How popular is the baby name Elisabeth 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 Elisabeth.

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Popularity of the baby name Elisabeth


Posts that mention the name Elisabeth

Classics on the decline: Rebecca, Carol, Susan

girl names falling out of fashion

In last week’s “lowest ever” boy names post, I mentioned that reader Caitlin had shared her research on downward-trending baby names with me recently. While many girl names hit relative lows in 2017, for instance…

  • Sarah, now ranked 62nd — lowest ranking since 1970.
  • Rachel, now ranked 195th — lowest ranking since 1960.
  • Melissa, now ranked 273rd — lowest ranking since 1949.

…a couple of the names on her list, Rebecca and Catherine, hit their “lowest ever” rankings last year. (Plus there was Katherine, a borderline case of a lowest-ever tie.)

So I set out to find other “lowest ever” girl names.

Many of the names I checked (like Clare, Lea, and Bridget) hit a low in 2017, but it wasn’t their all-time low. Many others (like Pauline, Sara, and Mary) hit a low recently, but not as recently as 2017. Still others (like Yvonne) had to be disqualified because, even though they hit their lowest ranking on record in 2017, they didn’t appear in the data for all 138 years (1880-2017)…an issue I didn’t encounter with any of the boy names.

In the end, I was able to add a dozen thirteen names to the list:

  • Ann. Ranked 1,023rd in 2017; peak was 28th in the 1930s.
  • Barbara. Ranked 908th in 2017; peak was 2nd in the 1930s/1940s.
  • Carol. Ranked 1,814th in 2017; peak was 4th in the 1940s.
  • Catherine. Ranked 198th in 2017; peak was 18th in the 1910s.
  • Celia. Ranked 857th in 2017; peak was 141st in the 1880s.
  • Cynthia. Ranked 637th in 2017; peak was 7th in the 1950s.
  • Elisabeth. Ranked 775th in 2017; peak was 286th in the 2000s.
  • Katherine. Ranked 105th in 2017 + 1938; peak 25th in the 1990s.
  • Kathleen. Ranked 871st in 2017; peak was 9th in the 1940s. (Late addition–thanks Kelly!)
  • Linda. Ranked 708th in 2017; peak was 1st in 1940s/1950s.
  • Priscilla. Ranked 527th in 2017; peak was 127th in the 1940s.
  • Rebecca. Ranked 216th in 2017; peak was 10th in the 1970s.
  • Rosa. Ranked 672nd in 2017; peak was 52nd in the 1880s.
  • Susan. Ranked 963rd in 2017; peak was 2nd in the 1950s/1960s.
  • Teresa. Ranked 720th in 2017; peak was 18th in the 1960s.
  • Tressa. Ranked 9242nd in 2017; peak was 761st in the 1960s.

That makes 15 (or 16, if you count Katherine). I certainly could have missed a few, though, so if you can think of a good candidate, please let me know in the comments and I’ll take a look.

Another celebrity baby name from a dream

twilight

Actress Elisabeth Rohm dreamed up the name Easton for her daughter in 2008. Singer Fergie dreamed up the name Axl for her son in 2013. Between 2008 and 2013, though, there was a third dreamed-of celebrity baby name that I missed.

Actress Marley Shelton (who played Wendy Peffercorn in The Sandlot) and film producer Beau Flynn welcomed a baby girl in 2009 and named her West, thanks to a dream:

“My husband actually dreamed seven years ago that we had a daughter, and he was calling her West,” Marley recalls. “I immediately said, ‘If we ever have a daughter, we’re definitely naming her that.'”

Their second daughter, Ruby, was born in 2012.

Do you know of any other dreamed-of celebrity baby names?

Source: “Marley Shelton: Being a mom is the best role I’ve ever had!” Life & Style Weekly 11 Nov. 2009.

Image: Adapted from Twilight crescent Moon by ESO/G. Brammer under CC BY 4.0.

Princess baby names: Beatrix, Irene, Margriet, Maria

Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands had a total of 4 children, all girls:

  1. Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard (b. January, 1938)
  2. Irene Emma Elisabeth (b. August, 1939)
  3. Margriet Francisca (b. January, 1943)
  4. Maria Christina “Marijke” (b. February, 1947)

The middle daughters were both named with current events in mind.

Irene, born just before World War II began, was named after the Greek goddess of peace. According to Prince Bernhard, “we chose Irene, which means peace, because of the serious international situation.” Here’s how one newspaper put it:

So now against all the war machines and bombers and the marching millions, there stands a little baby, named Irene, to personify the tiny hope that lies within the hearts of the millions, the hope of peace.

Margriet, born during WWII, “was named after the marguerite flower, the national symbol of resistance [to Nazi Germany] in the Netherlands.” (The family was taking refuge in Canada during the war, and her hospital room “was decreed to be Dutch territory for the occasion so that the princess would be a Dutch citizen.”)

Which of these two names do you like more, Irene or Margriet?

Sources:

  • “Baby Princess Carried to Birth Registration.” Montreal Gazette 8 Aug. 1939: 7.
  • Goddard, Lance. Canada and the Liberation of the Netherlands, May 1945. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2005.
  • “So They Named Her Irene.” Meriden Daily Journal 18 Aug. 1939: 6.

The 24 children of Johann VI

John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg
Johann VI

Dutch nobleman Johann VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg (1536-1606) — one of the younger siblings of William of Orange — had a total of 24 children by three different wives. Here are their names, grouped by mother…

With first wife Elisabeth, 13 children:

  • Wilhelm Ludwig (b. 1560)
  • Johann (b. 1561)
  • Georg (b. 1562)
  • Elisabeth (b. 1564)
  • Juliana (b. 1565)
  • Filips (b. 1566)
  • Marie (b. 1568)
  • Anna Sibylla (b. 1569)
  • Mathilde (b. 1570)
  • Albert (b. 1572)
  • Ernst Casimir (b. 1573)
  • Lodewijk Gunther (b. 1575)
  • stillborn (b. 1579)

With second wife Kunigunde, 4 children:

  • stillborn (b. 1581)
  • Maria Amalia (b. 1582)
  • Kunigunde (b. 1583)
  • stillborn (b. 1585)

With third wife Johannetta, 7 children:

  • Georg Ludwig (b. 1588)
  • Johann Ludwig (b. 1590)
  • Johannetta Elisabeth (b. 1593)
  • Anna (b. 1594)
  • Magdalena (b. 1595)
  • Anna Amalia (b. 1599)
  • Juliana (b. 1602)

Which of the names above do you like the most?

Sources: Johann VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, Johann VI. von Nassau-Dillenburg (1535-1606)