How popular is the baby name Celeste 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 Celeste.

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Popularity of the baby name Celeste


Posts that mention the name Celeste

Popular baby names in Italy, 2023

Flag of Italy
Flag of Italy

In 2023, the Southern European country of Italy welcomed 379,890 babies — 184,514 girls and 195,376 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Sofia and Leonardo, yet again.

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

Girl names

  1. Sofia, 4,971 baby girls
  2. Aurora, 4,648
  3. Ginevra, 4,274
  4. Vittoria, 4,194
  5. Giulia, 3,732
  6. Beatrice, 3,425 – pronounced beh-a-TREE-cheh
  7. Ludovica, 3,157
  8. Alice, 3,014 – pronounced a-LEE-cheh
  9. Emma, 2,529
  10. Matilde, 2,465
  11. Anna, 2,128
  12. Camilla, 2,091
  13. Bianca, 1,992
  14. Azzurra, 1,922
  15. Chiara, 1,914 – pronounced KYAH-rah
  16. Nicole, 1,792
  17. Giorgia, 1,780
  18. Isabel, 1,667
  19. Greta, 1,635
  20. Noemi, 1,439
  21. Martina, 1,392
  22. Arianna, 1,389
  23. Gaia, 1,370
  24. Sara, 1,368
  25. Rebecca, 1,328
  26. Viola, 1,325
  27. Elena, 1,270
  28. Ambra, 1,257
  29. Chloe, 1,196 (tie)
  30. Diana, 1,196 (tie)
  31. Adele, 1,194
  32. Mia, 1,192
  33. Margherita, 1,095
  34. Sole, 1,088 – pronounced SOH-leh
  35. Francesca, 1,082
  36. Cecilia, 1,060
  37. Gioia, 1,018
  38. Emily, 1,017
  39. Marta, 964
  40. Elisa, 953
  41. Nina, 929
  42. Lavinia, 912
  43. Anita, 875
  44. Amelia, 870
  45. Eleonora, 853
  46. Carlotta, 833
  47. Maria, 803
  48. Celeste, 788
  49. Eva, 751
  50. Giada, 735

Boy names

  1. Leonardo, 7,096 baby boys
  2. Edoardo, 5,603
  3. Tommaso, 4,687
  4. Francesco, 4,534
  5. Alessandro, 4,383
  6. Mattia, 4,349
  7. Lorenzo, 4,006
  8. Gabriele, 3,954
  9. Riccardo, 3,600
  10. Andrea, 3,333
  11. Diego, 2,722
  12. Giuseppe, 2,661
  13. Matteo, 2,648
  14. Enea, 2,564
  15. Nicolò, 2,444
  16. Antonio, 2,424
  17. Federico, 2,313
  18. Giovanni, 2,093
  19. Filippo, 2,046
  20. Samuele, 2,041
  21. Pietro, 1,993
  22. Giulio, 1,749
  23. Gioele, 1,641 – pronounced jo-EH-leh
  24. Davide, 1,597
  25. Michele, 1,590
  26. Christian, 1,541
  27. Elia, 1,522
  28. Gabriel, 1,497
  29. Noah, 1,386
  30. Marco, 1,353
  31. Salvatore, 1,324
  32. Liam, 1,236
  33. Luca, 1,230
  34. Vincenzo, 1,211
  35. Thomas, 1,146
  36. Emanuele, 1,100
  37. Alessio, 1,056
  38. Nathan, 1,007
  39. Giorgio, 1,006
  40. Samuel, 1,005
  41. Jacopo, 1,002
  42. Giacomo, 1,000
  43. Ettore, 970
  44. Raffael, 900
  45. Daniele, 899
  46. Simone, 892
  47. Luigi, 886
  48. Damiano, 830
  49. Domenico, 818
  50. Santiago, 798

The girls’ top 100 included Anastasia (57th), Sveva (75th), Mariasole (83rd), and Letizia (97th).

The boys’ top 100 included Ludovico (56th), Niccolò (66th), Brando (73rd), and Ciro (94th).

The girl name Azzurra (which is associated with Italy’s national soccer team gli Azzurri, “the Blues”) ranked 20th in both 2022 and 2021 before jumping to 12th place last year.

