How popular is the baby name Belle 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 Belle.

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Popularity of the baby name Belle


Posts that mention the name Belle

Which “feminine blend” name do you like best?

In his book The American Language, writer Henry Louis Mencken used the phrase “feminine blend” to describe a female name created by blending two other names together.

Here are the feminine blends he lists:

  • Adelloyd (Addie + Lloyd)
  • Adnelle (Addison + Nellie)
  • Adrielle (Adrienne + Belle)
  • Armina (Ardelia + Wilhelmina)
  • Bethene (Elizabeth + Christine)
  • Birdene (Birdie + Pauline)
  • Charline (Charles + Pauline)
  • Leilabeth (Leila + Elizabeth)
  • Lunette (Luna + Nettie)
  • Marjette (Marjorie + Henrietta)
  • Maybeth (May + Elizabeth)
  • Olabelle (Ola + Isabel)
  • Olouise (Olive + Louise)
  • Romiette (Romeo + Juliette)
  • Rosella (Rose + Bella)

If you had to use one of the above in real life, which one would you choose?

Source: Mencken, H. L. The American Language. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1919.

How will the remake of “Roots” influence baby names?

"I am Kunta" ad, Roots, History Channel

The phenomenally popular mini-series Roots (1977) didn’t just set TV viewership records and win a slew of awards. It also had a big impact on U.S. baby names — the biggest impact of any pop culture event of the 20th century, in fact.

But I’ve already posted about the influence of Roots on baby names. So why am I bringing it up again?

Because it’s back! The History Channel will be airing a 4-part remake of Roots in a couple of weeks, starting on May 30.

Many of the ads I’ve seen so far happen to be name-focused, ironically. Several of the teaser clips on YouTube feature a voice saying, “Your name is your spirit. Your name is your shield. Your name is Kunta Kinte.”

I don’t expect the new version of Roots to have the same impact that the original did. But I’m sure it will raise the profile (and thereby increase the usage) of at least a few baby names — likely a mix of names we’re already familiar with (e.g., Kizzy, Kunta) and names that are new this time around, such as:

  • Malachi – the name of the actor who plays Kunta Kinte
  • Regé-Jean – the name of the actor who plays Chicken George
  • Emayatzy – the name of the actress who plays Belle
  • E’myri – the name of the actress who plays young Kizzy
  • Cyrus – the name of a (new?) character, played by hip-hop artist T.I.*

Which baby name do you think will get the biggest boost from the remake of Roots?

*The baby names Major, Messiah and King made big gains in 2012 thanks to T.I.’s reality show T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle.

Was the baby name Leneve influenced by a fugitive in 1910?

Dr. Crippen and Ethel Le Neve on trial in London (1910)
Dr. Crippen and Ethel Le Neve

The curious name Leneve first appeared in the U.S. baby name data 105 years ago…then disappeared again the very next year.

  • 1912: unlisted
  • 1911: unlisted
  • 1910: 7 baby girls named Leneve
  • 1909: unlisted
  • 1908: unlisted

A similar spike can be seen in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) data:

  • 1912: none
  • 1911: 6 people named Leneve
  • 1910: 16 people named Leneve
  • 1909: none
  • 1908: none

Where did the name Leneve come from all of a sudden in 1910?

We’ll get to that in a second. First, let’s start with the murder.

On July 13, 1910, the remains of a body thought to belong to music hall singer Belle Elmore (legal name Cora Crippen) were found in the basement of her home in London. Belle had been missing since February.

The main suspect was her husband, Hawley Crippen, a homeopathic doctor who had fled to Belgium several days earlier with his young lover, Ethel Le Neve.

A warrant for the arrest of Crippen and Le Neve was issued on July 16.

The pair — disguised as father and son, and using the surname Robinson — boarded a Canada-bound steamship in Antwerp on July 20.

The captain of the ship was suspicious of the pair, so he telegraphed the boat’s owners, who in turn telegraphed Scotland Yard.

A London police officer boarded an even faster steamship headed for Canada on July 23.

Fascinatingly, Crippen and Le Neve were not only unaware that they were being trailed by the London police on another boat, but they also didn’t know that newspapers around the world had picked up their story and that millions of people were reading about the dramatic transatlantic race, day by day, as it occurred.

The faster ship reached Quebec first, and the officer was able to intercept and arrest the fugitives on July 31. (This makes Crippen and Le Neve the first criminals to be apprehended with the assistance of wireless communication.)

The next month, the pair sailed back to England. They were tried separately.

Crippen was found guilty. He was executed by hanging on November 23.

Ethel Le Neve verdict
Ethel Le Neve verdict

Ethel Le Neve was acquitted. She promptly left for New York.

To this day, no one knows exactly whose remains were in that basement in London, how they got there, and who was to blame for it all.

But we do know that Ethel Le Neve (often written “Leneve” in U.S. newspapers) was a fixture in the news in mid-1910. This is no doubt what boosted the rare name Leneve onto the baby name charts for the first and only time. Leneve was the top one-hit wonder name of 1910, in fact.

Ethel was back in London by 1915. She eventually got married and had two children. She died in 1967, never having revealed to her children that she was once a world-famous runaway. (They found out in the 1980s, after being contacted by a crime historian.)

What are your thoughts on the baby name Leneve?

Sources:

Images: Adapted from Dr. Crippen and Ethel Leneve on trial (public domain), clipping from the San Antonio Light and Gazette (25 Oct. 1910)

Unique name (Tiona) helps orphan find birth family, claim inheritance

Miss Tiona King

In 1886, a baby girl was born in Le Roy, Illinois. Her father was unknown and her mother Tiona died shortly after giving birth, “leaving the child the name of Tiona as her only inheritance.”

Orphaned Tiona ended up in the Girls’ Industrial home in Bloomington, IL. This is where her adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph King of Bloomington, found her a few years later.

In 1903, when Tiona King was 16, the society column of a local paper mentioned that she had been hosting some friends from Chicago.

Belle Craig, a Le Roy resident who happened to read the item, noted that the unique name Tiona was the same as that of a childhood friend. Curious about the coincidence, Belle decided to investigate.

She eventually discovered that Tiona King of Bloomington was indeed the daughter of her old friend, solving the mystery of Tiona’s parentage.

The icing on the cake was a 27-acre tract of land near Kinmundy (about 100 miles to the south) that had been left behind by Tiona’s deceased maternal grandparents. The property could now by claimed by Tiona.

Cool story, right?

Back in 1903 when this story was circulating, newspaper writers tended to disparage unique names. Those writing about Tiona, though, mostly praised the name. One writer even described it as “euphonious.” No doubt the feel-good nature of the tale helped people see the name in a positive light.

What do you think of the name Tiona?

Sources: