How popular is the baby name Brian 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 Brian.

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Popularity of the baby name Brian


Posts that mention the name Brian

Where did the baby name Jareth come from in 1986?

The character Jareth from the movie "Labyrinth" (1986).
Jareth from “Labyrinth“

The curious name Jareth first popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 1986:

  • 1988: 51 baby boys named Jareth
  • 1987: 50 baby boys named Jareth
  • 1986: 10 baby boys named Jareth [debut]
  • 1985: unlisted
  • 1984: unlisted

What put it there?

Jim Henson’s goblin-filled musical fantasy film Labyrinth (1986).

The movie’s main character was a teenage girl named Sarah (played by Jennifer Connelly). While babysitting her cranky baby brother Toby, she “teasingly wishe[d] the goblins would take him away.” The problem? Her wish came true.

Jareth the Goblin King (played by David Bowie) explained to Sarah that the baby was now in his castle, which was at the center of a massive, otherworldly labyrinth. She could have her brother back…but only if she could find her way to the castle.

“You have 13 hours in which to solve the labyrinth before your baby brother becomes one of us forever.”

I don’t know which of the Labyrinth‘s creators (Jim Henson? Brian Froud? Terry Jones?) came up with the name Jareth, or how it was coined. Perhaps it was based on the Welsh name Gareth, or on the Biblical name Jared. (Or both?)

What are your thoughts on the name Jareth?

Source: Labyrinth movie review & film summary (1986) | Roger Ebert

Baby born in England, named after entire soccer team (2011)

soccer game

Amanda and Stephen Preston of Lancashire, England, welcomed a son in late January, 2011. He was named Jensen after Brian Jensen, goalkeeper of the Burnley Football Club.

But that’s not all! He was named after each of the other players on the team as well.

Stephen said, “We had already decided to call him Jensen as he is Amanda’s favourite player, but we couldn’t decide on a middle name so we thought why not go for the whole team.”

Here are all of the baby’s given names, and the corresponding Burnley players:

NamePlayer
Jensen
Jay
Alexander
Bikey
Carlisle
Duff
Elliot [sic]
Fox
Iwelumo
Marney
Mears
Paterson
Thompson
Wallace		Brian Jensen
Jay Rodriguez
Graham Alexander
Andre Bikey
Clarke Carlisle
Michael Duff
Wade Elliott
Danny Fox
Chris Iwelumo
Dean Marney
Tyrone Mears
Martin Paterson
Steven Thompson
Ross Wallace

If the baby had been a girl, the only difference would have been Briany instead of Jensen for the first name.

(My source article also mentioned a baby boy born in 2009 and named Robbie-Blake Moore, “after Robbie Blake’s winning goal against Manchester United in the Premier League.”)

Source: Preston: The baby named after all FOURTEEN members of football team

Image: Adapted from Portugal 2-3 Denmark, Football by José Goulão under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Baby born at Westbury rest area, named Westbury

I’ve posted about baby names inspired by a street, a freeway, and a highway exit, but this is the first rest area-inspired baby name I’ve seen:

On April 8, 2009, Kate Flello of Gloucestershire, England, went into labor a month early. Her partner Brian Sterry began driving her to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital via A48, but they never made it. The baby boy was born in the Westbury-on-Severn lay-by (rest area).

What was he named? Toby Westbury. According to Kate, “We wanted to call him something appropriate and Toby Westbury is better than Toby Astra.”

Sources: Roadside birth baby named after layby, Layby baby’s early arrival

Where did the baby name Orchid come from in 1926?

The character Orchid (played by Gloria Swanson) in the movie "Fine Manners" (1926).
Orchid from “Fine Manners“

The flower name Orchid first appeared in the U.S. baby name the data in the mid-1920s:

  • 1928: 6 baby girls named Orchid
  • 1927: 7 baby girls named Orchid
  • 1926: 12 baby girls named Orchid [debut]
  • 1925: unlisted
  • 1924: unlisted

One dozen baby girls remained Orchid’s peak usage for nearly a century (until the record was tied in 2017, then topped in 2020).

Here’s data from the Social Security Death Index for the same span of time:

  • 1928: 1 person with the first name Orchid
  • 1927: 2 people with the first name Orchid (and 1 with Orchid as a middle)
  • 1926: 9 people with the first name Orchid (and 1 with Orchid as a middle)
  • 1925: 2 people with the first name Orchid
  • 1924: 4 people with the first name Orchid

Why were a handful of expectant parents suddenly interested in the name Orchid in 1926?

Because of a silent film called Fine Manners, which was released in August of that year.

Dialogue intertitle featuring the name Orchid from the silent film "Fine Manners" (1926).
Dialogue intertitle from “Fine Manners“

It starred Gloria Swanson as a vivacious-yet-unrefined New York chorus girl named Orchid Murphy. Orchid falls in love with a millionaire named Brian Alden, but, right after Brian asks Orchid to marry him, he learns that he will be traveling abroad on business. During the months of his absence, his Aunt Agatha teaches Orchid about social etiquette (e.g., “a lady never makes a vulgar display of her emotions”).

The consequence is that Brian is deeply disappointed when he returns to find a blasé little Orchid. He scolds his Aunt for having robbed the girl of her vivacity and spark.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Orchid? Would you use it?

P.S. Gloria Swanson’s The Love of Sunya — released less than a year after Fine Manners — also had an influence on U.S. baby names…

Sources:

[Latest update: April 2023]