How popular is the baby name Delilah 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 Delilah.

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Popularity of the baby name Delilah


Posts that mention the name Delilah

Popular baby names in Arizona, 2024

Flag of Arizona
Flag of Arizona

The state of Arizona will likely welcome more than 77,000 babies in 2024.

What will the top baby names of the year be? Olivia and Liam, according to provisional data released in late December, 2024, by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

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

Girl names

  1. Olivia
  2. Emma
  3. Isabella
  4. Sophia
  5. Amelia
  6. Mia
  7. Camila
  8. Charlotte
  9. Sofia
  10. Luna
  11. Evelyn
  12. Aurora
  13. Aria
  14. Violet
  15. Ava
  16. Gianna
  17. Penelope
  18. Eliana
  19. Elena
  20. Ellie
  21. Valentina
  22. Hazel
  23. Layla
  24. Mila
  25. Lily
  26. Emily
  27. Harper
  28. Ivy
  29. Scarlett
  30. Chloe
  31. Emilia
  32. Leilani
  33. Delilah
  34. Eleanor
  35. Elizabeth
  36. Victoria
  37. Nora
  38. Avery
  39. Maria
  40. Abigail
  41. Nova
  42. Ella
  43. Madison
  44. Liliana
  45. Grace
  46. Daisy
  47. Natalia
  48. Genesis
  49. Athena
  50. Maya

Boy names

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Mateo
  4. Sebastian
  5. Oliver
  6. Elijah
  7. Alexander
  8. Benjamin
  9. Daniel
  10. Julian
  11. Santiago
  12. Michael
  13. James
  14. Ethan
  15. Aiden
  16. David
  17. Angel
  18. Logan
  19. Mason
  20. Jacob
  21. Ezra
  22. Gabriel
  23. William
  24. Adrian
  25. Isaac
  26. Levi
  27. Anthony
  28. Lucas
  29. Joseph
  30. Ezekiel
  31. Wyatt
  32. Elias
  33. Luke
  34. Samuel
  35. Jose
  36. Henry
  37. Isaiah
  38. Jackson
  39. Matthew
  40. Jayden
  41. Jesus
  42. Luis
  43. Jack
  44. Theodore
  45. Dylan
  46. Carter
  47. Owen
  48. Andrew
  49. Lincoln
  50. Grayson

In the girls’ top 10, Sofia replaced Evelyn.

In the boys’ top 10, Alexander, Daniel, and Julian replaced Santiago, Ezra, and Levi.

And Juniper, which was the #1 girl name in Arizona’s Coconino County in 2022, only managed to rank 90th state-wide in 2024.

If you’d like to see Arizona’s projected rankings for 2023, you can find them in this post.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Arizona (public domain)

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2023

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, the countries of England and Wales together welcomed 591,072 babies.

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

Here are England and Wales’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 2,906 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 2,663
  3. Isla, 2,337
  4. Lily, 2,290
  5. Freya, 2,086
  6. Ava, 2,050
  7. Ivy, 1,997
  8. Florence, 1,899
  9. Willow, 1,833
  10. Isabella, 1,795
  11. Poppy, 1,755
    • Poppy ranked third among baby girls born in November specifically, no doubt because of the association between poppies and Remembrance Day (Nov. 11).
  12. Sophia, 1,679
  13. Evelyn, 1,673
  14. Elsie, 1,662
  15. Sienna, 1,657
  16. Mia, 1,640
  17. Daisy, 1,585
  18. Grace, 1,541
  19. Sofia, 1,514
  20. Phoebe, 1,510
  21. Rosie, 1,508
  22. Harper, 1,466
  23. Charlotte, 1,373
  24. Evie, 1,350
  25. Millie, 1,349
  26. Bonnie, 1,346
  27. Ella, 1,307
  28. Emily, 1,280
  29. Maya, 1,255
  30. Matilda, 1,212
  31. Aria, 1,198
  32. Delilah, 1,194
  33. Penelope, 1,156
  34. Hallie, 1,154
  35. Mila, 1,127
  36. Maeve, 1,114
  37. Ada, 1,089
  38. Luna, 1,063
  39. Ruby, 1,059
  40. Mabel, 1,051
  41. Maisie, 1,039
  42. Violet, 1,034
  43. Arabella, 1,029
  44. Margot, 1,025
  45. Emilia, 1,017
  46. Isabelle, 984
  47. Esme, 982
  48. Lottie, 980
  49. Aurora, 964
  50. Alice, 955

