How popular is the baby name Frank 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 Frank.

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Popularity of the baby name Frank


Posts that mention the name Frank

The Branch family of Indiana

Indiana politician Emmett Forest Branch (1874-1932)
Emmett Forest Branch

A century and a half ago, Elliott and Alice Branch of Martinsville, Indiana, welcomed four babies, two girls and two boys:

  • Olive L. Branch (b. 1869)
  • Leafy Dell Branch (b. 1871)
  • Emmett Forest Branch (b. 1874)
  • Frank Oak Branch (b. 1878)

According to a newspaper article from 1903, the Branch family was “one of the oldest and best” in Indiana’s Morgan County, but “the names of the children of this branch of Branches the oddest.”

Their mother, who was of a poetic turn, was responsible for the names, Forest, Oak, Leafy Dell and Olive.

Emmett Forest Branch went on to spend three terms in the Indiana House of Representatives (during the first decade of the 1900s) and serve briefly as the governor of Indiana (from April of 1924 to January of 1925).

P.S. Speaking of “olive branch,” did you know that the maternal grandfather of Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall was named Isaiah Olive Branch Williams?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Emmett F. Branch (public domain)

What gave the baby name Cara a boost in 1965?

The character Cara Bridges/Wilton from the TV series "The Cara Williams Show" (1964-1965)
Cara from “The Cara Williams Show“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Cara saw a spike in usage in 1965:

  • 1967: 604 baby girls named Cara [rank: 366th]
  • 1966: 677 baby girls named Cara [rank: 347th]
  • 1965: 987 baby girls named Cara [rank: 274th]
  • 1964: 663 baby girls named Cara [rank: 366th]
  • 1963: 682 baby girls named Cara [rank: 368th]

What caused the brief increase?

The 1965 pop song “Cara Mia” could be a secondary influence here, but I think the main influence was a single-season sitcom called The Cara Williams Show, which aired from 1964 to 1965 (30 episodes) on CBS.

The star of the show was actress Cara Williams, who played a scatterbrained character also named Cara. Fictional Cara went by two different surnames: Bridges (her married name) at home, and Wilton (her maiden name) at work. Why? Because she and her husband Frank (played by actor Frank Aletter) were co-workers at a company that forbade the employment of married couples. They therefore went to great lengths to conceal their marriage from their boss.

Cara Williams — a “perky redhead” often compared to Lucille Ball — was born Bernice Kamiat in New York City in 1925.

What are your thoughts on the name Cara?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The Cara Williams Show

Boy names that debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 2024

lotus bud

Which boy names emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2024 for the first time ever?

A total of 628 boy names debuted in the data last year, and the most impressive debut was made by Lahiam. Here are the top debuts overall:

  1. Lahiam, 152 baby boys
  2. Xyleek, 115
  3. Ezelio, 53
  4. Kenzai, 37
  5. Rahzi, 34
  6. Akaay, 32
  7. Zeovanni, 32
  8. Kisen, 31
  9. Acyris, 26
  10. Zyro, 24
  11. Arcaius, 22
  12. Neeom, 22
  13. Zyleel, 21
  14. Khamazi, 19
  15. Zyleek, 19
  16. Soan, 18
  17. Mattisyahu, 17
  18. Jasyi, 16
  19. Zamariel, 16
  20. Manoe, 15
  21. Vedang, 15
  22. Eirian, 14
  23. Mcaiden, 14

Colombian social media influencer Katy Cardona (who has over 10 million followers on TikTok and over 3 million on Instagram) had a son named Lahiam in March of 2024.

Here are some more debuts:

13 baby boysAviance, Bayker, Emren
12 baby boysNivam, Omiras, Syierre, Ziovanni
11 baby boysAliam, Dovy, Izam, Keiver, Meylan, Rivian, Rumani, Sabar, Tezekiah
10 baby boysAcyrus, Adwait, Arzen, Jeider, Jhyzir, Kameiro, Kazai, Kyis, Naunihal, Ohtani, Ravilucca, Renlen, Santori

Ohtani was inspired by baseball pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani, the three-time MVP who won his first World Series last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (His first name returned to the data in 2023.)

