How popular is the baby name Denzel 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 Denzel.

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Popularity of the baby name Denzel


Posts that mention the name Denzel

Which baby names can be split in two?

split logs

In 1916, the London Globe mentioned twins named Jere and Miah:

There lived for many years in the village of Twerton, Bath, one named Miah. He was born a twin, and his parents thriftily divided the predestined name of Jeremiah between them, the other babe being christened Jere.

What other names could we divide into two usable mini-names like this?

Here are a few ideas to kick things off…

Abigail, Abi + Gail
Anastasia, Ana + Stasia
Calista, Cal + Ista
Drusilla, Dru + Silla
Elizabeth, Eliza + Beth
Mozelle, Mo + Zelle
Valentina, Valen + Tina		Alexander, Alex + Ander
Christopher, Chris + Topher
Denzel, Den + Zel
Donovan, Dono + Van
Joseph, Jo + Seph
Rexford, Rex + Ford
William, Wil + Liam

…what others can you think of?

Source: “Some Odd Christian Names.” Bee [Earlington, KY] 8 Dec. 1916: 8.

Image: Adapted from TS 2016-09-15-3252 by teteria sonnna under CC BY 2.0.

What popularized Darby as a girl name in the mid-1990s?

The character Darby Shaw (played by Julia Roberts) from the movie "The Pelican Brief" (1993)
Darby Shaw from “The Pelican Brief“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Darby was relatively gender-neutral during the mid-20th century.

That changed in the late 1970s, when the name started being given to girls more often than to boys on a regular basis.

This gender gap was widest in the mid-1990s, when Darby became trendy as a girl name. It entered the girls’ top 1,000 for the first time in 1994, and reached peak usage the following year:

Girls named DarbyBoys named Darby
1996431 [rank: 542nd]33
1995491† [rank: 499th]48
1994321 [rank: 666th]35
199312632
19927442
19915932
†Peak usage

Here’s a visual:

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

What accounts for the rise in usage among baby girls?

The legal thriller The Pelican Brief, which was released in theaters in December of 1993.

The movie was set in New Orleans, and the main character was female law student Darby Shaw (played by actress Julia Roberts).

After two Supreme Court justices were assassinated, Darby discovered a connection between the murders and wrote a brief that, “if true, would implicate one of the richest men in the country, and lead to the Oval Office.” But the brief turned her into a target, so she spent the rest of the film not just trying to unravel the conspiracy (with the help of investigative journalist Gray Grantham, played by Denzel Washington), but also trying to stay alive.

The film was based on the 1992 novel of the same name by John Grisham.

The first name Darby comes from the surname Darby, which has two possible origins: England and Ireland. The English version of the surname began as a place name (made up of Old Norse elements meaning “deer” and “farm, settlement”), while the the Irish version of the surname is an Anglicization of either Ó Diarmada or Mac Diarmada — Irish surnames derived from the personal name Diarmaid, which is of unknown etymology.

What are your thoughts on the name Darby?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The Pelican Brief

Boy names beyond the top 1,000 of 2010

stars

We’ve all seen the top 1,000 boy names of 2010 by now, but have you had a chance to look at the names beyond the top 1,000?

Here they are, down to the names that were given to 100 babies each last year. The 1,000th most popular boy name was Crew, given to 193 babies, and after Crew comes…

