How popular is the baby name Jack in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Jack.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Jack


Posts that Mention the Name Jack

What gave the baby name Stoney a boost in 1963?

The character Stoney from the TV series "Stoney Burke" (1962-1963).
Stoney from “Stoney Burke”

In 1963, the name Stoney saw a sharp spike in usage. In fact, the surge catapulted Stoney right into the middle of the U.S. top 1,000:

  • 1965: 98 baby boys named Stoney [rank: 749th]
  • 1964: 109 baby boys named Stoney [rank: 740th]
  • 1963: 259 baby boys named Stoney [rank: 500th]
  • 1962: 54 baby boys named Stoney
  • 1961: 15 baby boys named Stoney
Graph of the usage of the baby name Stoney in the U.S.
Usage of Stoney

The spelling Stony peaked that year as well.

Why?

Because of the TV western Stoney Burke, which aired for just one season (1962-1963). The main character, Stoney (played by actor Jack Lord), was a professional rodeo rider whose goal was to win the Golden Buckle — the prize given to the world’s champion saddle bronc rider.

(The show also had an influence on the names Sutton and Joby.)

What are your thoughts on the baby name Stoney? Would you use it?

Sources: Stoney Burke (TV series) – Wikipedia, SSA

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2020

Iowa

I’m a little late on this one, considering that we looked at the 2021 state-by-state baby name data last week, but better late than never. :)

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, the most popular baby names in the state in 2020 were Olivia and Oliver.

Here are Iowa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 171 baby girls
  2. Charlotte, 141
  3. Evelyn, 137
  4. Emma, 119
  5. Ava, 116
  6. Amelia, 115
  7. Harper, 113
  8. Sophia, 106
  9. Hazel, 101
  10. Eleanor, 96

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 208 baby boys
  2. Liam, 183
  3. Theodore, 169
  4. Henry, 163
  5. William, 156
  6. Noah, 127
  7. Owen, 126
  8. Wyatt, 119
  9. Jack, 117
  10. Maverick, 112

In the girls’ top 10, Sophia, Hazel, and Eleanor replaced Avery, Nora, and Violet.

In the boys’ top 10, Theodore and Wyatt replaced Lincoln and Jackson. (Notably, Theodore jumped from 12th in 2019 up to 3rd in 2020.)

Over 2,800 boy names and over 3,600 girl names were bestowed just once in Iowa in 2020. The state says that unique names are trendy — in fact, “some Iowa counties…regularly reach 100% uniqueness, meaning there are no babies given the same name in a single year.”

Here’s a selection Iowa’s unique baby names from 2020:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Alula, Brindle, Clorrenty, Dilnaaz, Ellaydrea, Fidelity, Glariel, Hepperli, Imariana, Jacklington, Kissimee, Lalotai, Malofo, Nellatreen, Offranel, Peninnah, Qianna, Rufusline, Sunrae, Tenebris, Ugbaad, Vatsana, Winji, Xyphora, Yliemani, ZenleyAeio, Bazzi, Colique, Drummer, Ezzeldeen, Faltaous, Groseille, Htoo, Invictus, J-Heart, Kalikimaka, Luxender, Mlondani, Noakley, Owendan, Prexy, Qorvyn, Ramazani, Smoltz, Tuxley, Unison, Vaxston, Wirachai, Yolotli, Zantoro

Thoughts on some of the above…

  • Kissimee – close to Kissimmee, the name of both a city and a river in Florida.
  • Tenebris – a form of the Latin word tenebra, meaning “darkness, shadow, gloom.”
  • Groseille – French for “redcurrant.”
  • Htoo – Burmese for “gold.” (Almost 10,000 refugees from Myanmar live in Iowa.)
  • Kalikimaka – Hawaiian for “Christmas.”
  • Vaxston – given the fact that Covid-19 dominated the headlines in 2020, I can’t help but wonder if this one wasn’t influenced by the word vaccine. (A baby in the Philippines was named “Vaccine” in 2020, incidentally.)
  • Yolotli – Nahuatl for “heart.”

Finally, in 2019, the top two names in Iowa were Charlotte and Oliver.

Sources: Top Baby Names – Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal, Baby Names Uniqueness – Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal

Popular baby names in New South Wales (Australia), 2021

new south wales

According to the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, the most popular baby names in the Australian state last year were Amelia and Oliver.

Here are New South Wales’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Amelia
  2. Olivia
  3. Charlotte
  4. Isla
  5. Ava
  6. Mia
  7. Grace
  8. Chloe
  9. Ella
  10. Matilda

Boy Names

  1. Oliver
  2. Noah
  3. Jack
  4. Henry
  5. William
  6. Leo
  7. Lucas
  8. Theodore
  9. Levi
  10. Thomas

In the boys’ top 10, Theodore and Levi replaced Liam and Elijah.