Finally, here’s a sampling of the rest of the debuts:

  • 9 baby boys: Alessi, Giomani, Kavello, Rudeus, Seoul, Stolas, Zaelix
  • 8 baby boys: Azuryn, Banjo, Briadam, Cassio, Dieumerci, Ezzeldin, Kovey, Nischay, Ozian, Solano
  • 7 baby boys: Altai, Arize, Bellingham, Esoni, Frantzley, Gursher, Hakari, Kodis, Lyham, Omiri, Rennox, Woodmael, Yloan
  • 6 baby boys: Axios, Bandit, Camzen, Dunia, Ezrian, Franyel, Grizz, Gurtegh, Invictus, Josthin, Kallo, Lawakua, Mpano, Oceanus, Ripper, Ritsu, Sangwa, Vajra, Xolo, Yelson, Zelle
  • 5 baby boys: Atreides, Beaudie, Charter, Crow, Damjan, Elionai, Fatehbir, Galahad, Gratian, Jingze, Kanekoa, Lienzo, Methuselah, Nofal, Olukolade, Pressure, Rexley, Searcher, Stunner, Teotl, Thrasher, Vedavid, Whip, Xol, Yitbarek, Zanvil

Briadam was likely influenced by Cuban-American diver Briadam Herrera, who was featured on two seasons of the reality competition series Exatlón Estados Unidos.

Atreides probably refers to Paul Atreides, the main character of the recent movies Dune and Dune: Part Two, which were based on the 1965 book Dune by Frank Herbert.

(A few extra facts: Seoul is the capital of South Korea, Dieumerci means “thank God” in French, Grizz is the mascot of the Memphis Grizzlies, Invictus means “unconquered” in Latin, Kanekoa is a Hawaiian deity, Lawakua means “strong-backed” in Hawaiian, and Teotl refers to “a divine or sacred force” in Nahuatl.)

If you can explain any of the other debuts, please leave a comment!

Sources: SSA, Wikipedia, Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian Language Dictionaries

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

Was the baby name Rheta influenced by a murder victim in the 1930s?

Chicago murder victim Rheta G. Wynekoop (1910-1933)
Rheta G. Wynekoop

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Rheta saw an impressive spike in usage in the 1930s:

  • 1936: 37 baby girls named Rheta
  • 1935: 61 baby girls named Rheta
  • 1934: 151 baby girls named Rheta (peak usage)
  • 1933: 81 baby girls named Rheta
  • 1932: 20 baby girls named Rheta

Here’s a graph showing the sharp rise of Rheta in 1933 and 1934:

Popularity graph of the baby name Rheta in the U.S.
Usage of the baby name Rheta

(The spelling Rheata was also a one-hit wonder in 1934.)

So what caused this sudden interest in the name Rheta?

A murder in Chicago!

On November 21, 1933, the body of a 23-year-old woman named Rheta G. Wynekoop was found — chloroformed, partially undressed, and shot to death — on an operating table inside the office of respected female physician Alice Wynekoop, who also happened to be Rheta’s mother-in-law.

The office was located in the basement of Alice’s sizeable Chicago residence, which Alice shared with Rheta and her husband Earle (as well as with various boarders).

Rheta, a violinist originally from Indianapolis, had been married to Earle Wynekoop for four years.

On November 23, both Alice and Earle were arrested.

Earle — who didn’t have a job, but did have multiple paramours (several of whom were named in the newspapers) — confessed to committing the crime. Soon after, though, it was determined that he had an alibi. (He’d been on a trip to Kansas City with a friend at the time of the murder.)

His false confession was an attempt to protect his 62-year-old mother, who (he knew) had taken out a double indemnity life insurance policy on Rheta two weeks earlier.

Alice — despite having an annual income, and owning a large home — was sinking into debt.

Not only that, but at least four other family members and friends had died under Alice’s care, in her “gloomy mansion,” in recent years. Alice’s otherwise healthy husband Frank, for instance, died suddenly in 1929. (His estate was worth $75,000.) And Alice’s close friend Catherine Porter died in 1932. (Alice claimed all the money in their joint bank account, and also inherited Porter’s 100-acre farm.)

On November 25, Rheta Wynekoop’s funeral took place in Indianapolis.

Huge bronze and yellow chrysanthemums, which might have graced the beauty of Rheta Gardner Wynekoop on the concert stage, bowed their heads as if in sorrow this morning while more than 1,000 persons filed slowly past her casket.

On November 30, Dr. Alice Wynekoop was indicted.

Her first trial began on January 15, 1934. It was declared a mistrial four days later due to Alice’s poor health.

Her second trial began on February 19 and lasted more than two weeks.

In early March, the jury returned a guilty verdict. Alice was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of her daughter-in-law.

Soon after, the story of Rheta Wynekoop’s murder was recounted in various true crime magazines, such as Real Detective (in April) and Bernarr Macfadden‘s True Detective Mysteries (in May).

What are your thoughts on the name Rheta?

P.S. I have a hunch that this incident also inspired the cartoonist behind Mandrake the Magician to name one of his comic strip characters Rheeta in early 1935…

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Brownsville Herald (26 Nov. 1933)