  • 193: Enoch, Maxton, Taj, Truman [all tied with Crew]
  • 192: Addison, Nikhil, Simeon
  • 191: Cassius, Elvis, Reuben
  • 190: Brenton, Maximillian
  • 189: Brecken, Eliezer, Eliseo, Elmer, Jovany, Kamren, Tyshawn
  • 188: Anton, Cristiano, Jovan, Jovanny, Miller, Shamar
  • 187: Augustine, Corban, Glenn, Milton
  • 186: Adolfo, Carlo, Dale, German, Zavion
  • 185: Boden, Bodie, Campbell, Garrison
  • 184: Emory, Harvey, Hendrix, Nixon, Siddharth, Yehuda
  • 183: Anish, Jamarcus, Juelz, Kyan, Ulysses
  • 182: Estevan, Isaak, Maddux
  • 181: Arlo, Braedyn, Ethen
  • 180: Dhruv, Nathanial, Thiago, Zeke
  • 179: Denzel, Dion, Gordon, Karsen, Mack, Marquise, Vladimir
  • 178: Braedon, Crosby, Ephraim, Graysen, Otto, Yisroel
  • 177: Andreas, Coby, Dariel, Dimitri, Geovanni, Immanuel, Jamel, Josh, Karl, Maksim
  • 176: Jarrett, Kohen, Langston, Rylen, Tremaine, Treyvon
  • 175: Kasey, Kenyon, Marques, Mustafa
  • 174: Cayson, Kalel, Nick, Reynaldo, Trevin
  • 173: Stone, Turner
  • 172: Briar, Lamont, Leif, Princeton
  • 171: Marcello
  • 170: Amos, Coen, Donavan
  • 169: Jesiah, Kayleb, Leeland, Shmuel
  • 168: Bernard, Chaz, Jacobi, Mikel, Rishi
  • 167: none
  • 166: Jayvon, Jericho, Lucien, Savion, Tyce
  • 165: Benton, Bowen, Kamarion, Kooper, Said, Yaakov
  • 164: Brennon, Eddy, Maison, Treyton
  • 163: Braylin, Fredrick, Keven, Nestor
  • 162: Abner, Reilly
  • 161: Bishop, Canaan, Gaven, Jaedyn, Jermiah, Mariano, Ryley, Thatcher
  • 160: Forrest, Haven, Jaylan, Keanu, Rocky
  • 159: Gino, Magnus, Nathen, Rigoberto
  • 158: Amarion, Jaren, Kelton, Lucca, Stephan, Vince
  • 157: Austyn, Harlan, Kylen
  • 156: Baylor, Chevy, Desean, Shiloh, Titan
  • 155: Kennedy
  • 154: Jaleel, Tayden
  • 153: Guy, Jai, Javen, Sammy, Vihaan
  • 152: Benny, Briggs, Haden, Jullian, Karim
  • 151: Brayson, Brysen, Callan, Colson
  • 150: Armaan, Domenic, Jarvis, Joan, Kyran, Tobin, Zyon
  • 149: Arian, Austen, Darrius, Landin
  • 148: Devonte, Kamdyn, Markell, Massimo, Zaden
  • 147: Jakub, Lachlan, Mordechai
  • 146: Cristobal, Ewan, Santana, Taven
  • 145: Ayan, Dashiell, Gonzalo, Jael, Jakari, Jariel, Javian, Syed
  • 144: Kye, Leyton, Marek, Viktor
  • 143: Dereck, Dewayne, Jamil, Jeremias, Kannon, Lenny, Milan, Shimon, Stetson
  • 142: Apollo, Aubrey, Clifford, Khalid, Mikah, Zyaire
  • 141: Anson, Darion, Norman, Phineas, Royal, Terence
  • 140: Ajay, Baron, Cornelius, Duke, Dwight, Neel
  • 139: Alexandre, Beck, Bernardo, Bilal, Britton, Gerard, Irving, Kaidyn, Tristyn, Zahir
  • 138: Arman, Aven, Drayden, Presley, Shayne
  • 137: Carmine, Dereon, Elvin, Guadalupe, Marquez, Miguelangel, Shlomo
  • 136: Cordell, Mikael, Nate, Sami, Vernon
  • 135: Alek, Corbyn, Coy, Ely, Jan, Kiptyn, Koby, Sabastian, Tevin, Travon
  • 134: Alexandro, Korbyn, Korey, Oakley
  • 133: Clyde, Izaac, Tavin, Tegan
  • 132: Karsten, Kyree, Raylan, Ridge, Zayd
  • 131: Aleksander, Benicio, Gus, Jet, Judson, Nazir, Sebastien
  • 130: Atreyu, Braulio, Colter, Emmet, Rico, Tiger
  • 129: Garret, Ira, Jaedon, Juancarlos, Keelan, Kent, Myron, Rashawn
  • 128: Aayden, Clint, Ishan, Lucius, Musa, Oskar, Perry, Torin
  • 127: Amar, Cian, Dallin, Denver, Donnie, Duane, Giovany, Landan
  • 126: Avi, Bryden, Cormac, Dandre, Dontae, Finnian, Jameer, Yariel, Zakary
  • 125: Courtney, Efren, Josef, Kalvin, Lloyd, Lonnie, Markel, Merrick, Zev
  • 124: Denis, Eamon, Foster, Gannon, Kalen, Keller, Louie, Tavion, Tylan, Wilmer, Xavion
  • 123: Deshaun, Geovanny, Kain, Luc, Marion
  • 122: Hagen, Tiago, Tzvi, Zakaria
  • 121: Alton, Bryton, Carlton, Carmello, Jaheim, Rayyan, Yaseen
  • 120: Coltin, Dash, Gian, Jahir, Jeancarlos, Nevin, Raheem, Sutton, Trae
  • 119: Aksel, Barry, Khamari, Kolt, Omarion, Otis, Yitzchok
  • 118: Brighton, Grayden, Jeshua, Maddix, Rickey, Shea, Talen, Trenten
  • 117: Brad, Caeden, Cy, Kallen, Kenji, Linus, Mikhail, Om, Oswaldo
  • 116: Adin, Azariah, Carsten, Cashton, Damarcus, Demari, Ever, Kaison, Lester, Maddex
  • 115: Ayush, Brandt, Chayce, Dan, Demarco, Deonte, Francesco, Izaak, Kipton, Mac, Pierson, Stephon
  • 114: Abhinav, Avraham, Carsyn, Earl, Faris, Gerson, Jayven, Johnpaul, Yoel
  • 113: Ahmir, Alexavier, Amani, Coleton, Dev, Evin, Obed, Osmar, Yahya
  • 112: Dyllan, Eliel, Jayshawn, Jeff, Jonatan, Jordin, Nikko
  • 111: Daryl, Harris, Jeremih, Jordy, Kurt, Neal, Tariq, Veer, Yash
  • 110: Achilles, Ares, Demario, Demetri, Dezmond, Gianluca, Ishmael, Jaziel, Kahlil, Karon, Youssef
  • 109: Broden, Deion, Don, Ethyn, Jaidon, Jimmie, Kegan, Kenton, Marko, Yovani
  • 108: Adler, Elan, Eliyahu, Fidel, Finnley, Jahmir, Kentrell, Rio, Tahj, Tye, Westley
  • 107: Antwon, Benito, Clifton, Diesel, Greysen, Khristian, Kurtis, Latrell, Ramses, Rick, Robin
  • 106: Braelyn, Canyon, Eian, Grey, Javien, Jaysen, Kaysen, Lyndon, Meir
  • 105: Axton, Bronx, Canon, Darin, Daveon, Ervin, Fred, Jancarlos, Jaxsen, Johnnie, Osiel, Rian, Tyron, Yasir, Zephaniah
  • 104: Athan, Chayse, Donnell, Emil, Hans, Jacen, Javeon, Kollin, Syncere, Trevion
  • 103: Brigham, Emir, Freddie, Heriberto, Wiley
  • 102: Constantine, Graeme, Keandre, Kiran, Kirk, Kyren, Murphy, Nikita
  • 101: Abdul, Geoffrey, Harlem, Hernan, Idris, Isac
  • 100: Anakin, Andrei, Dylon, Ford, Jacorey, Kaydin, Kelly, Lazaro, Patricio, Raymundo, Rowdy, Sahil, Shepherd, Zaylen

Here’s the equivalent girls’ list for 2010.

Update, Aug. 2023: “Boy names beyond the top 1,000 of 2022” is a more recent version of this list.

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Scattered stars in Sagittarius by ESA/Hubble under CC BY 4.0.

Baby name mash-ups: Abdrew, Jeffifer, Ryatt, Tiffanique

Here are some oddball baby names I found while scanning the SSA’s baby name lists. They look like creative combinations of other names. (My guesses as to what those “other names” might be are in parentheses.)

Boy names:

Girl names:

Which is your favorite? (Mine is Franchester!)

Have you come across any other baby name mash-ups recently?

P.S. Don’t forget Craphonso. :)

[Last update: 5/2019]