How popular is the baby name Bruce 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 Bruce.

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Popularity of the baby name Bruce


Posts that mention the name Bruce

What gave the baby name Korben a boost in 1998?

The character Korben Dallas from the movie "The Fifth Element" (1997)
Korben Dallas from “The Fifth Element“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Corbin saw a discernible increase in popularity in 1998. Other spellings (like Korbin and Corban) saw similar increases, but none were as steep as that of Korben, which more than tripled in usage:

  • 2000: 43 baby boys named Korben
  • 1999: 31 baby boys named Korben
  • 1998: 37 baby boys named Korben
  • 1997: 11 baby boys named Korben
  • 1996: 8 baby boys named Korben

What was influencing these names?

Korben Dallas, the main character of the “campy sci-fi extravaganza” The Fifth Element, which was released in theaters in May of 1997.

The movie was set in the 23rd century, and Korben (played by Bruce Willis) — who had recently retired from the elite Special Forces unit of the Federated Army — was now driving a a flying taxicab in New York City.

One day, an orange-haired woman wearing an outfit made of white bandages fell into Korben’s cab through the roof. (Leeloo, played by Milla Jovovich, had just jumped off the ledge of a building after escaping from a science lab.) This unlikely encounter led to Korben getting caught up in mission to save humanity from a “planet-sized sphere of supreme evil” that was swiftly approaching Earth.

The Fifth Element was the ninth-highest-grossing film of 1997, and went on to become a science-fiction cult classic. (The name Leeloo debuted in the U.S. baby name data about a decade after the movie came out.)

What are your thoughts on the baby name Korben? (Do you like it more or less than the traditional spelling, Corbin?)

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The Fifth Element

Popular baby names in Scotland (UK), 2024

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, the country of Scotland — which takes up the northern third of Great Britain — welcomed 45,779 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.

Here are Scotland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 266 baby girls
  2. Isla, 264
  3. Freya, 244
  4. Lily, 231
  5. Millie, 222
  6. Sophia, 214
  7. Amelia, 198 (tie)
  8. Emily, 198 (tie)
  9. Ella, 195
  10. Charlotte, 191
  11. Ava, 188 (tie)
  12. Bonnie, 188 (tie)
  13. Grace, 183
  14. Evie, 180 (tie)
  15. Ivy, 180 (tie)
  16. Rosie, 167
  17. Sophie, 164
  18. Maisie, 161
  19. Maya, 159 (tie)
  20. Orla, 159 (tie)
  21. Harper, 149
  22. Sofia, 147
  23. Aria, 142
  24. Poppy, 135
  25. Maeve, 129
  26. Mia, 126
  27. Daisy, 123
  28. Lucy, 113
  29. Willow, 106
  30. Mila, 105
  31. Elsie, 104 (tie)
  32. Hallie, 104 (tie)
  33. Esme, 102
  34. Ruby, 100
  35. Ellie, 99
  36. Zara, 98
  37. Lottie, 97
  38. Eilidh, 91 – pronounced EH-lee
  39. Ayla, 90 (tie)
  40. Chloe, 90 (tie)
  41. Layla, 89 (3-way tie)
  42. Sienna, 89 (3-way tie)
  43. Violet, 89 (3-way tie)
  44. Ada, 87
  45. Skye, 83
  46. Phoebe, 82
  47. Callie, 81
  48. Jessica, 80 (tie)
  49. Robyn, 80 (tie)
  50. Isabella, 79

