How popular is the baby name Gandalf 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 Gandalf.

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Popularity of the baby name Gandalf


Posts that mention the name Gandalf

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Apr. 2024]

Popular and unique baby names in Scotland (UK), 2020

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

According to National Records of Scotland (NRS), the most popular baby names in the country in 2020 were Isla and Jack.

Here are Scotland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Isla, 347 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 334
  3. Emily, 300
  4. Freya, 284
  5. Ava, 276
  6. Sophie, 275
  7. Ella, 267
  8. Grace, 261
  9. Amelia, 254
  10. Lily, 208

Boy Names

  1. Jack, 354 baby boys
  2. Noah, 299
  3. James, 292
  4. Leo, 274 (2-way tie)
  5. Oliver, 274 (2-way tie)
  6. Harris, 268
  7. Rory, 258
  8. Alexander, 252
  9. Finlay, 247
  10. Archie, 244

In the girls’ top 10, Lily replaced Charlotte.

In the boys’ top 10, Alexander, Finlay and Archie replaced Charlie, Lewis and Alfie.

The fastest-rising names in the girls’ top 100 were Maeve and Ayda, and in the boys’ top 100 were Roman and Finley.

Here are some of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Scotland last year:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Antarleena, Binatari, Caoife, Dianka, Elswyth, Evrydiki, Fara, Fayne, Geneza, Honor-Norah, Icasia, Idelette, Jafleen, Kasatria, Lochie, Malmuira, Nashmia, Orlia, Phildah, Rileytilly, Rinrada, Skaiste, Tuscany, Uvika, Valfreya, Weeam, Xiaotong, Yorkubel, ZanzibarAulliver, Burn, Caedmon, Coagh, Dhruvanandan, Ertugrul, Fenwick, Guerau, Hanzal, Istari, Jelvin, Jettison, Kifl, Lhanium, Moncef, Nojus, Opei-Wes, Phalata, Riliklan, Rukudzo, Sawney, Torquhil, Tselot, Uendjipa, Vakaris, Wilsheldro, Xataan, Yigit, Zhaocheng

Istari seems to be taken from Tolkien. The Elves referred to the wizards of Middle-earth (such as Gandalf) as istari, a plural noun meaning “wise ones” in Quenya.

Finally, in 2019, the top names in Scotland were Olivia and Jack.

Sources: Isla topples Olivia as top girl’s name, Babies’ First Names

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Tolkien-inspired baby names: Arwen to Thorin

The character Éowyn from the movie "The Two Towers" (2002)
Éowyn from “The Two Towers“

The fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) by English writer J. R. R. Tolkien was first published in the mid-1950s.

The trilogy started becoming popular in the U.S. in the 1960s, and this is when we first see LOTR character names (like Galadriel and Gandalf) popping up in the U.S. baby name data.

Tolkien’s tale became very popular when director Peter Jackson turned the trilogy into three successful movies: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003).

So how did the books and the movies influence U.S. baby names? Let’s check it out…

Arwen

The name of the female half-elf Arwen debuted in the SSA data in 1968 and saw a steep increase in usage from 2002 to 2004. The character’s name means “noble maiden” in the fictional language Quenya (which Tolkien based largely on Finnish and Latin).

Aragorn & Strider

The name of the human man Aragorn debuted in the SSA data in 1970. The character’s name means “revered king” in the fictional language Sindarin (based largely on Welsh). His nickname, Strider, debuted in 1973.

Eowyn

The name of a human woman Eowyn debuted in the SSA data in 1973 and saw a noticeable increase in usage from 2003 to 2005. The character’s name means “horse joy” in the fictional language Rohirric (based on Old English).

Frodo

The name of the male hobbit Frodo (who was one of the main protagonists of LOTR) has never popped up in the SSA data — but I know of one in England. The character’s name is an English translation of his real name, Maura, which means “wise” or “experienced” in the fictional language Westron (the “common speech” of Middle-earth).

Galadriel

The name of the female elf Galadriel (who was the grandmother of Arwen) debuted in the SSA data in 1969. Peak usage was in 2003. The character’s name means “maiden crowned with a radiant garland” in Sindarin.

Gandalf

The name of the male wizard Gandalf appeared in the SSA data just once, in 1970. (Five baby boys were named Gandalf that year.) The character’s name means “wand-elf” in Westron.

Legolas

The name of the male elf Legolas debuted in the SSA data (and saw peak usage) in 2003. The character’s name means “green foliage” in Sindarin.

Peregrin & Pippin

The name of a male hobbit Peregrin debuted in the SSA data in 2011. The character’s name — an English translation of his Westron name, Razanur — is based on Peregrinus, which means “traveler” or “pilgrim” in Latin. His nickname, Pippin, debuted (as a girl name) in 2009.

Samwise

The name of a male hobbit Samwise debuted in the SSA data in 2002. The character’s name is an English translation of Sam’s real name, Banazîr, which means “halfwise” or “simple” in Westron.

Theoden

The name of the human man Theoden (who was the uncle of Eowyn) debuted in the SSA data in 2004. The character’s name is based on the name Tûrac, which means “king” in Rohirric.

Thorin

The name of the male dwarf Thorin debuted in the SSA data in 1968. The character’s name is based on the Old Norse name Þorinn, which means “bold one.” (Commenter elbowin notes that the name became more popular in the 2010s thanks to the character being featured in the Hobbit movie trilogy from 2012 to 2014.)

Which Tolkien-inspired names do you like most?

  • Update, May 2015: The name Tauriel, though technically not a Tolkien name (it was created for the movies), debuted in the data in 2014.
  • Update, May 2016: The name Beorn, from a character in the second two movies of the Hobbit trilogy, debuted in the data in 2015. (The Vikings name Bjorn may have been an influence as well.)
  • Update, April 2019: The name Tolkien itself debuted in the data in 2017. (The second syllable rhymes with the word keen.)

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The Two Towers

[Latest update: Apr. 2025]