How popular is the baby name Hamlet 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 Hamlet.

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Popularity of the baby name Hamlet


Posts that mention the name Hamlet

Popular male names in England, 1560-1621

Merton College (University of Oxford)
Merton College (University of Oxford)

A while back, I stumbled upon a register of people associated with Oxford University from the mid-16th century to the early 17th century.

Interestingly, the editor of the register decided to include a section dedicated to first names and surnames. That section included a long list of male forenames and their frequency of occurrence from 1560 to 1621.

The editor claimed that, for several reasons, these rankings were “probably…more representative of English names than any list yet published” for that span of time. One reason was that the names represented men from “different grades of English society” — including peers, scholars, tradesmen, and servants.

So, are you ready for the list?

Here’s the top 100:

  1. John, 3,826 individuals
  2. Thomas, 2,777
  3. William, 2,546
  4. Richard, 1,691
  5. Robert, 1,222
  6. Edward, 957
  7. Henry, 908
  8. George, 647
  9. Francis, 447
  10. James, 424
  11. Nicholas, 326
  12. Edmund, 298
  13. Anthony, 262
  14. Hugh, 257
  15. Christopher, 243
  16. Samuel, 227
  17. Walter, 207
  18. Roger, 195
  19. Ralph, 182
  20. Peter (and Peirs/Pers), 175
  21. Humphrey, 168
  22. Charles, 139
  23. Philip, 137
  24. David, 129
  25. Matthew, 116
  26. Nathaniel, 112
  27. Michael, 103
  28. Alexander, 98 (tie)
  29. Arthur, 98 (tie)
  30. Laurence, 90
  31. Giles, 88
  32. Stephen, 86
  33. Simon, 83
  34. Daniel, 79
  35. Joseph, 78 (tie)
  36. Lewis, 78 (tie)
  37. Andrew, 69
  38. Roland, 65
  39. Griffith (and Griffin), 60
  40. Evan, 55
  41. Abraham, 54 (tie)
  42. Leonard, 54 (tie)
  43. Owen, 53
  44. Gilbert, 52
  45. Morris (and Maurice), 51
  46. Bartholomew, 46 (3-way tie)
  47. Oliver, 46 (3-way tie)
  48. Timothy, 46 (3-way tie)
  49. Morgan, 45
  50. Martin, 44 (tie)
  51. Rice, 44 (tie)
  52. Gabriel, 41
  53. Benjamin, 40
  54. Jeffrey/Geoffrey, 38
  55. Ambrose, 36
  56. Adam, 35
  57. Toby (and Tobias), 34
  58. Jerome, 33
  59. Ellis, 30
  60. Paul, 29
  61. Bernard, 28 (3-way tie)
  62. Gregory, 28 (3-way tie)
  63. Isaac, 28 (3-way tie)
  64. Jasper (and Gaspar), 26 (3-way tie)
  65. Josiah (and Josias), 26 (3-way tie)
  66. Randall (and Randolph), 26 (3-way tie)
  67. Miles, 24
  68. Lancelot, 23
  69. Austin (and Augustine), 22 (tie)
  70. Jarvis (and Gervase), 22 (tie)
  71. Brian, 21
  72. Matthias, 20 (tie)
  73. Reginald (and Reynold), 20 (tie)
  74. Jeremy, 19
  75. Theophilus, 19
  76. Joshua 18 (3-way tie)
  77. Marmaduke, 18 (3-way tie)
  78. Valentine, 18 (3-way tie)
  79. Fulke, 17 (tie)
  80. Sampson (and Samson), 17 (tie)
  81. Clement, 16 (4-way tie)
  82. Ferdinando, 16 (4-way tie)
  83. Herbert, 16 (4-way tie)
  84. Zachary, 16 (4-way tie)
  85. Cuthbert, 15 (3-way tie)
  86. Emanuel, 15 (3-way tie)
  87. Vincent, 15 (3-way tie)
  88. Adrian, 14 (3-way tie)
  89. Elias, 14 (3-way tie)
  90. Jonah (and Jonas), 14 (3-way tie)
  91. Tristram, 13
  92. Allan, 12 (6-way tie)
  93. Ames, 12 (6-way tie)
  94. Barnaby (and Barnabas), 12 (6-way tie)
  95. Gerard (and Garret), 12 (6-way tie)
  96. Lionel, 12 (6-way tie)
  97. Mark, 12 (6-way tie)
  98. Abel, 11 (3-way tie)
  99. Erasmus, 11 (3-way tie)
  100. Roderic, 11 (3-way tie)

Did the relative popularity of any of these names surprise you?

The editor did note that “the more common names occur more frequently than they ought to…from the tendency to confuse less common names with them.”

For example, a person called ‘Edmund,’ if he is frequently mentioned in the Register, is almost certain to be somewhere quoted as ‘Edward,’ ‘Gregory’ as ‘George,’ ‘Randall’ or ‘Raphael’ as ‘Ralph,’ ‘Gilbert’ as ‘William,’ and so on.

