47. Courtney
  48. Sara
  49. Erin
  50. Mackenzie

Boy names

  1. Jacob
  2. Michael
  3. Matthew
  4. Joshua
  5. Austin
  6. Tyler
  7. Andrew
  8. Christopher
  9. Nicholas
  10. Brandon
  11. Daniel
  12. Ryan
  13. Joseph
  14. Zachary
  15. David
  16. Alexander
  17. Anthony
  18. John
  19. James
  20. Benjamin
  21. Kyle
  22. Samuel
  23. William
  24. Justin
  25. Jonathan
  26. Dylan
  27. Christian
  28. Jordan
  29. Cody
  30. Robert
  31. Nathan
  32. Aaron
  33. Thomas
  34. Eric
  35. Connor
  36. Cameron
  37. Jose
  38. Noah
  39. Adam
  40. Logan
  41. Isaiah
  42. Sean
  43. Gabriel
  44. Caleb
  45. Jack
  46. Cole
  47. Kevin
  48. Trevor
  49. Ethan
  50. Ian

How do these rankings stack up against the U.S. Social Security Administration’s 1997 rankings for Colorado?

The boy names look similar, but there are two significant discrepancies among the girl names: Alexandra ranked 11 spots lower (19th vs. 8th) and Gabrielle ranked 33 spots lower (75th vs. 42nd) on the federal government’s list.

Other names bestowed in Colorado in 1997 included “Elway, Jamaica, and Mars for baby boys, and October, November, Paradise, and Rejoice for baby girls.”

Elway was no doubt inspired by John Elway, the longtime Denver Broncos quarterback who was about to lead the team to its first Super Bowl victory (in January of 1998).

Speaking of Colorado baby names with historical significance…here are posts about Denver (b. 1859), Colorado (b. 1859), Salida (b. 1881), and Silver Dollar (b. 1889).

Source: Birth Statistics Summary 1997 – Colorado Health and Environmental Data (pdf)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Colorado (public domain)

What popularized the baby name Mandy in the mid-1970s?

Barry Manilow's album "Barry Manilow II" (1974)
Barry Manilow album

According to the U.S. baby name data, Mandy more than sextupled in usage in 1975:

  • 1977: 3,100 baby girls named Mandy [rank: 94th]
  • 1976: 2,924 baby girls named Mandy [rank: 100th]
  • 1975: 2,710 baby girls named Mandy [rank: 106th]
  • 1974: 446 baby girls named Mandy [rank: 435th]
  • 1973: 384 baby girls named Mandy [rank: 473rd]

Amanda — the name from which Mandy derives — also saw a discernible increase in usage in 1975.

What gave these names a boost?

The Barry Manilow song “Mandy,” which was released in October of 1974. It reached the top spot on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in January of the following year.

Here’s what it sounds like:

Interestingly, “Mandy” is a cover of a song called “Brandy” that was first recorded by Scott English and released in early 1972. The single became popular in both the UK and Australia, but was only a minor hit in the U.S.

When Barry Manilow recorded his version in mid-1974, he (and Bell Records president Clive Davis) decided to change the title from “Brandy” to “Mandy” so as to avoid confusion with the Looking Glass song “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).”

The baby name Mandy went on to see peak usage several years later — either in 1977 (highest ranking) or in 1978 (highest number of babies), depending on how you look at it.

What are your thoughts on the name Mandy?

P.S. The similar name Mindy was also most popular in the late 1970s…

Sources: Mandy by Barry Manilow – Songfacts, Barry Manilow – Billboard, Brandy (Scott English song) – Wikipedia, SSA

What gave the baby name Marisol a boost in 1970?

Marisol Malaret, Miss Universe 1970
Marisol Malaret

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Marisol saw a spike in usage in 1970:

  • 1972: 639 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 346th]
  • 1971: 806 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 327th]
  • 1970: 897 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 311th]
  • 1969: 398 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 487th]
  • 1968: 286 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 566th]

Why?

Because of Puerto Rican beauty queen Marisol Malaret, who was crowned Miss Universe in Miami Beach, Florida, in July of 1970.

Notably, she was the first delegate from Puerto Rico to win the title. (There have since been four more Puerto Rican winners.)

Close to 60% of the usage of the name occurred in New York and New Jersey — the two states in which “nearly three-quarters of all Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. resided” in 1970.

Girls named Marisol (NY)Girls named Marisol (NJ)
1971305112
1970395 (44.0%)130 (14.5%)
196917952

The Miss Universe pageant doesn’t include a talent competition, but it does feature a national costume competition. Marisol’s costume was inspired by the phrase La perla del Caribe (translation: “the pearl of the Caribbean”) — a poetic name for the island of Puerto Rico.

Speaking of the island, Marisol flew home about a week after the pageant. Here’s how the New York Times described the scene:

Thousands of proud, cheering Puerto Ricans jammed the Isla Verde airport today and lined the six-mile route to the capital building to welcome home Marisol Malaret Contreras, Miss Universe of 1970.

I suspect that the baby name Marisol saw higher usage in Puerto Rico as well in 1970, but I don’t know for sure, because the SSA’s data for Puerto Rico only goes back to 1998. (The name Zuleyka got a boost in Puerto Rico in 2006, the year Zuleyka Rivera became the country’s fifth Miss Universe winner.)

What are your thoughts on the name Marisol? (Do you like it more or less than Zuleyka?)

