How popular is the baby name Diane 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 Diane.

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Popularity of the baby name Diane


Posts that mention the name Diane

Popular girl names: Biblical vs. Non-Biblical

The ratio of Biblical names to non-Biblical names in the girl’s top 20 is about the same today as it was 100 years ago, though the ratio did change a bit mid-century.

(In contrast, there’s been a steady increase in the number of Biblical-origin names among the top boy names.)

Here’s the color-coded table — Biblical names are in the yellow cells, non-Biblical names are in the green cells, and several borderline names (which I counted as non-Biblical) are in the orange cells:

Popular girl names: Biblical vs. non-Biblical.
Popular girl names over time: Biblical (yellow) vs. non-Biblical. Click to enlarge.
  • Biblical names: Abigail, Anna, Betty (via Elizabeth), Chloe, Danielle, Deborah, Debra, Elizabeth, Hannah, Isabella (via Elizabeth), Janet, Jean, Joan, Judith, Judy, Julie, Lillian (via Elizabeth), Lisa (via Elizabeth), Lois, Marie, Marilyn, Mary, Mia (via Maria), Michelle, Nancy (via Anne), Rachel, Rebecca, Ruth, Sandra (via Alexander), Sarah, Sharon, Stephanie, Susan, Tammy (via Tamar/Tamara)
  • Non-Biblical names: Alexis, Alice, Alyssa, Amanda, Amber, Amelia, Amy, Angela, Ashley, Aubrey, Avery, Barbara, Brenda, Brianna, Brittany, Carol, Carolyn, Catherine, Charlotte, Christina, Christine, Crystal, Cynthia, Diane, Donna, Doris, Dorothy, Edna, Ella, Emily, Emma, Evelyn, Florence, Frances, Gladys, Grace, Harper, Heather, Helen, Irene, Jennifer, Joyce, Karen, Kathleen, Kayla, Kelly, Kimberly, Laura, Lauren, Linda, Lori, Louise, Madison, Margaret, Marjorie, Megan, Melissa, Mildred, Natalie, Nicole, Olivia, Pamela, Patricia, Rose, Shannon, Shirley, Sofia, Sophia, Taylor, Tiffany, Victoria, Virginia
  • Borderline names:
    • Ava (could be based on the Germanic root avi or the Biblical name Eve)
    • Jessica (literary invention, but Shakespeare may have based it on the Biblical name Iscah)
    • Samantha (possibly inspired by the Biblical name Samuel)

Again, feels pretty weird to put overtly Christian names like Christina and Christine in the non-Biblical category, but oh well.

Here are the year-by-year tallies:

YearTop 20 names
given to…		# Biblical# Non-Biblical
191431% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
192431% of baby girls7 (35%)13 (65%)
193432% of baby girls9 (45%)11 (55%)
194435% of baby girls8 (40%)12 (60%)
195434% of baby girls9 (45%)11 (55%)
196424% of baby girls9 (45%)11 (55%)
197424% of baby girls8 (40%)12 (60%)
198426% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
199419% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
200414% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
201412% of baby girls5 (25%)15 (75%)

Just like with the boy names, though, there’s a big difference between the 1914 and 2014 sample sizes — 31% and 12%. So let’s also look at the 2014 top 100, which covers 31% of female births.

By my count, last year’s top 100 girl names were about a quarter Biblical, three-quarters non-Biblical:

Biblical names (27)Non-Biblical/Borderline names (73)
Isabella (via Elizabeth), Mia (via Maria), Abigail, Elizabeth, Chloe, Addison (via Adam), Lillian (via Elizabeth), Hannah, Anna, Leah, Gabriella, Sadie (via Sarah), Sarah, Annabelle, Madelyn (via Magdalene), Lucy (via Lucius), Alexa (via Alexander), Genesis, Naomi, Eva, Lydia, Julia, Khloe, Madeline (via Magdalene), Alexandra, Gianna (via Joanna), Isabelle (via Elizabeth)Emma, Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Emily, Madison, Charlotte, Harper, Sofia, Avery, Amelia, Evelyn, Ella, Victoria, Aubrey, Grace, Zoey, Natalie, Brooklyn, Lily, Layla, Scarlett, Aria, Zoe, Samantha, Audrey, Ariana, Allison, Savannah, Arianna, Camila, Penelope, Claire, Aaliyah, Riley, Skylar, Nora, Hailey, Kaylee, Paisley, Kennedy, Ellie, Peyton, Caroline, Serenity, Aubree, Alexis, Nevaeh, Stella, Violet, Mackenzie, Bella, Autumn, Mila, Kylie, Maya, Piper, Alyssa, Taylor, Eleanor, Melanie, Faith, Katherine, Brianna, Ashley, Ruby, Sophie, London, Lauren, Alice, Vivian, Hadley, Jasmine

Faith, Grace, Angela, Nevaeh, Natalie…all technically non-Biblical.

27%-73% is remarkably similar to both 25%-75% (smaller 2014 sample) and 30%-70% (1914 sample).

So here’s the question of the day: If you had to choose all of your children’s names from either one group or the other — Biblical names or non-Biblical names — which group would you stick to, and why?

Baby named after Notre Dame football coach

Football coach Frank Leahy (1908-1973)
Frank Leahy

Francis William “Frank” Leahy, who played football at Notre Dame under Knute Rockne, went on to coach the Notre Dame football team himself for 11 seasons (1941-43, 1946-53).

“While at Notre Dame, Leahy had six undefeated seasons, five national championship teams and an unbeaten string of 39 games in the late 1940s.”

Leahy retired for health reasons in 1954.

A week after he retired, Arnold and Mildred Penza of Kenosha, Wisconsin — parents of Don Penza, captain of Leahy’s 1953 Notre Dame team — welcomed their 10th child.

The baby boy was named Frank Leahy Penza, after Coach Leahy.

(The names of all 10 Penza kids, from oldest to youngest, were Donald, John, George, Dennis, Thomas, Joan, James, Mary Lynn, Diane, and Frank.)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Bill Nicholas and Frank Leahy 1947

Which “Mod Generation” sticker name do you like best?

mod generation stickers

In 1969, dozens of “Mod Generation” stickers — each of which featured a drawing of a young person, and a first name — were distributed inside packs of Topps chewing gum.

Female names used on the stickers included Alice, Ann, Barbara, Betty, Connie, Diane, Donna, Dotty, Ellen, Esther, Fay, Frances, Gloria, Helen, Jackie, Joan, Judy, Lois, Marie, Mary, Millie, Minda, Nancy, Natalie, Phyllis, Rose, Shelly, and Susan.

mod generation stickers

Male names used on the stickers included Barry, Bert, Bill, Charlie, Chris, Dave, Don, Fred, George, Herb, Irv, Jerry, Joe, John, Larry, Louis, Michael, Paul, Pete, Ray, Richard, Roy, Teddy, and Tony.

mod generation stickers

While of these female and male names do you like most? How about least?

Sources: 1969: “Mod Generation” Stickers, Mod Generation – 1969

Which “CrossFit workout” name do you like best?

Kettlebells
Kettlebells

I’m not part of CrossFit (which is a fitness club that’s become trendy in the last few years) but I do know that many CrossFit workouts have human names.

The first set of named workouts — Angie, Barbara, Chelsea, Diane, Elizabeth, and Fran — were introduced by CrossFit founder Greg Glassman in September 2003. Next came Grace and Helen. In late 2004, Isabel, Jackie, Karen, Linda, Mary, and Nancy were added to the lineup.

Here are the workouts that correspond to each name:

  • Angie: 100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 air squats
  • Barbara: 5 rounds of 20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups and 50 air squats
  • Chelsea: 30 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 air squats
  • Diane: 3 rounds of 21-15-9 reps of deadlifts (225 lb.) and handstand push-ups
  • Elizabeth: 3 rounds of 21-15-9 reps of cleans (135 lb.) and ring dips
  • Fran: 3 rounds of 21-15-9 reps of thrusters (95 lb.) and pull-ups
  • Grace: 30 reps of clean and jerks (135 lb.)
  • Helen: 3 rounds of a 400 meter run, 21 kettlebell swings (52 lb.) and 12 pull-ups
  • Isabel: 30 snatches (135 lb.)
  • Jackie: a 1,000-meter row, 50 thrusters (45 lb.) and 30 pull-ups
  • Karen: 150 wall ball shots (20 lb.)
  • Linda: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of deadlifts (1.5x body weight), bench presses (1x bw) and cleans (.75x bw)
  • Mary: as many rounds as possible of 5 handstand push-ups, 10 pistols and 15 pull-ups (for 20 minutes)
  • Nancy: 5 rounds of a 500-meter run and 15 overhead squats (95 lb.)

Man, I’m exhausted just typing that.

Many more named workouts have since been introduced, but these 14 “girls” were the first.

What inspired Glassman to give his workouts female names? Hurricanes, actually. (Here’s more on the history of hurricane names.) Glassman was born in the mid-1950s, so it doesn’t surprise me that many of the names he chose (including my own!) sound a bit dated.

Now for the question of the day: Which is your favorite CrossFit workout name? Why?

And, if you’re a CrossFitter, which workout do you like best?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from DSC_0014 by Gregor under CC BY 2.0.