How popular is the baby name Anu 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 Anu.
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Which girl names decreased in usage the most from 2020 to 2021?
Here’s a table of the fastest-falling girl names of 2021. On the left are the top 25 decreases in terms of absolute numbers of babies, and on the right are the top 25 decreases in terms of relative numbers of babies.
Rank
Girl name
Absolute fall
Girl name
Relative fall
1
Isabella
-957
Ashvi
-76%
2
Abigail
-936
Dessa
-75%
3
Victoria
-603
Jaeda
-73%
4
Alexa
-583
Amavi
-73%
5
Sophia
-540
Yameli
-73%
6
Brooklyn
-504
Raela
-72%
7
Anna
-452
Reniyah
-72%
8
Gianna
-435
Naeema
-72%
9
Harper
-433
Avyn
-72%
10
Aubrey
-409
Portia
-71%
11
Ava
-401
Jadah
-71%
12
Hannah
-400
Rona
-71%
13
Kaylee
-366
Jocelynne
-71%
14
Samantha
-361
Iolana
-71%
15
Serenity
-359
Nakshatra
-70%
16
Emily
-358
Jatziry
-69%
17
Genesis
-356
Irish
-69%
18
Ella
-354
Inanna
-69%
19
Melanie
-348
Evangaline
-69%
20
Brielle
-346
Alula
-69%
21
Mila
-330
Rakeb
-68%
22
Lauren
-312
Kiaya
-68%
23
Skylar
-303
Meral*
-67%
24
Londyn
-300
Kemya*
-67%
25
Arianna
-298
Jeri*
-67%
*Also at -67% were Helayna, Asmara, Arriyah, Anu, Akane, Kimberlin, Jojo, Elianni, Naleya and Leta.
Looking for a pair of baby names that are mirror images of one another? If so, check out this long list of palindromic name pairings.
What’s a palindrome? It’s a word or phrase that can be read the same way in either direction, i.e., both forwards and backwards. For instance, the words “level,” “refer” and “pop” are all palindromes.
Each of the hundreds of pairings below features two names that contain the same sequence of letters, just written in opposite directions. (Nearly all of these names were collected from the SSA’s huge database of U.S. baby names.)
It’s also possible to come up with your own palindromic pairs by flipping traditional names to create brand new names, just as Ramon and Helen were flipped to create the modern names Nomar and Neleh.
On August 21, the United States will see its first coast-to-coast solar eclipse since 1918. If you’re planning to have (or conceive!) a baby around the time of the eclipse, you might be interested in a name that marks the event (but that perhaps isn’t as obvious as Eclipse itself).
So what are your options?
Names with “celestial” associations
A solar eclipse involves the alignment of three celestial bodies — the sun (a star), the moon, and the Earth — in the sky. You could use a name that is associated in some way with one of these elements, such as…
“Sun” names
Haru (Japanese)
Helios (ancient Greek)
Hina (Japanese)
Inti (Quechua)
Nou (Hmong)
Ra (ancient Egyptian)
Ravi (Sanskrit)
Shams (Arabic)
Sol (Spanish & Portuguese, ultimately from Latin)
Solaris (Latin)
Soleil (French)
Sunniva (Old English)
Sunny (English)
Surya (Sanskrit)
“Star” names
Aster (ancient Greek)
Astra (based on the ancient Greek word)
Citlalli (Nahuatl)
Estelle (French)
Estrella (Spanish)
Hoshi (Japanese)
Najm & Najma (Arabic)
Seren (Welsh)
Star (English)
Starla (based on the English word)
Stjarna (Icelandic)
Stella (Latin)
Tähti (Finnish)
Tara (Sanskrit)
“Moon” names
Aylin (Turkish)
Badr (Arabic)
Chandra (Sanskrit)
Dal (Korean)
Dawa (Tibetan)
Ilargi (Basque)
Luna (Latin)
Lusine (Armenian)
Mahina (Hawaiian & Tongan)
Máni (Icelandic)
Metztli (Nahuatl)
Moon (English)
Qamar (Arabic)
Selene (ancient Greek)
“Earth” names
Avani (Sanskrit)
Bhumi (Sanskrit)
Eartha (based on the English word)
Gaia (ancient Greek)
Ki (Sumerian)
Tierra (Spanish)
Tlalli (Nahuatl)
“Sky” names
Akash (Sanskrit)
Alya (Arabic)
Anu (Sumerian)
Caelus (Latin)
Céleste (French)
Ciel (French)
Cielo (Spanish)
Lani (Hawaiian)
Ortzi (Basque)
Sky (English)
Skyla (based on the English word)
Sora (Japanese)
You could even look for a name that contains more than one of these elements. I’ve come across a handful of names that happen to contain both an element meaning “sun” and an element meaning “moon,” for instance. Examples include Ravichandra (Sanskrit), Künnei (Yakut), Aygün (Turkish), and Günay (also Turkish).
Names with “dark” associations
The main event, from an Earthling’s perspective, is the darkening of the sun thanks to the moon getting in the way and casting its shadow over us. So you could use a name associated in some way with darkness, such as…
“Shadow” names
Chhaya (Sanskrit)
Shade (English)
Shadow (English)
Umbra (Latin)
Zalaph (Hebrew)
Zillah (Hebrew)
“Dark” or “Black” names
Adham (Arabic)
Blake (English surname)
Charna (Yiddish)
Ciar & Ciara (Irish)
Ciarán (Irish)
Dubhán (Irish)
Duff (Irish surname)
Jett (English)
Kara (Turkish)
Krishna (Sanskrit)
Melaina (ancient Greek)
Melania (Latin, based on melaina)
Mélanie (French form of Melania)
Raven (English)
Sullivan (Irish surname)
“Night” names
Layla (Arabic)
Nisha (Sanskrit)
Njóla (Icelandic)
Noctis (Latin)
Nox (Latin)
Nyx (ancient Greek)
Rajani (Sanskrit)
Rajnish (Sanskrit)
Tuta (Quechua)
Yoalli (Nahuatl)
I think Blake and Sullivan are particularly intriguing choices.
