How popular is the baby name Franklin 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 Franklin.

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Popularity of the baby name Franklin


Posts that mention the name Franklin

What gave the baby name Nira a boost in 1933?

The Great Depression began in October of 1929. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt replaced Herbert Hoover as U.S. President in early 1933, he got to work on the New Deal, which was intended to bring immediate economic relief.

Part of the New Deal was the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), which “sanctioned, supported, and in some cases, enforced an alliance of industries.” It was enacted on June 16, 1933.

Soon after, Roosevelt created the corresponding National Recovery Administration (NRA), which was “empowered to make voluntary agreements dealing with hours of work, rates of pay, and the fixing of prices.” Participating businesses were encouraged to display the NRA emblem, the Blue Eagle.

At first, the public was excited by the NIRA and the NRA. So was Hollywood, which put out short films promoting the NRA.

And all this excitement spilled over onto birth certificates.

According to the U.S. baby name data, more than 200 baby girls were named Nira in 1933. This was enough to make Nira the 463rd most popular baby girl name in the nation that year.

  • 1937: unlisted
  • 1936: 9 baby girls named Nira
  • 1935: 12 baby girls named Nira
  • 1934: 38 baby girls named Nira
  • 1933: 201 baby girls named Nira [peak]
  • 1932: unlisted
  • 1931: 8 baby girls named Nira
  • 1930: unlisted

Here’s a visual of the spike:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Nira in the U.S. since 1880, showing a big spike in usage in 1933.
Usage of the baby name Nira

Newspapers heralded the births of several of these 1933 Niras, including:

  • Nira Collins, born on July 25th to Mr. and Mrs. Christopher J. Collins of Philadelphia. The father, unemployed for ten months, found work two weeks before she was born.
  • Nira Davis, born on August 30th to Mrs. Geraldine Davis of Newburgh, New York.
  • Nira Lavallee, born on September 1st to Mr. and Mrs. George E. Lavallee of Marlborough, Massachusetts. Her father “returned to work after a lengthy period of unemployment soon after her birth.”
  • Nira Coelho, born on September 25th to Mr. and Mrs. Pedro Coelho of Los Angeles. “The parents are ardent believers in the President’s recovery program.”

One reporter cautioned that, while Nira was “a pretty name,” parents should “take into account the fact that everyone who keeps posted on current national history will know Nira was born in 1933. Which might be embarrassing 25 or 30 years hence.”

The flood of baby Niras prompted at least one person to write to the editor of the New York Times and ask if Washington had offered an “official pronunciation of the name” yet.

But the popular support didn’t last long. The NIRA and the NRA were widely criticized, and ended up doing little to speed up economic recovery. (We can get a feel for how quickly the excitement dried up by looking at the downward trajectory of those SSA numbers: 201, 38, 12.)

The NIRA had been set to expire in June of 1935, but was nullified even earlier when the Supreme Court unanimously declared the NIRA unconstitutional in May of 1935.

Sources:

Image: LOC

[Follow-up posts: Blue Eagle, Nira (Iowa), Fera.]

Politicians who were named after other politicians

I was just reading The Political Graveyard’s cool list of Politicians Named for Other Politicians. Many of the politicians on the list were named for U.S. presidents, but others were named for figures who aren’t as well-known today. Some examples:

  • 67 politicians were named after Henry Clay (1777-1852).
  • 48 politicians were named after DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828).
  • 43 politicians were named after Winfield Scott* (1786-1866).
  • 21 politicians were named after Abraham Gallatin (1761-1849).
  • 18 politicians were named after Francis Marion (1732-1795).
  • 17 politicians were named after John Jay (1745-1829).
  • 17 politicians were named after John Marshall (1755-1835).
  • 16 politicians were named after Patrick Henry (1736-1799).
  • 14 politicians (and the term “gerrymander”) were named after Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814).
  • 13 politicians were named after Edward Everett (1794-1865).
  • 7 politicians were named after John Calhoun (1782-1850).

Some of those numbers are impressive. Makes me wonder how many baby boys nationwide were named after these men.

