How popular is the baby name Banyan 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 Banyan.
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.
According to Sonoma County’s data site SoCo Data, the most popular baby names in 2015 were Ava and Olivia (tie) and Mateo and Daniel (tie).
Here are the county’s top 5 girl names and top 5 boy names of 2015:
Girl Names
Boy Names
1. Ava and Olivia (tie), 28 baby girls 2. Camila, 25 3. Isabella, Mia and Emma (3-way tie), 23 4. Charlotte and Sophia (tie), 21 5. Alexa, 20
1. Mateo and Daniel (tie), 28 baby boys 2. Jackson, 27 3. Sebastian, 25 4. Benjamin, 24 5. Julian, Jayden and Noah (3-way tie), 22
In 2014, the top names in the county were Emma and Logan.
Of the 1,204 girl names bestowed last year, 811 (67%) were used just once. A smaller proportion of the 919 boy names — 549 (60%) — were bestowed once. Here are a few of those single-use names:
*Looks like Rurapenthe is based on “Rura Penthe,” the name of a planetoid used as a Klingon penal colony (!) in the Star Trek universe. Its name is a nod to Rorapandi, a penal colony island in the Disney movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). Rorapandi was invented by Disney; it did not appear in the Jules Verne novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
Earlier this month, my husband and I spent a week camping on the Big Island of Hawaii.
It’s not easy to find names to blog about while you’re traversing the still-steaming surface of a pit crater, but I did manage to spot a few names here and there. :)
We spent the first half of the trip in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Our campsite was located off Hilina Pali Road. Here’s the view:
Hilina, which immediately reminded me of Helena, seemed like it might be a name…but turns out it’s just a vocabulary word. In Hawaiian it means “struck (as by wind)” — which is appropriate, as the campsite was extremely windy. But hilina did help me discover Hilina’i on the SSA’s baby name list:
2013: unlisted
2012: 6 baby girls named Hilina’i (all born in Hawaii)
2011: 11 baby girls named Hilina’i (9 born in Hawaii)
2010: unlisted
2009: 5 baby girls named Hilina’i (all born in Hawaii)
2008: 7 baby girls named Hilina’i (all born in Hawaii) [debut]
2007: unlisted
Hilina’i means “to believe, trust; to lean on, rely on; trust, confidence” in Hawaiian.
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is also where the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum is located. It’s named after geologist Thomas Augustus Jaggar (1871-1953), founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO).
One of the museum’s exhibits included three posters that were blown-up copies of pages taken from the old Volcano House hotel register. Each included at least one Hawaiian name. The longest list of names on display came from May, 1891:
These are the Hawaiian forenames I think I can make out:
The Hawaiian names on the other two posters were Mihana, I Kaia, and Pele-liilii. (Liilii isn’t part of the name, but means “small; little; diminutive; young.”)
Another exhibit included a short bio of Thomas Jaggar, and it mentioned that he’d invented an amphibious vehicle in the 1920s “for offshore lava flow observations.”
The vehicle’s name? ‘Ohiki, Hawaiian for “sand crab.”
We also did a lot of sightseeing outside the park. One of the places we visited was Rainbow Falls in Hilo, on the east side of the island. One of the plants there had graffiti all over the leaves. We weren’t able to see every name, but here are shots of “Silas + Sarah F.” and “Rachel + Jackson.”
The plant seemed healthy despite the vandalism, thankfully.
Something even cooler growing by the falls was this fantastic banyan tree. (That’s me hanging off the tree. Behind me is someone’s bicycle.)
Did you know that Banyan has been on the national baby name list for more than a decade now?
2013: 22 baby boys named Banyan [6 in Hawaii]
2012: 19 baby boys named Banyan [6 in California, 5 in Florida]
2011: 26 baby boys named Banyan [5 in California]
2010: 18 baby boys named Banyan [6 in California]
2009: 21 baby boys named Banyan
2008: 14 baby boys named Banyan
2007: 13 baby boys named Banyan
2006: 15 baby boys named Banyan
2005: 7 baby boys named Banyan
2004: 16 baby boys named Banyan
2003: 7 baby boys named Banyan
2002: 8 baby boys named Banyan
…
1996: 5 baby boys named Banyan [debut]
Banyan trees grow best in warm climates, so it doesn’t surprise me that usage of the name is highest in warmer states.
…And that’s it! So I’ll wrap up with this gratuitous shot of the black sand beach in Pololu Valley:
Have you ever been to the Big Island? Do you remember seeing/hearing any interesting names while there?
Pukui, Mary Kawena and Samuel H. Elbert. Hawaiian Dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986.
This website or its third-party tools process personal data.In case of sale of your personal information, you may opt out by using the link Do not sell my personal information.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.