How popular is the baby name Don 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 Don.

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Popularity of the baby name Don


Posts that mention the name Don

What gave the baby name Cal a boost in the mid-1990s?

Baseball player Calvin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. (in 1986)
Cal Ripken, Jr.

According to the U.S. baby name data, there was a small spike in the number of babies named Cal in the mid-1990s:

  • 1998: 72 baby boys named Cal
  • 1997: 93 baby boys named Cal
  • 1996: 112 baby boys named Cal
  • 1995: 84 baby boys named Cal
  • 1994: 47 baby boys named Cal

Why?

Because of baseball shortstop Calvin “Cal” Ripken, Jr., who spent his entire professional career (1981–2001) with the Baltimore Orioles.

On September 6, 1995, he played his 2,131st game. In doing so, Ripken surpassed Lou Gehrig‘s 56-year-old record for consecutive games played.

The game, played against the California Angels, ended up being one of the most-watched baseball games on ESPN. After the fifth inning (i.e., once the game became official), Ripken received a standing ovation that lasted more than 20 minutes.

Cal Ripken, Jr., shaking the hands of fans during his 2,131st game (Sept. 6, 1995)
Cal Ripken, Jr., during his 2,131st game

It’s hard to say if the usage of the already-popular name Calvin was affected by the event, but the surname Ripken appeared for the first time in the U.S. baby name data in 1997.

At least one baby girl was named in honor of Ripken as well. Cali Drouillard was born in Baltimore on September 5 — the day Ripken tied Gehrig’s record (also while playing against the California Angels). Cali’s mother, Kimberly, said her husband Don came up with the name:

He’s a big fan of the Orioles and he likes Cal Ripken a lot. Her name was supposed to be Alexia.

Two years and hundreds of baseball games later, Cal Ripken finally set the new record: 2,632 consecutive baseball games played from May 30, 1982, to September 19, 1998.

What are your thoughts on the name Cal? Do you like it more or less than Calvin?

Sources:

Images: President Ronald Reagan Talking with Cal Ripken Jr; Screenshot of ESPN broadcast

Siblings with rhyming nicknames: Polly, Dolly, Molly, Lolly

Marjorie Rice
Marjorie “Lolly” Rice

New York City lawyer and businessman Isaac Leopold Rice is best remembered as the founder of the Electric Boat Company, which built the first modern submarine commissioned by the U.S. Navy (in 1900).

Before he did that, though, he had a family. He married his wife Julia in 1885, and the wealthy couple welcomed six children in the late 1880s and early 1890s. All six went by nicknames, and all four of the girls had rhyming nicknames:

NameNickname
MurielDolly
DorothyPolly
Isaac Leopold, Jr.Tommy
MarionMolly
MarjorieLolly
JulianBaby/Babe

Dorothy and Marion both went on to become aviators (among other things).

What are your thoughts on these names/nicknames?

P.S. In the 1930s and ’40s, actor Don Ameche similarly had six kids with (mostly) rhyming nicknames…

Sources:

Pennsylvania quadruplets: Kathleen, Maureen, Eileen, Michael

quadruplets and stork

A set of quadruplets was delivered via Caesarean section for the first time ever on November 1, 1944. The quads — 3 girls and 1 boy — were born to Kathleen and Joseph Cirmnello of Philadelphia. TIME magazine noted several weeks later that the quadruple C-section was “a feat unique in medical history.”

The foursome had been known as A, B, C and D. However, Cirminello named the boy Michael on Saturday and the mother picked Kathleen for girl B’s name. The other two Monday were named Maureen and Eileen.

Kathleen, Maureen, Eileen, and…Michael. Do you think Michael ever felt left out because his name didn’t rhyme with his sisters’ names?

(Another rhyming sibset: Don Ameche’s Rhyming Children.)

Sources:

  • “Medicine: Quadruple Caesarean.” TIME Nov. 13, 1944.
  • “Cirminello Quads Named; Father Goes Back to Work.” Miami News Nov. 6, 1944: 2-A.

Image: Adapted from Multiplication (1905) by Gordon Ross

Where did the baby name Leimomi come from in 1959?

The Surfers album "On The Rocks" (1958)
The Surfers album

Leimomi, a Hawaiian name that means “pearl lei” or “pearl necklace,” debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1959 — the year that Hawaii became the 50th state.

  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: 6 baby girls named Leimomi
  • 1960: unlisted
  • 1959: 8 baby girls named Leimomi [debut]
    • 5 born in Hawaii specifically
  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: unlisted

The debut was likely inspired by the song “Leimomi,” written by Alvin Kaleolani Isaacs and recorded by Hawaiian foursome The Surfers (Alan Naluai, Clayton Naluai, Patrick Kalani Sylva and Bernie Ching) for their debut album On the Rocks (1958).

The Surfers — like [Don] Ho, Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman — were in the first wave of musicians to bring the Islands’ music to the post-statehood Mainland audience.

Their debut album “was a whopping hit” successful enough to allow the boys to quit college and devote “all their time to making more records and appearing in clubs” and other places, including Disneyland and the Stardust in Las Vegas.

The name Leimomi has been in and out the SSA’s data since then, last appearing in 1990. What do you think of it?

Sources: