How popular is the baby name Betsy 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 Betsy.
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The baby name Marty, which was rising in usage during the 1950s, rose much more quickly from 1955 to 1957 specifically:
Boys named Marty
Girls named Marty
1958
1,413 [rank: 198th]
134 [rank: 881st]
1957
1,348 [rank: 200th]
159† [rank: 803rd]
1956
1,014 [rank: 229th]
130 [rank: 877th]
1955
618 [rank: 287th]
86
1954
422 [rank: 348th]
72
1953
359 [rank: 360th]
95 [rank: 983rd]
†Peak usage
Here’s a visual:
Usage of the baby name Marty
The name Martin (which had ranked inside the boys’ top 100 for decades by the 1950s) likewise saw an increase in usage during those years:
1958: 5,666 baby boys named Martin [rank: 71st]
1957: 5,964 baby boys named Martin [rank: 69th]
1956: 5,683 baby boys named Martin [rank: 73rd]
1955: 5,069 baby boys named Martin [rank: 77th]
1954: 4,964 baby boys named Martin [rank: 79th]
1953: 4,780 baby boys named Martin [rank: 82nd]
Why?
I think there are two reasons, though one was probably more influential than the other.
The primary reason was likely the character Marty from three different Spin and Marty serials (which aired as 11-minute segments on The Mickey Mouse Club):
The Adventures of Spin and Marty (1955) – 25 episodes
The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty (1956) – 23 episodes
The New Adventures of Spin and Marty (1957) – 30 episodes
Spin and Marty was set at the Triple R Ranch, a western-style summer camp for boys.
The main characters were teenagers Martin “Marty” Markham (played by David Stollery), who was rich and spoiled, and Spin Evans (played by Tim Considine), who was popular and athletic. “Walt Disney had never before created anything with two diametrically opposed leads.” By the end of the first serial, the boys had overcome their differences and become best friends.
The success of Spin and Marty led to merchandising that included comic books, coloring books, and phonograph records.
Clara and Marty from “Marty“
The secondary reason for the rise for the name Marty? The 1955 movie Marty, a poignant romantic drama about a man looking for love.
The film follows main character Marty Pilletti (played by Ernest Borgnine) — a lonely 34-year-old who lives with his widowed mother in the Bronx — over the course of a weekend. He meets a woman named Clara (played by Betsy Blair) at a dance hall, and they unexpectedly hit it off. But Marty’s mother and bachelor friends aren’t as excited about his budding romance, and they try to dissuade Marty from pursuing Clara.
The movie — despite being independently produced on a modest budget, and despite featuring ordinary-looking characters and a “quiet, simple story” — was a success at the box office. It also won four Academy Awards: Best Motion Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. (Borgnine’s “Best Actor” Oscar was presented by Grace Kelly.)
According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland last year were Grace and Jack.
Here are the Northern Ireland’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2021:
Girl names
Grace, 182 baby girls
Emily, 150
Fiadh, 149
Olivia, 148
Isla, 138
Sophie, 128
Aoife, 122
Ella, 111
Anna, 106
Sophia, 102
Amelia, 101
Lucy, 100
Charlotte, 98
Lily, 94
Evie, 92 (tie)
Freya, 92 (tie)
Ava, 90
Annie, 87
Mia, 82
Ellie, 80
Erin, 76 (3-way tie)
Molly, 76 (3-way tie)
Rosie, 76 (3-way tie)
Willow, 69
Eabha, 67
Ruby, 64
Poppy, 62
Meabh, 61 (tie)
Niamh, 61 (tie)
Eva, 60
Maisie, 59
Katie, 58
Cora, 56
Hannah, 55 (tie)
Ivy, 55 (tie)
Cara, 54 (tie)
Clodagh, 54 (tie)
Georgia, 52 (4-way tie)
Harper, 52 (4-way tie)
Jessica, 52 (4-way tie)
Zara, 52 (4-way tie)
Chloe, 51 (tie)
Rose, 51 (tie)
Aria, 50
Alice, 49 (3-way tie)
Daisy, 49 (3-way tie)
Mollie, 49 (3-way tie)
Heidi, 48
Saoirse, 45 (tie)
Sienna, 45 (tie)
Boy names
Jack, 193 baby boys
Noah, 191
James, 173
Charlie, 155
Oliver, 131
Theo, 119
Leo, 117
Cillian, 116
Finn, 115
Harry, 114
Oisin, 109 (tie)
Thomas, 109 (tie)
Daniel, 103
Tommy, 101
Freddie, 97
Jacob, 92
Jude, 86
Arthur, 84
Daithi, 83
Darragh, 78 (3-way tie)
Ethan, 78 (3-way tie)
Ronan, 78 (3-way tie)
Jonah, 77
Alfie, 76 (tie)
Archie, 76 (tie)
Caleb, 75
Shea, 73
Conor, 71
Alexander, 69
Patrick, 68
George, 66 (3-way tie)
Isaac, 66 (3-way tie)
Mason, 66 (3-way tie)
Matthew, 65 (tie)
Reuben, 65 (tie)
Conan, 64 (3-way tie)
Fionn, 64 (3-way tie)
Luke, 64 (3-way tie)
Ollie, 63
Jake, 61 (tie)
Joseph, 61 (tie)
Logan, 60 (3-way tie)
Odhran, 60 (3-way tie)
Oscar, 60 (3-way tie)
Liam, 58 (3-way tie)
Lucas, 58 (3-way tie)
Max, 58 (3-way tie)
John, 57
Rory, 56
Joshua, 55 (tie)
Theodore, 55 (tie)
In the girls’ top 10, Aoife and Anna replaced Amelia, Lucy and Freya. (Two replace three because there was a tie for 10th place the previous year.)
In the boys’ top 10, Leo replaced Thomas.
And on the other side of the spectrum…here are some of the names that were given to just 3 babies each in Northern Ireland last year:
If the Pepsi commercial in yesterday’s post on the baby name Sanjana seemed familiar to you, there’s a reason: That commercial was a scene-for-scene remake of an award-winning Diet Pepsi commercial that premiered in the U.S. six years earlier.
The spot, called “Apartment 10-G,” first aired in 1987 — either during the Super Bowl or the Grammy Awards (my sources don’t agree). It starred Michael J. Fox as the “urban knight satisfying the thirst of [the] damsel-next-door.”
Below is the one-minute version of the commercial:
Here’s a description, in case you don’t want to watch:
A young man is alone in his apartment when there’s a knock at the door. He opens the door to find a pretty young woman, who enters and says, “Hi, I just moved in next door. Could I borrow a Diet Pepsi?” He responds, “Sure, come in” (even though she’s already in). As he heads for the kitchen, he shows his excitement with a jump and a quiet “Yes!” She is idly looking around his apartment when he reaches the fridge…only to discover an empty bottle of Diet Pepsi. He calls out, “How about something else?” She responds, “Listen, if you don’t have a Diet Pepsi…” He already has one leg out the kitchen window as he calls back, “No, I got it.” He goes out onto the fire escape — the window slams shut behind him — and jumps down to street level. It’s raining outside. He spots a vending machine selling Diet Pepsi across the street. He tries to cross, but nearly gets hit by a car, so instead he jumps roof-to-roof over the traffic to reach the vending machine. He has a can of Diet Pepsi in his hand as he climbs up the fire escape ladder. He finds the window locked. Just as the woman starts walking toward the kitchen (calling, “You okay in there?”) there’s the sound of glass shattering. The man comes out of the kitchen — soaking wet, out of breath — and hands her the can, saying, “Here’s your diet Pepsi.” Then there’s another knock at the door. The woman says, “That must be my roommate, Danny.” “Danny?” the man repeats, with a worried look on his face. A second woman suddenly comes into view behind them. She leans seductively against the wall and says, “Hi, I’m Danielle. You got another Diet Pepsi?”
