How popular is the baby name Frankie 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 Frankie.

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Popularity of the baby name Frankie


Posts that mention the name Frankie

What gave the baby name Sherry a boost in 1962?

The Four Seasons album "Sherry & 11 Others" (1962)
Four Seasons album

The baby name Sherry, already popular in the early 1960s, reached peak usage in 1962 specifically:

  • 1964: 8,495 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 50th]
  • 1963: 9,065 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 49th]
  • 1962: 9,226 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 48th]
  • 1961: 8,358 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 53rd]
  • 1960: 8,314 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 54th]

What accounts for that sudden jump into the girls’ top 50?

The song “Sherry” by The Four Seasons, a vocal quartet led by Frankie Valli (and his distinctive falsetto).

“Sherry,” the group’s second single, was released in July of 1962. In mid-September it reached #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart (dethroning “Sheila” by Tommy Roe). It remained in the top spot for five weeks straight.

Here’s what “Sherry” sounds like:

Originally entitled “Terry,” the song was written (in about fifteen minutes) by Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio. When Bob shared it with the rest of the group, the reaction was mixed: “[S]ome of the guys liked it and some didn’t.”

Unable to come to a consensus, they played it for their producer, Bob Crewe, over the phone. Crewe loved the song, but not the name. He considered replacing it with Jackie (after First Lady Jackie Kennedy) and Peri (the name of one of his record labels) before settling upon Sherry — a respelling of Cheri, the name of the daughter of one of his good friends, New York disc jockey Jack Spector.

What are your thoughts on the name Sherry? (Do you like it more or less than Sheila?)

P.S. The name’s steep rise in 1946 may be largely attributable to the baby boom, but I think a second influence was the 1946 western Abilene Town, which featured a character named Sherry (played by actress Rhonda Fleming).

Sources:

Popular baby names (and Maori baby names) in New Zealand, 2023

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

Last year, the island nation of New Zealand welcomed a total of 57,889 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Charlotte and Noah.

Here are New Zealand’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Charlotte, 209 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 184
  3. Isla, 179
  4. Olivia, 155
  5. Harper, 150
  6. Willow, 145
  7. Lily, 144
  8. Ava, 143 (tie)
  9. Ella, 143 (tie)
  10. Hazel, 141
  11. Mila, 138
  12. Evelyn, 135 (3-way tie)
  13. Mia, 135 (3-way tie)
  14. Sophie, 135 (3-way tie)
  15. Isabella, 130
  16. Aria, 125
  17. Ruby, 122
  18. Grace, 121
  19. Millie, 119
  20. Florence, 110
  21. Lucy, 108
  22. Ivy, 105
  23. Chloe, 101
  24. Zoe, 100
  25. Maeve, 98
  26. Daisy, 96
  27. Matilda, 95
  28. Sadie, 93 (tie)
  29. Sophia, 93 (tie)
  30. Emily, 92 (3-way tie)
  31. Freya, 92 (3-way tie)
  32. Luna, 92 (3-way tie)
  33. Olive, 88
  34. Georgia, 82 (tie)
  35. Maia, 82 (tie)
  36. Poppy, 81
  37. Frankie, 80 (tie)
  38. Violet, 80 (tie)
  39. Mackenzie, 79
  40. Ellie, 78
  41. Riley, 77
  42. Aurora, 76
  43. Bella, 74
  44. Madison, 70 (tie)
  45. Penelope, 70 (tie)
  46. Kaia, 69 (tie)
  47. Zara, 69 (tie)
  48. Billie, 68 (tie)
  49. Quinn, 68 (tie)
  50. Layla, 67

Boy names

  1. Noah, 267 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 247
  3. Luca, 207
  4. Jack, 194
  5. Leo, 189
  6. Theodore, 186
  7. George, 177
  8. Henry, 172
  9. Charlie, 163
  10. Hudson, 162
  11. Arthur, 158
  12. Arlo, 156
  13. Elijah, 153
  14. William, 147
  15. James, 146 (tie)
  16. Lucas, 146 (tie)
  17. Liam, 143
  18. Thomas, 142
  19. Theo, 135
  20. Oscar, 131
  21. Cooper, 122
  22. Beau, 119
  23. Hugo, 115
  24. Ethan, 114
  25. Ezra, 113 (tie)
  26. Mason, 113 (tie)
  27. Archie, 111 (tie)
  28. Levi, 111 (tie)
  29. Max, 110
  30. Carter, 106
  31. Felix, 105 (tie)
  32. Finn, 105 (tie)
  33. Alexander, 102
  34. Lachlan, 97
  35. Asher, 90 (3-way tie)
  36. Hunter, 90 (3-way tie)
  37. Louie, 90 (3-way tie)
  38. Luke, 87
  39. Benjamin, 84
  40. Harry, 83
  41. Jackson, 82
  42. Archer, 81
  43. Micah, 79 (tie)
  44. Riley, 79 (tie)
  45. Caleb, 78 (3-way tie)
  46. Isaac, 78 (3-way tie)
  47. Louis, 78 (3-way tie)
  48. Austin, 77
  49. Luka, 75
  50. Samuel, 74

And what about Maori names specifically?

Currently, the top Maori baby names in New Zealand are Aroha/Te Aroha for girls and Ariki/Te Ariki for boys. In Maori, the word aroha means “love” or “affection,” the word ariki means “chieftain” or “leader,” and the word te (in these two cases) is the article “the.”

Here are New Zealand’s top 10 Maori girl names and top 10 Maori boy names:

Maori girl names

  1. Aroha/Te Aroha, 164 baby girls
  2. Amaia, 110
  3. Maia, 103
  4. Anahera, 85
  5. Moana, 70
  6. Manaia, 68
  7. Ataahua, 54
  8. Marama, 51
  9. Atarangi, 41
  10. Tui, 39

Maori boy names

  1. Ariki/Te Ariki, 111 baby boys
  2. Wiremu, 86
  3. Rawiri, 80
  4. Mikaere, 65
  5. Nikau, 63
  6. Koa, 62 (tie)
  7. Manaia, 62 (tie)
  8. Manaaki, 59
  9. Kiwa, 45 (tie)
  10. Kaitoa, 45 (tie)

Please note that the Maori rankings don’t cover the calendar year 2023, as the national rankings do. Instead, they cover births from July 10, 2023, to June 30, 2024. (These dates coincide with Matariki, a.k.a. Maori New Year.)

Finally, here’s a link to New Zealand’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. Did you know that New Zealand’s closest geographic neighbor in the Pacific is New Caledonia (to the north)?

Sources: Top Baby Names – New Zealand Government, Most common Maori baby names in 2023/24 released for Matariki – Te Ao Maori News, Te Aka Maori Dictionary, New Caledonia – New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)

Popular baby names in Australia, 2022

Flag of Australia
Flag of Australia

In 2022, Australia — which boasts a large number of endemic animals (e.g., koala, kangaroo, wallaby, wombat, dingo) — welcomed 300,684 human babies: 146,403 girls and 154,281 boys.

What were the most popular names among Australia’s newborns last year?

Well…we don’t know for sure. Because Australia doesn’t release baby name rankings that cover the entire country.

So let’s take a look at eight sets of regional Australian rankings — representing Australia’s six states and two most populous territories — and make a guess about the country’s top names overall.

Here are the rankings, ordered by total number of births per region (highest to lowest):

New South Wales

Last year, New South Wales welcomed 95,758 (31.8%) of Australia’s babies. Here are NSW’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, NSWBoy names, NSW
1. Charlotte, 430
2. Amelia, 425
3. Isla, 403
4. Olivia, 401
5. Mia, 363
6. Ava, 343
7. Ella, 331
8. Matilda, 318
9. Sienna, 293
10. Willow, 288		1. Noah, 630
2. Oliver, 628
3. Leo, 447
4. William, 427
5. Theodore, 404
6. Jack, 381
7. Luca, 367 (tie)
8. Henry, 367 (tie)
9. Thomas, 348
10. Charlie, 334

Victoria

Last year, Victoria welcomed 76,187 (25.3%) of Australia’s babies. Here are Victoria’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, VictoriaBoy names, Victoria
1. Charlotte, 367
2. Amelia, 356
3. Isla, 345 (tie)
4. Mia, 345 (tie)
5. Olivia, 326
6. Matilda, 296
7. Ava, 293
8. Ella, 283 (tie)
9. Grace, 283 (tie)
10. Hazel, 266		1. Oliver, 593
2. Noah, 503
3. Jack, 416
4. Leo, 408
5. Henry, 354
6. Charlie, 344
7. William, 328
8. Theodore, 326
9. Thomas, 282
10. Hudson, 274

Queensland

Last year, Queensland welcomed 62,313 (20.7%) of Australia’s babies. Here are Queensland’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, QueenslandBoy names, Queensland
1. Amelia, 321
2. Charlotte, 308
3. Isla, 296
4. Olivia, 285
5. Ava, 250
6. Mia, 245
7. Willow, 233
8. Matilda, 232
9. Lily, 228
10. Ella, 216		1. Oliver, 539
2. Noah, 393
3. William, 359
4. Hudson, 357
5. Henry, 341
6. Theodore, 340
7. Leo, 332
8. Charlie, 276
9. Jack, 267
10. Luca, 257

Western Australia

Last year, Western Australia welcomed 31,474 (10.5%) of Australia’s babies. Here are WA’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, Western Aus.Boy names, Western Aus.
1. Isla, 162
2. Amelia, 150 (tie)
3. Olivia, 150 (tie)
4. Charlotte, 126
5. Mia, 122
6. Lily, 116 (tie)
7. Grace, 116 (tie)
8. Harper, 113 (tie)
9. Ava, 113 (tie)
10. Willow, 105		1. Oliver, 260
2. Noah, 178
3. Leo, 171
4. Charlie, 151
5. Jack, 140
6. Hudson, 136 (tie)
7. Thomas, 136 (tie)
8. Theodore, 132
9. Henry, 131
10. Levi/James/Luca, 124 each (3-way tie)

