How popular is the baby name Bailey 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 Bailey.

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Popularity of the baby name Bailey


Posts that mention the name Bailey

Boy names beyond the top 1,000 of 2022

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Have you seen any of the boy names beyond the U.S. top 1,000 yet? If not, here’s the next thousand for you.

Last year, the 1,000th most popular boy name in the U.S. was London, given to 222 babies. After that, we find…

1,001st to 1,100th

Massimo, 222
Mordechai, 222
Branson, 221
Deandre, 221
Maurice, 221
Graysen, 220
Ulises, 220
Wren, 220
Carl, 219
Coen, 219
Kristopher, 219
Boaz, 218
Decker, 218
Fox, 218
Blaise, 217
Rogelio, 217
Shai, 217
Beck, 216
Brett, 216
Crosby, 216
Lev, 216
Aspen, 215
Billy, 215
Bishop, 215
Kole, 215
Mariano, 215
Ollie, 215
Veer, 215
Campbell, 214
Kolt, 214
Jireh, 213
Karsyn, 213
Tiago, 213
Blaine, 212
Cristiano, 212
Foster, 212
Hollis, 212
Yadiel, 212
Bobby, 211
Teddy, 211
Beaux, 210
Jaxtyn, 210
Kyng, 210
Ronnie, 210
Syncere, 210
Benny, 209
Genesis, 209
Kace, 209
Mike, 209
Rishi, 209
Howard, 207
Kendall, 207
Reginald, 207
Aizen, 206
Davion, 206
Gianluca, 206
Lyle, 206
Danilo, 205
Dominik, 205
Frankie, 205
Granger, 205
Kamdyn, 205
Lyric, 205
Eliezer, 204
Montgomery, 204
Rowdy, 204
Zabdiel, 204
Gerald, 203
Jahmir, 203
Laith, 203
Dereck, 202
Kacey, 202
Link, 202
Merrick, 202
Yaakov, 202
Ash, 201
Cashton, 201
Dhruv, 201
Izan, 201
Jamal, 201
Joan, 201
Josias, 201
Kenai, 200
Lucien, 200
Jabari, 199
Jakobe, 199
Palmer, 199
Dimitri, 198
Dayton, 197
Denzel, 197
Ephraim, 197
Knowledge, 197
Yitzchok, 197
Bowie, 196
Kruz, 196
Elon, 195
Gus, 195
Kross, 195
Marc, 195
Azaiah, 194

1,101st to 1,200th

Scout, 194
Adrien, 193
Menachem, 193
Zayan, 193
Zephyr, 193
Jad, 192
Jair, 192
Kody, 192
Makari, 192
Jordy, 191
Slade, 191
Ulysses, 191
Abner, 190
Benito, 190
Mikael, 190
True, 190
Matheo, 189
Achilles, 188
Hakeem, 188
Jesiah, 188
Ramiro, 188
Emil, 187
Shlomo, 187
Trent, 187
Aydin, 186
Ernest, 186
Gadiel, 186
Ren, 186
Zeus, 186
Cedar, 185
Landry, 185
Nazir, 185
Avraham, 184
Maison, 184
Ozias, 184
Azai, 183
Bronx, 183
Ralph, 183
Cory, 182
Jasiel, 182
Malakhi, 182
Marley, 182
Zakari, 182
Jessie, 181
Eleazar, 180
Jerome, 180
Keenan, 180
Keon, 180
Jethro, 179
Kashmir, 179
Bastian, 178
Coleman, 178
Daylen, 178
Shimon, 178
Isael, 177
Kaius, 177
Pierre, 177
Terrance, 177
Tzvi, 177
Wiley, 177
Vaughn, 176
Casper, 175
Kolten, 175
Kyaire, 175
Toby, 175
Will, 175
Caysen, 174
Harris, 174
Javon, 174
Jovani, 174
Krue, 174
Rylen, 174
Willie, 174
Yaseen, 174
Cayde, 173
Kaine, 173
Maxim, 173
Ever, 172
Gino, 172
Jakobi, 172
Turner, 172
Yasir, 172
Booker, 170
Jaxen, 170
Jeffery, 170
Lenox, 169
Sol, 169
Tylan, 169
Gio, 168
Kenan, 168
Torin, 168
Elmer, 167
Jacari, 167
Norman, 167
Ziggy, 167
Bentlee, 166
Bilal, 166
Edmund, 166
Harlow, 166
Sekani, 166

1,201st to 1,300th

Sidney, 166
Amado, 165
Draven, 165
Giancarlo, 165
Gray, 164
Juelz, 164
Mael, 164
Mayson, 164
Rami, 164
Khyree, 163
Nikko, 163
Rolando, 163
Carlo, 162
Jacoby, 162
Korbyn, 162
Viktor, 162
Aayan, 161
Lucius, 161
Arham, 160
Deon, 160
Giannis, 160
Jeriah, 160
Kenny, 160
Kilian, 160
Xzavier, 160
Zeppelin, 160
Gilbert, 159
Isai, 159
Jai, 159
Jet, 159
Sunny, 159
Terrell, 159
Zymir, 159
Alessio, 158
Eason, 158
Maddux, 158
Monte, 158
Semaj, 158
Sire, 158
Umar, 158
Zackary, 158
Anson, 157
Dov, 157
Dovid, 157
Kolby, 157
Oakland, 157
Jettson, 156
Rayyan, 156
Skylar, 156
Arden, 155
Benton, 155
Hasan, 155
Huxton, 155
Immanuel, 155
Khamari, 155
Krish, 155
Raheem, 155
Andreas, 154
Greysen, 154
Jermaine, 154
Kentrell, 154
Mattias, 153
Thorin, 153
Cormac, 152
Denim, 152
Ender, 152
Mazi, 152
Randall, 152
Canyon, 151
Carmine, 151
Clifford, 151
Elvis, 151
Jenson, 151
Laken, 151
Markus, 151
Terrence, 151
Caius, 150
Demari, 150
Macklin, 150
Milton, 150
Rian, 150
Aydan, 149
Cristopher, 149
Kylin, 149
Ross, 149
Malikai, 148
Pharaoh, 148
Archibald, 147
Ayman, 147
Bernard, 147
Dwayne, 147
Finnick, 147
Giovani, 147
Kyzer, 147
Tristen, 147
Koah, 146
Simeon, 146
Zaylen, 146
Bernardo, 145
Malaki, 145

1,301st to 1,400th

Sultan, 145
Tayden, 145
Agastya, 144
Ansel, 144
Efrain, 144
Lamar, 144
Micheal, 144
Shia, 144
Aleksander, 143
Eitan, 143
Gannon, 143
Kaycen, 143
Lazarus, 143
Reagan, 143
Zakariya, 143
Adiel, 142
Derick, 142
Eros, 142
Lyam, 142
Marcello, 142
Payton, 142
Seamus, 142
Zack, 142
Freddy, 141
Henri, 141
Makoa, 141
Noa, 141
Syed, 141
Taj, 141
Eliot, 140
Kallen, 140
Kyren, 140
Mikah, 140
Quintin, 140
Youssef, 140
Alister, 139
Davi, 139
Kolter, 139
Kymir, 139
Marquis, 139
Noble, 139
Octavio, 139
Oren, 139
Rashad, 139
Tahj, 139
Cru, 138
Gentry, 138
Harper, 138
Isiah, 138
Justus, 138
Kasey, 138
Kodi, 138
Renzo, 138
Rodolfo, 138
Rush, 138
Tristian, 138
Truth, 138
Kit, 137
Oziel, 137
Vince, 137
Zayvion, 137
Aslan, 136
Jaire, 136
Kreed, 136
Loki, 136
Oskar, 136
Perry, 136
Tariq, 136
Aryeh, 135
Aubrey, 135
Azlan, 135
Brent, 135
Cian, 135
Clarence, 135
Demir, 135
Garrison, 135
Jaylin, 135
Jean, 135
Yair, 135
Braydon, 134
Dominique, 134
Eliyahu, 134
Jiovanni, 134
Kaleo, 134
Nick, 134
Amar, 133
Ripp, 133
Yakov, 133
Zealand, 133
Anton, 132
Clinton, 132
Cove, 132
Deklan, 132
Draco, 132
Fredrick, 132
Huck, 132
Kalvin, 132
Nickolas, 132
Reyansh, 132
Yoel, 132

