How popular is the baby name Faron 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 Faron.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Faron


Posts that mention the name Faron

What in the Werly?

While looking for facts on Faron, I unearthed a Werly:

Werly Fairburn in Billboard magazine, 1955
Werly Fairburn advertisement, 1955

I think the song “It’s a Cold Weary World” should have been titled “It’s a Cold Werly World” instead. I bet Werly himself would have appreciated the wordplay — after all, another song he wrote was called “Love Spelled Backwards Is Evol,” and a label he later launched was called Whirlybird.

Werly Fairburn was a rockabilly musician born in Louisiana in 1924. His birth name was Lewi Werly Fairburn, but evidently he preferred his middle name.

Speaking of preferences…if you were having a son, and you had to name him either Werly or Faron, which would it be?

Source: Werly Fairburn, Rockabilly HOF

Where did the baby name Faron come from in 1952?

Faron Young's debut album "Sweethearts or Strangers" (1957).
Faron Young album

The baby name Faron debuted (rather impressively) in the U.S. baby name data in 1952:

  • 1957: 107 baby boys named Faron
  • 1956: 146 baby boys named Faron [peak]
  • 1955: 117 baby boys named Faron
  • 1954: 82 baby boys named Faron
  • 1953: 54 baby boys named Faron
  • 1952: 12 baby boys named Faron [debut]
  • 1951: unlisted
  • 1950: unlisted

It entered the top 1,000 the next year, and stayed there until the late 1960s.

What popularized it?

A Louisiana-born honky-tonk singer named Faron Young.

His first single came out in 1951, and his earliest hit was “Goin’ Steady” (1952), which reached the top 10 on Billboard‘s Country & Western Best Seller list for two weeks in March of 1953.

The name itself peaked on the baby name charts in 1956, the year Faron started appearing in Hollywood movies. His first two films, Hidden Guns and Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer, were both released in 1956.

So where does the name Faron come from? I don’t know how Faron’s parents came up with his name, but Faron happens to be a French surname that can be traced back to an ancient Germanic word (fara) meaning “journey, fare.”

A similar name, Farren — along with a slew of variants (Farrin, Ferren, Ferrin, etc.) — saw a spike in usage for baby girls in the mid-1980s thanks to a character named Farren Connor on the soap opera The Young and the Restless.

Do you like Faron, Farren, and similar names? If so, do you think they sound better as male names or as female names?

Sources: Faron Young – Wikipedia, SSA

Baby names that debuted most impressively in the U.S. data, 1881 to today

lotus bud

Though most of the baby names in the SSA’s annual datasets are repeats, each dataset does contain a handful of brand-new names.

Below are the most popular debut names for every single year on record, after the first.

Why bother with an analysis like this? Because debut names often have cool stories behind them, and high-hitting debuts are especially likely to have intriguing explanations tied to historical people/events. So this is more than a list of names — it’s also a list of stories.

Here’s the format: “Girl name(s), number of baby girls; Boy name(s), number of baby boys.” Keep in mind that the raw numbers aren’t too trustworthy for about the first six decades, though. (More on that in a minute.)

  • 1881: Adell & Celeste, 14; Brown & Newell, 14
  • 1882: Verda, 14; Cleve, 13
  • 1883: Laurel, 12; Brady, Festus, Jewell, Odell & Rosco, 8
  • 1884: Crystal & Rubie, 11; Benjamen, Jens, Oakley & Whitney, 9
  • 1885: Clotilde, 13; Arley & Terence, 9
  • 1886: Manuelita, 10; Terrence, 10
  • 1887: Verlie, 13; Myles, 11
  • 1888: Ebba, 18; Carlisle, Hughie & Orvel, 9
  • 1889: Garnett, 12; Doyle, 9
  • 1890: Verena, 11; Eduardo & Maggie, 10
  • 1891: Gayle, Idabelle & Zenia, 9; Sheridan, 14
  • 1892: Astrid, Dallas & Jennett, 9; Corbett, 23
  • 1893: Elmyra, 12; Estel, Mayo, Shelley & Thorwald, 8
  • 1894: Beatriz, Carola & Marrie, 9; Arvel, Erby & Floy, 8
  • 1895: Trilby, 12; Roosevelt, 12
  • 1896: Lotus, 11; Hazen, 11
  • 1897: Dewey, 13; Bryon, Frankie, Mario & Rhoda, 7
  • 1898: Manilla, 35; Hobson, 38
  • 1899: Ardis & Irva, 19; Haven, 9
  • 1900: Luciel, 14; Rosevelt, 20
  • 1901: Venita, 11; Eino, 9
  • 1902: Mercie, 10; Clarnce, 9
  • 1903: Estela, 11; Lenon & Porfirio, 7
  • 1904: Magdaline, 9; Adrain, Arbie, Betty, Desmond, Domenic, Duard, Raul & Severo, 8
  • 1905: Oliver, 9; Eliot & Tyree, 9
  • 1906: Nedra, 11; Domenico & Ryan, 10
  • 1907: Theta, 20; Taft, 16
  • 1908: Pasqualina, 10; Robley, 12
  • 1909: Wilmoth, 9; Randal & Vidal, 9
  • 1920: Dardanella, 23; Steele, 11
  • 1921: Marilynne, 13; Norberto, 14
  • 1922: Evelean, 14; Daren, 35
  • 1923: Nalda, 15; Clinard & Dorland, 9
  • 1924: Charis, 14; Melquiades, 13
  • 1925: Irmalee, 37; Wayburn, 11
  • 1926: Narice, 13; Bibb, 14
  • 1927: Sunya, 14; Bidwell, 14
  • 1928: Joreen, 22; Alfread & Brevard, 9
  • 1929: Jeannene, 25; Donnald, Edsol, Rhys & Wolfgang, 8

(From the SSA: “Note that many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so their names are not included in our data.”)

  • 1990: Isamar, 446; Dajour, 26
  • 1991: Emilce, 30; Quayshaun, 93
  • 1992: Akeiba, 49; Devanta, 41
  • 1993: Rosangelica, 91; Deyonta, 37
  • 1994: Ajee, 185; Shyheim, 168
  • 1995: Yamilex, 130; Alize, 30
  • 1996: Moesha, 426; Quindon, 67
  • 1997: Erykah, 279; Cross, 43
  • 1998: Naidelyn, 78; Zyshonne, 26
  • 1999: Verania, 62; Cauy, 32
  • 2000: Kelis, 108; Rithik, 22
  • 2001: Yaire, 184; Jahiem, 155
  • 2002: Kaydence, 70; Omarian, 31
  • 2003: Trenyce, 88; Pharrell, 67
  • 2004: Eshal, 38; Jkwon, 100
  • 2005: Yarisbel, 30; Jayceon, 48
  • 2006: Lizania, 35; Balian, 24
  • 2007: Leilene, 81; Yurem, 206
  • 2008: Aideliz, 91; Yosgart, 72
  • 2009: Greidys, 186; Jeremih, 87

I’ve already written about some of the names above, and I plan to write about all the others as well…eventually. In the meanwhile, if you want to beat me to it and leave a comment about why Maverick hit in 1957, or why Moesha hit in 1996, feel free!

Source: U.S. SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri