How popular is the baby name Bear 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 Bear.

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Popularity of the baby name Bear


Posts that mention the name Bear

Could “Unicorn” become a baby name?

The baby name Unicorn: Ridiculous? Inevitable? Both?

I’m not asking because I think Unicorn should become a baby name. I’m asking because I think there’s an outside chance that it could see some usage this year, thanks to the sudden trendiness of unicorns.

The word “unicorn” is being used to market all manner of colorful, sparkly products at the moment. In fact, Google searches for “unicorn” hit an all-time high last month.

The word has also acquired some positive associations over the last few years. According to Elizabeth Segran of Fast Company, “unicorn” is now being used to denote uniqueness (e.g., unicorn startup, unicorn boyfriend) and also to signify anything “happy, fun-loving, and cute.”

So if this unicorn fad lasts long enough, and if American parents are daring enough, do you think we could see a Unicorn or two in the birth announcements this year?

For the record, Unicorn has been used as a name in the U.S. before, but only a handful of times. The youngest I found was a male born in the ’90s with the middle name Unicorn.

Mythical creature names (like Phoenix, Griffin, and Dragon) — not to mention real-life creature names (like Bear, Fox, Wolf, and Wren) — are on the rise right now. So what are the odds that we’ll see some some baby Unicorns in 2017?

Source: The Unicorn Craze, Explained

Uncommon baby names in Oregon, 2012

Oregon’s Open Data website includes several tables of baby name data from 2012.

The most interesting thing about this data? It goes all the way down to names given to just three babies per year. (All the SSA baby name lists, on the other hand, have a five-baby cut-off.)

So here are some of the baby names that were bestowed in Oregon just three or four times in 2012:

Girl NamesBoy Names
Amberly
Andromeda
Arianny
Damaris
Diem
Ellingon
Fern
Gaia
Io
Isela
Jubilee
Kahlan
Linnea
Lois
Lumen
Magali
Rue
Sahasra
Sanvi
Sayuri
Seven
Sinai
Siri
Sonora
Sparrow
Timber
Twyla
Van
Yara		Achilles
Alvin
Atlas
Atreyu
Bear
Briar
Calder
Carver
Clive
Dutch
Forest
Huck
Hyrum
Isley
Kainoa
Kincaid
Koa
Larry
Loki
Montgomery
Riot
Rogue
Summit
Tavish
Tiberius
Tor
Trapper
Van
Zephyr

The name Diem caught my eye. Diem has been in the SSA data since the ’80s, but a lot of the recent usage was probably inspired by Danielle Michelle “Diem” Brown, who appeared on various MTV reality TV shows from 2006 to 2015. (She passed away in 2014 from ovarian cancer.) In her case, “Diem” was a nickname based on the initials “D.M.,” making this yet another name that can be spelled with the names of letters.

Update, 8/2023: Unfortunately, the state’s Open Data site no longer includes information on baby names, and I couldn’t find copies of the state’s 2012 baby name data anywhere else online (like at the Internet Archive).

While I was searching, though, I did find a couple of baby name-related quiz questions in a mid-2008 issue of CD Summary [pdf], which is a newsletter put out by Oregon Health Authority.

Which was the most frequently used baby name for boys in 2007?
(a) Anthony; (b) Pirate; (c) Jacob; (d) Elvis

The answer: (c) Jacob. “In 2007, 257 babies were named Jacob. Anthony was the tenth most frequently used boy’s name (184 babies). Four babies were named Elvis and only one, Pirate.”

The following were all baby names for girls in 2007 except?
(a) Chevy; (b) ESPN; (c) Logger; (d) God

The answer: (c) Logger. “No baby in Oregon has ever been named Logger. The name Chevy has been chosen for females seven times during the past 46 years, ESPN and God only once.”

Baby name story: Bear

black bear

When Michelle Oliver of Nova Scotia went into labor in May, she and her husband Matthew got into their pickup truck and set off for the hospital.

On the way, they hit a bear.

Michelle said, “I opened my eyes and the airbags were in my face. There was smoke everywhere, and there was this huge body on the hood of the truck.”

The bear left the scene on its own. Neither passenger was hurt, and they finished the journey via ambulance. (The truck had to be towed.)

A couple of hours later their baby boy arrived. His name? Morgan Bear Oliver.

Source: Bear interrupts woman’s drive, in labour, to Nova Scotia hospital

41 Pun-names for April Fools’ Day (4/1)

painting of a smiling man

I can’t play a prank on you for April Fools’ Day, but I can give you a list of personal names that seem like pranks.

Except, they’re not.

All of the below are legit first & last names that belonged to real people — often multiple people. (In parentheses I’ve added rough estimates of how many instances I’ve come across so far.)

  1. Alma Mater (several)
  2. April Showers (dozens)
  3. Bear Trapp (one)
  4. Candy Cane (several)
  5. Cliff Hanger (several)
  6. Constant Agony (two)
  7. Constant Craps (one)
  8. Crystal Ball (dozens)
    • There’s also Krystal Ball, who ran for office in Virginia a few years back.
  9. Death Knox (one)
  10. Gettysburg Battle (one)
  11. Gold Mine (two)
  12. Green Bean (several)
  13. Hazel Nut/Nutt (dozens)
  14. Ima Hogg (one)
  15. Jed I Knight (one)
  16. London England (dozens)
  17. Mud Brown (three)
  18. Never Fail (two) — father and son
    • The son’s headstone offers context for the name by referencing 1 Corinthians 13: “Love never fails.”
  19. Norman Conquest (two)
  20. North West (hundreds)
  21. Nude Mann (one)
  22. Orbit Moon (one)
  23. Orchestra Harp (one)
  24. Paris France (several)
  25. Preserved Fish (several)
  26. Pullman Carr (several)
  27. Rainy Day (one)
  28. River Bottom (one)
  29. Rocky Mountain (dozens)
  30. Sandy Beach (dozens)
  31. Sea Shore (several)
  32. Seymour Butts (two) — not just a Bart Simpson prank call!
  33. Shanda Lear (one)
  34. Silence Bellows (one)
  35. Soda Popp (one)
  36. Strong Beer (one)
  37. Tell No Lyes (several)
  38. Ten Million (one)
    • He had a daughter named Decillian Million.
  39. Timber Wood (one)
    • He has a sister named Drift Wood.
  40. Truly Wright (several)
  41. Tu Morrow (one)
    • Daughter of actors Rob Morrow and Debbon Ayer (read: debonaire)

Which one do you think is the best? Or should I say, the worst?

Sources:

Image: Falstaff (1921) by Eduard von Grützner