How popular is the baby name Jacob 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 Jacob.

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Popularity of the baby name Jacob


Posts that mention the name Jacob

Baby name story: Gaynell

LSU football player Gaynell "Gus" Kinchen
Gaynell Kinchen

While doing research on Gaynell Tinsley, I came across the following name story:

Jacob Calvin Kinchen had a lot to consider when it came time, on June 7, 1938, to name his first child, starting with the fact that he had never really liked his own first name. […] Perhaps that would have been enough to push any less of a football man toward the choice of a safe name that would always be comfortable for his child. But Jake could not help himself. He had been captain of his high school football team, the Albany Panthers, 1934 district champions in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, and he had become a coach at nearby Live Oak High School. […] Only a man with such passion for sport could possibly look beyond his own discomfort with the seemingly benign name of Jacob and name his son…Gaynell.

Gaynell Kinchen “despised the childhood razzing that came with such an unusual name,” though, so in high school he started going by “Gus” — just like his namesake, Gaynell Tinsley.

Also like Tinsley, Kinchen played football at LSU. And so did two of his own sons, Todd and Brian — both of whom went on to play in the NFL. In fact, Brian Kinchen snapped the game-winning field goal for the New England Patriots during Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004.

Sources:

Popular baby names in Ireland, 2022

Flag of Ireland
Flag of Ireland

The island of Ireland, located in the North Atlantic Ocean, happens to be the third-largest island in Europe (after Great Britain and Iceland).

Last year, the Republic of Ireland — which covers five-sixths of the island — welcomed over 57,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emily and Jack.

Here are Ireland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Emily, 349 baby girls
  2. Grace, 342
  3. Fiadh, 320 – pronounced FEE-a
  4. Sophie, 292
  5. Lily, 291
  6. Éabha, 271 – pronounced EY-va
  7. Ava, 269
  8. Mia, 262
  9. Ellie, 259
  10. Olivia, 258
  11. Amelia, 250 (tie)
  12. Emma, 250 (tie)
  13. Hannah, 248
  14. Ella, 240
  15. Freya, 234
  16. Lucy, 232
  17. Isla, 228
  18. Saoirse, 212 – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha
  19. Millie, 206
  20. Sadie, 201
  21. Sophia, 200
  22. Molly, 195
  23. Chloe, 191
  24. Caoimhe, 190 – pronounced KEE-va or KWEE-va
  25. Anna, 186
  26. Evie, 181
  27. Isabelle, 178
  28. Robyn, 177
  29. Alice, 160
  30. Aoife, 158 – pronounced EE-fa
  31. Róisín, 157 – pronounced ROH-sheen
  32. Sadhbh, 153 – pronounced siev (rhymes with the number “five”).
  33. Cara, 152
  34. Katie, 151
  35. Erin, 150
  36. Kate, 147
  37. Willow, 145
  38. Croía, 140 (3-way tie) – pronounced KREE-a
  39. Ruby, 140 (3-way tie)
  40. Sofia, 140 (3-way tie)
  41. Bonnie, 135
  42. Holly, 129 (tie)
  43. Zoe, 129 (tie)
  44. Sienna, 126
  45. Isabella, 125 (tie)
  46. Maya, 125 (tie)
  47. Sarah, 121
  48. Ada, 119
  49. Rosie, 111
  50. Leah, 109

Boy Names

  1. Jack, 641 baby boys
  2. Noah, 485
  3. James, 412
  4. Rían, 372
  5. Charlie, 348
  6. Oisín, 340 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  7. Tadhg, 324 – pronounced tieg (like the first three letters of “tiger”)
  8. Liam, 323
  9. Cillian, 316 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  10. Daniel, 303
  11. Fionn, 287
  12. Michael, 278
  13. Conor, 275
  14. Finn, 269
  15. Patrick, 250
  16. Thomas, 246
  17. Darragh, 245
  18. Harry, 242
  19. Seán, 239
  20. Luke, 233
  21. Theo, 232
  22. Adam, 230
  23. Leo, 225
  24. Alex, 216
  25. Oliver, 201
  26. Ryan, 190
  27. Max, 189
  28. Cian, 185 – pronounced KEE-an or keen
  29. Tommy, 184
  30. Luca, 179
  31. Bobby, 170
  32. Mason, 167
  33. Dylan, 163 (3-way tie)
  34. Jamie, 163 (3-way tie)
  35. Kai, 163 (3-way tie)
  36. John, 160
  37. Ollie, 159
  38. Oscar, 156
  39. Shay, 152
  40. Alexander, 149 (tie)
  41. Ben, 149 (tie)
  42. Matthew, 146
  43. David, 143 (tie)
  44. Tom, 143 (tie)
  45. Ethan, 141
  46. Donnacha, 140 – pronounced DUN-uh-ka or DUN-uh-kha (the kh represents a guttural H-sound)
  47. Alfie, 139
  48. Jacob, 131
  49. Billy, 128
  50. Sam, 125

New to the girls’ top 100 were the names Hailey, Phoebe, Ayda, and Éala.

