How popular is the baby name Hamilton 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 Hamilton.
The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.
The old-fashioned name Theodosia, which dropped out of the U.S. baby name data after 2006, popped back up again a decade later:
2018: 11 baby girls named Theodosia
2017: 11 baby girls named Theodosia
2016: 6 baby girls named Theodosia
2015: unlisted
2014: unlisted
The fact that name Hamilton saw overall peak usage the same year leads me to believe that the influence in both cases was the hip-hop musical Hamilton, by actor/playwright/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The massively popular show opened off-Broadway in early 2015, moved to Broadway mid-year, and ended up winning 11 statuettes at the Tony Awards in mid-2016.
The musical portrayed Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, as he grew “[f]rom bastard orphan to Washington’s right hand man, rebel to war hero, [and] loving husband caught in the country’s first sex scandal to Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy.”
One of Hamilton‘s memorable songs, “Dear Theodosia” (pronounced thee-uh-DOH-zhuh), was a touching ballad performed by the characters Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton for their newborn children, Theodosia and Philip.
Here’s the song:
The lyrics begin:
Dear Theodosia, what to say to you? You have my eyes, you have your mother’s name.
Young Theodosia Burr was indeed named after her mother, Theodosia Bartow, who was, in turn, named after her father, Theodosius Bartow. Their shared name can be traced back to the ancient Greek words theos, meaning “god,” and dosis, meaning “a giving.” (Interestingly, dosis is the root of the modern word dose, which refers to an amount of medicine taken at one time.)
What are your thoughts on the name Theodosia? Would you use it? (How about Hamilton?)
And here are the late bloomers — names that were part of the 2020 game, but didn’t rise/debut until 2021.
Win re-emerged with 14 baby boys.
Kaori increased by 106%
Gervonta debuted with 8 baby boys
Theodosia increased by 75%
Anaia increased by 71%
Wednesday increased by 47%
Hamilton increased by 30%
Lenin increased by 19%
Liberty increased by 8%
Zaya increased by 7%
What are your thoughts on these results? Which name surprised you the most?
[Disclaimer: Some of the names above were already moving in the direction indicated. Others were influenced by more than a single pop culture person/event. In all cases, I leave it up to you to judge the degree/nature of pop culture influence.]
And here are the late bloomers — names that were part of the 2019 game, but didn’t rise/debut until 2020.
Donna increased by 20%.
Nipsey debuted with 7 baby boys.
Luce returned to the data with 7 baby girls.
Maleficent returned to the data with 5 baby girls.
Miren returned to the data with 5 baby girls.
Finally, regarding our theories about how Covid might have affected 2020’s names…I didn’t notice anything definitive. For instance, both Gheba and Skizzo mentioned “prestige” names (e.g., King, Legend, Major, Messiah and Royal). What I found was that some went up, some went down. Same with the modern virtue names (e.g., Courage, Honor, Brave, Bravery, Freedom).
What are your thoughts on these results? Which name surprised you the most?
[Disclaimer: Some of the names above were already moving in the direction indicated. Others were influenced by more than a single pop culture person/event. In all cases, I leave it up to you to judge the degree/nature of pop culture influence.]
According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, the most popular baby names in the state in 2019 were Charlotte and Oliver.
Here are Iowa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:
Girl Names
Charlotte, 179 baby girls
Emma, 174
Evelyn, 156
Harper, 154
Olivia, 134
Amelia, 129
Ava, 127
Avery, 98
Nora, 96
Violet, 94
Boy Names
Oliver, 236 baby boys
Henry, 189
Liam, 188
William, 154
Lincoln, 141
Noah, 138
Owen, 136
Jack, 127
Jackson, 124
Maverick, 116
In the girls’ top 10, Avery and Violet replaced Sophia and Isabella.
In the boys’ top 10, Jack and Maverick replaced Wyatt and Hudson.
(The SSA’s 2019 name data for Iowa is different in several ways. On the girls’ side, Avery/Hazel/Nora are in a 3-way tie for 8th/9th/10th. On the boys’ side, Henry and Liam have switched spots, and Theodore is in 10th.)
Getting back to Iowa’s own data, here are some of the baby names that were bestowed just once in the state in 2019:
This website or its third-party tools process personal data.In case of sale of your personal information, you may opt out by using the link Do not sell my personal information.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.