1,401st to 1,500th

Avion, 131
Camdyn, 131
Hans, 131
Kendrix, 131
Presley, 131
Atreyu, 130
Aurelius, 130
Benaiah, 130
Taylen, 130
West, 130
Benji, 129
Deshawn, 129
Elyas, 129
Ewan, 129
Jahseh, 129
Jelani, 129
Jessiah, 129
Perseus, 129
Wolfgang, 129
Zaxton, 129
Braxtyn, 128
Francesco, 128
Gerard, 128
Axle, 127
Chad, 127
Everette, 127
Karl, 127
Slater, 127
Warner, 127
Anas, 126
Darrell, 126
Ean, 126
Glenn, 126
Guy, 126
Haven, 126
Jordyn, 126
Keagan, 126
Niam, 126
Orson, 126
Ranger, 126
Brysen, 125
Kip, 125
Linus, 125
Teagan, 125
Wylie, 125
Zamari, 125
Arman, 124
Cristobal, 124
German, 124
Isa, 124
Jael, 124
Kassius, 124
Nikola, 124
Tyree, 124
Ved, 124
Viraj, 124
Alder, 123
Arrow, 123
Aston, 123
Barry, 123
Deangelo, 123
Jadon, 123
Jaylon, 123
Krishiv, 123
Osiel, 123
Pierson, 123
Sami, 123
Todd, 123
Truman, 123
Westen, 123
Akeem, 122
Aksel, 122
Eiden, 122
Emmet, 122
Finnian, 122
Ilyas, 122
Ismail, 122
Kelly, 122
Kymani, 122
Lenny, 122
Obadiah, 122
Ozzie, 122
Rogan, 122
Shaun, 122
Steve, 122
Townes, 122
Barron, 121
Chozen, 121
Kaizer, 121
Rafe, 121
Ramsey, 121
Shea, 121
Syrus, 121
Tyrone, 121
Uziel, 121
Vivaan, 121
Aamir, 120
Alexzander, 120
Carver, 120
Coy, 120

1,501st to 1,600th

Craig, 120
Darien, 120
Haziel, 120
Ivar, 120
Jonathon, 120
Steele, 120
Antony, 119
Bailey, 119
Cam, 119
Finneas, 119
Gilberto, 119
Hansel, 119
Javion, 119
Jayvion, 119
Oaklee, 119
Ravi, 119
Riaan, 119
Storm, 119
Ammar, 118
Arnold, 118
Brexton, 118
Cree, 118
Faris, 118
Malek, 118
Armon, 117
Brentley, 117
Edson, 117
Ezio, 117
Indigo, 117
Jahir, 117
Mahir, 117
Mauro, 117
Santi, 117
Fynn, 116
Jamarion, 116
Levon, 116
Lucio, 116
Mikel, 116
Natanael, 116
Roan, 116
Vernon, 116
Brayson, 115
Honor, 115
Jovan, 115
Kent, 115
Monroe, 115
Stephan, 115
Aven, 114
Dale, 114
Don, 114
Gonzalo, 114
Kaladin, 114
Zephaniah, 114
Akiva, 113
Asiah, 113
Cecil, 113
Channing, 113
Coby, 113
Leeland, 113
Mars, 113
Mavrick, 113
Rylee, 113
Sammy, 113
Savion, 113
Xavion, 113
Aarush, 112
Iverson, 112
Jahziel, 112
Judd, 112
Karsen, 112
Kysen, 112
Osvaldo, 112
Smith, 112
Aariz, 111
Adnan, 111
Amare, 111
Amaris, 111
Artemis, 111
Camryn, 111
Destin, 111
Dev, 111
Eddy, 111
Holland, 111
Luther, 111
Makhi, 111
Percy, 111
Ransom, 111
Sky, 111
Zyan, 111
Aariv, 110
Canon, 110
Chevy, 110
Devonte, 110
Kamarion, 110
Khyson, 110
Lazaro, 110
Revan, 110
Ruger, 110
Evren, 109
Haiden, 109

1,601st to 1,700th

Jru, 109
Leander, 109
Nile, 109
Shivansh, 109
Wilmer, 109
Antoine, 108
Cai, 108
Davon, 108
Jhett, 108
Jules, 108
Neal, 108
Reynaldo, 108
Riot, 108
Ryver, 108
Sulaiman, 108
Avian, 107
Axell, 107
Dezmond, 107
Hampton, 107
Jamar, 107
Kaidyn, 107
Kiran, 107
Nate, 107
Ripley, 107
Said, 107
Sebastien, 107
Gionni, 106
Kahari, 106
Mickey, 106
Tyrell, 106
Yasin, 106
Abdul, 105
Boyd, 105
Eder, 105
Kiyan, 105
Linkin, 105
Massiah, 105
Montana, 105
Olin, 105
Phineas, 105
Rico, 105
Saif, 105
Vladimir, 105
Yunus, 105
Amarion, 104
Amin, 104
Ashtyn, 104
Ilan, 104
Irving, 104
Jacobo, 104
Kennedy, 104
Keoni, 104
Trevon, 104
Aaryan, 103
Cortez, 103
Darryl, 103
Hiram, 103
Kadence, 103
Klay, 103
Masiah, 103
Maverik, 103
Micaiah, 103
Ramses, 103
Roderick, 103
Tamir, 103
Yeshua, 103
Zavian, 103
Ajani, 102
Brighton, 102
Carsen, 102
Denis, 102
Eamon, 102
Izael, 102
Kaeden, 102
Kamron, 102
Khaled, 102
Klayton, 102
Marquise, 102
Neel, 102
Rylo, 102
Shay, 102
Tymir, 102
Yazan, 102
Brewer, 101
Bryer, 101
Divine, 101
Jasai, 101
Kain, 101
Myron, 101
Oaklen, 101
Oden, 101
Artist, 100
Deion, 100
Jetson, 100
Leopold, 100
Nael, 100
Rip, 100
Yousuf, 100
Zaidyn, 100
Cosmo, 99

1,701st to 1,800th

Giuseppe, 99
Jasir, 99
Journey, 99
Kacen, 99
Lake, 99
Lloyd, 99
Mordecai, 99
Quinten, 99
Rudra, 99
Viaan, 99
Yohan, 99
Armaan, 98
Avyan, 98
Baron, 98
Corbyn, 98
Hussein, 98
Kashtyn, 98
Kyzen, 98
Marcelino, 98
Nakoa, 98
Xavi, 98
Adolfo, 97
Amauri, 97
Eliab, 97
Elvin, 97
Ervin, 97
Jovi, 97
Riyan, 97
Usman, 97
Uzziah, 97
Wolf, 97
Clint, 96
Gibson, 96
Ishmael, 96
Jaleel, 96
Joao, 96
Konnor, 96
Orin, 96
Taylin, 96
Wendell, 96
Advik, 95
Ansh, 95
Aris, 95
Armoni, 95
Ayansh, 95
Braulio, 95
Cypress, 95
Darnell, 95
Henley, 95
Kove, 95
Quadir, 95
Alek, 94
Azari, 94
Aziah, 94
Chester, 94
Gerson, 94
Josh, 94
Kailo, 94
Kenton, 94
Lars, 94
Linden, 94
Oslo, 94
Sir, 94
Stellan, 94
Valor, 94
Ayce, 93
Cornelius, 93
Hagen, 93
Kaisyn, 93
Kyngston, 93
Lyndon, 93
Shaya, 93
Taysom, 93
Braylin, 92
Gryffin, 92
Issa, 92
Karmelo, 92
Mecca, 92
Samar, 92
Yuri, 92
Amani, 91
Dashiell, 91
Deegan, 91
Lester, 91
Levy, 91
Maykel, 91
Noam, 91
Raylen, 91
Summit, 91
Urijah, 91
Yuvaan, 91
Ayven, 90
Domingo, 90
Donnie, 90
Haze, 90
Humberto, 90
Jakhari, 90
Johnathon, 90
Johnpaul, 90
Jordi, 90

1,801st to 1,900th

Karam, 90
Koe, 90
Kyran, 90
Paulo, 90
Akai, 89
Auden, 89
Avrohom, 89
Demarcus, 89
Geovanni, 89
Hardin, 89
Hendrixx, 89
Isidro, 89
Izayah, 89
Jarvis, 89
Morris, 89
Mykel, 89
Shalom, 89
Xaiden, 89
Zakaria, 89
Asad, 88
Calder, 88
Dan, 88
Ellison, 88
Hussain, 88
Irvin, 88
Keller, 88
Meyer, 88
Ragnar, 88
Sanad, 88
Shiv, 88
Woodrow, 88
Woods, 88
Xion, 88
Zade, 88
Aharon, 87
Azaan, 87
Basil, 87
Camari, 87
Colsen, 87
Jacobi, 87
Johann, 87
Mikhail, 87
Rain, 87
Reggie, 87
Theodor, 87
Zohan, 87
Aidyn, 86
Angus, 86
Cordell, 86
Esai, 86
Giovanny, 86
Hoyt, 86
Kahlil, 86
Kasyn, 86
Emrys, 85
Giorgio, 85
Hadi, 85
Ignatius, 85
Izhaan, 85
Konner, 85
Lisandro, 85
Lonnie, 85
Quest, 85
Riggins, 85
Ronaldo, 85
Taha, 85
Vito, 85
Alton, 84
Charley, 84
Egypt, 84
Eydan, 84
Fidel, 84
Jaquan, 84
Jibreel, 84
Kaito, 84
Kasper, 84
Klaus, 84
Makaio, 84
Octavius, 84
Richie, 84
Sloan, 84
Vander, 84
Zacari, 84
Austyn, 83
Brenton, 83
Ciaran, 83
Keylor, 83
Kyden, 83
Maksim, 83
Malcom, 83
Obed, 83
Shayan, 83
Valen, 83
Ahmari, 82
Arvin, 82
Braiden, 82
Fred, 82
Holt, 82
Kru, 82
Maxx, 82

1,901st to 2,000th

Maziyon, 82
Ori, 82
Tevin, 82
Abdulrahman, 81
Blair, 81
Constantine, 81
Dakoda, 81
Ishan, 81
Jaycob, 81
Jennings, 81
Kalen, 81
Koby, 81
Kyron, 81
Lamont, 81
Lathan, 81
Lex, 81
Lukah, 81
Muhammadali, 81
Orhan, 81
Riker, 81
Roscoe, 81
Tahir, 81
Ajay, 80
Alakai, 80
Arlen, 80
Caison, 80
Camron, 80
Conway, 80
Daemon, 80
Elan, 80
Hudsyn, 80
Iman, 80
Jarrett, 80
Kanaan, 80
Kota, 80
Matheus, 80
Mayer, 80
Naim, 80
Neymar, 80
Rivers, 80
Sylvan, 80
Thor, 80
Virgil, 80
Amadeo, 79
Brantlee, 79
Damarion, 79
Donte, 79
Elton, 79
Halston, 79
Haroon, 79
Jaron, 79
Kurt, 79
Mahdi, 79
Neythan, 79
Radley, 79
Rigoberto, 79
Rockwell, 79
Shaurya, 79
Stratton, 79
Clifton, 78
Earl, 78
Fredy, 78
Hernan, 78
Keelan, 78
Merritt, 78
Miran, 78
Rayaan, 78
Alias, 77
Arin, 77
Armin, 77
Beauden, 77
Brenden, 77
Daryl, 77
Eastyn, 77
Edmond, 77
Esdras, 77
Estevan, 77
Gavriel, 77
Kyrin, 77
Manolo, 77
Niall, 77
Samarth, 77
Sora, 77
Syaire, 77
Xavien, 77
Zaine, 77
Andrei, 76
Aram, 76
Camren, 76
Everardo, 76
Gurbaaz, 76
Henderson, 76
Marlin, 76
Marlo, 76
Mylan, 76
Nehemias, 76
Reyan, 76
Ridley, 76
Rishaan, 76
Xavian, 76

See anything you like?

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Scattered stars in Sagittarius by ESA/Hubble under CC BY 4.0.

Popular baby names in the United States, 2022

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The new rankings have arrived!

Earlier today, the SSA released the 2022 U.S. baby name data, revealing that the top names in the nation are Olivia and Liam yet again.

I have a number of analysis posts coming up, but let’s start with the basic rankings — first a quick top 10, then a full top 500.

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 16,573 baby girls
  2. Emma, 14,435
  3. Charlotte, 12,891
  4. Amelia, 12,333
  5. Sophia, 12,310
  6. Isabella, 11,662
  7. Ava, 11,039
  8. Mia, 11,018
  9. Evelyn, 9,289
  10. Luna, 8,922

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 20,456
  2. Noah, 18,621
  3. Oliver, 15,076
  4. James, 12,028
  5. Elijah, 11,979
  6. William, 11,282
  7. Henry, 11,221
  8. Lucas, 10,909
  9. Benjamin, 10,842
  10. Theodore, 10,754

The boys’ top 10 includes the same 10 names as in 2021.

In the girls’ top 10, Luna replaced Harper.