Boy names

  1. Muhammad, 4,661 baby boys
  2. Noah, 4,382
  3. Oliver, 3,556
  4. George, 3,494
  5. Leo, 3,416
  6. Arthur, 3,387
  7. Luca, 3,195
  8. Theodore, 2,666
  9. Oscar, 2,632
  10. Henry, 2,490
  11. Theo, 2,489
  12. Freddie, 2,481
  13. Archie, 2,400
  14. Arlo, 2,253
  15. Jude, 2,177
  16. Alfie, 2,111
  17. Charlie, 2,010
  18. Jack, 1,953
  19. Thomas, 1,855
  20. Finley, 1,844
  21. Harry, 1,799
  22. Albie, 1,756
  23. Teddy, 1,687
  24. Jacob, 1,655
  25. Lucas, 1,644
  26. Tommy, 1,629
  27. Isaac, 1,611
  28. Mohammed, 1,601
  29. William, 1,544
  30. Edward, 1,501
  31. Elijah, 1,482
  32. Roman, 1,481
  33. Rory, 1,468
  34. Alexander, 1,456
  35. James, 1,430
  36. Louie, 1,421
  37. Reuben, 1,356
  38. Ezra, 1,345
  39. Oakley, 1,343
  40. Joshua, 1,339
  41. Adam, 1,326
  42. Sebastian, 1,313
  43. Hudson, 1,291
  44. Max, 1,274
  45. Louis, 1,236
  46. Ronnie, 1,222
  47. Ethan, 1,198
  48. Hugo, 1,174
  49. Harrison, 1,151
  50. Mason, 1,118

In the girls’ top 10, Willow replaced Mia.

In the boys’ top 10, Luca and Henry replaced Theo and Freddie.

New to the girls’ top 100 were Hazel, Lilah, Autumn, Nevaeh, and Raya.

New to the boys’ top 100 were Jax, Enzo, and Bodhi.

The number of hyphenated girl names increased significantly (from 12,332 to 19,143), while the number of hyphenated boy names decreased slightly (from 3,140 to 2,807).

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just three babies each in England and Wales (combined) in 2023:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Alfia, Bluebella, Buddug, Coni, Dolcy, Ephelia, Fen, Glesni, Harasees, Indica, Jodh, Khulood, Larnie, Myrto, Nectaria, Omuwa, Pip, Qiraat, Reevie, Sorrel, Tegwen, Udaina, Vani, Waverly, Xanthea, Yvaine, ZoellaApollon, Banksy, Blaidd, Catalin, Dishan, Eifion, Fayzan, Gurvir, Haaland, Iverson, Jibriel, Kirtan, Lucho, Monaco, Nalan, Orwell, Prevail, Qusay, Ranbir, Sebbie, Tassilo, Ulrich, Vedh, Wildan, Xavian, Yamac, Zuko

Possible explanations/associations for several of the above:

  • Blaidd means “wolf” in Welsh. (It’s also the name of a half-wolf character in the 2022 video game Elden Ring.)
  • Buddug is based on the Welsh word budd, which means “benefit, profit.” It’s the Welsh equivalent of Boudicca (the name of the ancient British queen who led a revolt against the Romans).
  • Fen might refer to the type of wetland.
  • Glesni means “blueness” or “greenness” in Welsh.
  • Haaland is the surname of Norwegian soccer player Erling Haaland (who currently plays for Manchester City F.C.).

Here are the 2023 rankings for Scotland and Northern Ireland — the other two countries in the United Kingdom — and the 2022 rankings for England and Wales, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

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

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2022

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

The 2022 rankings for England and Wales are finally here!

Two years ago, England and Wales welcomed over 605,000 babies.

