How popular is the baby name Becket 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 Becket.

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Popularity of the baby name Becket


Posts that mention the name Becket

Baby names from Pullman cars: Edith, Otis, Kenia, Jathniel

Pullman car

Years ago I posted about Livonia, a baby both born on and named after a Pullman car. Recently I wondered: What other Pullman car names would have made good baby names?

So I downloaded a big spreadsheet of over 12,000 Pullman car names from The Pullman Project and was slightly surprised to see that thousands of them could have been baby names, if we allow for the splitting of compound car names (like Fort Miley, Glen Norman, Meredith College, and West Willow).

Here are a handful of examples. On the left are relatively common/familiar names, and on the right are some unexpected choices.

Alana, Archer, ArnoldAdriatha, Arundel, Arvonia
Baxter, Becket, BradleyBantry, Bellonia, Besco
Calvin, Catalina, ClydeCadesia, Clarnie, Clymer
Dana, Deborah, DwightDarlow, Dathema, Dodona
Edith, Eileen, ElmoEdminster, Emalinda, Etherley
Finley, Flavia, FloydFithian, Flaxton, Florilla
Gary, Georgette, GraysonGavarnie, Gilia, Gloxinia
Harper, Harriet, HectorHarista, Humela, Hythe
Iona, Isabella, IvanIrvona, Isleta, Ixion
Jessica, Jordan, JuliaJacelia, Jathniel, Justitia
Kara, Keith, KennethKeinath, Kenia, Kittson
Laurel, Lewis, LindenLauveta, Leolyn, Lysander
Madison, Marco, MaudeMardonia, Mayence, Morganza
Nicola, Noel, NoraNarinda, Nasby, Norlina
Olivia, Omar, OtisOaklyn, Olanda, Oxus
Parker, Perry, PhilippaPenlyn, Pipila, Pixley
QuincyQuarren
Rebecca, Riley, RonaldRexis, Risley, Ruxton
Sarah, Scott, SusanneSalphrona, Sarver, Sibley
Thora, Tracy, TylerTascott, Tilden, Tisonia
Vanessa, Vernon, VictoriaVarick, Vinora, Vivita
Wesley, Wilson, WrenWelby, Wescott, Wexford

Which of the names above do you like best?

Image: Adapted from Pullman car exterior (public domain)

Baby name story: Becket Wilberforce

Conservative journalist Matt Lewis welcomed his second son on November 12.

The baby’s name? Becket Wilberforce Lewis, in honor of St. Thomas Becket (1118-1170) and British politician William Wilberforce (1759-1833).

“[M]y wife and I agreed on interesting names that were also significant. Since I’m a writer, a lot of people think Samuel Beckett, but the first name is after Thomas Becket.”

Lewis considers William Wilberforce is among his heroes. “He led the movement to abolish the slave trade in Great Britain, and is a prime example of a statesman who used the political process to bring about positive change in the world,” he said.

Becket’s older bother, Burke, was named for British politician Edmund Burke (1729-1797).

Lewis suggests in “3 political heroes as admirable as Lincoln” that, if he and his wife have a third son, he might be named Bonhoeffer after German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945).

P.S. The surname Wilberforce can be traced back to the place name Wilberfoss, which is a village eight miles east of York. Wilberfoss is made up of the elements Wilberg, an Old English feminine name, and foss, Old English for “ditch.”

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