The English surname Blake can come from either of two similar Middle English words that happen to have opposite definitions: blac, meaning “black,” or blac, meaning “wan, pale, white, fair.” So it manages to encapsulate the concepts of both darkness and lightness — two key elements of an eclipse.
And the Irish surname Sullivan, “descendant of Súileabhán,” is based on the Gaelic personal name Súileabhán, meaning “little dark eye” — which sounds a lot like a poetic description of an eclipse.
Name pairings with both “celestial” and “dark” associations
You could combine some of the “celestial” and “dark” names above to get something more specific, like…
Layla Soleil: “night” and “sun”
Jett Helios: “black” and “sun”
Ciarán Sol: “black” and “sun”
Mélanie Stella: “dark” and “star” (“Dark Star” is also a Grateful Dead song)
Luna Zillah: “moon” and “shadow” (“Moon Shadow” is also a Cat Stevens song)
Names (or name pairings) featuring the letters “S” and “E”
This is as inconspicuous as it gets. Commemorate the solar eclipse simply by using the letters “S” and “E” in combination. You could choose a single name that starts with “Se-,” like…
Sela Selene (“moon” in Greek) Selma Seraphina Seren (“star” in Welsh) Serenity
Sean Sebastian Sefton Sergio Seth Severino
Or, you could use a pair of names that start with “S-” and “E-,” such as…
Sabrina Eden Sydney Elise Sarah Evangeline Susanna Elizabeth
Simon Elijah Spencer Ellis Shane Everett Samuel Edward
Which of the above names (or combos) do you like most? What other solar eclipse-themed ideas would you add to this list?
Updates…
May 2018: The baby name Eclipse debuted in the 2017 data! The baby name Moon also more than tripled in usage last year.
Dec. 2021: Did you know that Cleopatra gave her twins the middle names Selene and Helios?
Dec. 2022: The rare Icelandic name Myrkvi can mean “eclipse” (also “darkness”).
Feb. 2023: Actress Soleil Moon Frye‘s given names mean “sun” and (of course) “moon.”
Apr. 2024: A baby born during the April 2024 total solar eclipse was named Sol Celeste.
May 2024: The baby name Eclipse saw its highest-ever usage (so far) in 2023, thanks to the “ring of fire” annular solar eclipse of October 2023.
Sources:
Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Looking for a set of baby names with something in common? If so, here are some 3-letter anagram names for you to check out!
Anagrams are words that contain the same set of letters, but not in the same sequence. For instance, the words “pot,” “opt,” and “top” are all anagrams of one another.
Anagram names can be a neat option for siblings — particularly multiples (like twins and triplets). They’re also a clever way to connect a baby name to the name of an older relative (e.g., grandpa Ole, grandson Leo).
Below are hundreds of three-letter names (collected from the SSA’s huge database of U.S. baby names) that happen to be anagrams of other names.
Three-letter anagram names
Ani, Ian, Ina, Nai, Nia
Eno, Eon, Neo, Noe, Oen
Ame, Ema, Mae, Mea
Ami, Iam, Mai, Mia
Amy, May, Mya, Yma
Ari, Ira, Rai, Ria
Ary, Ray, Rya, Yar
Azi, Iza, Zai, Zia
Ade, Dea, Eda
Adi, Dia, Ida
Aki, Kai, Kia
Ali, Ila, Lia
Alo, Loa, Ola
Ase, Esa, Sae
Ave, Eva, Vea
Avi, Iva, Via
Ean, Ena, Nea
Era, Rae, Rea
Eri, Ire, Rei
Ero, Reo, Roe
Ion, Nio, Oni
Isa, Sai, Sia
Ita, Tai, Tia
Kao, Koa, Oak
Nay, Nya, Yan
Ori, Rio, Roi
Abe, Bea
Abi, Bia
Aby, Bay
Aly, Lya
Anh, Han
Ann, Nan
Anu, Una
Aum, Uma
Avy, Yva
Bao, Oba
Cam, Mac
Caz, Zac
Dev, Ved
Dez, Zed
Dre, Red
Duy, Udy
Ela, Lea
Emi, Mei
Eve, Vee
Eze, Zee
Gem, Meg
Guy, Yug
Hal, Lah
Ike, Kei
Ivo, Ovi
Jai, Jia
Jak, Kaj
Jet, Tej
Jio, Joi
Kal, Kla
Kam, Mak
Kay, Kya
Kaz, Zak
Keo, Koe
Koy, Kyo
Lam, Mal
Lav, Val
Len, Nel
Leo, Ole
Lin, Nil
Lio, Oli
Lua, Ula
Lys, Sly
Mio, Omi
Miu, Umi
Naz, Zan
Niv, Vin
Noa, Ona
Nas, San
Ora, Roa
Oya, Yao
Rey, Rye
Roy, Ryo
Rui, Uri
Rut, Tru
Tae, Tea
Tao, Toa
Zae, Zea
Zay, Zya
Zeo, Zoe
Zio, Zoi
Ziv, Zvi
Which pairing/group do you like best? Let me know in the comments!
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