How popular is the baby name Inuk 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 Inuk.

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Popularity of the baby name Inuk


Posts that mention the name Inuk

Popular baby names in Greenland, 2021

Flag of Greenland
Flag of Greenland

Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, is both the largest island in the world and the least densely populated country in the world.

Last year, Greenland welcomed 761 babies. The top names among these babies were…

  • Lea and Luna for baby girls
    • Lea is a form of the Biblical name Leah, which is likely derived from a Hebrew word meaning “wild cow.”
    • Luna is Latin for “moon.”
  • Aputsiaq and Marco for baby boys
    • Aputsiaq is Greenlandic for “snow flake.”
    • Marco is a form of the ancient Roman name Marcus, which is likely derived from the name of the Roman god Mars.

Two years earlier, in 2019, the top names in Greenland were Naja/Nina (tie) and Liam/Inuk (tie).

Sources: Greenland in Figures – Statistics Greenland (2022 PDF), Nordic Names, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Greenland (public domain)

Popular baby names in Greenland, 2019

Flag of Greenland
Flag of Greenland

Greenland welcomes only about 850 babies* per year. Because the number is so low, the country doesn’t bother with baby name rankings — but, recently, it has been publishing the top one or two names per gender in its annual “Greenland in Figures” report.

In 2019, the most popular names in Greenland in were…

  • Liam and Inuk for baby boys
    • Liam is an Irish short form of William, which comes (via Old French) from a Germanic name comprised of the elements wil, meaning “will, desire,” and helm, meaning “helmet, protection.”
    • Inuk is Greenlandic for “human being, man.”
  • Naja and Nina for baby girls
    • Naja is Greenlandic for “younger sister (of a male).” The “j” makes a y-sound, so you’d pronounce it naya.
    • Nina is a short form of names that end in -nina, or -nine.

For the top names of 2018 and 2017 — as well as rankings for the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s — check out the popular baby names in Greenland post from last year.

*Canada’s Nunavut welcomes roughly the same number of babies per year.

Sources:

  • Greenland in Figures 2020 (pdf)
  • Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Greenland (public domain)

Popular baby names in Greenland, 1960s to 2000s

Flag of Greenland
Flag of Greenland

According to Statistics Greenland, the most popular baby names in the country in 2018 were Inuk & Norsaq (boy names) and Ivaana & Malu (girl names).

The year before, in 2017, the top baby names were Inuk and Pipaluk.

Greenland doesn’t release top-10 lists every year, but does occasionally put out a name report. The most recent, published in mid-2011, includes top-10 lists for five recent decades…

Top Baby Names in Greenland, 1960s

Girl Names (1961-1970)Boy Names (1961-1970)
1. Ane
2. Marie
3. Karen
4. Sofie
5. Johanne
6. Kristine
7. Margrethe
8. Dorthe
9. Else
10. Anna		1. Hans
2. Jens
3. Karl
4. Lars
5. Peter
6. Niels
7. Ole
8. Kristian
9. Jørgen
10. Johan

Top Baby Names in Greenland, 1970s

Girl Names (1971-1980)Boy Names (1971-1980)
1. Ane
2. Karen
3. Marie
4. Dorthe
5. Johanne
6. Mette
7. Naja*
8. Susanne
9. Anna
10. Sofie 		1. Hans
2. Karl
3. Jens
4. Peter
5. Lars
6. Niels
7. Thomas
8. Jakob
9. Martin
10. Knud

*Naja means “younger sister (of a male)” in Greenlandic.

Top Baby Names in Greenland, 1980s

Girl Names (1981-1990)Boy Names (1981-1990)
1. Ane
2. Johanne
3. Marie
4. Karen
5. Paninnguaq*
6. Sofie
7. Louise
8. Anna
9. Nivi*
10. Naja		1. Hans
2. Karl
3. Jens
4. Malik*
5. Peter
6. Lars
7. Kristian
8. Ole
9. Thomas
10. Niels

*Paninnguaq means “little daughter,” Nivi means “girl, maiden,” and Malik means “wave.”

Top Baby Names in Greenland, 1990s

Girl Names (1991-2000)Boy Names (1991-2000)
1. Paninnguaq
2. Ane
3. Nivi
4. Naja
5. Ivalu*
6. Pipaluk*
7. Sofie
8. Sara
9. Marie
10. Camilla		1. Malik
2. Hans
3. Karl
4. Jens
5. Peter
6. Kristian
7. Lars
8. Aputsiaq*
9. Inunnguaq*
10. Nuka*

*Ivalu means “sinew,” Pipaluk means “little possession,” Aputsiaq means “snow flake,” Inunnguaq means “little person/human being,” and Nuka means “younger brother (of a male).”

Top Baby Names in Greenland, 2000s (first decade)

Girl Names (2001-2010)Boy Names (2001-2010)
1. Ivaana*
2. Pipaluk
3. Nivi
4. Paninnguaq
5. Ivalu
6. Naasunnguaq*
7. Julie
8. Ane
9. Isabella
10. Kimmernaq*		1. Malik
2. Aputsiaq
3. Minik*
4. Hans
5. Inunnguaq
6. Kristian
7. Nuka
8. Salik*
9. Peter
10. Inuk* and Ivik* (tied)

*Ivaana means “brood egg,” Naasunnguaq means “little flower,” Kimmernaq means “lingonberry,” minik is a glue-like whale oil that is used as a sealing for skin boats, Salik means “the cleanser,” Inuk means “human being” — Inunnguaq from the ’90s list is a diminutive form of Inuk — and Ivik means “(blade of) grass.”

The recent rise of Salik can be traced back to the 1980s:

In the beginning of the ’80s the artist Keld Hansen published a series of children’s books about a boy named Salik, who lived in Greenland in the 1600s. In that same period, Peter Berliner, a psychologist, did a series of radio programs where the main character was named Salik. Statistics Greenland depicted a rise in the number of boys names immediately after that.

The 2011 report includes many other Greenlandic names as well, but I’ll put those into a separate post a few days from now. Until then, which of all the above names do you like best?

P.S. Almost forgot to define Malu and Norsaq from the first sentence! Malu is a short form of Marie-Louise, and a norsaq is a harpoon-throwing stick.

Sources: Statistics Greenland, Greenland in Figures 2018 (PDF), Greenland in Figures 2019 (PDF), Names in Greenland as of 1 July 2011 (PDF), Nordic Names, Search Names – Oqaasileriffik

Image: Adapted from Flag of Greenland (public domain)