And here are the top 500 baby names in the U.S., per gender, for 2022…

RankGirl NamesBoy Names
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
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Olivia
Emma
Charlotte
Amelia
Sophia
Isabella
Ava
Mia
Evelyn
Luna
Harper
Camila
Sofia
Scarlett
Elizabeth
Eleanor
Emily
Chloe
Mila
Violet
Penelope
Gianna
Aria
Abigail
Ella
Avery
Hazel
Nora
Layla
Lily
Aurora
Nova
Ellie
Madison
Grace
Isla
Willow
Zoe
Riley
Stella
Eliana
Ivy
Victoria
Emilia
Zoey
Naomi
Hannah
Lucy
Elena
Lillian
Maya
Leah
Paisley
Addison
Natalie
Valentina
Everly
Delilah
Leilani
Madelyn
Kinsley
Ruby
Sophie
Alice
Genesis
Claire
Audrey
Sadie
Aaliyah
Josephine
Autumn
Brooklyn
Quinn
Kennedy
Cora
Savannah
Caroline
Athena
Natalia
Hailey
Aubrey
Emery
Anna
Iris
Bella
Eloise
Skylar
Jade
Gabriella
Ariana
Maria
Adeline
Lydia
Sarah
Nevaeh
Serenity
Liliana
Ayla
Everleigh
Raelynn
Allison
Madeline
Vivian
Maeve
Lyla
Samantha
Rylee
Eva
Melody
Clara
Hadley
Julia
Piper
Juniper
Parker
Brielle
Eden
Remi
Josie
Rose
Arya
Eliza
Charlie
Peyton
Daisy
Lucia
Millie
Margaret
Freya
Melanie
Elliana
Adalynn
Alina
Emersyn
Sienna
Mary
Isabelle
Alaia
Esther
Sloane
Mackenzie
Amara
Ximena
Sage
Cecilia
Valeria
Reagan
Valerie
Catalina
River
Magnolia
Kehlani
Summer
Ashley
Andrea
Isabel
Oakley
Olive
Oaklynn
Ember
Kaylee
Georgia
Juliette
Anastasia
Genevieve
Katherine
Blakely
Reese
Amaya
Emerson
Brianna
June
Alani
Lainey
Arianna
Rosalie
Sara
Jasmine
Ruth
Adalyn
Ada
Bailey
Ariella
Wren
Myla
Khloe
Callie
Elsie
Alexandra
Ryleigh
Faith
Norah
Margot
Zuri
Journee
Aspen
Gemma
Kylie
Molly
Blake
Zara
Alaina
Alana
Brynlee
Amy
Annie
Saylor
Ana
Amira
Kimberly
Noelle
Kamila
Morgan
Phoebe
Harmony
Sutton
Taylor
Finley
Lilah
Juliana
Lila
Londyn
Kailani
Vera
Kaia
Angela
Hallie
Diana
Lennon
Presley
Arabella
Aliyah
Lilly
Milani
Jordyn
Camille
Ariel
Aubree
Selena
Sawyer
Nyla
Delaney
Mariana
Rachel
Adaline
Leila
Collins
Lia
Octavia
Kali
Lena
Kiara
Kaylani
Elaina
Daniela
Leia
Gracie
Dakota
Elise
Hope
Harlow
Lola
Stevie
Malia
Miriam
Alora
Gia
Evangeline
Brooke
Lilith
Sydney
Ophelia
Alayna
Tatum
Evie
Rowan
Marley
Daphne
Kayla
Dahlia
Lucille
Blair
Adelaide
Wrenley
Haven
Teagan
Adelyn
Alyssa
Payton
Jane
Mckenna
Celeste
Juliet
Palmer
Maggie
Rebecca
London
Noa
Samara
Thea
Kendall
Mya
Talia
Winter
Angelina
Vivienne
Esme
Laila
Nina
Trinity
Vanessa
Mabel
Camilla
Jocelyn
Journey
Paige
Phoenix
Amina
Alivia
Amari
Joanna
Nicole
Annabelle
Raegan
Aitana
Julianna
Lauren
Catherine
Adriana
Madilyn
Harley
Tessa
Evelynn
Elianna
Rory
Dream
Nayeli
Poppy
Gabriela
Jayla
Cataleya
Celine
Hayden
Shiloh
Mariah
Charlee
Maisie
Regina
Adelynn
Briella
Giselle
Fatima
Danna
Alessia
Mckenzie
Wynter
Fiona
Brooklynn
Gracelynn
Luciana
Alexis
Everlee
Laura
Selah
Reign
Alayah
Rosemary
Lilliana
Ariyah
Heidi
Esmeralda
Logan
Amora
Kalani
Leighton
Cali
Melissa
Aniyah
Izabella
Michelle
Raelyn
Alessandra
Viviana
Madeleine
Arielle
Serena
Francesca
Brynn
Gwendolyn
Kira
Destiny
Elle
Makayla
Alaya
Malani
Willa
Saige
Makenna
Remington
Demi
Adelina
Raya
Astrid
Azalea
Veronica
Meadow
Anaya
Elisa
Raven
Alexandria
Hattie
Alicia
Sabrina
Gracelyn
Matilda
Skye
Annalise
Frances
Miracle
Maia
Helen
Lana
Daleyza
Rosie
Charli
Bianca
Royalty
Sarai
Amiyah
Nylah
Aylin
Maryam
Scarlet
Antonella
Sylvia
Sylvie
Nadia
Ari
Lexi
Mylah
Julieta
Lorelei
Avianna
Armani
Camryn
Emely
Rylie
Colette
Daniella
Liana
Brinley
Kate
Salem
Marlee
Alison
Carmen
Felicity
Fernanda
Holly
Ariah
Aisha
Kora
Amanda
Ailani
Elaine
Emory
Joy
Oaklee
Lyric
Madelynn
Haisley
Allie
Helena
Danielle
Katalina
Carolina
Zariah
Navy
Cassidy
Lorelai
Stephanie
Alma
Mira
Legacy
Jolene
Anya
Dorothy
Paris
Yaretzi
Aurelia
Maddison
Renata
Jimena
Xiomara
Itzel
Heaven
Lyra
Estella
Gabrielle
Maren
Liam
Noah
Oliver
James
Elijah
William
Henry
Lucas
Benjamin
Theodore
Mateo
Levi
Sebastian
Daniel
Jack
Michael
Alexander
Owen
Asher
Samuel
Ethan
Leo
Jackson
Mason
Ezra
John
Hudson
Luca
Aiden
Joseph
David
Jacob
Logan
Luke
Julian
Gabriel
Grayson
Wyatt
Matthew
Maverick
Dylan
Isaac
Elias
Anthony
Thomas
Jayden
Carter
Santiago
Ezekiel
Charles
Josiah
Caleb
Cooper
Lincoln
Miles
Christopher
Nathan
Isaiah
Kai
Joshua
Andrew
Angel
Adrian
Cameron
Nolan
Waylon
Jaxon
Roman
Eli
Wesley
Aaron
Ian
Christian
Ryan
Leonardo
Brooks
Axel
Walker
Jonathan
Easton
Everett
Weston
Bennett
Robert
Jameson
Landon
Silas
Jose
Beau
Micah
Colton
Jordan
Jeremiah
Parker
Greyson
Rowan
Adam
Nicholas
Theo
Xavier
Hunter
Dominic
Jace
Gael
River
Thiago
Kayden
Damian
August
Carson
Austin
Myles
Amir
Declan
Emmett
Ryder
Luka
Connor
Jaxson
Milo
Enzo
Giovanni
Vincent
Diego
Luis
Archer
Harrison
Kingston
Atlas
Jasper
Sawyer
Legend
Lorenzo
Evan
Jonah
Chase
Bryson
Adriel
Nathaniel
Arthur
Juan
George
Cole
Zion
Jason
Ashton
Carlos
Calvin
Brayden
Elliot
Rhett
Emiliano
Ace
Jayce
Graham
Max
Braxton
Leon
Ivan
Hayden
Jude
Malachi
Dean
Tyler
Jesus
Zachary
Kaiden
Elliott
Arlo
Emmanuel
Ayden
Bentley
Maxwell
Amari
Ryker
Finn
Antonio
Charlie
Maddox
Justin
Judah
Kevin
Dawson
Matteo
Miguel
Zayden
Camden
Messiah
Alan
Alex
Nicolas
Felix
Alejandro
Jesse
Beckett
Matias
Tucker
Emilio
Xander
Knox
Oscar
Beckham
Timothy
Abraham
Andres
Gavin
Brody
Barrett
Hayes
Jett
Brandon
Joel
Victor
Peter
Abel
Edward
Karter
Patrick
Richard
Grant
Avery
King
Caden
Adonis
Riley
Tristan
Kyrie
Blake
Eric
Griffin
Malakai
Rafael
Israel
Tate
Lukas
Nico
Marcus
Stetson
Javier
Colt
Omar
Simon
Kash
Remington
Jeremy
Louis
Mark
Lennox
Callum
Kairo
Nash
Kyler
Dallas
Crew
Preston
Paxton
Steven
Zane
Kaleb
Lane
Phoenix
Paul
Cash
Kenneth
Bryce
Ronan
Kaden
Maximiliano
Walter
Maximus
Emerson
Hendrix
Jax
Atticus
Zayn
Tobias
Cohen
Aziel
Kayson
Rory
Brady
Finley
Holden
Jorge
Malcolm
Clayton
Niko
Francisco
Josue
Brian
Bryan
Cade
Colin
Andre
Cayden
Aidan
Muhammad
Derek
Ali
Elian
Bodhi
Cody
Jensen
Damien
Martin
Cairo
Ellis
Khalil
Otto
Zander
Dante
Ismael
Angelo
Brantley
Manuel
Colson
Cruz
Tatum
Jaylen
Jaden
Erick
Cristian
Romeo
Milan
Reid
Cyrus
Leonel
Joaquin
Ari
Odin
Orion
Ezequiel
Gideon
Daxton
Warren
Casey
Anderson
Spencer
Karson
Eduardo
Chance
Fernando
Raymond
Bradley
Cesar
Wade
Prince
Julius
Dakota
Kade
Koa
Raiden
Callan
Hector
Onyx
Remy
Ricardo
Edwin
Stephen
Kane
Saint
Titus
Desmond
Killian
Sullivan
Mario
Jay
Kamari
Luciano
Royal
Zyaire
Marco
Wilder
Russell
Nasir
Rylan
Archie
Jared
Gianni
Kashton
Kobe
Sergio
Travis
Marshall
Iker
Briggs
Gunner
Apollo
Bowen
Baylor
Sage
Tyson
Kyle
Oakley
Malik
Mathias
Sean
Armani
Hugo
Johnny
Sterling
Forrest
Harvey
Banks
Grady
Kameron
Jake
Franklin
Lawson
Tanner
Eden
Jaziel
Pablo
Reed
Pedro
Zayne
Royce
Edgar
Ibrahim
Winston
Ronin
Leonidas
Devin
Damon
Noel
Rhys
Clark
Corbin
Sonny
Colter
Esteban
Erik
Baker
Adan
Dariel
Kylo
Tripp
Caiden
Frank
Solomon
Major
Memphis
Quinn
Dax
Hank
Donovan
Finnegan
Nehemiah
Andy
Camilo
Asa
Jeffrey
Santino
Isaias
Jaiden
Kian
Fabian
Callen
Ruben
Alexis
Emanuel
Francis
Garrett
Kendrick
Matthias
Wells
Augustus
Jasiah
Alijah
Alonzo
Koda
Collin
Ford
Frederick
Jaxton
Kohen
Troy
Kason
Seth
Denver
Kyson
Ares
Raphael
Bodie
Sylas
Uriel
Zaiden
Shiloh
Lewis
Kieran
Marcos
Bo
Shepherd
Philip
Zaire
Gregory
Princeton
Roberto
Leland
Eithan