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

Here are England and Wales’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 3,289 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 2,884
  3. Isla, 2,613
  4. Ava, 2,293
  5. Lily, 2,281
  6. Ivy, 2,195
  7. Freya, 2,162
  8. Florence, 1,971
  9. Isabella, 1,927
  10. Mia, 1,868
  11. Willow, 1,867
  12. Sienna, 1,859
  13. Poppy, 1,848
  14. Sophia, 1,813
  15. Elsie, 1,763
  16. Rosie, 1,686
  17. Grace, 1,675
  18. Millie, 1,670
  19. Emily, 1,609
  20. Sofia, 1,576
  21. Daisy, 1,563
  22. Evelyn, 1,560
  23. Evie, 1,534
  24. Phoebe, 1,531
  25. Ella, 1,522
  26. Charlotte, 1,496
  27. Harper, 1,449
  28. Maya, 1,406
  29. Matilda, 1,363
  30. Ruby, 1,271
  31. Aria, 1,229
  32. Penelope, 1,206
  33. Hallie, 1,202
  34. Luna, 1,174
  35. Bonnie, 1,148
  36. Ada, 1,138
  37. Emilia, 1,128
  38. Alice, 1,119
  39. Sophie, 1,115
  40. Esme, 1,101
  41. Isabelle, 1,089
  42. Maisie, 1,072
  43. Violet, 1,057
  44. Delilah, 1,054
  45. Mila, 1,042
  46. Eva, 1,029
  47. Arabella, 1,019
  48. Maeve, 990
  49. Aurora, 972
  50. Mabel, 964

Boy names

  1. Noah, 4,586 baby boys
  2. Muhammad, 4,177
  3. George, 3,699
  4. Oliver, 3,691
  5. Leo, 3,610
  6. Arthur, 3,603
  7. Oscar, 2,883
  8. Theodore, 2,835
  9. Theo, 2,808
  10. Freddie, 2,760
  11. Archie, 2,684
  12. Luca, 2,625
  13. Henry, 2,624
  14. Jack, 2,431
  15. Harry, 2,403
  16. Charlie, 2,391
  17. Alfie, 2,304
  18. Arlo, 2,176
  19. Thomas, 2,101
  20. Teddy, 2,030
  21. Finley, 2,025
  22. Jacob, 1,892
  23. Tommy, 1,824
  24. William, 1,806
  25. Lucas, 1,771
  26. Isaac, 1,733
  27. Mohammed, 1,694
  28. Alexander, 1,651
  29. Albie, 1,641
  30. Roman, 1,640
  31. Edward, 1,612
  32. Jude, 1,601
  33. Elijah, 1,549
  34. James, 1,534
  35. Joshua, 1,478
  36. Reuben, 1,475
  37. Max, 1,459
  38. Rory, 1,435
  39. Sebastian, 1,409
  40. Louie, 1,396
  41. Adam, 1,374
  42. Mason, 1,369
  43. Ethan, 1,268 (tie)
  44. Hudson, 1,268 (tie)
  45. Harrison, 1,236
  46. Ezra, 1,217
  47. Hugo, 1,193
  48. Louis, 1,184
  49. Reggie, 1,159
  50. Joseph, 1,158

According to the news release from the Office of National Statistics…

  • In the girls’ top 10, Isabella replaced Willow.
  • In the boys’ top 10, Theodore, Theo, and Freddie replaced Harry, Henry, and Archie.
  • In the girls’ top 100, Ophelia, Ottilie, Eloise, Nova, and Fatima replaced Holly, Heidi, Anna, Amber, and Beatrice.
  • In the boys’ top 100, Leon, Elias, Musa, Axel, and Ibrahim replaced Charles, Harvey, Ollie, and Nathan.

England and Wales are two separate countries within the United Kingdom. (The rest of the UK is made up of Scotland and Northern Ireland.) In terms of population, England has about 56.5 million residents, whereas Wales has around 3.1 million.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names in each of the two countries individually:

EnglandWales
Top girl names1. Olivia, 3,144 baby girls
2. Amelia, 2,755
3. Isla, 2,476
4. Ava, 2,179
5. Lily, 2,158
6. Ivy, 2,081
7. Freya, 2,051
8. Florence, 1,878
9. Isabella, 1,847
10. Sienna, 1,788		1. Olivia, 145 baby girls
2. Isla, 137
3. Amelia 129
4. Lily, 122
5. Elsie, 120
6. Ava, 114 (tie)
7. Ivy, 114 (tie)
8. Millie, 111
9. Freya, 110
10. Ella, 104
Top boy names1. Noah, 4,320 baby boys
2. Muhammad, 4,136
3. George, 3,548
4. Oliver, 3,502
5. Leo, 3,470
6. Arthur, 3,423
7. Oscar, 2,729
8. Theodore, 2,720
9. Freddie, 2,620
10. Theo, 2,611		1. Noah, 264 baby boys
2. Theo, 196
3. Oliver, 188
4. Arthur, 180
5. Luca, 166
6. Oscar, 154
7. George, 149
8. Archie, 144
9. Freddie, 140
10. Leo, 139

And now let’s check out a selection of names from the other end of the spectrum.

Each of the rare names below was given to just 3 babies in England and Wales (combined) in 2022:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Accalia, Briseis, Casiana, Diellza, Ettalie, Farishta, Gwenna, Hestia, Irida, Iseult, Jun, Kanika, Larsa, Myfanwy, Nehizena, Ovelia, Prunella, Quinne, Renaelia, Siella, Tamima, Urte, Varnika, Wafaa, Xiana, Yuet, ZartashaAurion, Boyan, Cary, Daxson, Eifion, Flavian, Granth, Henrick, Ilai, Jasser, Klaidi, Llyr, Mordy, Naoise, Oax, Petrit, Quillon, Ransford, Sanchez, Torrin, Usaid, Volodymyr, Wolfy, Xand, Yudhveer, Zaamin

Renaelia’s usage was no doubt inspired by British influencer Imogen Horton, who welcomed a baby girl named Renaelia in September of 2022. Several weeks after the birth, Imogen posted a video in which she and her husband Spencer revealed the baby’s name and explained how it was coined.

Volodymyr’s usage may have been influenced by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Finally, here’s a link to England and Wales’ 2021 rankings, if you’d like to check them out.

Sources:

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

What gave the baby name Delilah a boost in 2007?

The Plain White T's song "Hey There Delilah" (2005)
“Hey There Delilah” single

According to the U.S. baby name data, Delilah began rising in popularity around the turn of the century. The name finally broke into the girls’ top 100 in 2018.

Along the way, though, there was a conspicuous jump in usage from 2006 to 2008:

  • 2009: 1,704 baby girls named Delilah [rank: 191st]
  • 2008: 1,739 baby girls named Delilah [rank: 193rd]
  • 2007: 1,136 baby girls named Delilah [rank: 297th]
  • 2006: 539 baby girls named Delilah [rank: 547th]
  • 2005: 487 baby girls named Delilah [rank: 585th]
  • 2004: 473 baby girls named Delilah [rank: 595th]

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Delilah in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Delilah

Several variant forms (including Delila, Dalilah, and Delyla) saw peak usage in 2008 specifically.

What was drawing extra attention to the name around that time?

The catchy love song “Hey There Delilah” by the band Plain White T’s.

The version of the song that became popular was released as a single in May of 2006. It didn’t appear on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, however, until nearly a year later — April of 2007. The sleeper hit finally climbed to the #1 spot during the summer of 2007.

Here’s what it sounds like:

The band’s vocalist, Tom Higgenson, had written the song back in 2003 after meeting a woman named Delilah DiCrescenzo.

“I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen,” he says. “I told her, ‘I have a song about you already.’ Obviously, there was no song. But I thought it was smooth.”

DiCrescenzo was in a relationship at the time, so she and Tom never dated. But they did attend the Grammy Awards together (as friends) in early 2008 when “Hey There Delilah” was nominated for both Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

The specific variant Dlila, which debuted in 2007, may also have a secondary influence: a celebrity baby. Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and his longtime girlfriend, Kimberly Porter, welcomed twin girls in December of 2006. The babies were named D’Lila Star and Jessie James after their great-grandmothers Lila Mae Star (Porter’s grandmother) and Jessie Smalls (Combs’ grandmother).

What are your thoughts on the name Delilah?

P.S. The name’s slightly higher usage in 1969 and 1970 could be due to another name-song performed by another Tom: “Delilah” by Tom Jones. The murder ballad was released at the end of 1967 and peaked at #15 on the Hot 100 in June of 1968.

Sources: