How popular is the baby name Harry 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 Harry.

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Popularity of the baby name Harry


Posts that mention the name Harry

What gave the baby name Pauline a boost in 1915?

The character Pauline from the film serial "The Perils of Pauline" (1914)
Pauline from “The Perils of Pauline“

The rise of the baby name Pauline during the early decades of the 20th century accelerated in the mid-1910s. Pauline reached its highest-ever ranking in 1915, in fact:

  • 1917: 6,896 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 33rd]
  • 1916: 6,655 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 33rd]
  • 1915: 6,334 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 32nd]
  • 1914: 4,698 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 34th]
  • 1913: 3,636 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 35th]
  • 1912: 3,163 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 38th]

What was drawing attention to the name around that time?

Fictional character Pauline Marvin, protagonist of the story The Perils of Pauline, which was serialized in print and on film concurrently throughout most of 1914 (from March to December).

The co-serialization came about through a collaboration between newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and motion picture company Pathé.

Hearst had commissioned Charles Goddard to write the story, in which the main character, a young heiress, set out to “have thrills, adventures, see people, [and] do daring things” before settling down with her sweetheart, Harry. Pauline’s escapades kept going awry, though, due to the scheming of a murderous man intent on stealing her fortune.

The serial’s twenty installments were released biweekly — every other Sunday in the newspapers, and every other Monday in the motion picture houses.

Notably, marketing for the serial included a weekly contest in which Hearst newspaper readers could win sizeable cash prizes for correctly guessing upcoming plot twists.

"The Perils of Pauline" advertisement (Mar. 1914)
“The Perils of Pauline” advertisement

The motion picture version of The Perils of Pauline quickly became the most famous of all movie serials. It didn’t utilize cliffhangers to the degree that The Adventures of Kathlyn did, but each episode featured exciting footage such as “the wrecking of a real aeroplane” (in episode 2), a ride in a sabotaged hot air balloon (episode 6), a car crash during a cross-country automobile race (episode 15), and an escape from a sunken submarine (episode 18).

The star of the picture was Missouri-born actress Pearl White, who performed most of her own stunts. The worldwide success of The Perils of Pauline turned White into one of the first international movie stars.

What are your thoughts on the name Pauline? (Do you like it more or less than Pearl?)

P.S. The Perils of Pauline was published as a standalone book in early 1915.

Sources:

Images: Screenshot of The Perils of Pauline (1914), clipping from the New York Times (14 Mar. 1914)

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2024

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, the countries of England and Wales together welcomed 594,677 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Muhammad.

Here are England and Wales’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 2,761 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 2,448
  3. Lily, 2,185
  4. Isla, 2,056
  5. Ivy, 1,956
  6. Florence, 1,936
  7. Freya, 1,929
  8. Poppy, 1,888
  9. Ava, 1,774
  10. Elsie, 1,727
  11. Isabella, 1,708
  12. Sofia, 1,626
  13. Sophia, 1,610
  14. Mia, 1,609
  15. Maya, 1,592
  16. Bonnie, 1,583
  17. Phoebe, 1,549
  18. Daisy, 1,548
  19. Sienna, 1,537
  20. Evelyn, 1,512
  21. Willow, 1,481
  22. Harper, 1,461
  23. Charlotte, 1,418
  24. Rosie, 1,406
  25. Grace, 1,390
  26. Maeve, 1,265
  27. Millie, 1,255
  28. Margot, 1,243
  29. Evie, 1,231
  30. Arabella, 1,222
  31. Matilda, 1,220
  32. Hallie, 1,218
  33. Delilah, 1,180
  34. Emily, 1,170
  35. Aria, 1,154
  36. Penelope, 1,133
  37. Mabel, 1,113
  38. Lottie, 1,109
  39. Ella, 1,108
  40. Ada, 1,049
  41. Ruby, 1,020
  42. Violet, 1,010
  43. Aurora, 1,002
  44. Maisie, 992
  45. Emilia, 961
  46. Mila, 953
  47. Ayla, 922
  48. Luna, 908
  49. Alice, 896
  50. Sophie, 886

Boy names

  1. Muhammad, 5,721 baby boys
  2. Noah, 4,139
  3. Oliver, 3,492
  4. Arthur, 3,368
  5. Leo, 3,324
  6. George, 3,257
  7. Luca, 2,814
  8. Theodore, 2,761
  9. Oscar, 2,747
  10. Archie, 2,575
  11. Jude, 2,540
  12. Theo, 2,387
  13. Freddie, 2,369
  14. Henry, 2,360
  15. Arlo, 2,220
  16. Alfie, 2,020
  17. Charlie, 1,956
  18. Finley, 1,886
  19. Albie, 1,820
  20. Harry, 1,765
  21. Mohammed, 1,760
  22. Jack, 1,711
  23. Elijah, 1,661
  24. Rory, 1,588
  25. Lucas, 1,550
  26. Thomas, 1,543
  27. William, 1,517
  28. Louie, 1,516
  29. Teddy, 1,506
  30. Jacob, 1,484
  31. Edward, 1,461
  32. Roman, 1,454
  33. Reuben, 1,442
  34. Oakley, 1,432
  35. Adam, 1,410
  36. Alexander, 1,365
  37. Isaac, 1,360
  38. Ezra, 1,339
  39. Tommy, 1,324
  40. James, 1,252
  41. Rowan, 1,246
  42. Hudson, 1,216
  43. Reggie, 1,194
  44. Max, 1,140
  45. Sebastian, 1,116
  46. Hugo, 1,094
  47. Louis, 1,092
  48. Ethan, 1,086
  49. Ronnie, 1,059
  50. Joshua, 1,027

In the girls’ top 10, Poppy and Elsie replaced Willow and Isabella.

In the boys’ top 10, Archie replaced Henry.

At the other end of the spectrum I spotted Bryher (given to 5 baby girls), no doubt inspired by Bryher Island, located off the coast of Cornwall.

And, speaking of rare names, here’s a selection of those that were given to just three babies each in England and Wales (combined) in last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Ascia, Barley, Clementina, Drashti, Euphemia, Fodhla, Gwenlli, Hyacinth, Isidora, Jindh, Kanak, Letizia, Migle, Ngoc, Olayinka, Pearly, Quinnie, Rennala, Sorella, Tirion, Unathi, Valora, Wallis, Xanthi, Yuet, ZhilaAelfred, Bramwell, Canelo, Doulton, Erling, Ferdia, Gursimran, Horace, Iorwerth, Jolyon, Kenshin, Llywelyn, Mawgan, Nikunj, Ozair, Penuel, Quintus, Rudolph, Shabsi, Teifion, Ugnius, Vishvam, Western, Xyleek, Ynyr, Zaroon

Some facts/thoughts about a few of the above…

  • Canelo is the Spanish word for “cinnamon.” (It’s also used as a nickname for a redheaded person.)
  • Erling is the first name of Norwegian soccer player Erling Haaland (who currently plays for Manchester City).
  • Gwenlli is a short form of the Welsh name Gwenllian.
  • Migle is based on the Lithuanian word migla, meaning “mist.”
  • Teifion may be based on the name of the River Teifi in Wales.
  • Xyleek, which debuted impressively in the U.S. data last year, may have been inspired by a TikTok video.
  • Ynyr is the Welsh form of the Latin name Honorius.

Finally, here are the 2024 rankings for Scotland and Northern Ireland — the other two countries in the United Kingdom — and the 2023 rankings for England and Wales, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2024

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, Northern Ireland — one of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom — welcomed more than 19,400 babies.

What were the most popular baby names among these babies? Grace and James.

Here are Northern Ireland’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Grace, 125 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 109
  3. Fiadh, 104
  4. Aoife, 97
  5. Emily, 96
  6. Charlotte, 95 (tie)
  7. Lily, 95 (tie)
  8. Isla, 91 (tie)
  9. Sophia, 91 (tie)
  10. Freya, 90
  11. Annie, 89
  12. Ella, 85
  13. Eabha, 80
  14. Amelia, 74 (tie)
  15. Sophie, 74 (tie)
  16. Evie, 73
  17. Meabh, 71
  18. Ellie, 69
  19. Anna, 65
  20. Clodagh, 61 (tie)
  21. Mia, 61 (tie)
  22. Aria, 59 (3-way tie)
  23. Maisie, 59 (3-way tie)
  24. Rosie, 59 (3-way tie)
  25. Erin, 58
  26. Croia, 55
  27. Elsie, 54
  28. Bonnie, 53 (tie)
  29. Molly, 53 (tie)
  30. Phoebe, 52 (tie)
  31. Sienna, 52 (tie)
  32. Ava, 51
  33. Cara, 50 (tie)
  34. Daisy, 50 (tie)
  35. Ivy, 49
  36. Clara, 47
  37. Saoirse, 46
  38. Lucy, 45 (tie)
  39. Ruby, 45 (tie)
  40. Cora, 44
  41. Rose, 43
  42. Eva, 42 (tie)
  43. Sadie, 42 (tie)
  44. Isabella, 39 (3-way tie)
  45. Nora, 39 (3-way tie)
  46. Willow, 39 (3-way tie)
  47. Ada, 37 (5-way tie)
  48. Katie, 37 (5-way tie)
  49. Maya, 37 (5-way tie)
  50. Niamh, 37 (5-way tie)
  51. Poppy, 37 (5-way tie)

Boy names

  1. James, 143 baby boys
  2. Cillian, 142
  3. Noah, 139
  4. Jack, 130
  5. Theo, 125
  6. Jude, 124
  7. Luca, 109
  8. Charlie, 106
  9. Oisin, 105
  10. Oliver, 104
  11. Thomas, 96
  12. Leo, 94
  13. Harry, 89 (tie)
  14. Jacob, 89 (tie)
  15. Finn, 84
  16. Arthur, 83
  17. Alfie, 82 (3-way tie)
  18. Daithi, 82 (3-way tie)
  19. Freddie, 82 (3-way tie)
  20. Archie, 77 (tie)
  21. Tommy, 77 (tie)
  22. Rian, 67
  23. Ollie, 65
  24. Conan, 62
  25. Ronan, 61
  26. Caleb, 60 (4-way tie)
  27. Fionn, 60 (4-way tie)
  28. Isaac, 60 (4-way tie)
  29. Patrick, 60 (4-way tie)
  30. Lucas, 57 (tie)
  31. Max, 57 (tie)
  32. Theodore, 55
  33. Rory, 54
  34. Joseph, 53 (3-way tie)
  35. Oscar, 53 (3-way tie)
  36. Reuben, 53 (3-way tie)
  37. Daniel, 52
  38. Adam, 51 (tie)
  39. Alexander, 51 (tie)
  40. George, 50 (tie)
  41. Odhran, 50 (tie)
  42. Ezra, 49 (3-way tie)
  43. Liam, 49 (3-way tie)
  44. Matthew, 49 (3-way tie)
  45. Arlo, 48 (3-way tie)
  46. Cian, 48 (3-way tie)
  47. Henry, 48 (3-way tie)
  48. Daire, 47 (3-way tie)
  49. Jonah, 47 (3-way tie)
  50. Sean, 47 (3-way tie)

Grace and James were also the #1 names in 2022, but both dipped to third place in 2023.

The highest climbers within the girls’ top 100 in 2024 were Maya, Maria, Eliza, and Ayla.

And the highest climbers within the boys’ top 100 were Austin, Rossa, Callum, and Joseph.

Finally, here’s a small selection of the names that were given to just three babies each last year:

  • Rare girl names: Aodhla, Cuisle, Doireann, Etain, Neala, Orlagh, Tierna
  • Rare boy names: Ainle, Con, Dualtagh, Eamon, Feilim, Lir, Oilibhear

Cuisle, the Irish word for “pulse,” is thematically similar to the trendy girl name Croia, which is based on croí, the Irish word for “heart.” Croia currently ranks 26th and 16th in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, respectively.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Baby born to circus performers, named after circus owner

Harry James in an advertisement (1942)
Harry James ad (1942)

Trumpet-playing bandleader Harry James — in full, Harry Haag James — was one of the most popular trumpeters of the big band era.

His parents were Maybelle and Everette James, “two of the principal performers in the Might Haag Shows,” which was “a traveling circus that only played small towns touring the South and Southeast.” His father, the director of the Mighty Haag band, was both a trumpeter and a cornetist. His mother was an aerialist who also rode horses and played the calliope.

Harry Haag James was born in early 1916 in Albany, Georgia — where the circus happened to be located at the time. His middle name was bestowed in honor of the circus’ owner, Ernest Haag.

Several sources claim that Harry James’ first name was actually “Henry,” but I found no proof of this. In fact, I noticed that his paternal grandfather’s name was also Harry.

P.S. Here’s a New England baby from the 1840s who was also named after a circus…

Sources:

Image: Clipping from Billboard magazine (21 Mar. 1942)