How popular is the baby name Death 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 Death.

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Popularity of the baby name Death


Posts that mention the name Death

41 Pun-names for April Fools’ Day (4/1)

painting of a smiling man

I can’t play a prank on you for April Fools’ Day, but I can give you a list of personal names that seem like pranks.

Except, they’re not.

All of the below are legit first & last names that belonged to real people — often multiple people. (In parentheses I’ve added rough estimates of how many instances I’ve come across so far.)

  1. Alma Mater (several)
  2. April Showers (dozens)
  3. Bear Trapp (one)
  4. Candy Cane (several)
  5. Cliff Hanger (several)
  6. Constant Agony (two)
  7. Constant Craps (one)
  8. Crystal Ball (dozens)
    • There’s also Krystal Ball, who ran for office in Virginia a few years back.
  9. Death Knox (one)
  10. Gettysburg Battle (one)
  11. Gold Mine (two)
  12. Green Bean (several)
  13. Hazel Nut/Nutt (dozens)
  14. Ima Hogg (one)
  15. Jed I Knight (one)
  16. London England (dozens)
  17. Mud Brown (three)
  18. Never Fail (two) — father and son
    • The son’s headstone offers context for the name by referencing 1 Corinthians 13: “Love never fails.”
  19. Norman Conquest (two)
  20. North West (hundreds)
  21. Nude Mann (one)
  22. Orbit Moon (one)
  23. Orchestra Harp (one)
  24. Paris France (several)
  25. Preserved Fish (several)
  26. Pullman Carr (several)
  27. Rainy Day (one)
  28. River Bottom (one)
  29. Rocky Mountain (dozens)
  30. Sandy Beach (dozens)
  31. Sea Shore (several)
  32. Seymour Butts (two) — not just a Bart Simpson prank call!
  33. Shanda Lear (one)
  34. Silence Bellows (one)
  35. Soda Popp (one)
  36. Strong Beer (one)
  37. Tell No Lyes (several)
  38. Ten Million (one)
    • He had a daughter named Decillian Million.
  39. Timber Wood (one)
    • He has a sister named Drift Wood.
  40. Truly Wright (several)
  41. Tu Morrow (one)
    • Daughter of actors Rob Morrow and Debbon Ayer (read: debonaire)

Which one do you think is the best? Or should I say, the worst?

Sources:

Image: Falstaff (1921) by Eduard von Grützner

Old names vs. new names in Plymouth, Mass.

In the comment section of last week’s post on old & new French names, Bridgett came up with a great idea: Why not do the same thing for a U.S. city?

I checked the online editions of 8 or 9 U.S. city newspapers. Some had birth announcements, others had obits/death notices, the rest had neither. So I gave up on cities, switched to towns, and soon found some useful information for Plymouth, Massachusetts:

Male Births Male Deaths Female Births Female Deaths
Aidan
Alexander
Calvin
Connor
Jayden
John
Levon
Oliver
Patrick
Souheil
William
Zachary 		Albert
Alfred
Carl
David
James
Joseph
Joseph
Paul
Steven 		Ashlynn
Brianna
Grace
Isobel
Ivy
Kealyn
Leila
Lila
Marlee
Molly 		Alice
Barbara
Beatrice
Deanna
Elizabeth
Elsie
Karin
Lorraine
Marilyn
Mirandy
Miriam
Rose
Virginia
Virginia

I couldn’t list two of the babies — Skyler Reece and Riley Paige — because I’m not sure about the gender in either case. (I would guess they’re both female, but who knows.)

Also, I should mention that the average age of those listed in the death announcements is 78.

Now it’s your turn: Which set do you prefer, the “old” names or the “new” names?

Also, if you know of a city newspaper that publishes both birth and death announcements online, I’d appreciate it if you would shoot me an e-mail. Thanks!