More coming soon — stay tuned!

Sources: Popular Baby Names – SSA, Olivia and Liam Remain Most Popular Baby Names for 2022 – SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)

What gave the baby name Baylee a boost in 1995?

Firefighter Chris Fields holding the infant Baylee Almon, Oklahoma City bombing, 1995
Baylee Almon (and firefighter Chris Fields)

In 1995, the baby name Baylee — which had been slowly rising in usage for girls, but rarely given to boys — suddenly shot straight into the girls’ top 500, and debuted as a boy name:

Girls named BayleeBoys named Baylee
1997968 [rank: 296th]73
1996853 [rank: 331st]42
1995696 [rank: 379th]29*
1994173.
1993151.
*Debut

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Baylee in the U.S. since 1880.
Usage of the baby name Baylee

Most other versions of the name (Bailey, Bailee, Baylie, Bayley, Bailie, Baleigh, Bayleigh, Baily, Bayli, Baylea, Bailea, Bayle, and Bailley) also saw higher-than-expected usage in 1995, and the rare variants Balee and Bailye both debuted in the data that year.

What caused all this interest in the name Baylee?

A famous photograph — one of a firefighter carrying a baby’s body out of the rubble of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.

To this day, the Oklahoma City bombing remains “the worst act of homegrown terrorism in the nation’s history.” The bombing killed 168 people — including 19 children — and injured hundreds more.

The baby in the photo, Baylee Almon, had celebrated her first birthday just one day earlier (on April 18).

Baylee’s life was cut very short, but the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo ensured that people all over the country knew her name. And, once they knew it, they began to use it.

Here’s what Baylee Almon’s little sister Bella Kok recently said about the phenomenon:

Over the years we’ve met people from different states that have named their kids after my sister. It’s really nice knowing people will always remember, that she won’t just be a face, and that she means something.

In fact, babies are still being named for Baylee Almon.

An Oklahoma woman named Kayla Dearman — who was born just two days after Baylee Almon, and who grew up feeling a connection to her — had a baby girl on the first day of 2014. In honor of Almon, she named her daughter Bailey.

Sources:

Image: © 1995 Charles Porter IV

Quotes about the names of athletes

Hockey player Troy Terry and former football player Troy Aikman
Troy Terry and Troy Aikman

From an early 2023 Anaheim Ducks video in which former football player Troy Aikman addresses his namesake, hockey player Troy Terry (b. 1997):

How cool are we to have the name Troy, first of all. Now I know why your parents named you Troy, so it makes me feel really proud. But what makes me feel even prouder is the fact that the Ducks organization has given me the honor to let you know that, for the second consecutive year, you my friend are an NHL All-Star.

Basketball star Wardell Stephen Curry II is typically addressed as Stephen (pronounced STEFF-in) or Steph (steff), but…

If you really, really know me, and you want to get under my skin a little bit, you go with Wardell. So there’s three options there. There’s Stephen, which is — I kind of know what the relationship is. If you go Wardell, that means we go way back.

Speaking of Steph Curry’s name…in 2013, the then-up-and-coming the Golden State player signed an endorsement deal with Under Armour instead of Nike in part because of a pair of name-related blunders:

The pitch meeting, according to Steph’s father Dell, who was present, kicked off with one Nike official accidentally addressing Stephen as “Steph-on” […] “I heard some people pronounce his name wrong before,” says Dell Curry. “I wasn’t surprised. I was surprised that I didn’t get a correction.”

It got worse from there. A PowerPoint slide featured Kevin Durant’s name, presumably left on by accident, presumably residue from repurposed materials. “I stopped paying attention after that,” Dell says. Though Dell resolved to “keep a poker face,” throughout the entirety of the pitch, the decision to leave Nike was in the works.

From a 2016 article about Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo:

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was named, in part, after Ronald Reagan, president of the United States at the time of his birth [in 1985] and his father’s favorite actor. “My parents named me after him because they both liked this name and thought it sounded strong,” he tells me. “I know that my father admired him.”

From a 2013 ESPN interview with football player Frostee Rucker:

How did you get the name Frostee?

“My pop [Len] was a DJ while he was in the military and they called him DJ Frost because they said he was cold on the spins. [They called him] Frost, Frostee all that. No matter what he named me they were going to call me Little Frost anyway, so they named me Frostee.”

[…]

What was it like growing up named Frostee?

“It sucked growing up really because kids at Christmas time and teachers, and me being African American, it just didn’t all come together but about [the] time I came to high school it became a household name in Orange County (Calif.).

“It’s just benefited [me] from then. It’s always caught peoples’ eye in the paper and they wanted to know more. So I don’t know if I’ll name my kid that if I ever have one but at the same time being unique isn’t bad either.”

From a 2013 ESPNW article about tennis-playing sisters Alicia “Tornado” and Tyra Hurricane Black:

“We’re always going to be compared, but we’re the Black sisters not the Williams sisters,” [mom Gayal Black] said.

[…]

“Alicia got her name ‘Tornado’ when she was 3 and playing out of her mind,” she said. “We couldn’t believe how amazing she was and we knew then we had a champion. When the next one was born, we knew she could do it, too, and so her [legal] name is Tyra Hurricane.”

But raising champions was only a part of the strategy.

“I have a marketing degree . . . and I knew I needed to do something for them to stand out, and we thought it was cute,” Gayal said. “[Tornado didn’t like her name] a few years ago. Kids tease you. But now they understand it’s marketing and it’s very big to say a storm blew through the US Open.

Czech hockey player Ivan Ivan
“Ivan Ivan Ivan” (typo)

From a 2022 article in Sporting News about young Czech hockey player Ivan Ivan:

Ivan Ivan, a Czechia forward who has the same first and last name, took the hockey world by storm last December when he was on the team’s roster at the canceled World Juniors. While a graphic from December stating that his name was Ivan Ivan Ivan caused a stir, it’s unfortunately just Ivan Ivan.

(“Ivan Ivan” is a reduplicated name.)

From the 2015 essay “Why I converted to Islam” by basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Ferdinand Lewis “Lew” Alcindor):

The transition from Lew to Kareem was not merely a change in celebrity brand name — like Sean Combs to Puff Daddy to Diddy to P. Diddy — but a transformation of heart, mind and soul. I used to be Lew Alcindor, the pale reflection of what white America expected of me. Now I’m Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the manifestation of my African history, culture and beliefs.

[…]

The adoption of a new name was an extension of my rejection of all things in my life that related to the enslavement of my family and people. Alcindor was a French planter in the West Indies who owned my ancestors. My forebears were Yoruba people, from present day Nigeria. Keeping the name of my family’s slave master seemed somehow to dishonor them. His name felt like a branded scar of shame.

[…]

Some fans still call me Lew, then seem annoyed when I ignore them. They don’t understand that their lack of respect for my spiritual choice is insulting. It’s as if they see me as a toy action figure, existing solely to decorate their world as they see fit, rather than as an individual with his own life.

From a 2014 11 Freunde tweet about World Cup-winning German soccer player Mario Götze:

Dieser Moment, in dem du dachtest: Wenn er den macht, nenne ich meinen Sohn Mario.

…Translation:

This moment, in which you thought: If he makes it, I call my son Mario.

From a 2016 Wall Street Journal article “How Many Mets Fans Name Their Babies ‘Shea’?“:

You’re not a real Mets fan unless you name your kid Shea.

Over the weekend, David Wright and his wife, Molly, had a baby girl. Her name: Olivia Shea Wright. Clearly, Wright has a fondness for the stadium where his Mets career began. So much so that he made his daughter part of a decades-old trend that seems to ebb and flow along with the success of the team.

(Shea Stadium was the home of the New York Mets from 1964 to 2008.)

From an article about roller derby skater names:

Some other things we noticed: 10 percent of the list falls into the “Tech & Geek” category, which includes names inspired by Computing (“Paige Not Found,” “Syntax Terror,” “Ctrl Alt Defeat”) fonts (“Crimes New Roman,” “Give ‘Em Hell Vetica”); Chemistry (“Carmen Die Oxide,” “ChLauraform”); and Philosophy (“Blockem’s Razor”).

From a 1998 obituary of surfer Rell Sunn:

There seemed to be a bit of destiny attached. Her middle name, Ka-polioka’ehukai, means Heart of the Sea.

“Most Hawaiian grandparents name you before you’re born,” she says. “They have a dream or something that tells them what the name will be.” Hawaiians also have a knack for giving people rhythmic, dead-on nicknames, and for young Rell they had a beauty: Rella Propella.

“My godmother called me that because I was always moving so fast,” says Rell. “To this day, people think my real name is Rella. Actually I was born Roella, a combination of my parents’ names: Roen and Elbert. But I hated it, and no one used it, so I changed it to Rell.”

From a 2017 interview [vid] with professional basketball player Isaiah Thomas (who was, at that time, a star player for the Boston Celtics):

My dad is from Los Angeles, California. He’s a big Laker fan. And he made a wager that if the Detroit Pistons beat the Lakers [in the 1989 Finals] he’d name his son Isiah Thomas. […] My mom, she grew up in church, and she liked the name but she wanted it spelled the biblical way, that’s why my name is spelled slightly different than the older Isiah Thomas.

(Thomas was born in February, but the Finals weren’t until June. Sports Illustrated clarifies that the bet was made before the birth — and well before the Finals — but that, by the time the baby arrived, Thomas’ father had “had warmed to the idea of his very own Isiah.”)

From the same interview [vid], former Detroit Pistons player Isiah Thomas getting a kick out hearing his own name being chanted at the Boston Garden:

It’s so beautiful [laughs]. I love it. I love it that, you know, and even though they’re not chanting my name, to hear them chant “MVP” and they’re talking about Isaiah Thomas in the Boston Garden — it’s just awesome.

(Here’s some background on the Pistons-Celtics rivalry.)

From a recent article in the Akron Beacon Journal about rookie football player Isaiah Thomas:

Thomas, 6-foot-5 and 266 pounds, was named after the Hall of Fame basketball player Isiah Thomas. The Detroit Pistons star was his father’s favorite player and his mother loved the name because of what it represents in the Bible.

His dad wanted Thomas to be a basketball player, and Thomas said he won two state championships at Memorial High School in Tulsa. But there was never any debate over which sport Thomas would play.

From an article about athletes with strange middle names:

With a first name as iconic as Kobe Bryant’s, who needs a middle name with an interesting story? Well, Kobe Bryant does. His middle name — Bean — is a touching tribute to his father, Joe Bryant. Because of his high energy and ability to jump (guess Kobe must have inherited that particular skill), his father was nicknamed “Jellybean.” Luckily, Kobe’s parents didn’t go for the full candy-coated name and instead just dubbed him Kobe Bean Bryant.

From a late 2021 article about college football by AP journalist Stephen Hawkins:

Cincinnati cornerback Coby Bryant […] changed his number for the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl against No. 1 Alabama on Friday.

Yes, Bryant is named after the late NBA great, even with the different spelling of the first name.

For the playoff game, Bryant switched from the No. 7 he had worn throughout his Cincinnati career to No. 8, one of the two numbers the basketball Hall of Fame player wore while winning five NBA titles over his 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“My parents loved Kobe Bryant and my brother does too,” the Bearcats cornerback said. “So I was named for Kobe Bryant. It’s just spelled differently”

From an article about the name of Olympic swimmer Leisel Jones:

“Leisel was a very rare name when I was born in 1985… When I was born actually, my doctor said to my mum ‘you cannot call her Leisel because that’s not a name… You’re going to regret that one day,'” the Olympic swimmer said.

