How popular is the baby name Clark 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 Clark.
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Last month, Michelle Collins of England was shopping at the Clarks factory outlet in Somerset when she went into labor early.
She gave birth to a baby boy in the staff room, with the help of paramedics.
What did she name the baby?
Ethan Clark — middle name “after the shoe shop chain.”
Source: Woman names baby Ethan Clark after giving birth in shoe outlet
The name Kal-El — unlike the name Jor-El — did not debut in the U.S. baby name data following the release of the famous 1978 movie Superman. In fact, the name didn’t make its first appearance in the data until the mid-1990s.
Since then, though, the name has picked up steam. One thing that gave it a boost was Nicolas Cage choosing the name for his son, born in October of 2005. Another was the movie Superman Returns, released in mid-2006. Notice how the usage of Kal-El (rendered “Kalel” in the SSA data) more than doubled from 2005 to 2006:
Here’s Nicolas Cage explaining how he and his wife chose the name:
My wife wanted a unique name and originally I thought of the name Kyle and then she said, ‘No, something more unusual but beautiful.’ Then I remembered the old Superman comics… I wanted a name that stood for something good, was unique and American and that’s all three. I just thought it was a beautiful name and it had kind of a magical ring to it.
So far, peak usage of the name Kal-El was in 2014:
The peak can be attributed to yet another Superman film: Man of Steel (2013), which focused on the character’s origin story. Here’s dialogue from the scene in which Clark Kent “meets” his father, Jor-El:
Jor-El: “To see you standing there having grown into an adult…if only Lara could have witnessed this.”
Clark: “Who are you?”
Jor-El: “I am your father, Kal, or at least a shadow of him. His consciousness. My name is Jor-El.”
Clark: “Kal? That’s my name?”
Jor-El: “Kal-El, it is.”
What are your thoughts on the name Kal-El? Would you use it?
Sources: Nicolas Cage Explains His Baby’s Name, Man of Steel (film) – Wikiquote
Cassandra is expecting a baby boy in early June and she’d like some name suggestions.
She’s looking for “strong, unusual names” with one or two syllables. So far, Cassandra likes the name Fox and her partner prefers Aston. The baby’s surname will begin with an L and have one syllable. (Think Ladd.)
When I hear “strong,” I think of plosives (p, b, t, k, etc.). So I focused on short names with strong sounds that aren’t currently in the top 100. Here’s what I came up with:
| Bennett Brent Brett Brock Cash Chet Clark Colt Corbin Craig | Dane Dax Deacon Drake Duke Emmett Flint Frank Garrett Grant | Gray Holt Jax Jett Kai Keaton King Knox Paxton Pierce | Quinn Rex Rhett Stone Tate Trent Tucker Victor Zack Zane |
Which of the above do you like best? What other names would you suggest to Cassandra?
Update: The baby has arrived! Click here to see the name.
A reader named Kate, who has a daughter named Lucy, is expecting a baby boy and would like some name suggestions. Here’s what she says:
We want what a lot of people probably want – timeless, classic, slightly vintage and old fashioned, an ‘accepted’ name in the sense it’s known, but hopefully he is not one of three kids in class to have it.
So far, Kate and her husband like five names: William, Henry, Oliver, Duncan and Charles (nn Charlie). (She also likes the girl names Abigail, Alice, Clara and Hope.)
The baby’s middle name will be Hawkins, and his surname will begin with the letter t.
Here are some names that came to mind:
| Abraham Adam Alfred (Alfie) Arthur Blake Clarence Clark Claude Clement Conrad Dominic | Douglas Eugene Felix Frank Frederick George Giles Gordon Graham Gregory Harvey | Howard Hugh Malcolm Maxwell Miles/Milo Mitchell Otis Patrick Paul Philip Quentin | Roman Sebastian Simon/Simeon Stephen Sylvester Theodore Thomas Timothy Tobias Vincent Walter |
I stayed away from the current top 50 (and names that looked like they might be headed that way soon).
Which of the names above to you like best for Lucy’s brother? What other name suggestions can you come up with for Kate?