P.S. The first runner-up at Miss Universe 1970, Deborah Shelton (Miss USA), went on to become an actress. She’s best known for playing Amanda “Mandy” Winger on the TV series Dallas.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of the TV broadcast of the 19th Miss Universe pageant

Popular baby names in Finland, 2023

Flag of Finland
Flag of Finland

Last year, the Nordic country of Finland welcomed 44,960 babies. Not all of these babies had government-registered names by the time Finland released its baby name data in April of 2024, though, so only 44,710 of them are accounted for below.

Finnish speakers

About 84.9% of the people in Finland primarily speak Finnish.

Of the 35,481 (named) babies born to Finnish speakers last year, 17,251 were girls and 18,230 were boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Aino and Eino.

Here are the top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names:

Girl names (Finnish speakers)

  1. Aino, 264 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 245
  3. Aada, 233
  4. Lilja, 225
  5. Sofia, 224
  6. Eevi, 220
  7. Ellen, 206
  8. Linnea, 203
  9. Helmi, 197
  10. Aava, 196 (tie)
  11. Isla, 196 (tie)
  12. Viola, 183
  13. Kerttu, 177
  14. Emma, 173
  15. Pihla, 171
  16. Venla, 167
  17. Hilla, 165 (tie)
  18. Seela, 165 (tie)
  19. Emilia, 152
  20. Ella, 148
  21. Elli, 145
  22. Livia, 143
  23. Alma, 138
  24. Selma, 128
  25. Elsi, 127
  26. Elsa, 124
  27. Enni, 123
  28. Matilda, 122
  29. Ilona, 120
  30. Oona, 116
  31. Frida, 113
  32. Vivian, 111
  33. Minea, 108
  34. Vilma, 106
  35. Aurora, 105
  36. Hilda, 105
  37. Hilma, 101 (tie)
  38. Stella, 101 (tie)
  39. Lumi, 99
  40. Amanda, 98
  41. Alina, 94 (tie)
  42. Alisa, 94 (tie)
  43. Mila, 93
  44. Mette, 92
  45. Nella, 90
  46. Viivi, 87 (tie)
  47. Bea, 87 (tie)
  48. Siiri, 83 (3-way tie)
  49. Nelli, 83 (3-way tie)
  50. Saimi, 83 (3-way tie)

Boy names (Finnish speakers)

  1. Eino, 376 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 343
  3. Väinö, 320
  4. Elias, 305
  5. Onni, 283
  6. Leo, 278
  7. Emil, 229
  8. Vilho, 217
  9. Eeli, 207
  10. Aatos, 200
  11. Noel, 194
  12. Alvar, 193
  13. Oiva, 192
  14. Toivo, 189
  15. Eemil, 186
  16. Leevi, 184
  17. Nooa, 181
  18. Hugo, 168
  19. Joel, 166
  20. Otso, 150
  21. Viljami, 147
  22. Kasper, 137 (tie)
  23. Eemi, 137 (tie)
  24. Eelis, 136 (tie)
  25. Anton, 136 (tie)
  26. Aarni, 134
  27. Niilo, 131
  28. Lenni, 130
  29. Aapo, 129
  30. Daniel, 126
  31. Julius, 125
  32. Milo, 122
  33. Leon, 121
  34. Edvin, 120
  35. Aaron, 119 (3-way tie)
  36. Viljo, 119 (3-way tie)
  37. Luka, 119 (3-way tie)
  38. Samuel, 116
  39. Veikko, 115
  40. Mikael, 111 (tie)
  41. Eetu, 111 (tie)
  42. Eliel, 109
  43. Lukas, 107 (tie)
  44. Jooa, 107 (tie)
  45. Lucas, 105
  46. Rasmus, 104
  47. Sulo, 102 (tie)
  48. Eemeli, 102 (tie)
  49. Iivo, 100
  50. Jasper, 92

How are those similar-looking #1 names pronounced? The girl name Aino is pronounced IE-no (first syllable rhymes with pie and lie), while the boy name Eino is pronounced AY-no (first syllable rhymes with pay and lay)

Swedish speakers

About 5.1% of the people in Finland primarily speak Swedish.

Of the 3,009 (named) babies born to Swedish speakers in Finland last year, 1,451 were girls and 1,558 were boys.

Here are the top 5+ girl names and top 5 boy names:

Girl names (Swedish speakers)Boy names (Swedish speakers)
1. Ellen, 29 baby girls
2. Astrid, 21
3. Ebba, 20 (tie)
4. Saga, 20 (tie)
5. Olivia, 18 (tie)
6. Stella, 18 (tie)		1. Liam, 33 baby boys
2. Theo, 27 (tie)
3. Alvar, 27 (tie)
4. Leon, 25
5. Hugo, 23

Other languages

Other languages spoken in Finland include Russian, Estonian, Arabic, English, and Sami.

Of the 6,220 (named) babies born in Finland last year to parents who primarily speak something other than Finnish or Swedish, 3,085 were girls and 3,135 were boys.

Here are the top 5 girl names and top 5 boy names:

Girl names (other languages)Boy names (other languages)
1. Sofia, 56 baby girls
2. Emilia, 29
3. Olivia, 28
4. Sara, 25
5. Anna, 24		1. Adam, 52 baby boys
2. Mark, 38
3. Daniel, 34
4. Elias, 32
5. Muhammad, 31

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

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Finland (public domain)