Boy names

  1. Noah, 366 baby boys
  2. Muhammad, 293
  3. Rory, 275
  4. Theo, 270
  5. Leo, 260
  6. Luca, 255
  7. Jack, 247 (tie)
  8. Oliver, 247 (tie)
  9. Harris, 243
  10. Archie, 228
  11. Finlay, 220
  12. Alexander, 208 (tie)
  13. Jude, 208 (tie)
  14. James, 203
  15. Alfie, 196
  16. Brodie, 195
  17. Finn, 190
  18. Arlo, 177
  19. Charlie, 159
  20. Thomas, 154 (tie)
  21. Tommy, 154 (tie)
  22. Oscar, 151
  23. Lucas, 147
  24. Arthur, 145
  25. Freddie, 144 (tie)
  26. Mason, 144 (tie)
  27. Jacob, 141
  28. Lewis, 136
  29. Logan, 132 (tie)
  30. Max, 132 (tie)
  31. Harry, 124
  32. Albie, 123
  33. Cameron, 117
  34. Ollie, 116
  35. Myles, 111
  36. Callan, 108 (tie)
  37. Theodore, 108 (tie)
  38. Angus, 106 (tie)
  39. Reuben, 106 (tie)
  40. Harrison, 105
  41. Blake, 102
  42. Adam, 101 (tie)
  43. Caleb, 101 (tie)
  44. Sonny, 100
  45. Louie, 99
  46. Roman, 98
  47. Liam, 93
  48. George, 91
  49. Isaac, 90
  50. Luke, 89

Muhammad, which entered the boys’ top 100 in 2008, jumped from 11th to 2nd place.

And the bonny name Bonnie, which entered the girls’ top 100 in 2018, now sits just outside the top 10.

Last year’s fastest-rising girl names already in the top 100 were Violet, Arabella, Myla, and Chloe, while the fastest-rising girl names entering the top 100 for the first time were Eliza, Romy, and Nora.

The fastest-rising boy names already in the top 100 were Myles, Callan, Ruairidh, and Lochlan, while the fastest-rising boy name entering the top 100 for the first time was Reggie.

Una and Ernie, two of the top names in the Scottish archipelago of Orkney, were given to 19 baby girls and six baby boys (respectively) nation-wide.

Here’s a selection of the names that were given to just three babies each in Scotland last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aizal, Beira, Ceilidh, Davina, Este, Fleur, Greta, Hadley, Ines, Jemimah, Kassie, Lavinia, Merida, Nicola, Opal, Peach, Roxy, Safiyyah, Tully, Verity, Yuna, ZarishArgyll, Bruce, Cobi, Derek, Ernest, Frazer, Graham, Harbaaz, Innis, Justin, Korey, Lawrie, Malachi, Niven, Orran, Percy, Rui, Somhairle, Thorfinn, Uzair, Wilder, Zahir

Beira is a modern Scottish name for the Gaelic mythological figure Cailleach, and Innis is a Scottish Gaelic word meaning “small island, islet.”

(I can’t give you the usual sampling of Scotland’s single-use names because, as of 2024, the country has decided to stop releasing names given to fewer than three babies. The news release noted that “the exclusion of the names given to one or two babies is consistent with policies in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.”)

Finally, here are Scotland’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Sonoma County (California), 2023

Flag of California
Flag of California

Sonoma County is the northernmost county in the San Francisco Bay Area region.

Last year, Sonoma welcomed 4,463 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Mateo.

