How popular is the baby name Heloise 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 Heloise.

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Popularity of the baby name Heloise


Posts that mention the name Heloise

Popular baby names in Paris, 2022

Flag of France
Flag of France

Paris, the capital of France, has an area of 41 square miles and a population of about 2.1 million — making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world.

Last year, Paris’ most popular baby names were Alma and Gabriel.

Here are the city’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Alma, 211 baby girls
  2. Louise, 210
  3. Emma, 152
  4. Jeanne, 150
  5. Anna, 144
  6. Adèle, 138
  7. Rose, 136
  8. Gabrielle, 133
  9. Chloé, 131
  10. Jade, 128 (tie)
  11. Léa, 128 (tie)
  12. Victoria, 126
  13. Alice, 120 (tie)
  14. Lina, 120 (tie)
  15. Sofia, 117
  16. Iris, 115 (tie)
  17. Olivia, 115 (tie)
  18. Juliette, 114 (tie)
  19. Victoire, 114 (tie)
  20. Romy, 113
  21. Eva, 111
  22. Joséphine, 106
  23. Ava, 104
  24. Fatoumata, 103
  25. Alba, 98
  26. Diane, 96
  27. Ambre, 94 (3-way tie)
  28. Nina, 94 (3-way tie)
  29. Zoé, 94 (3-way tie)
  30. Charlotte, 92
  31. Mia, 90
  32. Alix, 89 (tie)
  33. Julia, 89 (tie)
  34. Léonie, 88
  35. Sarah, 87
  36. Ella, 86
  37. Lou, 83
  38. Suzanne, 82
  39. Charlie, 81
  40. Nour, 78
  41. Héloïse, 75
  42. Mariam, 74
  43. Romane, 72
  44. Inaya, 68
  45. Agathe, 64
  46. Inès, 63 (tie)
  47. Maya, 63 (tie)
  48. Madeleine, 62
  49. Céleste, 59
  50. Aminata, 57 (tie)
  51. Fatima, 57 (tie)

Boy Names

  1. Gabriel, 332 baby boys
  2. Adam, 254
  3. Raphaël, 250
  4. Louis, 223
  5. Mohamed, 209
  6. Arthur, 199
  7. Isaac, 190
  8. Noah, 180
  9. Gaspard, 175
  10. Léon, 173
  11. Léo, 158
  12. Joseph, 154
  13. Paul, 150
  14. Lucas, 145
  15. Victor, 139
  16. Hugo, 119
  17. Alexandre, 118
  18. Jules, 116
  19. Sacha, 115
  20. Ibrahim, 109
  21. Noé, 103
  22. Augustin, 101
  23. Liam, 95
  24. Oscar, 94
  25. Samuel, 92
  26. Maël, 91
  27. Marceau, 89 (3-way tie)
  28. Simon, 89 (3-way tie)
  29. Timothée, 89 (3-way tie)
  30. Nathan, 88
  31. Basile, 81
  32. Côme, 80
  33. Aaron, 79
  34. Ethan, 78
  35. Auguste, 77 (4-way tie)
  36. Eliott, 77 (4-way tie)
  37. Moussa, 77 (4-way tie)
  38. Naël, 77 (4-way tie)
  39. Marius, 75
  40. Eden, 74
  41. Mathis, 72 (tie)
  42. Rayan, 72 (tie)
  43. Achille, 71 (3-way tie)
  44. Andrea, 71 (3-way tie)
  45. Valentin, 71 (3-way tie)
  46. Antoine, 70
  47. Charles, 69
  48. Ismaël, 68
  49. Léonard, 66 (tie)
  50. Martin, 66 (tie)

And here’s a selection of names from lower down in the rankings, which includes all names given to at least five Parisian babies (of one gender or the other) per year.

Girl namesBoy names
Aliénor (40 baby girls), Mahaut (26), Louison (17), Mahault (15), Cassandre (10), Kimia (9), Solène (8), Bertille (7), Astrée (6), Bamby (5)Gaston (34 baby boys), Mathéo (27), Ruben (23), Ambroise (21), Célestin (16), Camil (13), Louison (7), Thaddée (7), Barthélémy (5), Ennio (5)

The female names Mahaut and Mahault are Middle French forms of Mathilde, and the gender-neutral name Louison is a diminutive of both Louise and Louis.

Finally, here’s a link to Paris’ 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Prénoms déclarés – Paris Data, Paris – Wikipedia, Behind the Name, Mathilda – dmnes.org

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)

Popular baby names in Paris, 2021

Flag of France
Flag of France

According to Paris Data, the most popular baby names in the capital of France last year were Louise and Gabriel.

Here are the city’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Louise, 217 baby girls
  2. Alma, 207
  3. Emma, 178
  4. Adèle, 151 (tie)
  5. Chloé, 151 (tie)
  6. Anna, 150
  7. Olivia, 142
  8. Eva, 138 (tie)
  9. Jeanne, 138 (tie)
  10. Rose, 133
  11. Gabrielle, 131
  12. Alice, 129
  13. Romy, 125
  14. Ava, 124
  15. Léa, 121 (tie)
  16. Victoria, 121 (tie)
  17. Joséphine, 119 (tie)
  18. Zoé, 119 (tie)
  19. Iris, 118
  20. Nina, 117
  21. Charlotte, 115 (tie)
  22. Lina, 115 (tie)
  23. Lou, 113
  24. Ella, 104 (tie)
  25. Sofia, 104 (tie)
  26. Victoire, 102
  27. Sarah, 101
  28. Agathe, 98 (tie)
  29. Charlie, 98 (tie)
  30. Alix, 96
  31. Juliette, 95
  32. Jade, 93
  33. Inès, 89
  34. Suzanne, 88
  35. Julia, 86
  36. Léonie, 83
  37. Margaux, 82
  38. Mila, 79
  39. Diane, 78
  40. Ambre, 77 (tie)
  41. Fatoumata, 77 (tie)
  42. Alba, 75
  43. Héloïse, 73
  44. Mia, 72 (tie)
  45. Romane, 72 (tie)
  46. Giulia, 69
  47. Margot, 68
  48. Nour, 67
  49. Apolline, 66
  50. Maya, 64 (tie)
  51. Noa, 64 (tie)

Boy Names

  1. Gabriel, 357 baby boys
  2. Adam, 250
  3. Louis, 245
  4. Raphaël, 233
  5. Arthur, 227
  6. Noah, 191
  7. Isaac, 187
  8. Joseph, 178 (tie)
  9. Mohamed, 178 (tie)
  10. Léon, 171
  11. Léo, 166
  12. Paul, 156
  13. Victor, 155
  14. Lucas, 152
  15. Gaspard, 149
  16. Alexandre, 134 (tie)
  17. Hugo, 134 (tie)
  18. Augustin, 131
  19. Sacha, 124
  20. Aaron, 122
  21. Oscar, 121
  22. Jules, 120
  23. Liam, 119
  24. Ibrahim, 117
  25. Noé, 114
  26. Samuel, 113
  27. Naël, 108
  28. Ismaël, 104
  29. Côme, 101
  30. Auguste, 100
  31. Basile, 98 (tie)
  32. Maël, 98 (tie)
  33. Antoine, 94
  34. Maxime, 92
  35. Eliott, 91 (tie)
  36. Marceau, 91 (tie)
  37. Martin, 90 (tie)
  38. Marius, 90 (tie)
  39. Camille, 89 (3-way tie)
  40. Nathan, 89 (3-way tie)
  41. Timothée, 89 (3-way tie)
  42. Simon, 86
  43. Charles, 84 (tie)
  44. Axel, 84 (tie)
  45. Andrea, 82 (tie)
  46. Octave, 82 (tie)
  47. Léonard, 80 (tie)
  48. Eden, 80 (tie)
  49. Félix, 78 (tie)
  50. Ulysse, 78 (tie)

And here’s a selection of names from lower down in the rankings (which includes all names given to at least five babies per gender, per year).

Parisian Girl NamesParisian Boy Names
Garance (53 girls), Nelya (30), Ysée (23), Jennah (23), Nava (15), Athénaïs (12), Calypso (8), Alizée (5), Mazarine (5)Henri (42 boys), Kylian (25), Dario (14), Archibald (11), Zéphyr (11), Pacôme (8), Tancrède (8), Enguerrand (7), Orphée (6)

In 2020, the top two names in Paris were also Louise and Gabriel.

Sources: Liste des prénoms – Paris Data, Découvrez le top 10 des prénoms donnés en 2021 à Paris

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)

Baby born to medieval scholars, named Astralabe

Photo of an astrolabe from the 11th-century Spain.
An astrolabe

Here’s the story of an unusual baby name that was bestowed in Paris during the 12th century.

The parents were French philosopher and theologian Peter Abelard and his brilliant student, Héloïse d’Argenteuil. In the year 1115, they started their infamous love affair (“one of the best known love tragedies of history”). In 1118, they welcomed their only child, a son.

Because he was illegitimate, it fell upon Héloïse to do the naming. She chose Astralabe — after the Astrolabe, a sophisticated navigational instrument being used at that time in the Islamic world (which included much of Spain). Astrolabes could “locate and predict the positions and risings of the sun, moon, planets, and stars.”

In Catholic France, where most babies were named after saints, “Astralabe” was a highly unconventional choice. (One science writer, in 2008, compared Héloïse’s choice to “a woman in a sci-tech backwater today naming her son iPod.”)

Abelard and Héloïse soon married and legitimized Astralabe. But that didn’t stop Héloïse’s outraged relatives from attacking and castrating Abelard. Ultimately, both ended up going into religious life (even though, technically, they remained married).

No one is certain what became of Astralabe, but name-based evidence (a person referred to as “Canon Astralabe” at Nantes Cathedral circa 1150, for instance) suggests that he entered religious life as well.

The word “astrolabe” is ultimately derived from the ancient Greek compound noun astrolabos organon, meaning “star-taking instrument.” Astrolabos is made up of the elements astron, meaning “star,” and lambanien, meaning “to take.”

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Planispheric Astrolabe by the National Museum of American History under CC0 1.0.

110+ Hidden gems: Rare baby girl names

gemstone

Want a girl name that’s not popular, but also not unheard of?

I looked through the names at the bottom of SSA’s 2011 mega-list and found a bunch of hidden gems:

  1. Alberta (9 baby girls)
  2. Alexandrina (6)
  3. Amity (28)
  4. Apollonia (21)
  5. Augusta (31)
  6. Augustina (15)
  7. Avelina (34)
  8. Bernadine (6)
  9. Bertha (45)
  10. Bettina (8)
  11. Blanche (6)
  12. Bryony (5); Briony (16)
  13. Carlotta (20)
  14. Celestina (19)
  15. Celestine (7)
  16. Cicely (14)
  17. Claribel (19)
  18. Clarice (37)
  19. Clarity (17)
  20. Claudette (9)
  21. Claudine (9)
  22. Clementina (7)
  23. Constantina (5)
  24. Coretta (5)
  25. Corinna (37)
  26. Cornelia (17)
  27. Damiana (10)
  28. Davida (10)
  29. Delphine (26)
  30. Dinah (44)
  31. Dolores (39)
  32. Dorothea (15)
  33. Edwina (8)
  34. Eloisa (42)
  35. Enid (15)
  36. Ernestina (5)
  37. Eugenia (29)
  38. Eugenie (8)
  39. Eulalia (25)
  40. Euphemia (5)
  41. Evita (13)
  42. Fabiana (47)
  43. Faustina (21)
  44. Flavia (12)
  45. Floriana (6)
  46. Florina (6)
  47. Georgette (24)
  48. Gertrude (16)
  49. Gloriana (22)
  50. Golda (34)
  51. Goldie (37)
  52. Heloise (8)
  53. Henrietta (34)
  54. Hilda (40)
  55. Imelda (23)
  56. Io (9)
  57. Ione (26)
  58. Isidora (13)
  59. Jeanne (39)
  60. Josette (27)
  61. Junia (17)
  62. Linnaea (12)
  63. Lucette (7)
  64. Lucienne (43)
  65. Lucilla (12)
  66. Marietta (22)
  67. Maude (9)
  68. Mavis (38)
  69. Minerva (38)
  70. Nanette (8)
  71. Nell (32)
  72. Nella (38)
  73. Nicola (30)
  74. Nicoletta (19)
  75. Nicolina (29)
  76. Odette (48)
  77. Olympia (22)
  78. Orla (28); Orlagh (6)
  79. Phillipa (10)
  80. Philomena (41)
  81. Phyllis (20)
  82. Rhoda (28)
  83. Romana (6)
  84. Rosabella (46)
  85. Rosalba (17)
  86. Rosaline (20)
  87. Rosella (26)
  88. Rosetta (25)
  89. Rosette (5)
  90. Rosina (17)
  91. Rowena (15)
  92. Rubina (5)
  93. Rue (13)
  94. Sebastiana (5)
  95. Seraphine (19)
  96. Sigrid (15)
  97. Stephania (32)
  98. Sybilla (5)
  99. Talulla (5)
  100. Therese (47)
  101. Thomasina (6)
  102. Thora (19)
  103. Tova (43)
  104. Ulyssa (8)
  105. Ursula (25)
  106. Vashti (16)
  107. Verity (38)
  108. Violetta (46)
  109. Vita (36)
  110. Wanda (23)
  111. Winifred (30)
  112. Winona (20)
  113. Xanthe (7)
  114. Zenaida (36)
  115. Zenobia (22)
  116. Zillah (9)
  117. Zipporah (41); Tzipporah (12)

(In some cases, a different spelling of the name is more popular than what’s shown here. For instance, Isidora is rare, but Isadora is more common.)

Like any of these?

Did you spot any other great end-of-the-list names?

P.S. Here’s the boys’ list.

Image by Tahlia Doyle from Unsplash