South Australia

Last year, South Australia welcomed 19,502 (6.5%) of Australia’s babies. Here are SA’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, South Aus.Boy names, South Aus.
1. Isla, 111
2. Charlotte, 110
3. Amelia, 89
4. Willow, 84
5. Grace, 82
6. Olivia, 81
7. Lily, 75
8. Ella/Harper/Matilda/Mia, 72 each (4-way tie)		1. Oliver, 181
2. Noah, 142
3. Henry, 121
4. Leo, 108
5. Archie, 107
6. William, 93
7. Hudson, 90
8. Luca, 87
9. Charlie, 83 (tie)
10. Thomas, 83 (tie)

Australian Capital Territory

Last year, the ACT (Canberra) welcomed 6,375 (2.1%) of Australia’s babies. Here are the ACT’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, ACTBoy names, ACT
1. Charlotte
2. Isla
3. Evelyn
4. Amelia
5. Zoe
6. Ella (tie)
7. Hazel (tie)
8. Ava/Freya/Grace/Olivia (4-way tie)		1. Oliver
2. Henry
3. William
4. Leo
5. Theodore
6. Noah
7. Arthur
8. George (tie)
9. Thomas (tie)
10. Elijah/Levi/Lucas (3-way tie)

Tasmania

Last year, Tasmania welcomed 5,498 (1.8%) of Australia’s babies. Here are Tasmania’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, TasmaniaBoy names, Tasmania
1. Grace
2. Willow
3. Charlotte
4. Mia
5. Matilda
6. Hazel
7. Elsie
8. Harper
9. Isla
10. Daisy		1. Oliver
2. Henry
3. George
4. Hudson
5. Archie
6. Noah
7. Theodore
8. Charlie
9. Leo
10. Jack

Northern Territory

Last year, Northern Territory welcomed 3,577 (1.2%) of Australia’s babies. Here are NT’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, NTBoy names, NT
1. Charlotte, 18
2. Matilda, 16
3. Ava, 14
4. Amelia, 13 (3-way tie)
5. Ella, 13 (3-way tie)
6. Isla, 13 (3-way tie)
7. Harper, 12 (tie)
8. Isabella, 12 (tie)
9. Grace, 9
10. Frankie/Ruby/Sadie/Willow, 8 each (4-way tie)		1. Noah, 16 (tie)
2. William, 16 (tie)
3. Levi, 14
4. Michael, 12 (tie)
5. Xavier, 12 (tie)
6. Hudson, 11 (3-way tie)
7. Jack, 11 (3-way tie)
8. James, 11 (3-way tie)
9. Archer/Harry/Lucas, 10 each (3-way tie)
map of Australia

Australia overall

Finally, using the data above, let’s make a guess about Australia’s top baby names overall. Here’s what I came up with:

Australia’s top girl names (possibly)Australia’s top boy names (possibly)
1. Charlotte
2. Amelia
3. Isla
4. Olivia
5. Mia		1. Oliver
2. Noah
3. Leo
4. Henry
5. William

What are your thoughts on these? Would you have ranked them differently?

(My guesses regarding Australia’s top names of 2021 had Isla and Oliver in the top spots.)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Australia (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Australia location map by NordNordWest under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Where did the baby name Caesare come from in 1981?

The character Caesare from the movie "The Idolmaker" (1980)
Caesare from “The Idolmaker”

The rare name Caesare first appeared in the U.S. baby name data — for both genders, notably — in 1981:

  • 1983: unlisted
  • 1982: 27 baby boys and 5 baby girls named Caesare
  • 1981: 6 baby boys and 5 baby girls named Caesare [dual-gender debut]
  • 1980: unlisted
  • 1979: unlisted

The following year, Caesare reached its highest-ever usage. Also in 1982, we see an increase in the number of baby boys with similar names:

1980198119821983
Cesare76128
Chezarae9*
Chezare9*
Ceasare8*
Chazaray6*
Chez55157
*Debut

(Chezarae and Chazaray were both one-hit wonders.)

What was influencing all of these names?

A movie called The Idolmaker, which was released in November of 1980.

The main character, Vincent Vacarri (played by Ray Sharkey), worked as a talent manager in New York City in the late 1950s. (The character was based on real-life Philadelphia talent manager Bob Marcucci, who discovered and developed both Frankie Avalon and Fabian.)

One of Vinnie’s protégés was teenage busboy Guido (played by Peter Gallagher), who had no discernible talent. Vinnie renamed Guido “Caesare” (pronounced CHEZ-uh-ray, similar to the English pronunciation of Désirée) and got to work transforming him into a star.

Caesare became “an unwilling Trilby to Vinnie’s Svengali,” according to one reviewer.

The name Caesare in lights, from the movie "The Idolmaker" (1980)
“Caesare” in lights

The name Caesare — which was occasionally shortened to “Chez” in the movie — is a spelling variant of the name Cesare, the Italian form of Caesar.

What are your thoughts on the name Caesare? (How would you spell it?)

P.S. Other dual-gender debuts include Chaffee, Dasani, Dondi, Illya, Khaalis, Rikishi, Shilo, Sundown, and Tavares.

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of The Idolmaker