How popular is the baby name Galileo 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 Galileo.

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Popularity of the baby name Galileo


Posts that mention the name Galileo

The baby name Io

Jupiter's moon Io (NASA)
Io (in front of Jupiter)

Several days ago, NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day was the impressive “Io: Moon Over Jupiter,” which was taken by the Cassini spacecraft.

Jupiter’s moon Io (pronounced IE-oh) was discovered by Galileo in 1610. He named it for the mythological character Io — a nymph who was seduced by Zeus, then turned into a cow.*

The baby name Io doesn’t have a known meaning, and it’s rarely used in the U.S.:

  • 2010: 6 baby girls named Io
  • 2009: 8 baby girls named Io
  • 2008: 5 baby girls named Io
  • 2007: 5 baby girls named Io
  • 2006: 5 baby girls named Io

Nevertheless, I’ve always found it intriguing. There aren’t many two-letter girl names out there, and this is the only one I know of from Greek myth.

Do you like the name Io? Would you give it to your baby girl?

*The name of the Bosphorus, which comes from ancient Greek and means “cow passage,” commemorates Io-the-cow’s crossing of the strait.

P.S. Io backwards is Oi. :)

Sources: Io (mythology) – Wikipedia, SSA
Image: NASA

Reduplicated names: Asher Asher, Owen Owen

oystercatcher birds

I find it interesting that some people are given forenames that exactly match their surnames. A few historically significant examples include:

(Ford Madox Ford and Horst P. Horst don’t count. They were born Ford Hermann Hueffer and Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann.)

There are also many forename/surname sets out there that are partially reduplicated, such as:

  • Alastair McAllister, Australian harpsichord builder
  • Aleksandr Aleksandrov, Soviet cosmonaut
  • Anders Andersen, Norwegian politician
  • Antonis Antoniadis, Greek soccer player
  • Damiano Damiani, Italian film director
  • David Davidson, Canadian baseball player
  • Donagh MacDonagh, Irish writer
  • Donald MacDonald, Canadian politician
  • Dru Drury, British entomologist
  • Filip Filipovic (several people)
  • Fiodar Fiodarau, Soviet physicist
  • Friðrik Friðriksson, Icelandic film director

Have you ever met someone whose first name and last name were identical (or nearly so)? Do you like these sorts of names?

P.S. The name Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan (which belonged to a guy who served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior for a few weeks in 1850) is as close to a double double as I’ve ever seen!

Image: Adapted from Two Variable Oystercatchers standing close to each other (public domain)

[Last update: October 2024]