How popular is the baby name Azzi 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 Azzi.

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Popularity of the baby name Azzi


Posts that mention the name Azzi

Baby named for college basketball star, becomes college basketball star

College basketball player Azzi Fudd
Azzi Fudd

Last month, college basketball player Azzi Fudd led the University of Connecticut Huskies to victory in the NCAA women’s championship game (against the South Carolina Gamecocks). After the win, Azzi (pronounced ay-zee) was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

Where did Azzi’s unique first name come from?

Her mother, Katie Smrcka-Duffy, had also played basketball in college. (She was drafted into the WNBA in 2001, in fact, but never ended up playing professionally.) So when Katie had a baby girl in late 2002, she named her daughter Azzi after Jennifer Azzi — a fellow female player she looked up to.

Jennifer Azzi had been a member of the undefeated U.S. women’s basketball team that won gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The team’s dominance helped launch the WNBA in 1997.

A few years before winning gold, though, the original Azzi had led the Stanford University Cardinal* to victory in the 1990 NCAA women’s championship game (against the Auburn Tigers). After the win, she was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

What are your thoughts on Azzi as a first name? (Do you think Azzi will debut in the U.S. baby name data in 2025?)

*Cardinal is singular because it refers to the color, not the bird.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Azzi Fudd free throw by John Mac under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Baby names spelled with the names of letters: Ivy (IV), Casey (KC), Ellie (LE)

A reader named Becky recently emailed me with a rather cool request:

We’re looking for a girl name that has an actual spelling and letter combinations to represent the word. For example Evie (EV) and Katie (KT). Any suggestions would be great!

Here’s a long list of (mostly female) names that can be spelled with the names of letters. Some of the letter strings don’t quite replicate the pronunciation of the corresponding name, but, even if they don’t match perfectly, they do come pretty close.

Can you guys think of any others? Let me know and I’ll add them!

Update, 2015: Here’s a baby girl named Elloebee, a phonetic spelling of the acronym LOB (“legion of boom”).

Update, Feb. 2025: Just spotted the name Effely (FLE) in an article about Cambridgeshire baby names.

Update, Apr. 2025: Just learned about a college basketball player named Azzi Fudd, first name pronounced like the letters A and Z.

[Latest update: Apr. 2025]