Here are Sonoma’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 20 baby girls
  2. Camila, 19 (tie)
  3. Mia, 19 (tie)
  4. Emily, 16 (3-way tie)
  5. Mila, 16 (3-way tie)
  6. Sophia, 16 (3-way tie)
  7. Aurora, 15 (4-way tie)
  8. Isabella, 15 (4-way tie)
  9. Sofia, 15 (4-way tie)
  10. Violet, 15 (4-way tie)
  11. Ava, 14 (3-way tie)
  12. Gianna, 14 (3-way tie)
  13. Isla, 14 (3-way tie)
  14. Charlotte, 13 (4-way tie)
  15. Emma, 13 (4-way tie)
  16. Lily, 13 (4-way tie)
  17. Luna, 13 (4-way tie)
  18. Avery, 12 (3-way tie)
  19. Harper, 12 (3-way tie)
  20. Maya, 12 (3-way tie)
  21. Leilani, 11 (tie)
  22. Scarlett, 11 (tie)
  23. Amelia, 10 (11-way tie)
  24. Daniela, 10 (11-way tie)
  25. Elena, 10 (11-way tie)
  26. Eliana, 10 (11-way tie)
  27. Josephine, 10 (11-way tie)
  28. Kennedy, 10 (11-way tie)
  29. Logan, 10 (11-way tie)
  30. Quinn, 10 (11-way tie)
  31. Ryan, 10 (11-way tie)
  32. Valentina, 10 (11-way tie)
  33. Victoria, 10 (11-way tie)
  34. Eleanor, 9 (6-way tie)
  35. Grace, 9 (6-way tie)
  36. Madison, 9 (6-way tie)
  37. Nora, 9 (6-way tie)
  38. Riley, 9 (6-way tie)
  39. Stella, 9 (6-way tie)
  40. Charlie, 8 (11-way tie)
  41. Emilia, 8 (11-way tie)
  42. Evelyn, 8 (11-way tie)
  43. Jade, 8 (11-way tie)
  44. Lainey, 8 (11-way tie)
  45. Natalie, 8 (11-way tie)
  46. Penelope, 8 (11-way tie)
  47. Poppy, 8 (11-way tie)
  48. Samantha, 8 (11-way tie)
  49. Sawyer, 8 (11-way tie)
  50. Valeria, 8 (11-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Mateo, 29 baby boys
  2. Noah, 27
  3. Liam, 22 (tie)
  4. Luca, 22 (tie)
  5. Oliver, 21 (tie)
  6. Sebastian, 21 (tie)
  7. Dylan, 20
  8. Leonardo, 19 (tie)
  9. Levi, 19 (tie)
  10. Anthony, 17 (3-way tie)
  11. Henry, 17 (3-way tie)
  12. Lucas, 17 (3-way tie)
  13. Benjamin, 16 (tie)
  14. Julian, 16 (tie)
  15. Emiliano, 15
  16. Ethan, 14
  17. Santiago, 13 (tie)
  18. Wyatt, 13 (tie)
  19. Angel, 12 (5-way tie)
  20. Cooper, 12 (5-way tie)
  21. Daniel, 12 (5-way tie)
  22. Matteo, 12 (5-way tie)
  23. Miles, 12 (5-way tie)
  24. Alexander, 11 (8-way tie)
  25. Christopher, 11 (8-way tie)
  26. Elias, 11 (8-way tie)
  27. Hudson, 11 (8-way tie)
  28. Jack, 11 (8-way tie)
  29. Leo, 11 (8-way tie)
  30. Matias, 11 (8-way tie)
  31. Thomas, 11 (8-way tie)
  32. Bennett, 10 (9-way tie)
  33. Damian, 10 (9-way tie)
  34. Elijah, 10 (9-way tie)
  35. Emilio, 10 (9-way tie)
  36. Ezra, 10 (9-way tie)
  37. Ian, 10 (9-way tie)
  38. Luka, 10 (9-way tie)
  39. Luke, 10 (9-way tie)
  40. William, 10 (9-way tie)
  41. Caleb, 9 (5-way tie)
  42. James, 9 (5-way tie)
  43. Jose, 9 (5-way tie)
  44. Luis, 9 (5-way tie)
  45. Parker, 9 (5-way tie)
  46. Adriel, 8 (16-way tie)
  47. Cameron, 8 (16-way tie)
  48. Colton, 8 (16-way tie)
  49. Connor, 8 (16-way tie)
  50. David, 8 (16-way tie)
  51. Dean, 8 (16-way tie)
  52. Diego, 8 (16-way tie)
  53. Gabriel, 8 (16-way tie)
  54. Isaac, 8 (16-way tie)
  55. Jesus, 8 (16-way tie)
  56. Lorenzo, 8 (16-way tie)
  57. Milo, 8 (16-way tie)
  58. River, 8 (16-way tie)
  59. Samuel, 8 (16-way tie)
  60. Theo, 8 (16-way tie)
  61. Thiago, 8 (16-way tie)

And here’s a sampling of the many names that were bestowed just once in Sonoma last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Ameyalli, Beliana, Colette, Delphie, Ellora, Fiadh, Gwendolyn, Honorae, Ilisapeci, Jessune, Khilana, Lucibell, Merari, Norma, Oriah, Pixel, Riyana, Soluna, Teteoinnan, Ume, Velexia, Wrenlee, Xochitl, Yetzi, ZantedechiaAriodante, Bruce, Canaan, Dovydas, Endrick, Favian, Gedaliah, Hewitt, Itztli, Jessiah, Kidder, Ledson, Miro, Nash, Orbelin, Paz, Rapha, Sigaserau, Tovius, Uniquo, Ventura, Wicahpi, Xolotl, Yoali, Zianni