New to the boys’ top 100 were the names Blake and Cody.

The fastest-rising names in the top 100 in terms of numbers of babies were:

  • Millie (+58 baby girls), Olivia (+39), Éala (+32), Ellie (+31), Isabelle (+31)
  • Luca (+58 baby boys), Oisín (+38), Leo (+33), Kai (+33), Tomás (+30)

The fastest-rising names in terms of rank were:

  • Éala (+86 places), Phoebe (+45), Mary (+40), Hailey (+38), Ayda (+29)
  • Tomás (+42 places), Anthony (+31), Christopher (+29), Joey (+25), Kayden (+25)
Map of the four provinces of Ireland
Ireland’s four provinces

Home to more than five million people, the Republic of Ireland is divided into four provinces. (One of these provinces, Ulster, lies largely within Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.) The top baby names within each of the four provinces last year were…

Top Girl NameTop Boy Name
Leinster
(56% of the population)		EmilyJack
Munster
(27% of pop.)		EmilyJack
Connacht
(11% of pop.)		ÉabhaJack
Ulster [ROI portion]
(6% of pop.)		GraceJack

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? The following were given to just 3 babies each in Ireland last year:

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Ananya, Beatriz, Cliona, Dina, Eilidh, Faela, Fianna, Isadora, Joan, Khadija, Líadh, Luisne, Miruna, Morrigan, Nala, Orlagh, Prunelle, Réiltín, Saffie, Scotia, Tilda, Vamika, ZohaAilbe, Brooklyn, Caoilte, Denzel, Eamonn, Féidhlim, Geoffrey, Henrik, Isa, Josiah, Kamal, Lúan, Manus, Nilan, Ógie, Pio, Rokas, Séadhna, Tiernán, Viraj, Wayne, Yousuf, Zoraiz

Finally, here are Ireland’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing more Irish name pronunciations, just click that link.

Sources: Irish Babies’ Names – CSO (Irish Babies’ Names 2022), Births, Deaths and Marriages – CSO (Vital Statistics Yearly Summary 2022), Data – CSO, Provinces of Ireland – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Provinces of Ireland location map by Ssolbergj under CC BY-SA 4.0.

[Latest update: Feb. 2024]

Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2022

Flag of Alberta
Flag of Alberta

Alberta, one of Canada’s three prairie provinces, shares a border with British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and the U.S. state of Montana.

Last year, Alberta welcomed 48,225 babies — over 24,000 boys and over 23,000 girls.

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

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

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 192 baby girls
  2. Sophia, 151
  3. Emma, 149
  4. Amelia, 133
  5. Harper, 125
  6. Charlotte, 117
  7. Ava, 115
  8. Isla, 101
  9. Lily, 100
  10. Chloe, 92
  11. Emily, 91 (tie)
  12. Isabella, 91 (tie)
  13. Abigail, 90
  14. Nora, 88
  15. Violet, 86
  16. Aria, 85
  17. Ivy, 83
  18. Mia, 82
  19. Hazel, 81 (tie)
  20. Zoey, 81 (tie)
  21. Ellie, 80 (3-way tie)
  22. Evelyn, 80 (3-way tie)
  23. Sophie, 80 (3-way tie)
  24. Ella, 79 (tie)
  25. Hannah, 79 (tie)
  26. Aurora, 75
  27. Willow, 74
  28. Eleanor, 73
  29. Scarlett, 72
  30. Elizabeth, 71 (tie)
  31. Mila, 71 (tie)
  32. Avery, 69
  33. Grace, 68
  34. Luna, 64
  35. Everly, 63
  36. Claire, 61 (tie)
  37. Maya, 61 (tie)
  38. Hailey, 60 (tie)
  39. Wren, 60 (tie)
  40. Alice, 58 (3-way tie)
  41. Isabelle, 58 (3-way tie)
  42. Madison, 58 (3-way tie)
  43. Emilia, 57 (3-way tie)
  44. Freya, 57 (3-way tie)
  45. Natalie, 57 (3-way tie)
  46. Ayla, 56
  47. Penelope, 53 (tie)
  48. Sadie, 53 (tie)
  49. Eliana, 51 (3-way tie)
  50. Nova, 51 (3-way tie)
  51. Quinn, 51 (3-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Noah, 229 baby boys
  2. Liam, 176
  3. Theodore, 173
  4. Oliver, 172
  5. Jack, 159
  6. William, 146
  7. Benjamin, 138 (tie)
  8. James, 138 (tie)
  9. Henry, 136
  10. Lucas, 135
  11. Ethan, 130
  12. Jackson, 121
  13. Leo, 114
  14. Levi, 113
  15. Logan, 109 (tie)
  16. Wyatt, 109 (tie)
  17. Muhammad, 106
  18. Owen, 100
  19. Adam, 97
  20. Luke, 96
  21. Bennett, 94 (tie)
  22. Maverick, 94 (tie)
  23. Asher, 93
  24. Alexander, 92 (tie)
  25. Nathan, 92 (tie)
  26. Caleb, 91 (3-way tie)
  27. Daniel, 91 (3-way tie)
  28. Elijah, 91 (3-way tie)
  29. Thomas, 90
  30. Carter, 85 (tie)
  31. Theo, 85 (tie)
  32. Gabriel, 82
  33. Jacob, 80
  34. Lincoln, 79
  35. Aiden, 76 (tie)
  36. Hudson, 76 (tie)
  37. Grayson, 75 (tie)
  38. Walker, 75 (tie)
  39. Emmett, 73 (tie)
  40. Isaac, 73 (tie)
  41. Cooper, 70 (3-way tie)
  42. Luca, 70 (3-way tie)
  43. Samuel, 70 (3-way tie)
  44. Jasper, 69 (tie)
  45. Mason, 69 (tie)
  46. Arthur, 67 (3-way tie)
  47. David, 67 (3-way tie)
  48. Wesley, 67 (3-way tie)
  49. Nolan, 66 (tie)
  50. Parker, 66 (tie)

Nearly 13,000 names were registered in Alberta in 2022, and well over 8,000 of these names were given to a single baby. Here’s a selection of the baby names bestowed just once in the province last year:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Acâhkosak, Buffalo-Omeasoo, Cloudlyn, Dixita, Equinox, Febechi, Goncharov, Humanitas, Izcalli, Jenniferjeet, Kanak, Letley, Midnightsky, Mikwan, Nîpin, O’Telly, Philia, Pridhi, Qana, Rooi, Sîsîkwan, Tessandra, Undina, Virianzel, Waylynn, Xiantal, Yseult, ZeebellaAudacieux, Bramber, Chrisser, Dutch, Etoile-Soleil, Frontier, Gavroche, Hendricks, Innis, Jinmu, Kikotawân, Lazael, Mîhkokwan, Mihkwaskâw, Navi, Okihcihtâw, Okîsikow, Piyesiwak, Quezon, Rocker, Spruce, Trudeau, Uazuva, Vlix, Walt, Xildian, Yelta, Ziggs

Some possible explanations and/or influences for a few of the above:

  • Acâhkosak means “stars” in Cree.
  • Audacieux means “audacious, bold” in French.
  • Etoile-Soleil means “star-sun” in French.
  • Gavroche is a young character from the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables (1862).
  • Humanitas is a Latin word meaning “human nature” and “humaneness” (among other things).
  • Izcalli, the last month of the Aztec calendar, means “stone house” in Nahuatl.
  • Kikotawân is based on the Cree word kotawân, meaning “campfire.”
  • Mîhkokwan means “red feather” in Cree.
  • Mihkwaskâw means “red sky” or “red clouds at sunset” in Cree.
  • Mikwan means “feather” in Cree.
  • Nîpin means “summer” in Cree.
  • Okihcihtâw means “warrior” in Cree.
  • Okîsikow means “angel” in Cree.
  • Piyesiwak means “thunder” in Cree.
  • Pridhi is based on a Sanskrit word meaning “circumference” and “halo” (among other things).
  • Quezon is both a province and a city in the Philippines.
  • Sîsîkwan means “rattle” in Cree.
  • Trudeau is the surname of Justin Trudeau, Canada’s current prime minister.

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

Sources: Alberta’s top baby names – Alberta.ca, Top baby names of 2022 revealed – Alberta.ca, Online Cree Dictionary, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)

Popular baby names in Austin (Texas), 2008-2016

Flag of Texas
Flag of Texas

A couple of months ago, we looked at Austin’s top baby names of 2017. When I found the data for that post, I also found nine other top-10 lists for Austin (2008-2016). Because they’re out of date, I’ll go ahead and consolidate these earlier rankings into a single blog post (like I did for New York City a while back).

