How popular is the baby name Arabella 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 Arabella.

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Popularity of the baby name Arabella


Posts that mention the name Arabella

The baby name Cabela

While out on our road trip last week, we spotted a Cabela’s, which is a store that sells hunting gear, fishing gear, camping gear, and so forth.

I’d never been inside Cabela’s before, so we stopped in to take a look. Also, my husband wanted to buy a tackle box.

Overall, it was an interesting place. I wasn’t keen on all the gun-stuff, but I did like the creative taxidermy displays:

Cabela's Taxidermy Display
Zebra vs. Lion – Cabela’s Taxidermy Display

And, of course, the trip to Cabela’s reminded me that the baby name Cabela has been on the SSA’s baby name list since 2009:

  • 2012: 10 baby girls named Cabela
  • 2011: 8 baby girls named Cabela
  • 2010: 7 baby girls named Cabela
  • 2009: 7 baby girls named Cabela [debut]
  • 2008: unlisted

Variants of Cabela have been on the charts even longer. Here’s Cabella:

  • 2012: 20 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2011: 14 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2010: 13 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2009: 9 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2008: unlisted
  • 2007: 5 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2006: 6 baby girls named Cabella [debut]
  • 2005: unlisted

And here’s Kabella:

  • 2012: 16 baby girls named Kabella
  • 2011: 9 baby girls named Kabella
  • 2010: 9 baby girls named Kabella
  • 2009: 9 baby girls named Kabella
  • 2008: 5 baby girls named Kabella [debut]
  • 2007: unlisted

I’m thinking parents prefer these “extra L” variants because they look more like traditional -bella names, e.g., Isabella, Arabella. (So far, no Kabelas on the list.)

I wonder how many of these parents are hardcore outdoorsmen/outdoorswomen vs. how many are not (but just happen to like the sound of the name).

So where does the name Cabela come from?

A surname. Cabela’s was founded in 1961 by Richard Cabela, his wife Mary, and his brother James. Dick and Jim are the sons of Albin Cabela, who was the son of James Cabela, born in 1869 in Bohemia (immigrated in 1885).

Cabela, therefore, seems to be a Czech surname. I can’t find any information about it, though, so perhaps it’s an altered/Anglicized form of the original family name.

What do you think of the baby name Cabela?

Source: Cabela’s: Company History

Pop culture baby name game results, 2011 (part 2)

Britney Spears album

In part 2 of the Pop culture baby name game, we tried to predict which baby names would see increased usage in 2011, thanks to popular culture.

Here’s how we did. The numbers are all from 2010 and 2011, respectively. (Check out Harper & Bentley!)

  • Adele – yes, rose from 286 to 453 baby girls
  • Atlantis – nope, fell from 16 to 7 baby girls
  • Alaina – yes, rose from 1,490 to 1,985 baby girls
  • Alaric – yes, rose from 40 to 48 baby boys
  • Amy – nope, fell from 2,275 to 2,177 baby girls
  • Arya – yes, rose from 273 to 386 baby girls (& from 87 to 110 baby boys)
  • Arabella – yes, rose from 826 to 934 baby girls
  • Aria – yes, rose from 898 to 1,964 baby girls
  • Arthur – yes, rose from 725 to 888 baby boys
  • Bear – yes, rose from 53 to 85 baby boys
  • Bentley – yes rose from 3761 to 5535 baby boys (& from 231 to 285 baby girls)
  • Betty – yes, rose from 130 to 163 baby girls
  • Bran – yes, rose from 5 to 7 baby boys
  • Cairo – yes, rose from 45 to 91 baby boys, and 5 to 12 baby girls
  • Casey – nope, fell from 483 to 463 baby girls (& from 705 to 635 baby boys)
  • Caylee – yes, rose from 565 to 692 baby girls
  • Charlie (girl name) – yes, rose from 664 to 848 (pop culture reference: Disney’s Good Luck Charlie)
  • Crosby – yes, rose from 180 to 301 baby boys
  • Edith – yes, rose from 325 to 350 baby girls
  • Egypt – yes, rose from 100 to 112 baby girls, and 5 to 11 baby boys
  • Ezra – yes, rose from 1439 to 1735 baby boys (& from 88 to 101 baby girls)
  • Florence – nope, fell from 75 to 73 baby girls (I’m surprised by this!)
  • Flynn – yes, rose from 81 to 208 baby boys
  • Gabrielle – nope, fell from 3,128 to 2,601 baby girls
  • Harper – yes, Harper rose from 2,624 to 4,636 baby girls (& from 339 to 399 baby boys)
  • Harvey – yes, rose 184 to 243 baby boys
  • Hattie – yes, from 157 to 253 baby girls
  • Haven – yes, rose from 447 to 504 baby girls (but fell from 164 to 133 baby boys)
  • Jace – yes, rose from 2,669 to 3,689 baby boys
  • Kate – yes, rose from 1,485 to 1,774 baby girls
  • Kez – nope, off the list both years
  • Khal – nope, off the list both years
  • Libya – yes, rose from off-the-list (fewer than 5) to 7 baby girls
  • Maci – yes, rose from 1,351 to 1,725 baby girls
  • Mars – yes, rose from 14 to 23 baby boys
  • Maxton – yes, 193 to 208 baby boys
  • Mobley – nope, off the list both years
  • Monroe – yes, rose from 93 to 141 baby girls
  • Mylo – yes, rose from 33 to 57 baby boys
  • Nicki – yes, rose from 9 to 21 baby girls
  • Octavia – no, fell from 88 to 72
  • Perry – yes, rose from 32 to 40 baby girls, and 129 to 146 baby boys
  • Pippa – yes, Pippa rose from 16 to 69 baby girls (& Philippa from 25 to 53)
  • Raylan – yes, rose from 132 to 326 baby boys
  • Rue – yes, rose from 9 to 13 baby girls
  • Siri – nope, Siri fell from 111 to 103 baby girls
  • Sparrow – yes, rose from 5 to 11 baby boys (but fell from 32 to 31 baby girls)
  • Spring – yes, rose from 11 to 16 baby girls
  • Steve – yes, rose from 279 to 324 baby boys
  • Tim – nope, fell from 65 to 48 baby boys
  • Tunisia – nope, off the list both years
  • William – yes, rose from 16,979 to 17,151 baby boys