Speaking of soccer…I recently learned that Italian soccer star Francesco Totti (who played for AS Roma from 1993 to 2017) influenced baby names in Italy via the names of his three children:

  • The usage of Cristian rose after his son Cristian was born in November of 2005:
    • 2006: 3,028 boys named Cristian (rank: 25th)
    • 2005: 1,619 boys named Cristian (rank: 39th)
    • 2004: 1,616 boys named Cristian (rank: 38th)
  • The usage of Chanel rose after his daughter Chanel was born in May of 2007:
    • 2008: 158 girls named Chanel (rank: 189th)
    • 2007: 63 girls named Chanel (rank: 314th)
    • 2006: fewer than five girls named Chanel
  • The usage of Isabel rose after his daughter Isabel was born in March of 2016:
    • 2017: 1,218 girls named Isabel (rank: 36th)
    • 2016: 910 girls named Isabel (rank: 50th)
    • 2015: 570 girls named Isabel (rank: 69th)

Sources: Contanomi – Quante bambine e quanti bambini si chiamano…? – Istat, Leonardo e Sofia “tengono”, risale Francesco – Istat (Jan. 2024), IstatData

Image: Adapted from Flag of Italy (public domain)

Popular baby names in Paris, 2023

Flag of France
Flag of France

We’ve already looked at the top names in France, so now let’s check out the top names in France’s capital city, Paris.

Last year, Paris’ most popular baby names were Louise and Gabriel.

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

Girl names

  1. Louise, 190 baby girls
  2. Alma, 189
  3. Alice, 138
  4. Anna, 135
  5. Olivia, 134
  6. Jeanne, 129
  7. Gabrielle, 118
  8. Emma, 114
  9. Adèle, 112
  10. Iris, 111 (tie)
  11. Rose, 111 (tie)
  12. Léa, 108
  13. Chloé, 104
  14. Victoire, 99
  15. Jade, 97
  16. Lina, 94
  17. Victoria, 93
  18. Charlie, 91
  19. Lou, 90
  20. Joséphine, 89 (tie)
  21. Sofia, 89 (tie)
  22. Ava, 87 (4-way tie)
  23. Diane, 87 (4-way tie)
  24. Mia, 87 (4-way tie)
  25. Sarah, 87 (4-way tie)
  26. Zoé, 86
  27. Ella, 85
  28. Nour, 82
  29. Alix, 81
  30. Julia, 80
  31. Suzanne, 79
  32. Juliette, 78
  33. Maya, 76 (tie)
  34. Nina, 76 (tie)
  35. Alba, 74 (3-way tie)
  36. Charlotte, 74 (3-way tie)
  37. Eva, 74 (3-way tie)
  38. Agathe, 73 (tie)
  39. Romy, 73 (tie)
  40. Mariam, 72
  41. Fatoumata, 69
  42. Inaya, 68
  43. Aminata, 64
  44. Elena, 62
  45. Ambre, 61 (tie)
  46. Inès, 61 (tie)
  47. Apolline, 60
  48. Romane, 59
  49. Alya, 57 (3-way tie)
  50. Céleste, 57 (3-way tie)
  51. Giulia, 57 (3-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Gabriel, 321 baby boys
  2. Adam, 240
  3. Raphaël, 235
  4. Louis, 191
  5. Noah, 188
  6. Isaac, 181
  7. Mohamed, 175
  8. Arthur, 172
  9. Gaspard, 152
  10. Joseph, 147
  11. Léon, 137
  12. Lucas, 131
  13. Victor, 127
  14. Léo, 124
  15. Paul, 123
  16. Alexandre, 121 (tie)
  17. Ibrahim, 121 (tie)
  18. Aaron, 111
  19. Sacha, 108
  20. Andrea, 105 (tie)
  21. Ismaël, 105 (tie)
  22. Liam, 103
  23. Augustin, 92 (tie)
  24. Oscar, 92 (tie)
  25. Côme, 91
  26. Maël, 87
  27. Auguste, 86 (tie)
  28. Noé, 86 (tie)
  29. Jules, 84
  30. Antoine, 83
  31. Abel, 81 (tie)
  32. Timothée, 81 (tie)
  33. Hugo, 80
  34. Marceau, 78 (3-way tie)
  35. Marius, 78 (3-way tie)
  36. Théo, 78 (3-way tie)
  37. Charles, 77
  38. Simon, 76
  39. Eliott, 74
  40. Basile, 72
  41. Eden, 71
  42. Octave, 70 (tie)
  43. Zayn, 70 (tie)
  44. Léonard, 69 (tie)
  45. Nathan, 69 (tie)
  46. Georges, 67
  47. Mathis, 66
  48. Ethan, 65 (tie)
  49. Maxime, 65 (tie)
  50. Camille, 64