*Winfield Scott lost to Franklin Pierce in the 1852 presidential election. One of his namesakes, Winfield Scott Hancock (1824-1886), lost to James Garfield in the 1880 presidential election. Not a lucky name for White House hopefuls, I’d say.

[Latest update: June 2023]

What gave the baby name Garner a boost in 1932?

Politician John Nance Garner (1868-1967)
John Nance Garner

According to the U.S. baby name data, the usage of Garner more than quadrupled in 1932:

  • 1934: 24 baby boys named Garner
  • 1933: 63 baby boys named Garner [rank: 772nd]
  • 1932: 82 baby boys named Garner [rank: 675th]
  • 1931: 19 baby boys named Garner
  • 1930: 16 baby boys named Garner

Why?

Because of the new vice president.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and running mate John Nance Garner III defeated Herbert Hoover (and Charles Curtis) in the 1932 presidential election, held amid the Great Depression.

Garner, popularly known as “Cactus Jack,” was a conservative Democrat from Texas.

The surname Garner has several possible origins, including simply being a shortened form of Gardner.

What are your thoughts on Garner as a first name?

Sources: John Nance Garner – Wikipedia, SSA

Image: Adapted from Garner, John Nance. Honorable (LOC hec.14879) (public domain)

Highest-charting single-appearance baby names in the U.S. top 1,000

mountain peak

The baby names below, like hundreds of others, reached the U.S. top 1000 just once.

But these names are special, because they are the highest-charting single-appearance names ever. Impressively, each of the names blow ranked at least 700th (or well above!) during the single year they placed in the top 1,000.

NameRank & YearExplanation
Christop241st in 1989Typo*
Yulissa424th in 1997The 1996 telenovela Te Sigo Amando featured a character named Yulissa played by Claudia Ramírez.
Nira463rd in 1933The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was authorized by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933.
Elizabet524th in 1989Typo*
Manilla536th in 1898The first military action of Spanish-American War was the 1898 battle for Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
Jemal549th in 1969The Outcasts (1968-1969), the first TV Western with an African-American co-star, featured a character named Jemal.
Alexande554th in 1989Typo*
Kunta572nd in 1977The 1977 miniseries Roots (based on the Alex Haley novel) featured a character named Kunta Kinte.
Shafter604th in 1898Maj. Gen. William Rufus Shafter’s forces took Santiago (and hence helped end the Spanish-American War) in 1898.
Destry636th in 1964The short-lived 1964 show Destry was a spin-off of the 1939 film “Destry Rides Again.”
Sonji638th in 1966In 1966, boxer Muhammad Ali divorced his first wife, Sonji Roi.
Sheilah665th in 1955In 1955, actor Guy Madison eloped with actress Sheilah Connolly.
Clarisa665th in 1994The 1993 Mexican telenovela Clarisa featured a main character named Clarisa. (Another possible factor: The popular Nickelodeon sitcom Clarissa Explains it All (1991-1994) won an Emmy in 1994.
Tatia670th in 1966A notable 1965 episode of the TV show I Spy (1965-1968) featured a character named Tatia Loring.
Alexandr676th in 1989Typo*
Cinnamon700th in 1969The first 3 seasons of the Mission: Impossible TV series (1966-1973) featured a character named Cinnamon Carter. (That’s what put Cinnamon on the map.) Early in 1969, “Cinnamon” by Derek (a.k.a. Johnny Cymbal) was an actual one-hit wonder that peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later the same year, “Cinnamon Girl” by Neil Young was released.
Beyonce700th in 2001Destiny’s Child (featuring Beyoncé Knowles) won two Grammy Awards in 2001.

I didn’t include single-appearance names from the 1880s (like Manerva, Zilpah, Worley, Ambers, Orilla, and Simona), and it’s too early to include names from the 2006 data (Addisyn, Krish, Yandel, Rihanna).

*Here’s more about those typos from 1989.

Image: Adapted from Pointe de Nantaux 05 by Krzysztof Golik under CC BY-SA 4.0.