(The minute-and-a-half version included a run-in with a motorcycle gang.)
So now, the big question: Did this Pepsi commercial give a boost to the baby name Danielle the same way the Lehar Pepsi commercial gave a boost to the baby name Sanjana?
It’s very possible!
The name Danielle was already well within the U.S. top-20 at that time, but it saw a conspicuous increase in usage in 1987:
1989: 15,366 baby girls named Danielle [rank: 17th]
1988: 16,253 baby girls named Danielle [rank: 17th]
1987: 17,007 baby girls named Danielle [rank: 14th] (peak usage)
1986: 14,943 baby girls named Danielle [rank: 16th]
1985: 15,411 baby girls named Danielle [rank: 18th]
The name Danielle saw peak usage in 1987
So far, I haven’t been able to find an explanation better than the commercial.
My next-best-guess would be actress Danielle von Zerneck, who played Donna in the 1987 movie La Bamba (with Esai Morales).
There was also a young character named Danielle on the soap opera As The World Turns at that time. I don’t think she caused the 1987 peak, but — because she was born in the storyline in October of 1983 — I do think she’s behind that steep increase in usage in 1984. (Interesting fact: Her mother, Betsy, was played by future movie star Meg Ryan.)
But, getting back to the Pepsi commercial…do you remember seeing it on television in the late ’80s? If so, do you recall whether or not it drew your attention to the name Danielle?
If you’re on the hunt for baby names with a numerological value of 8, you’re in luck! Because today’s post features hundreds of 8-names.
Before we get to the names, though — how do we know that they’re “eights” in numerology?
Turning names into numbers
Here’s how to calculate the numerological value of a name.
First, for each letter, come up with a number to represent that letter’s position in the alphabet. (Letter A would be number 1, letter B would be number 2, and so forth.) Then, add all the numbers together. If the sum has two or more digits, add the digits together recursively until the result is a single digit. That single digit is the name’s numerological value.
For instance, the letters in the name Wyatt correspond to the numbers 23, 25, 1, 20, and 20. The sum of these numbers is 89. The digits of 89 added together equal 17, and the digits of 17 added together equal 8 — the numerological value of Wyatt.
Baby names with a value of 8
Below you’ll find the most popular 8-names per gender, according to the latest U.S. baby name data. I’ve further sub-categorized them by total sums — just in case any of those larger numbers are significant to anyone.
8
The letters in the following baby names add up to 8.
Girl name (8)
Boy name (8)
Bea
Abe
8 via 17
The letters in the following baby names add up to 17, which reduces to eight (1+7=8).
Girl names (8 via 17)
Boy names (8 via 17)
Gia, Bo, Afia, Eabha, Cala
Bo, Mac, Cam, Md, Jeb
8 via 26
The letters in the following baby names add up to 26, which reduces to eight (2+6=8).
Girl names (8 via 26)
Boy names (8 via 26)
Leah, Maci, Jana, Pia, Dua, Gema, Calia, Brea, Cami
Eli, Bear, Bode, Obed, Asaad, Adil
8 via 35
The letters in the following baby names add up to 35, which reduces to eight (3+5=8).
There’s no definitive answer, unfortunately, because various numerological systems exist, and each one has its own interpretation of the number eight. That said, if we look at a couple of modern numerology/astrology websites, we see 8 being described as “successful,” “ambitious,” “organized,” “practical,” and “authoritative.”
We can also look at associations, which are a bit more concrete. Here are some things that are associated with the number 8:
Figure 8
Infinity symbol
Analemma (diagram showing the position of the sun over the course of a year)
Figure-eight knot
Octopus (8 arms)
Spider (8 legs)
8-bit computing
8-track cartridge
Eight-ball (in pool)
Magic 8 Ball (fortune-telling toy)
Eight-ender (perfect score in the sport of curling)
What does the number 8 mean to you? What are your strongest associations with the number?
P.S. To see names with other numerological values, check out the posts for the numbers one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and nine.
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