In the girls’ top 10, Ella and Matilda replaced Sophia and Zoe. (“[I]t’s good to see Matilda waltzing up the charts,” quipped NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman.)

In 2020, the top names were also Amelia and Oliver.

Sources: Popular Baby Names | NSW Government, Matilda waltzes into the list of top baby names

Top 1-syllable baby names in the United States, 2021

single tree

Which single-syllable names were the most popular in 2021?

I scanned the 2021 rankings for one-syllable names and found these:

Girl Names

  1. Grace (ranked 34th overall)
  2. Claire (59th)
  3. Quinn (80th)
  4. Jade (91st)
  5. Rose (116th)
  6. Maeve (124th)
  7. Sloane (143rd)
  8. Reese (147th)
  9. Faith (169th)
  10. June (175th)

(A little lower down were Sage, Ruth, and Blake.)

Boy Names

  1. James (ranked 5th overall)
  2. Jack (11th)
  3. John (27th)
  4. Luke (32nd)
  5. Kai (71st)
  6. Brooks (77th)
  7. Beau (94th)
  8. Jace (102nd)
  9. Chase (125th)
  10. Cole (132nd)

(A little lower down were George, Rhett, and Jude.)

These lists include the same names that appeared on the 2020 lists, but in both cases the names are in a slightly different order.

And, of course, here’s the usual disclaimer: I left out the borderline boy names (Owen, Wyatt, Charles, Miles/Myles, Ryan, Ian, Rowan, Gael) that can be pronounced with either one or two syllables, depending upon the accent of the speaker. Notably, all nine of these names ranked higher than both Chase and Cole.

For more single-syllable names, check out the one-syllable girl names and one-syllable boy names posts.

Top lengths of baby names in the United States, 2021

Which lengths were the most and least popular for U.S. baby names in 2021?

Top length for girl names: 6 letters

For baby girls, the most-used length was 6 letters, followed by 5 and 7.

Graph of length popularity for U.S. baby girl names, 2021

The most popular girl names per length were…

  • 2 letters (over 200 baby girls): Bo, Jo, Zo, An, Vy, Io
  • 3 letters (over 58,300): Ava, Mia, Zoe, Ivy, Eva, Ada
  • 4 letters (over 223,800): Emma, Luna, Ella, Aria, Mila, Nora
  • 5 letters (over 348,000): Sofia, Avery, Emily, Chloe, Layla, Hazel
  • 6 letters (over 466,100): Olivia, Amelia, Sophia, Evelyn, Harper, Camila
  • 7 letters (over 307,900): Eleanor, Abigail, Madison, Addison, Lillian, Paisley
  • 8 letters (over 142,000): Isabella, Scarlett, Penelope, Victoria, Brooklyn, Savannah
  • 9 letters (over 71,800): Charlotte, Elizabeth, Valentina, Josephine, Gabriella
  • 10 letters (over 8,000): Evangeline, Alexandria, Alessandra, Jacqueline
  • 11 letters (over 300): Christianna, Ameliagrace, Anavictoria
  • 12 letters (under 100)
  • 13 letters (over 100)
  • 14 letters (under 100)
  • 15 letters (none)

Top length for boy names: 6 letters

For baby boys, the most-used length was also 6 letters, followed by 5 and 4.

Graph of length popularity for U.S. baby boy names, 2021

The most popular girl names per length were…

  • 2 letters (over 1,800 baby boys): Bo, Ty, Om, Aj, Cy, Oz
  • 3 letters (over 49,200): Leo, Eli, Kai, Ian, Ace, Max
  • 4 letters (over 288,800): Liam, Noah, Jack, Levi, Owen, John
  • 5 letters (over 453,200): James, Lucas, Henry, Mateo, Mason, Ethan
  • 6 letters (over 511,800): Oliver, Elijah, Daniel, Samuel, Joseph, Julian
  • 7 letters (over 269,000): William, Jackson, Michael, Grayson, Matthew, Gabriel
  • 8 letters (over 106,100): Benjamin, Theodore, Maverick, Santiago, Jonathan, Jeremiah
  • 9 letters (over 42,000): Alexander, Sebastian, Christian, Nathaniel, Alejandro
  • 10 letters (over 3,700): Maximilian, Alessandro, Kristopher, Montgomery
  • 11 letters (over 7,800): Christopher, Maximiliano, Constantine
  • 12 letters (over 200)
  • 13 letters (over 100)
  • 14 letters (under 100)
  • 15 letters (under 100)