How popular is the baby name Emerson 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 Emerson.

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Popularity of the baby name Emerson


Posts that mention the name Emerson

Top baby names in Oklahoma, 2011

According to the Oklahoma Department of Health, the most popular baby names in Oklahoma in 2011 were these:

Boy NamesGirl NamesUnisex Names
1. William
2. Mason
3. Jacob
4. Elijah
5. Noah
6. Ethan
7. Aiden
8. Michael
9. James
10. Wyatt
11. Gabriel
12. Jackson
13. Jayden
14. Alexander
15. Hunter
16. Landon
17. Bentley
18. David
19. Eli
20. Joshua		1. Emma
2. Sophia
3. Isabella
4. Olivia
5. Addison
6. Ava
7. Emily
8. Abigail
9. Brooklyn
10. Madison
11. Chloe
12. Avery
13. Elizabeth
14. Lillian
15. Alexis
16. Lily
17. Zoey
18. Harper
19. Natalie
20. Ella		1. Riley
2. Charlie
3. River
4. Landry
5. Reece
6. Elliot
7. Camdyn
8. Skylar
9. Emerson
10. Jessie
11. Briar
12. Justice
13. Harley
14. Rowan
15. Baylor
16. Casey
17. Chandler
18. Tegan
19. Kamdyn
20. Memphis

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a U.S. state put out a list of top gender-neutral names before. Interesting. Wish I knew what guideline/formula they were using to classify certain names as gender-neutral instead of gendered, though.

I also think it’s interesting that Zoey made the top 20, but Zoe didn’t. (Unless “Zoey” is a typo in my source article.)

I posted about bizarre baby names in Oklahoma in early 2011 — remember 12-Gage? — but the state hasn’t put out one of their fascinating “Oklahoma Baby Names Books” for 2011 yet, so I can’t dig any deeper than this. All I know is that “Oklahoma children were bestowed with 7,517 unique girls’ names and 5,255 unique boys’ names in 2011.”

Source: Smith, Michael. “William, Emma top most-popular baby names.” Tulsa World 18 Mar. 2012.

What popularized the baby name Jovi?

The 1986 album "Slippery When Wet" (picture disc) by Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi album

The story about the Canadian baby named Jovi made me wonder: How many U.S. babies have been named Jovi after Bon Jovi?

I mean, the band has been around for decades. And it’s an American band, after all. Surely a few American babies have been named Jovi over the years.

According to SSA data, there wasn’t much interest in the name Jovi in the early 1980s. Not too surprising, as Bon Jovi’s breakthrough album Slippery When Wet wasn’t released until August of 1986.

Right on cue, babies named Jovi began popping up in 1987:

Girls named JoviBoys named Jovi
1989613
19881114
1987921*
1986..
1985..
*Debut

Usage began to wane in the mid-1990s, but began picking up steam again in the mid-2000s (the decade).

Why is it more popular now than ever before? Here are some possible explanations.

First, Bon Jovi started releasing country-tinged material in 2006. They put out an entire country rock album, Lost Highway, in 2007. So perhaps country music fans had a lot to do with this increase.

Second, the teens who listened to Bon Jovi in the 1980s would have started having kids of their own in the 1990s and 2000s. Maybe these long-term fans are using the name now as a belated tribute.

Third, Jovi could be piggybacking on any of several baby-naming trends:

  • The unique name trend
  • The symbolic surname trend (Jagger, Emerson, Kennedy)
  • The ethnic name trend (Giovanni, which is related to Jovi/Giovi, is currently at an all-time high)

These trends may make Jovi sound appealing even to those who aren’t big Bon Jovi fans. (If those people even exist! I doubt it.)

Would you ever consider using the name Jovi for a baby? If so, would you use it as a boy name, a girl name, or would gender not matter?

P.S. Bon Jovi takes its name from the lead singer’s real-life Italian surname, Bongiovi.