How popular is the baby name Ginobili 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 Ginobili.

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Popularity of the baby name Ginobili


Posts that mention the name Ginobili

Where did the baby name Ginobili come from in 2005?

Manu Ginóbili on the cover of Sports Illustrated (June, 2005)

The eye-catching name Ginobili has appeared just once in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 2007: unlisted
  • 2006: unlisted
  • 2005: 7 baby boys named Ginobili [debut]
    • 6 born in Texas specifically
  • 2004: unlisted
  • 2003: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Professional basketball player Emanuel “Manu” Ginóbili (pronounced MAH-noo jih-NOH-blee), who was born in Argentina and played in the NBA for sixteen seasons — all with the San Antonio Spurs (2002-2018).

In fact, the year after the name Ginobili made its single appearance in the data, the name Manu saw peak usage.

Here’s how one reporter, writing in mid-2005, described Manu Ginóbili:

He is a 6-foot-6, 205-pound can of Red Bull — instant energy, all the time. That’s what makes the Spurs guard so effective, what fixates your eyes on him pinballing around the court, what places Ginobili in the company of the most stylish players in the NBA.

It seems that the 2004-05 season was a particularly good one for Manu: he played in his first All-Star game in February of 2005, and the Spurs went on to win the NBA championship four months later. (Over the course of his career, he was an All-Star twice and an NBA champion four times.)

What are your thoughts on Ginóbili as a first name? How about Manu?

Sources:

Image: © 2005 Sports Illustrated

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

  • (none yet)

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: Dec. 2023]