How popular is the baby name Golden 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 Golden.

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Popularity of the baby name Golden


Posts that mention the name Golden

Babies named “Free Silver” and “Gold Standard”

"Gold Standard" and "Silver Standard" as gladiators, illustration from Puck magazine (Mar. 1900)
“Gold Standard” vs. “Silver Standard”

The Free Silver Movement gave the baby name Silver a boost during the 1890s, as we saw in yesterday’s post. But the story doesn’t end there.

Some parents got even more specific with their babies’ names, opting for the full phrase “Free Silver”:

  • Free Silver Hopkins, born in Oklahoma in 1894
  • Free Silver Kasler, born in Oklahoma in 1895
  • Free Silver Watts, born in West Virginia in 1895
  • Free Silver Waters, born in Georgia in 1898

Then there were the people on the other side of the issue. They supported the gold standard, and a handful of them named their babies accordingly:

  • Gold Standard Kirkwood, born in Mississippi in 1890
  • Gold Standard Gunn, born in West Virginia in 1897
  • Goldstandard T. Rowlett, born in Oklahoma in 1898
  • Goldstandard G. Anderson, born in Kansas in 1898

Names from the same decade that included both metals, such as Goldie Freesilver, are harder to interpret. These names could be more about novelty than about politics (i.e., not a nod to bimetallism).

  • Silver Gold Kay, born in Arizona in 1893
  • Goldie Silvery Budd, in Ohio in 1896
  • Golden Silver Colley, born in Kentucky in 1896
  • Goldie Freesilver Crawford, born in Oklahoma in 1897
  • Goldie Silverada Hoffman, born in Colorado in 1899

Today’s question: If you had to choose either Gold or Silver (or some variant thereof, like Goldie or Silverene) as your baby’s name, which metal would you choose?

Source: FamilySearch.org

Image: The survival of the fittest – LOC

Would you sell the right to name your baby?

Golden Palace Benedetto
Golden Palace Benedetto

In February of 2005, Melissa Heuschkel of Connecticut was pregnant with her fourth* child and [f]rustrated by her inability to come up with a name that she felt would be inspiring and different.” So she put the name of her unborn baby up for auction on eBay.

Online casino GoldenPalace.com won the auction “in the final few hours of bidding” with an offer of $15,100.

When Melissa’s baby girl was born on April 27, she was named Golden Palace, nickname “Goldie.”

If a stranger offered you double that — $30,000 — for the right to name your next child, what would you say? Remember, this person would have free rein. You’d never have to use the name, but it must appear on the birth certificate.

If you’d say yes, why? (And, what would you do with the money?) If you’d say no, why not? (And, would you change your mind if the amount were higher?)

*Melissa’s three older children are named Beth, James, and Katarina.

Sources:

Image: GoldenPalace.com