How popular is the baby name Anchor 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 Anchor.

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 Anchor


Posts that mention the name Anchor

Sea-themed names given to sea-born babies

Earlier this year, singer Ed Sheeran welcomed a baby girl named Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran. She wasn’t actually born at sea — “Seaborn” is her mother’s surname — but did you know that many of the babies named “Seaborn” throughout history were in fact born at sea?

And it doesn’t stop at “Seaborn.” These sea-born babies got all sorts of interesting names hinting at the circumstances of their birth. Here’s a round-up of what I’ve spotted in the records…

Sea-inspired names:

  • Sea
  • Seaborn (The earliest American example I know of is Seaborn Cotton, born in August of 1633 while as his parents were traveling from England to New England. Notably, he was the uncle of Cotton Mather.)
  • Seabourn
  • Seaborne
  • Seabourne
  • Seafield
  • Seaford
  • Seaforth (e.g., Charles Seaforth Stewart)
  • Sealine
  • Seaman
  • Sea-Mercy (This one comes from Sea-Mercy Adams, a man who got married in Philadelphia in 1686.)

Ocean-inspired names:

Marine-inspired names:

  • Marina
  • Marine
  • Mariner
  • Marino

Atlantic-inspired names:

  • Atlanta
  • Atlante
  • Atlantia
  • Atlantic (One was Atlantic Seaborn Ford, born in 1863. Another was Atlantic Missouri Linne, born in 1889.)
  • Atlantica
  • Atlantika

Pacific-inspired names:

  • Pacific
  • Pacifica
  • Pacifico

And, finally, all of the other sea-birth-inspired baby names I’ve seen:

If you had a baby on the open ocean, what would you name that baby?

Image: Salem Harbor (1853) by Fitz Henry Lane

Baby name story: Anker

anchor

During his lifetime, Anker Smith (1759-1819) was one of England’s best line engravers. (Line engravings were used to create illustrations for books and magazines.)

How did Anker, who was the only son in the family, get his unusual first name?

He is said to have owed his curious Christian name to the fact that he was regarded as the ‘anchor’ or sole hope of his parents.

While Anker isn’t commonly used as a name in the U.S., the more familiar spelling Anchor has been picking up steam lately, according to the SSA data.

What do you think of the name Anchor? (How about Anker?)

Sources: Anker Smith – Wikipedia, Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900
Image by Freysteinn G. Jonsson from Unsplash

The top boy-name debuts of 2012

lotus bud

There weren’t many high-hitting boy name debuts on the SSA’s 2012 baby name list:

  1. Naksh, 28 baby boys
  2. Viaan, 23
  3. Shenouda, 21
  4. Tyrann, 15
  5. Dmoni, 14
  6. Ardan, 13
  7. Uwais, 13
  8. Kaydien, 12
  9. Arkan, 11
  10. Brettly, 11
  11. Maejor, 11
  12. Viyan, 11

Debut names from the 10-babies-and-under group include Cesc, Wale, Banx, Finnick, Mayjor, Savage, Logic, Maijor, Pinches, Avrumy, Greatness, Grimm, Hawkeye, Truce, Anchor, Ducati, Great, Hsa, Iggy, Romance, Scholar, Sodbileg and Wulfric.

Where do these names come from?

Here are some possible explanations:

  • Brettly – from reality show “American Restoration” cast member Brettly.
  • Dmoni – variant of Domani, which jumped in usage in 2012. Domani is one of the kids on the reality TV show “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle.”
  • Finnick – from Hunger Games character Finnick Odair.
  • Grimm – from TV drama “Grimm.”
  • Hawkeye – from The Avengers character Hawkeye.
  • Maejor, Maijor, Mayjor – variants of Major, which made big gains last year. Major is one of the kids on the reality TV show “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle.”
  • Naksh – from Indian TV drama “Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai,” in which characters Akshara (played by Hina Khan) and Naitik (played by Karan Mehra) have a baby boy named Naksh in early 2012.
  • Shenouda – from Shenouda III, Pope of the Church of Alexandria, who died in March of 2012.
  • Tyrann – from football player Tyrann Mathieu.
  • Viaan, Viyan – from the son of Indian actress Shilpa Shetty. The baby was born in mid-2012.
  • Wale – from rapper Wale. (His stage name is a short form of his birth name, Olubowale.)

Can you come up with explanations for any of the others?

Here’s last year’s debut list.

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri