How popular is the baby name Darth 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 Darth.

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Popularity of the baby name Darth


Posts that mention the name Darth

Popular baby names in the United States, 2016

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

According to the Social Security Administration, Emma and Noah were the most popular baby names in the United States in 2016.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl names

1. Emma, 19,414 baby girls (same rank as in 2015)
2. Olivia, 19,246 (same rank)
3. Ava, 16,237 (up from 4th)
4. Sophia, 16,070 (down from 3rd)
5. Isabella, 14,722 (same rank)
6. Mia, 14,366 (same rank)
7. Charlotte, 13,030 (up from 9th)
8. Abigail, 11,699 (down from 7th)
9. Emily, 10,926 (down from 8th)
10. Harper, 10,733 (same rank)

Boy names

1. Noah, 19,015 baby boys (same rank as in 2015)
2. Liam, 18,138 (same rank)
3. William, 15,668 (up from 5th)
4. Mason, 15,192 (down from 3rd)
5. James, 14,776 (up from 7th)
6. Benjamin, 14,569 (up from 10th)
7. Jacob, 14,416 (down from 4th)
8. Michael, 13,998 (up from 9th)
9. Elijah, 13,764 (up from 11th)
10. Ethan, 13,758 (down from 6th)

Emma and Noah were also the #1 names in 2015 and in 2014.

Elijah replaced Alexander (now 11th) in the boys’ top 10. No replacements in the girls’ top 10.

Here’s more from the SSA’s press release:

Each year, the list reveals the effect of pop-culture on naming trends. This year’s winners for biggest jump in popularity in the Top 1,000 are Kehlani and Kylo.

Kehlani rose 2,487 spots on the girls’ side to number 872, from number 3,359 in 2015. Perhaps this can be attributed to Kehlani Parrish, a singer/songwriter who was nominated for a Grammy in 2016. She was named an artist to watch and clearly new parents agree her star is rising. Kehlani collaborated with Zayn Malik, the former One Direction star and current solo artist, on a song in 2016. The name Zayn also made the boys fastest riser list.

The force was strong for Kylo in 2016 as he soared 2,368 spots for the boys, from number 3,269 in 2015 to number 901. Kylo Ren, the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia and the grandson of Darth Vader, was a character in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Perhaps Kylo can continue to harness the force and climb even higher in the coming years.

The second fastest riser for girls was Royalty. The royal family likely had something to do with this increase in popularity, or the 2015 World Series champions, the Kansas City Royals, may have influenced parents-to-be.

For boys, it was Creed. This could be attributed to the return to the silver screen of America’s favorite boxer Rocky Balboa in the 2015 movie Creed, where Rocky trains and mentors Adonis Johnson Creed, the son of his late friend and boxing rival, Apollo Creed. The name Adonis just happens to be the number four fastest riser on the list for boys.

Regarding Royalty, the inspiration was much more likely R&B singer Chris Brown. His daughter Royalty, born in mid-2014, was featured on the cover of his album Royalty, released at the end of 2015.

More analysis coming soon!

Sources: SSA, Emma and Noah Remain Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names for 2016 – SSA

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

Where did the baby name Darth come from in 1977?

The characters Darth Vader and Princess Leia from the movie "Star Wars" (1977).
Darth Vader and Princess Leia from “Star Wars“

I’m sure you knew that Star Wars gave a boost to the baby names Luke and Leia. But did you know that it also influenced a handful of parents to name their babies Darth?

Yup — as in Darth Vader. As in the Jedi-gone-bad who was the main antagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy. (The character was physically portrayed by English bodybuilder David Prowse, but voiced by American actor James Earl Jones.)

The first Star Wars film was released in 1977, and that’s the year we start seeing babies named Darth in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1979: 7 baby boys named Darth
  • 1978: 13 baby boys named Darth
  • 1977: 9 baby boys named Darth [debut]
  • 1976: unlisted
  • 1975: unlisted

But the Force wasn’t strong with this one. The name didn’t stay in the data long enough to see the release of the second film, The Empire Strikes Back, in 1980.

So where did the character name “Darth Vader” come from?

After discarding the early name “Dark Water,” George Lucas played around with various surnames (including Vader, Wilson, and Smith) for the “tall, grim-looking general.” He eventually settled upon the combination “Darth Vader” in 1972.

Interestingly, the German/Dutch surname Vader happens to mean “father” or “senior.” Perhaps this definition inspired Lucas to turn Darth Vader into Luke’s father — a plot twist that didn’t come along until in 1978, in the second draft of the script for The Empire Strikes Back.

Decades after the first Star Wars films came out, though, Lucas had this to say about the origin of Darth Vader’s name:

“Darth” is a variation of dark. And “Vader” is a variation of father. So it’s basically Dark Father.

It does seem like Darth was based on the word “dark,” but it’s hard to know if Lucas really took the definition of Vader into account back in the early 1970s, long before the character was anyone’s father.

What are your thoughts on the name Darth?

Sources:

[Latest update: 7/2022]