How popular is the baby name Herbert 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 Herbert.

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Popularity of the baby name Herbert


Posts that mention the name Herbert

London babies named for the Boer War

British infantry, Second Boer War

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the two wars were fought in South Africa between the British and the Boers. During the Second Boer War (1899–1902), certain patriotic London parents gave their children names “commemorative of our great generals and victories in South Africa.” Here are some examples:

NameInspiration
James Albert Redvers Kirby
Audrey Buller Lily Wallace		Gen. Redvers Henry Buller
Hector Macdonald MatthewMajor-Gen. Hector MacDonald
Frank Kimberley StuckeySiege of Kimberley
Thomas Elands Laagte WilksBattle of Elandslaagte
Margaret Ellen Ladysmith AngramBattle/Siege/Relief of Ladysmith
Colenso Stuart Dudley MiddletonBattle of Colenso
James Spion Kop SkinnerBattle of Spion Kop

Babies were also named Frere (for Bartle Frere), Glencoe (for the Battle of Glencoe), Kitchener (for Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener), Mafeking (for the Siege of Mafeking), Pretoria, and Tugela (for the Battle of the Tugela Heights).

And, oddly enough, a few London babies were named Kruger for Paul Kruger, President of the South African Republic.

Source: “Boer War Babies.” Leader [Regina, Canada] 31 May 1900: 2.

Image: The Second Boer War, 1899-1902

German baby named after Herbert Hoover

U.S. President Herbert Hoover proclaiming debt moratorium (mid-1931)
Herbert Hoover

After being defeated in World War I (1914-1918), Germany was expected to pay reparations.

But in June of 1931, as industrialized nations sank deeper and deeper into the Great Depression, U.S. President Herbert Hoover announced a one-year moratorium on reparations payments.

Days after the announcement, a baby boy born in Zehlendorf, Germany, was named Hoover “in gratitude for America’s beneficent action toward Germany.”

If the baby had been a girl, “[t]he parents said the child would have been named Mellona” after Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon.

(Most of Germany’s World War I reparations payments ended up being canceled. Germany’s final reparations-related payment was made in October of 2010 — less than a year ago!)

Sources:

  • “Hoover Beats Mellon by Boy.” Spokane Daily Chronicle 7 Jul. 1931: 13.
  • Kindleberger, Charles Poor. The World in Depression, 1929-1939. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1986.
  • “Little German Baby Named After Hoover.” Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal [Dubuque, IA] 7 Jul. 1931: 9.

Image: Screenshot of Hoover Proclaims Debt Moratorium [vid]

What gave the baby name Nira a boost in 1933?

The Great Depression began in October of 1929. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt replaced Herbert Hoover as U.S. President in early 1933, he got to work on the New Deal, which was intended to bring immediate economic relief.

Part of the New Deal was the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), which “sanctioned, supported, and in some cases, enforced an alliance of industries.” It was enacted on June 16, 1933.

Soon after, Roosevelt created the corresponding National Recovery Administration (NRA), which was “empowered to make voluntary agreements dealing with hours of work, rates of pay, and the fixing of prices.” Participating businesses were encouraged to display the NRA emblem, the Blue Eagle.

At first, the public was excited by the NIRA and the NRA. So was Hollywood, which put out short films promoting the NRA.

And all this excitement spilled over onto birth certificates.

According to the U.S. baby name data, more than 200 baby girls were named Nira in 1933. This was enough to make Nira the 463rd most popular baby girl name in the nation that year.

  • 1937: unlisted
  • 1936: 9 baby girls named Nira
  • 1935: 12 baby girls named Nira
  • 1934: 38 baby girls named Nira
  • 1933: 201 baby girls named Nira [peak]
  • 1932: unlisted
  • 1931: 8 baby girls named Nira
  • 1930: unlisted

Here’s a visual of the spike:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Nira in the U.S. since 1880, showing a big spike in usage in 1933.
Usage of the baby name Nira

Newspapers heralded the births of several of these 1933 Niras, including:

  • Nira Collins, born on July 25th to Mr. and Mrs. Christopher J. Collins of Philadelphia. The father, unemployed for ten months, found work two weeks before she was born.
  • Nira Davis, born on August 30th to Mrs. Geraldine Davis of Newburgh, New York.
  • Nira Lavallee, born on September 1st to Mr. and Mrs. George E. Lavallee of Marlborough, Massachusetts. Her father “returned to work after a lengthy period of unemployment soon after her birth.”
  • Nira Coelho, born on September 25th to Mr. and Mrs. Pedro Coelho of Los Angeles. “The parents are ardent believers in the President’s recovery program.”

One reporter cautioned that, while Nira was “a pretty name,” parents should “take into account the fact that everyone who keeps posted on current national history will know Nira was born in 1933. Which might be embarrassing 25 or 30 years hence.”

The flood of baby Niras prompted at least one person to write to the editor of the New York Times and ask if Washington had offered an “official pronunciation of the name” yet.

But the popular support didn’t last long. The NIRA and the NRA were widely criticized, and ended up doing little to speed up economic recovery. (We can get a feel for how quickly the excitement dried up by looking at the downward trajectory of those SSA numbers: 201, 38, 12.)

The NIRA had been set to expire in June of 1935, but was nullified even earlier when the Supreme Court unanimously declared the NIRA unconstitutional in May of 1935.

Sources:

Image: LOC

[Follow-up posts: Blue Eagle, Nira (Iowa), Fera.]

What gave the baby name Garner a boost in 1932?

Politician John Nance Garner (1868-1967)
John Nance Garner

According to the U.S. baby name data, the usage of Garner more than quadrupled in 1932:

  • 1934: 24 baby boys named Garner
  • 1933: 63 baby boys named Garner [rank: 772nd]
  • 1932: 82 baby boys named Garner [rank: 675th]
  • 1931: 19 baby boys named Garner
  • 1930: 16 baby boys named Garner

Why?

Because of the new vice president.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and running mate John Nance Garner III defeated Herbert Hoover (and Charles Curtis) in the 1932 presidential election, held amid the Great Depression.

Garner, popularly known as “Cactus Jack,” was a conservative Democrat from Texas.

The surname Garner has several possible origins, including simply being a shortened form of Gardner.

What are your thoughts on Garner as a first name?

Sources: John Nance Garner – Wikipedia, SSA

Image: Adapted from Garner, John Nance. Honorable (LOC hec.14879) (public domain)