2016

The most popular baby names in Austin in 2016.

Top Girl Names (Austin, 2016)Top Boy Names (Austin, 2016)
1. Olivia
2. Mia
3. Isabella
4. Sophia
5. Elizabeth
6. Ava
7. Emma
8. Charlotte
9. Sofia
10. Camila & Emily (tie)		1. William
2. Alexander
3. Ethan
4. Noah
5. Oliver
6. Benjamin
7. Liam
8. Jacob
9. James
10. Mathew

(“Mathew” could be a typo…?)

2015

The most popular baby names in Austin in 2015.

Top Girl Names (Austin, 2015)Top Boy Names (Austin, 2015)
1. Olivia
2. Sophia
3. Emma
4. Sofia
5. Ava
6. Evelyn
7. Emily
8. Abigail
9. Isabella
10. Mia		1. Liam
2. Noah
3. William
4. James
5. Alexander
6. Jacob
7. Luke
8. David
9. Dylan
10. Henry

2014

The most popular baby names in Austin in 2014.

Top Girl Names (Austin, 2014)Top Boy Names (Austin, 2014)
1. Olivia
2. Emma
3. Isabella
4. Sofia
5. Mia
6. Sophia
7. Ava
8. Charlotte
9. Emily
10. Abigail		1. Noah
2. William
3. Michael
4. Alexander
5. Benjamin
6. James
7. Anthony
8. Jacob
9. Liam
10. Daniel & Ethan (tie)

2013

The most popular baby names in Austin in 2013.

Top Girl Names (Austin, 2013)Top Boy Names (Austin, 2013)
1. Olivia
2. Sophia
3. Emily
4. Isabella
5. Emma
6. Mia
7. Abigail
8. Avery
9. Ava
10. Sofia		1. Alexander
2. William
3. Noah
4. Jacob
5. Benjamin
6. Ethan
7. David
8. Liam
9. Andrew
10. Christopher, James, John & Luke (4-way tie)

2012

The most popular baby names in Austin in 2012.

Top Girl Names (Austin, 2012)Top Boy Names (Austin, 2012)
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Abigail
7. Mia
8. Emily
9. Sofia
10. Harper		1. William
2. Alexander
3. Ethan
4. Noah
5. Christopher
6. Jacob
7. David
8. James
9. Benjamin
10. Matthew

2011

The most popular baby names in Austin in 2011.

Top Girl Names (Austin, 2011)Top Boy Names (Austin, 2011)
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Olivia
4. Emma
5. Abigail
6. Ava
7. Emily
8. Addison
9. Elizabeth
10. Sofia		1. Jacob
2. William
3. Alexander
4. Daniel
5. Noah
6. David
7. Mason
8. John
9. Benjamin
10. Ethan

2010

The most popular baby names in Austin in 2010.

Top Girl Names (Austin, 2010)Top Boy Names (Austin, 2010)
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Ava
4. Abigail
5. Emma
6. Olivia
7. Emily
8. Avery
9. Chloe
10. Elizabeth		1. William
2. Jacob
3. Alexander
4. Noah
5. Christopher
6. Daniel
7. John
8. Andrew
9. Michael
10. Angel

2009

The most popular baby names in Austin in 2009.

Top Girl Names (Austin, 2009)Top Boy Names (Austin, 2009)
1. Isabella
2. Mia
3. Sophia
4. Emily
5. Ava
6. Emma
7. Olivia
8. Elizabeth
9. Natalie
10. Ashley		1. William
2. Jose
3. Daniel
4. Alexander
5. Christopher
6. Andrew
7. Jacob
8. Angel
9. Michael
10. Joshua

2008

The most popular baby names in Austin in 2008.

Top Girl Names (Austin, 2008)Top Boy Names (Austin, 2008)
1. Isabella
2. Sophia
3. Emily
4. Abigail
5. Emma
6. Ava
7. Olivia
8. Ashley
9. Elizabeth
10. Madison & Natalie (tie)		1. Alexander
2. Daniel
3. David
4. Angel
5. Jacob
6. Michael
7. John
8. Joshua
9. William
10. Christopher & Noah (tie)

Did any of these names (or rankings) stand out to you?

Source: Most Popular Baby Names 2008-2017 City Of Austin | Open Data | City of Austin Texas

Image: Adapted from Flag of Texas (public domain)