How popular is the baby name Deseret 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 Deseret.

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Popularity of the baby name Deseret


Posts that mention the name Deseret

“Covered Wagon Babies” named for their birthplaces

"Emigrants crossing the plains" by F. O. C. Darley

In September of 1850, California became the 31st state to enter the Union.

In September of 1925, to celebrate 75 years of statehood, the city of San Francisco hosted a week of festivities. Events included parades, concerts, banquets, balls, exhibitions, automobile races, athletic competitions, a fashion show, a beauty contest, and more.

Charmingly, the organizers of the Diamond Jubilee celebration also rounded up and honored about fifty of California’s “covered wagon babies” — individuals who’d been born in covered wagons en route to California during the pioneer era. A banquet was held for them on the 8th, and they were featured in the Admission Day parade on the 9th.

Among the “babies” were several who’d been named after their birthplaces:

  • Willow Springs Shearer, born in a covered wagon in Willow Springs, Wyoming, on July 16, 1849.
  • William Nebraska Winter, born in a covered wagon near the Platte River in Nebraska on May 12, 1853.
  • Elijah Carson Hart, born in a covered wagon in Carson City, Nevada, on September 9, 1857.
  • Deseret Moe, born in a covered wagon in Deseret, Utah, on September 22, 1862.
  • James Carson Needham, born in a covered wagon in Carson City, Nevada, on September 17, 1864.
    • He went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven successive terms (from 1899 to 1913).
  • Truckee Nevada Steward, born in a covered wagon near the Truckee River in Nevada on September 23, 1869.
    • He was born several months after the completion of the first transcontinental railroad.

One of the other “babies” was born in a covered wagon at Sutter’s Fort (in Sacramento) in July of 1849. The gold miners there suggested that she be named Poppy, “for the glorious flower which carpets the hills and valleys of the state,” but her parents “decided that Celesta Ann was more to their liking and Celesta Ann it was.”

P.S. After the Jubilee, a state-wide “Covered Wagon Babies Club,” comprising well over 100 members was organized by J. C. Needham. Meetings were held annually, in September, for about a decade.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Emigrants crossing the plains (LOC)

What gave the baby name Rulon a boost in 1941?

Mormon Church leader Rulon S. Wells (1954-1941)
Rulon Wells

The rare name Rulon saw a dip in usage in 1940, followed by a spike in usage in 1941. These two conditions combined made Rulon the fastest-rising male name of 1941:

  • 1943: 11 baby boys named Rulon (5 in Idaho)
  • 1942: 12 baby boys named Rulon (9 in Utah)
  • 1941: 21 baby boys named Rulon (15 in Utah)
  • 1940: 6 baby boys named Rulon (5 in Utah)
  • 1939: 18 baby boys named Rulon (7 in Idaho, 6 in Utah)
  • 1938: 14 baby boys named Rulon (11 in Utah)

I can’t account for the dip, but the spike corresponds to the death of Rulon S. Wells, who was a prominent leader in the Mormon Church. (This explains the particularly high usage in Utah and Idaho.)

Rulon Wells was born in the 1850s in Salt Lake City. He was one of about three dozen siblings and half-siblings (via his father’s seven wives). I don’t how the name “Rulon” was chosen, but the names of some of Rulon’s siblings aren’t hard to figure out:

Rulon himself had just one wife and seven children: Josephine, Rulon Jr., Sidney, Elizabeth, Lillian, Helen, and Dorothy.

Do you like the name Rulon? Would you use it?

P.S. Mary Juneve Jones of Utah, mentioned in the post about baby names inspired by Rexall scents, had a father named Isaac Rulon Jones (b. 1902).

Source: Rulon S. Wells – Wikipedia