How popular is the baby name Geisha 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 Geisha.
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Which girl names decreased in usage the most from 2020 to 2021?
Here’s a table of the fastest-falling girl names of 2021. On the left are the top 25 decreases in terms of absolute numbers of babies, and on the right are the top 25 decreases in terms of relative numbers of babies.
Rank
Girl name
Absolute fall
Girl name
Relative fall
1
Isabella
-957
Ashvi
-76%
2
Abigail
-936
Dessa
-75%
3
Victoria
-603
Jaeda
-73%
4
Alexa
-583
Amavi
-73%
5
Sophia
-540
Yameli
-73%
6
Brooklyn
-504
Raela
-72%
7
Anna
-452
Reniyah
-72%
8
Gianna
-435
Naeema
-72%
9
Harper
-433
Avyn
-72%
10
Aubrey
-409
Portia
-71%
11
Ava
-401
Jadah
-71%
12
Hannah
-400
Rona
-71%
13
Kaylee
-366
Jocelynne
-71%
14
Samantha
-361
Iolana
-71%
15
Serenity
-359
Nakshatra
-70%
16
Emily
-358
Jatziry
-69%
17
Genesis
-356
Irish
-69%
18
Ella
-354
Inanna
-69%
19
Melanie
-348
Evangaline
-69%
20
Brielle
-346
Alula
-69%
21
Mila
-330
Rakeb
-68%
22
Lauren
-312
Kiaya
-68%
23
Skylar
-303
Meral*
-67%
24
Londyn
-300
Kemya*
-67%
25
Arianna
-298
Jeri*
-67%
*Also at -67% were Helayna, Asmara, Arriyah, Anu, Akane, Kimberlin, Jojo, Elianni, Naleya and Leta.
In the 1960s, comic books were on their way out in the United States. But they were still going strong in Latin America.
In fact, one of Latin America’s best-selling comic books, Lágrimas, risas y amor (transl. Tears, Laughter and Love), was introduced in Mexico in late 1962.
Lágrimas, risas y amor was created by Yolanda Vargas Dulché. It featured romantic stories, each of which had its own unique set of characters. And, believe it or not, some of these stories ended up influencing U.S. baby names, particularly in states with large Spanish-speaking populations (like California and Texas). Here are some examples:
Yesenia
“Yesenia” (1965-1966) told the love story of Yesenia, a gypsy, and Osvaldo, a Mexican soldier. In 1966, we see the name Yesenia appear for the first time in the U.S. baby name data:
1968: 13 baby girls named Yesenia
1967: 12 baby girls named Yesenia
1966: 17 baby girls named Yesenia [debut]
1965: unlisted
1964: unlisted
Geisha
I don’t know anything about the plot of “Geisha” (1967), but the baby name Geisha first appeared in the U.S. data the same year:
1969: unlisted
1968: unlisted
1967: 8 baby girls named Geisha [debut]
1966: unlisted
1965: unlisted
Analuisa
“El atardecer de Ana Luisa” (transl. “Ana Luisa’s Middle Years”) (1971) told the story of Ana Luisa, who lost her boyfriend to another woman when she was young, but got him back years later. There’s a gap between the publication and the debut of the compound name Analuisa, but I still think it’s likely that the two events are connected.
1975: unlisted
1974: unlisted
1973: 5 baby girls named Analuisa [debut]
1972: unlisted
1971: unlisted
…And it doesn’t end there! Many Lágrimas, risas y amor stories were later adapted for TV and film, giving them extra (and much bigger) rounds of exposure. Some examples:
Rosaisela
The comic “María Isabel” (1964) featured a character named Rosa Isela. It became a telenovela in 1966, and a year later the compound name Rosaisela first emerged in the data:
1969: unlisted
1968: 5 baby girls named Rosaisela
1967: 9 baby girls named Rosaisela [debut]
1966: unlisted
1965: unlisted
Yesenia (again)
“Yesenia” became a telenovela in 1970 and a movie in 1971. The one-two punch of both of these pieces of media, both made in Mexico, resulted in an huge increase in the usage of Yesenia in the United States:
1973: 343 baby girls named Yesenia [rank: 503rd]
1972: 471 baby girls named Yesenia [rank: 414th]
1971: 526 baby girls named Yesenia [rank: 410th]
1970: 30 baby girls named Yesenia
1969: 9 baby girls named Yesenia
Oyuki
The comic “El pecado de Oyuki” (transl. “The Sin of Oyuki”) (1975-1977) became a telenovela in 1987. It first aired in the U.S. on Univision, and the same year the name Oyuki debuted in the U.S. data:
1989: 8 baby girls named Oyuki
1988: 20 baby girls named Oyuki
1987: 6 baby girls named Oyuki [debut]
1986: unlisted
1985: unlisted
Yesenia (yet again)
“Yesenia” was made into yet another telenovela in 1987, and this resulted in the name’s highest-ever usage in the U.S. the same year:
1989: 1,303 baby girls named Yesenia [rank: 204th]
1988: 1,208 baby girls named Yesenia [rank: 215th]
1987: 2,003 baby girls named Yesenia [rank: 137th]
1986: 845 baby girls named Yesenia [rank: 293rd]
1985: 522 baby girls named Yesenia [rank: 422nd]
Alondra
The comic “Casandra” (which came out during the ’80s) was adapted as Alondra for TV in 1995. It was renamed in honor of Yolanda Vargas Dulché’s granddaughter, orchestra conductor Alondra de la Parra. The same year, the popularity of the name Alondra (the Spanish word for “lark”) rose considerably:
1997: 1,837 baby girls named Alondra [rank: 167th]
1996: 2,020 baby girls named Alondra [rank: 157th]
1995: 1,205 baby girls named Alondra [rank: 238th]
1994: 149 baby girls named Alondra
1993: 193 baby girls named Alondra [rank: 972nd]
Rosaisela (again)
“María Isabel” was made into yet another telenovela in 1997. A year later, the name saw its highest-ever U.S. usage:
2000: 20 baby girls named Rosaisela
1999: 33 baby girls named Rosaisela
1998: 51 baby girls named Rosaisela [peak]
1997: 10 baby girls named Rosaisela
1996: 10 baby girls named Rosaisela
…Do you know anyone who was named with one of these comics or telenovelas in mind? Which name did they get?
Sources:
Foster, David William. (Ed.) Handbook of Latin American Literature. New York: Routledge, 2015.
Hinds, Harold E. and Charles M. Tatum. Not Just for Children: The Mexican Comic Book in the Late 1960s and 1970s. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992.
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