“And they absolutely did.”

The 32-year-old also went on to say having a unique name isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially when no one can spell it right.

“The only problem with my name is it’s spelt L-E-I-S-E-L — and everyone spells it wrong. Everyone spells it as L-I-E-S-E-L,” she said.

“So that is a bit painful, it’s a bit annoying. But I do love my name and I love that it’s different.”

From an article about a college football team full of Jacobs (Jacob was the #1 name in the US from 1999 to 2012):

Preparing for the fall season, the offensive coordinator for University of Washington’s football team realized his team had a small problem. It went by the name Jacob.

The Pac-12 Huskies had four quarterbacks named Jacob or Jake (plus a linebacker named Jake and a tight end named Jacob).

From a 2015 article about British professional boxer Tyson Fury in The Guardian:

Yep, he is named after Mike Tyson, and yep, Tyson Fury is a perfect name for a boxer. Fury was born prematurely and only weighed one pound. “The doctors told me there was not much chance of him living,” said his father, John Fury. “I had lost two daughters in the same way who had been born prematurely. They told me there was not much hope for him. It was 1988, Mike Tyson was in his pomp as world heavyweight champion, and so I said, ‘Let’s call him Tyson’. The doctors just looked at me and smiled.”

From an ESPN article about MMA fighter Ilima-Lei Macfarlane:

She was named after the official island flower of Oahu — the ilima — recognizable for its delicate yellow petals.

“It was considered a flower for royalty,” Macfarlane said during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, “because it would take hundreds of flowers to make a lei, they’re so paper thin.”

From an article that asks, “Where did all the Bobs in baseball go?

By the turn of the century, the Bob-to-Rob transition had been essentially complete. No Major Leaguer has gone by Bob since journeyman reliever Bob Howry retired in 2010. There are dozens of Robs, Robbys and Bobbys currently in the Minors working their way up the ladder, but no Bobs to be found.

From an article about an 11-year-old golfer in Minnesota named after the Ryder Cup:

With a name like Ryder, practicing golf at a young is no accident. Ryan Carlson says, yes, his son’s name is inspired by the Ryder Cup, but he didn’t expect he’d be such a natural. Shortly after he began to walk, Ryder began swinging a plastic golf club, quickly learning how to hit balls.

From the book Becoming Something: The Story of Canada Lee (2004) by Mona Z. Smith:

Canada Lee was born in New York City on March 3, 1907, and christened with the mellifluous if somewhat daunting name of Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata.

[…]

The first time the leather-lunged [fight announcer Joe] Humphries got ready to introduce Lee, he looked down at his notes and saw a peculiar name: “Canegata, Lee.” Flummoxed by those alien syllables, Humphries tossed away the card with a snort and introduced the young fighter as “Canada Lee.”

Everybody liked the transmogrification, including Lee, and it stuck.

From the Mental Floss article “18 Athletes Going to Sochi Alone“:

If you do a Google search for the name Bruno Banani, you will get the German underwear company of that name. But it’s also the name of the first Winter Olympian from Tonga. Born Fuahea Semi, the Tongan rugby player and luger went by Bruno Banani to court sponsorship from the company. It was part of a deal endorsed by the Tongan royal family to enable the athlete to afford training in Germany with the world’s best lugers. The company insinuated that the name was just a coincidence that led to the sponsorship, but that story unraveled quickly. It wasn’t “just” a hoax; Semi legally changed his name to Bruno Banani. The International Olympic Committee decided that even though using a sponsor’s name is in bad taste, Banani is the name on his passport, so he will be the lone athlete representing Tonga at Sochi in the luge event.

From a 2018 interview with basketball player LeBron James [vid]:

I still regret giving my 14-year-old my name […] When I was younger, obviously, I didn’t have a dad. So, my whole thing was, like, whenever I have a kid, not only is he gonna be a junior, but I’m gonna do everything that this man didn’t do. They’re gonna experience things that I didn’t experience, and the only thing I can do is give them the blueprint, and it’s up to them to take their own course.

(LeBron, Jr., is nicknamed “Bronny” — no doubt to differentiate son from father, but perhaps also to take some of the pressure off. Here’s a post about how LeBron James has affected baby names over the years.)

From a 1987 Sports Illustrated interview with basketball player Fennis Dembo:

With apologies to World B. Free, Shaquille O’Neal and, yes, even God Shammgod, when it comes to staking a claim to basketball’s alltime name, Fennis Dembo enjoys Jordanlike distance from the pretenders. “I’m always a bit stunned that people still remember me,” says Fennis, whose mother, Clarissa, selected his name, along with that of his twin sister, Fenise, as a declaration that after 11 children, her childbearing days were finis. “I tried to set up an E-mail account, but two other guys–basketball fans, I guess–were already using my name in their address.”

From a newspaper article about soccer player Diego Maradona’s influence on baby names in Naples in July of 1984, soon after he’d joined S.S.C. Napoli:

Maternity hospitals reported another 30 new-born babies named Diego Armando, raising the count to 140 so far.

(Maradona died in November of 2020. Soon after, the Naples city council unanimously voted to change the name of the city’s stadium from “Stadio San Paolo” to “Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.” (CBS Sports))

From an article in The Athletic about babies being named after St. Louis Blues players:

When St. Louisans Alyssa and Dan Hoven call out the name of their 3-year-old son in public, the heads around them instinctively turn.

“Oh my God yeah, so many times,” Alyssa said. “If we’re out to eat, we’ll be like, ‘Vladi’ or ‘Vlad,’ and people are like, ‘Did you name him after Vladimir Tarasenko?’ It starts a ton of conversations, and when we tell them ‘Yes, we did,’ they get all excited and scream, ‘Let’s go Blues!'”

From a 2016 article about babies being named after Maple Leafs players in the Toronto Sun:

Leaf great Ron Ellis still exchanges Christmas cards with a man who was named Ron Ellis Lucas in his honour for his play during the 1960s.

From an interview with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask at Rivals.com:

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask returns Saturday to his home state of Texas, where he will play on the field he was named after.

His parents both went to Texas A&M, so he grew up an Aggies fan.

[…]

His father, Michael Trask, and mother, Melissa Charba, both attended the school in the late 1980’s. When they welcomed their second son on March 6, 1998, his first name came from A&M’s football stadium.

“My mom and dad were Aggies, so they named me after Kyle Field,” Trask revealed Monday. “My whole family is full of Aggies.”

From a 2014 article about high school basketball player Terance Mann in the Boston Globe:

The inevitable question that the Tilton School’s 6-foot-5-inch, 190-pound shooting guard has heard countless times before: Are you named after that Terence Mann?

“Most people think it’s from the movie ‘Field of Dreams,'” which featured a character portrayed by actor James Earl Jones, explained the junior, who, when not attending the boarding school in New Hampshire, lives in Lowell with his mother, Daynia La-Force, and 15-year-old brother, Martin. “But my grandma’s name is Terancia, and they named me after her.”

From an article about professional baseball player Nick Solak in the Dallas News:

Nick Solak is named after a sports bar.

[…]

Back in the 1980s, Nick’s Sports Page sat on the triangular plot of land where Chicago Road and Lincoln Avenue intersected in Dolton, Ill., one of those working-class suburbs on the South Side of Chicago. The exterior featured shaker shingles, chocolate-stained diagonal sheathing and baseball bats for door handles. On Feb. 5, 1985, it hosted Carlton Fisk Night, where patrons could meet the White Sox catcher, whose work ethic screamed South Sider, even if he actually grew up in New England.