Some possible explanations/influences for a few of the above:

  • Ameyalli means “spring, fountain” in Nahuatl.
  • Ariodante is the name of an opera (first performed in 1735) by George Frideric Handel.
  • Itztli refers to an “obsidian blade” in Nahuatl.
  • Teteoinnan is the name of a Nahua deity. (The name means “mother of the gods” in Nahuatl.)
  • Wicahpi means “star” in Lakota.
  • Xolotl refers to the “divine force of lightning and death” (among other things) in Nahuatl.
  • Zantedechia is one letter away from Zantedeschia, the name of a genus of flowering plants. (The calla lily is a member of this genus.) The genus was named after Italian physician/botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi (1773-1846).

Finally, here are Sonoma’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Sonoma County Baby Names – Open Data, Sonoma County, Sonoma County Births by Year – Open Data, Sonoma County, Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Zantedeschia – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of California (public domain)

Where did the baby name Gotham come from in 2015?

Title of the TV series "Gotham" (2014-2019)
“Gotham”

The name Gotham first emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2015:

  • 2017: 37 baby boys named Gotham
  • 2016: 50 baby boys named Gotham
  • 2015: 46 baby boys named Gotham [debut]
  • 2014: unlisted
  • 2013: unlisted

It was the most impressive boy-name debut of the year, in fact.

Where did it come from?

The Batman-based TV series Gotham (2014-2019), which was set during Bruce Wayne’s teenage years.

The main protagonist wasn’t Bruce Wayne, though — it was Gotham City police detective (and future commissioner) James Gordon. In the very first episode, Jim met 12-year-old Bruce soon after Bruce’s parents had been murdered.

So…why is Batman set in a place called Gotham City?

“Gotham City” was first identified as Batman’s place of residence in the comic book Batman #4 (Winter 1940), which was actually published in January of 1941. Here’s how Batman co-creator Bill Finger chose the name:

Originally I was going to call Gotham City, Civic City. Then I tried Capital City, then Coast City. Then, I flipped through the phone book and spotted the name Gotham Jewelers and said, ‘that’s it,’ Gotham City. We didn’t call it New York because we wanted anybody in any city to identify with it. Of course, Gotham is another name for New York.

Why is Gotham another name for New York City?

It’s a tradition that was kicked off by writer Washington Irving, who referred to the city as Gotham in an 1807 issue of Salmagundi — a short-lived satirical magazine that lampooned NYC culture and politics.

He choose that name because of the medieval folktales about the English village of Gotham, the residents of which had a reputation for idiocy. (According to the tales, though, they were simply feigning madness in order to thwart King John.)

The name of the village (which is located in Nottinghamshire) is pronounced GOAT-um, and is derived from the Old English words gat, meaning “goat,” and ham, meaning “home.”

Getting back to the TV show, though…

The character Azrael from the TV series "Gotham" (2014-2019)
Azrael from “Gotham“

Toward the end of season 2, corrupt mayor Theo Galavan — who’d been killed mid-season by Jim Gordon — was resurrected as “Azrael” by mad scientist Hugo Strange.

Azrael was only featured in two mid-2016 episodes of Gotham, but he is likely the reason why the rising usage of the baby name Azrael accelerated that particular year:

  • 2018: 150 baby boys named Azrael
  • 2017: 132 baby boys named Azrael
  • 2016: 113 baby boys named Azrael
  • 2015: 64 baby boys named Azrael
  • 2014: 56 baby boys named Azrael

Azrael, the name of the angel of death in both Islamic and Judeo-Christian tradition, is derived from the ancient Hebrew words ‘azar, meaning “to help,” and ‘el, meaning “God.”

Which name do you think is cooler: Gotham or Azrael?

Sources:

P.S. Ever wonder how Bruce Wayne was named? Here’s Bill Finger’s explanation: “Bruce Wayne’s first name came from Robert Bruce, the Scottish patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock…then, I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne.”