Now here are some of the less-common names, grouped by number of appearances in the register:

10 appearancesIsrael, Luke
9 appearancesCadwalader, Jenkin, Percival
8 appearancesBennet/Benedict, Godfrey, Howell, Jonathan, Raphael, Theodore
7 appearancesBaldwin, Gawen/Gavin, Hercules, Job, Kenelm, Meredith, Silvester, Solomon, Watkin
6 appearancesAlban, Basil, Caleb, Cornelius, Dennis, Guy, Jacob, Patrick
5 appearancesDudley, Edwin, Eustace, Ezechias/Hezekiah, Ezekiel, Hannibal, Joel, Moses, Peregrine, Simeon, Thurstan, Zacchaeus
4 appearancesFelix, Maximilian, Phineas
3 appearancesAaron, Abdias, Amos, Arnold, Baptist, Barten, Devereux, Diggory, Eleazer, Elisha, Ely, Ephraim, Euseby, German, Hamnet, Hilary, Hopkin, Jevan (“a form for Evan”), Justinian, Lemuel, Osmund, Pexall, Shakerley, Swithin
2 appearancesAngell, Audley, Avery, Bruin, Caesar, Calcot, Carew, Carr, Cecil, Cheyney, Clare, Collingwood, Conon/Conan, Darcy, Dominic, Elkanah, Emor, Ethelbert, Fitz-William, Frederic, Gamaliel, Gideon, Gifford, Goddard, Gray, Hamlet, Hammond, Harvey, Hastings, Hatton, Hector, Isaiah, Jethro, Joscelyn, Julius, Knightley, Mordecai, Morton, Nathan, Nevell, Obadiah, Otho, Pascho, Philemon, Polydor, Price, Raleigh, Raymond, Reuben, Rouse, Sabaoth, Sebastian, Seth, Silas, Silvanus, Tertullian, Umpton, Warren, Wortley, Zouch

Finally, lets check out some of the single-appearance names.

Over 250 names were in the register just once. I won’t include all of them, but here are about half:

  • Accepted, Aegeon, Albinus, Alford, Algernon, Ammiel, Arcadius, Arundel, Atherton, Aubrey, Aunstey, Aymondesham*
  • Bamfield, Beauforus, Bezaliel, Blaise, Bulstrod, Burgetius
  • Cadoc, Calvin, Candish, Cannanuel, Chiddiock, Chilston, Chrysostom, Conrad (“probably a foreigner”), Cosowarth, Creswell, Cyprian
  • Dabridgcourt, Darby, Delvus, Deodatus, Dier, Donwald, Dunstan
  • Elihu, Erisy, Esdras, Everard
  • Fernand, Fettiplace, Fines, Florice, Fogge, Fulbert
  • Geraint, Gerald, Glidd, Gourneus, Granado, Grange, Gratian
  • Hattil, Haut, Hercius, Hodges
  • Jarniot, Jephson, Jerameel, Jeremoth, Jolliffe
  • Kelamus, Killingworth, Kingsmell
  • Lambard, Leoline, Levinus, Leyson, Livewell
  • Maior, Maniewe, Marchadine, Mardocheus, Mattathias, Moyle
  • Nargia, Nizael, Norwich, Noye
  • Ogier, Olliph, Otwell
  • Pancras, Peleger, Periam, Person, Phatnell, Poynings, Purify
  • Renewed, Rheseus (“a Latinism for Rice”), Rimprum, Rollesley, Rotheram, Rumbold
  • Sabinus, Scipio, Sefton, Slaney, Snappe, Southcot, St. John, Stockett, Stukeley
  • Tanfield, Thekeston, Thrasibulus, Timoleon, Tournie, Tupper
  • Ulpian, Utred
  • Wallop, Walsingham, Warian, Warnecombe, Whorwood, Willgent
  • Yeldard
  • Zorobabel

*Could “Aymondesham” be a typo for Agmondesham?

Which of these uncommon names do you find the most intriguing?

Source: Register of the University of Oxford, vol. 2, part 4, edited by Andrew Clark, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1889.

Image: Merton College from Merton Field by Jonas Magnus Lystad under CC BY-SA 4.0.

[Latest update: Dec. 2022]

What gave baby name Ophelia a boost in the mid-2010s?

The Lumineers album "Cleopatra" (2016)
Lumineers album

The baby name Ophelia was already on the rise when, in 2016, it nearly doubled in usage:

  • 2018: 839 baby girls named Ophelia [rank: 373rd]
  • 2017: 764 baby girls named Ophelia [rank: 416th]
  • 2016: 532 baby girls named Ophelia [rank: 583rd]
  • 2015: 276 baby girls named Ophelia [rank: 979th]
  • 2014: 226 baby girls named Ophelia

What caused the acceleration?

My guess is the song “Ophelia” by folk-rock band The Lumineers. It was released in early 2016 and peaked at #66 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in April.

Oh, Ophelia
You’ve been on my mind, girl, since the flood

Here’s the music video:

The earliest versions of the song were inspired by the character Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet; the final version was more like “a vague reference to people falling in love with fame,” according to Lumineers songwriter Wesley Schultz.

For a time, Schultz tried to find a different name to feature in the song, because The Band already had a song called “Ophelia” (1975). He explained:

I felt like it was a parking spot that was already taken, you know? I didn’t want to encroach on this sacred space, that is their song called “Ophelia.”

But the more I started using other names, it just didn’t work. It wasn’t the right musicality to the word. I was trying to think of like a “Jo Jo” or something with the “O” and the “A” at the end, but it wasn’t working. Finally had no choice, but go with it.

What are your thoughts on the name Ophelia?

Sources:

[Latest update: April 2023]

Some place-names from the Western U.S.

jackpot, idaho, place name

In late December, not long after a short stay in New Orleans, my husband and I took a road trip through several states. Along the way I spotted some interesting place-names, mostly in Utah:

  • Little America, Wyoming – named after a local hotel whose name was inspired by the “Little America” exploration base in Antarctica.
  • Jackpot, Nevada – a casino town cleverly named to attract business.
  • Pahranagat Valley, Nevada – named for the local Native American tribe. Theories about the meaning include: “watermelon,” “squash,” “people of the marshy spring,” “put their feet in the water.”
  • Hurricane, Utah – named by an early settler whose buggy-top was blown off by a gust of wind. Locals pronounce it hurrakin.
  • Browse, Utah – possibly named for a 1930s Forest Service research study of local plants used as food by browsing animals.
  • Kolob Canyons, Utah – named after LDS star/planet Kolob.
  • Kanarraville, Utah – named after Piute chief Canarrah (or Quanarrah).
  • Farr West, Utah – named after Mormon pioneers Lorin Farr and Chauncey West. It was also reminiscent of the name of an earlier Mormon town: Far West, Missouri.
  • Elsinore, Utah – named after Helsingør, Denmark (known as Elsinore in English).
  • Loa, Utah – named after Mauna Loa, the volcano in Hawaii.

Elsinore caught my eye because it seemed like a mashup of the names Elsie and Eleanor. Even though it’s never appeared in the SSA data, records suggest that several hundred people in the U.S. have been named Elsinore. (Here are the graves of various Elsinores buried in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Washington, Minnesota, and, yes, Utah.) The usage might be attributable to Shakespeare, who set Hamlet in a castle in Elsinore.

Source: Carlson, Helen S. Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1974.

How did “The Lion King” influence baby names?

The character Simba from the movie "The Lion King" (1994)
Simba from “The Lion King“

Disney princesses often influence the baby name charts. But what about Disney animals?

We’ve already talked about two deer and a squirrel, so today let’s check out five lions and a meerkat.

The Lion King, released in 1994, was a Hamlet-influenced, coming-of-age story that focused on a lion cub named Simba. So it’s no surprise that Simba was the first Lion King-inspired baby name to debut on the charts…

Simba

The name Simba — not to be confused with Symba! — first appeared in the data in 1994:

  • 1997: unlisted
  • 1996: unlisted
  • 1995: 9 baby boys named Simba
  • 1994: 5 baby boys named Simba [debut]
  • 1993: unlisted

Simba comes from the Swahili word for “lion.”

Sarabi

Sarabi, the name of Simba’s mother, first appeared in 1995:

  • 1997: 5 baby girls named Sarabi
  • 1996: 9 baby girls named Sarabi
  • 1995: 12 baby girls named Sarabi [debut]
  • 1994: unlisted
  • 1993: unlisted

Sarabi comes from the Swahili word for “mirage.”

Mufasa

Mufasa, the name of Simba’s father, also first appeared in 1995:

  • 1997: unlisted
  • 1996: unlisted
  • 1995: 7 baby boys named Mufasa [debut]
  • 1994: unlisted
  • 1993: unlisted

It was a one-hit wonder on the charts.

Nala

Nala was the name of Simba’s childhood best friend (and, later, love interest). Her name saw a big boost in usage in the mid-1990s:

  • 1997: 55 baby girls named Nala
  • 1996: 51 baby girls named Nala
  • 1995: 85 baby girls named Nala
  • 1994: 24 baby girls named Nala
  • 1993: unlisted

Timon

Timon, the name of Simba’s meerkat friend, also saw increased usage in the mid-1990s:

  • 1997: 17 baby boys named Timon
  • 1996: 19 baby boys named Timon
  • 1995: 19 baby boys named Timon
  • 1994: 9 baby boys named Timon
  • 1993: 7 baby boys named Timon

Kiara

Kiara wasn’t in the original Lion King movie, but she was the main character of the direct-to-video sequel The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, released in October of 1998. She was Simba and Nala’s daughter. The name Kiara, already popular, saw a massive spike in usage in 1999:

  • 2001: 2,289 baby girls named Kiara [rank: 144th]
  • 2000: 2,559 baby girls named Kiara [rank: 130th]
  • 1999: 4,023 baby girls named Kiara [rank: 78th]
  • 1998: 1,733 baby girls named Kiara [rank: 172nd]
  • 1997: 1,263 baby girls named Kiara [rank: 238th]

…So which of these names do you like best? Would you use a Lion King-inspired name for your own baby?

Source: SSA

Image: Screenshot of The Lion King