Nobody recalls if South Siders Mark Solak or Roseann, née Pawlak, took home Fisk’s autograph, but they did take home each other’s phone numbers. Four years later, they were married. And when they were about to start a family in 1995, Nick — OK, officially, Nicholas — was the clear choice for a boy. They both liked the name. Plus, it had sentimental value as a nod to their South Side roots.

From an interview with Brazilian soccer player Oleúde José Ribeiro (translated from Portuguese):

Q: But, after all, is your name, Oleúde, inspired by Hollywood or not?

A: No, no, it was just a brilliant idea from my parents (laughs). Like it or not, this story always helped me, it drew the attention of reporters… the late Luciano do Valle always asked listeners to guess my name, saying that it was the capital of cinema, it had a lot of impact at the time. This Hollywood thing has become a legend, but it has nothing to do with it.

From an October 2022 episode of the Merloni, Fauria & Mego podcast, Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe (born in 1999) answering a question about whether or not his mom had a crush on Bailey Salinger from Party of Five when she chose to name him after the character:

Her and my dad I guess were together, so I can’t — I don’t think she’ll publicly say she had a crush on him. … I think she said that she liked that he was the main character, I guess she was pregnant with me at the time, so … I guess that’s how I got the name.

From a post about distance swimmer Diana Nyad at the blog Having a Word:

On August 31 2013, record-breaking long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, aged 64, became the first person ever to swim the 110 miles of open water from Havana, Cuba, to Florida. She swam this distance in 53 hours and without the aid of a shark cage.

While this is a truly impressive feat of endurance and determination (this was her fifth attempt), what struck me was that with a name like Nyad she couldn’t have done anything else.

Nyad sounds like naiad – naiads in Greek mythology were water nymphs or spirits. That’s cute, I thought. Then I noticed that naiad is an anagram of her first name – Diana. Cue dramatic chords So, could this just be coincidence or is something else in play?

From an MLB.com article recounting how Jeter Downs met Derek Jeter:

So the man named after Derek Jeter by his baseball-crazed mother — even though his father is a Red Sox fan — had never actually met Derek Jeter?

It finally happened last week in a random encounter on a road in South Florida — sort of.

“This last week, I was driving, me and my brother were driving to go to [the] train,” said Downs. “We’re in traffic. My brother sees this Range Rover pulling up. He was like, ‘Oh my God, is that Jeter?’ He honks and I wave at him.

“I’m doing training with Raul Ibanez, [Jeter’s former teammate]. I called Raul and said, ‘Tell [Derek] Jeter that the kid he was waving at was Jeter [Downs].’ So then he told him that and it was pretty cool that I met him that way.”

From a recent Miami Herald article about high school football player Rowdy Beers:

There’s buzz about Beers at FIU [Florida International University].

The buzz started when Panthers coach Mike MacIntyre announced on Dec. 21 that FIU had signed the player with “the best name in college football.”

That would be 6-5, 225-pound tight end and Colorado native Rowdy Beers, who is from Littleton, which is nine miles south. of downtown Denver.

[…]

“As a kid,” Beers said, “any time I told my name to a new authority figure, they thought I was being disrespectful.”

[…]

Beers, who was named after three-time Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Rowdy Gaines, had right shoulder surgery on Dec. 29 but is expected to be ready by mid-May.

(Rowdy Beers also has three R-named siblings: Rocky, Raegan, and Rylie. Rowdy Gaines, however, is only nicknamed “Rowdy.” He was born Ambrose Gaines IV in 1959 — the year the baby name Rowdy debuted in the U.S. baby name data thanks to Rawhide.)

From an article about brothers Cale and Taylor Makar, both of whom play hockey for the Colorado Avalanche:

Cale was named after Cale Hulse, who played for the Calgary Flames when [their father] Gary was doing some business with the team. Taylor is named after Colonel George Taylor of the Planet of the Apes movies, a take charge guy, portrayed by Charlton Heston, who was thrust into a leadership role. (Just for the record, Heston’s politics and ardent support of the National Rifle Association are not shared by the Makar family. “Oh my god, that’s the opposite of us,” Gary said.)

[Another source clarifies that Cale’s first name is short for Caleb. Cale noted in this interview [vid] that he was nearly named “Kurt Russell Makar, after the actor. […] I dodged a bullet there, I think.”]

From the book Why Soccer Matters (2015) by late soccer legend Pelé (born Edson Arantes do Nascimento):

When Dondinho met my mother, Celeste, he was still performing his mandatory military service. She was in school at the time. They married when she was just fifteen; by sixteen she was pregnant with me. They gave me the name “Edson” — after Thomas Edison, because when I was born in 1940, the electric lightbulb had only recently come to their town. They were so impressed that they wanted to pay homage to its inventor. It turned out they missed a letter — but I’ve always loved the name anyway.

(“Dondinho” was the nickname of Pelé’s father, João Ramos do Nascimento.)

…and, regarding the nickname Pelé:

Growing up, I hated that damn nickname. After all, it was a garbage word that meant nothing. Plus, I was really proud of the name Edson, believing it was an honor to be named after such an important inventor.

(The nickname did come in handy, though. He “started thinking of “Pelé” almost as a separate identity” in order to cope with his sudden celebrity. “Having Pelé around helped keep Edson sane,” he said.)

From an interview with Australian surfer Kyuss King in Stab Magazine:

Yeah, music is definitely a massive part of my life, from listening to it to playing it! And metal is 100% at the top of my genre — there’s nothing like headbanging to some chunky riffs. Yeah, I was named after the band Kyuss. It was my dad’s favorite band through the ’90s. Funny story, my dad actually had the song Green Machine blasting in the hospital while my mum was in labor with me haha. I guess I kinda came into the world to that kind of music.

From a 2022 article about baseball player Zebulon Vermillion in the New York Post:

Zebulon Vermillion, as he has to explain to just about everyone he meets, was born in Vail, Colo., not too far from the Rocky Mountains and a summit known as Pikes Peak. His parents, the outdoorsy type, read that the apex was named after Zebulon Pike, and it stuck with them.

Vermillion’s last name is Nordic and middle name — Cassis — French, after a fishing port in Southern France. His mother, who is trilingual, loves the city.

From an article about Dutch soccer player Denzel Dumfries, who helped the Netherlands knock the U.S. out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament:

[Denzel Dumfries] was named after none other than no-nonsense movie icon Denzel Washington, star of films such as “Remember The Titans,” “Training Day” and “Courage Under Fire.”

“I don’t have [any] connection with the United States, but, yes, I was named after Denzel Washington,” Dumfries said. “My parents gave me that name. I am incredibly proud of it, because Denzel Washington is a really strong personality who voices his views on certain issues, and I am incredibly proud to be named after someone like that.”

From an article about 2014 MLB Draft names, regarding pitcher Blaze Tart:

If you name your child “Blaze,” he’s destined for one of only two career paths: baseball pitcher or American Gladiator.

(In case you’re wondering, Blaze is indeed an American Gladiator name.)

And finally, a bevy of B-names from basketball player Bradley Beal’s “About Brad” page:

Born on June 28, 1993, and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, by Bobby and Besta Beal, there was little doubt that Brad would eventually be an athlete. Both parents played sports for Kentucky State — Bobby was a football player, Besta a basketball player.

[…]

There were four other people in Brad’s family who were instrumental in his development as an athlete, and ultimately, as a young man. His two older brothers, Bruce and Brandon, and his younger brothers, the twins Byron and Bryon.

For more quotes about names, check out the name quotes category.

[Latest update: Oct. 2023]