How interesting that Ambre, the second-most-popular girl name in France, just barely made the top 50 in Paris.

The girls’ top 100 included Raphaëlle (63rd), Olympe (76th), Brune (83rd), and Marie (99th).

The boys’ top 100 included Gustave (67th), Naël (78th), Malo (83rd), and Aurèle (96th).

Here’s a selection of names from lower down in the rankings, which includes all names given to at least five Parisian babies (of either one gender or the other) per year.

Girl namesBoy names
Castille (25 baby girls), Gisèle (19), Sibylle (17), Ninon (14), Ysé (12), Olympia (11), Alizée (6), Amicie (5), Domitille (5), Lital (5)Hippolyte (26 baby boys), Soan (26), Edouard (22), Zacharie (17), Mayeul (6), Armel (5), Doron (5), Manoé (5), Pacôme (5), Wandrille (5)

Wandrille is the French form of the Germanic name Wandregisel (which belonged to a 7th-century Catholic saint). The second element of Wandregisel is the same element upon which the name Gisèle is based.

Finally, here’s a link to Paris’ 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. Do you think the Paris Olympics will inspire more French parents to choose the girl names Olympe and Olympia in 2024?

Sources: Prénoms déclarés – Paris Data, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)

Where did the baby name Tinashe come from in 2008?

Actress Tinashe Kachingwe on the TV series "Two and a Half Men" (2003-2015)
Tinashe on “Two and a Half Men“

The uncommon name Tinashe first popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 2008:

  • 2010: unlisted
  • 2009: 5 baby boys named Tinashe
  • 2008: 5 baby girls named Tinashe [debut]
  • 2007: unlisted
  • 2006: unlisted

Why?

Likely because of actress and singer Tinashe (pronounced tee-NAH-shay) Kachingwe — often referred to simply as Tinashe — who was born in Kentucky in 1993.

As a child and teen, Tinashe appeared in several movies and TV shows. She was also part of a girl group called The Stunners.

But I think the debut of her name was triggered specifically by her recurring role on the sitcom Two and a Half Men (2003-2015), which was the most-watched comedy in the U.S. for six years straight. During that time, Tinashe guest-starred on three episodes — one in 2008, and two more in 2009 — as the character Celeste, a love interest of the show’s “half man,” Jake Harper.

The name’s reappearance in the data in the mid-2010s corresponds to Tinashe’s later success as a solo artist. Her song “2 On” [vid] was released in early 2014 and reached #24 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart that August.

Tinashe Kachingwe is of Shona descent (via her father), and her unisex first name means “we are with God” in the Shona language.

What are your thoughts on the name Tinashe?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Tinashe on Two and a Half Men

Baby born during eclipse, named Sol Celeste

The April 8, 2024, solar eclipse as seen from Dallas, Texas.
The solar eclipse as seen from Dallas, Texas

Alicia Alvarez of Fort Worth, Texas, gave birth to a baby girl on April 8, 2024 — more than a week ahead of her due date, and about a half an hour before the start of the solar eclipse.

As it happens, she and her husband Carlos have a four-year-old daughter, Luna Laura, whose first name means “moon” in Spanish. So, for their second daughter, they were already considering the celestially themed first name Sol (Spanish for “sun”).

Alicia said:

“I loved how the sun and the moon sounded together. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s [a] perfect name.’ And then just to have her during the eclipse was, like, obviously not planned.”

In fact, maybe it was eclipse that inspired the couple to opt for two celestial names in combination: Sol Celeste. (Celeste is based on the Latin word caelestis, meaning “of the heavens, celestial.”)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from 2024 Total Solar Eclipse (NHQ202404080103) (NASA/Keegan Barber)