I know I missed a few, but we’ll discuss them all eventually I’m sure. :)

Here are the results to PCBNG #1.

How did Jacqueline Kennedy pronounce her name?

First Lady Jacqueline "Jackie" Kennedy (1929-1994)
Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy

Last week, audio recordings of Jacqueline Kennedy talking with historian Arthur Schlesinger were released under the title Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy.

In an interview about the recordings, Caroline Kennedy noted that most people pronounce “Jacqueline” incorrectly. At least, they aren’t saying it the way her mother used to say it. Jackie pronounced her first name JAK-uh-leen [vid], according to Caroline.

Interesting, no?

I’m trying to find video/audio of Jackie introducing herself, just for confirmation, but haven’t had any luck yet.

So, instead, here are a few Jackie-related name facts:

  • Jackie’s daughter Caroline is the inspiration behind Neil Diamond’s song “Sweet Caroline” (1969).
  • Sources claim that Jackie’s first child, who was stillborn, would have been named Arabella. One source states the name was inspired by the ship Arbella, which carried Puritans to New England during the Great Migration.
  • Jackie’s maiden name, Bouvier, has appeared in the SSA’s baby name data once — in 1963. Five baby boys were named Bouvier that year. This may have been due to the death of baby Patrick Bouvier in August, or the death of JFK in November.
  • Jackie’s second married name, Onassis, has appeared on the SSA’s baby name list three times. The first was in 1968, when she wed Aristotle Onassis. Six baby boys were named Onassis that year.

Source: Pottker, Jan. Janet and Jackie: The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter, Jacqueline Kennedy. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2001.

Baby names needed: Boy and girl names for triplets

A reader named Skylar is expecting triplets in June. She writes:

I do not know the gender of the babies yet as my husband and I have decided to keep it a surprise. The triplets will be joining and older brother Beckett Wade (Wade after my brother) and Britton Pearl (Pearl after my great grandmother, also my middle name). I am looking for boys and girls names to name the triplets. I do not like common names, I would prefer something trendy to pair with family middle names.

I rarely get requests for trendy names, so this e-mail really stood out.

One great place to look for trendy (or soon-to-be trendy) names is the SSA’s Change in Popularity page, which lists names that increased in popularity from 2008 to 2009. Here are some of the names on that list:

Emmett
Jasper
Paxton
Ryker
Graham
Leon
Silas
Abram		Arabella
Norah
Penelope
Harper
Willow
Lyla
Melina
Daphne

The SSA’s list doesn’t include names that didn’t make the top 500, though, so here are a few more names (from a bit lower down in the rankings) that also increased in popularity from 2008 to 2009:

Knox
Kellan
Archer
Hayes
Daxton
Lucian
Dexter
Uriah		Harlow
Gemma
Milan
Nylah
Myra
Millie
Leona
Catalina

Do you like any of the above with Beckett and Britton? What other names would you suggest? How about name combinations?