How popular is the baby name Jane 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 Jane.
The graph will take a few seconds to load, thanks for your patience. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take nine months.) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.
Englishman John Rolfe (1585-1622) was an early North American settler who helped turn tobacco into a profitable export crop for the Colony of Virginia.
He and his first wife, Sarah, arrived in the New World in the summer of 1609 aboard the Sea Venture, which ended up running aground off the coast of Bermuda thanks to a hurricane.
The colonists stayed in Bermuda, which they found “to be a hospitable place with sufficient food,” for 10 months. While there, they built two smaller ships upon which they could continue their journey to Virginia.
Also while there, Sarah gave birth “to a daughter who was christened Bermuda” after her birthplace (just like Virginia Dare was). Sadly, baby Bermuda Rolfe died before the colonists set sail for the mainland.
John Rolfe went on to have two more wives and two more children. With his second wife, Pocahontas, he had a son named Thomas (who “was presumably named after the Governor, Sir Thomas Dale”). With his third wife, Jane, he had a daughter named Elizabeth.
The baby name Judaline has appeared in the U.S. baby name data just once so far, in 1949:
1951: unlisted
1950: unlisted
1949: 7 baby girls named Judaline [debut]
1948: unlisted
1947: unlisted
Where did it come from?
A song…by way of a movie.
The musical comedy A Date with Judy (1948) — based on the 1940s radio sitcom of the same name — starred Jane Powell as teenager Judy Foster.
In the film, the song “Judaline” [vid] was sung by Judy, alternating with her boyfriend and a male quartet. It was reprised later on as “Judaline Serenade,” [vid] sung outside Judy’s bedroom window by the boyfriend and a different male quartet.
The character wasn’t actually named Judaline, though. (And neither was the original radio character.)
The song “Judaline” was written in 1943, after songwriters Don Raye and Gene de Paul learned that The Wizard of Oz (1939) director Victor Fleming had given Judy Garland the nickname ‘Judaline’ during filming. The song was originally intended for the 1944 movie Broadway Rhythm, but didn’t show up on a soundtrack until A Date with Judy came long at the end of the decade.
What do you think of the baby name Judaline? Do you like it as much as the more popular -line names (e.g., Caroline, Madeline, Adeline)?
Years ago, I discovered three documents with relatively complete lists of births for the city of Providence, Rhode Island, for the years 1866, 1867, and 1868. I’ve already created Providence’s baby name rankings for 1866 and 1867 using the first two documents, and today (finally!) I’ve got the third set of rankings for you.
Let’s start with some stats:
1,762 babies were born in Providence in 1868, by my count. According to the introduction of the document I’m using a source, however, the total number is 1,866. I don’t know how to account for this discrepancy.
1,617 of these babies (791 girls and 826 boys) had names that were known at the time of publication. The other 145 babies got blank spaces. Either their names hadn’t been registered yet, or they hadn’t been named yet, or perhaps these babies died young and never received a name.
284 unique names (143 girl names and 141 boy names) were shared among these 1,617 babies.
And now, on to the names!
Top 5
A quick look at the top 5 girl names and boy names in Providence in 1868:
Top baby girl names
Top baby boy names
1. Mary 2. Catherine 3. Sarah 4. Ellen 5. Margaret
1. John 2. William 3. James 4. Charles 5. George
All Girl Names
Mary, 149 baby girls
Catherine, 39
Sarah, 38
Ellen, 31
Margaret, 28
Elizabeth, 25
Alice, 24
Anna, 20
Ann, 16
Emma, 14
Eliza, 13
Clara & Martha, 11 each (tie)
Hannah & Lucy, 10 each (tie)
Bridget, Grace, Jennie, Julia & Maria, 9 each (5-way tie)
Annie, Florence, Jane, Minnie & Susan, 8 each (5-way tie)
Agnes, Caroline, Cora, Ella & Harriet, 7 each (5-way tie)
Back when sea voyages were the only way to reach distant lands, many babies ended up being born aboard ships. And many of these ship-born babies were given names that reflected the circumstances of their birth. A good portion of them, for instance, were named after the ships upon which they were born.
I’ve gathered hundreds of these ship-inspired baby names over the years, and I think it’s finally time to post what I’ve found…
A
Abergeldie:
Emma Abergeldie Walsh, born in 1884
Abernyte:
Eva Abernyte Congdon, born in 1875
Abington:
Herbert Bealie Abington Tait, born in 1884
Abyssinia:
Abyssinia Louise Juhansen, born in 1870
Abyssinia Elfkin, born in 1872
Louise Abyssinia Bellanger, born in 1874
Achilles:
John Achilles Denchey, born in 1871
Actoea:
U. Actoea Jones, born in 1868
Adriatic:
John Adriatic Gateley Collins, born in 1879
Adriatic O’Loghlin Gould, born in 1880
Agnes Adriatic Cook, born in 1880
Agamemnon:
Frederick Agamemnon Dingly, born in 1876
Alaska:
Mary Alaska Magee, born in 1884
Alcester:
Gertrude Alcester Dart, born in 1884
Alcinous:
Mary Duncan Alcinosa Greenwood, born in 1887
Aldergrove:
Aldergrove Andrew Fullarton Feathers, born in 1875
Ethel Aldergrove Winning, born in 1883
Aleppo:
Rosalia Aleppo Rosenthal, born in 1866
Aleppo Atalanta Boardsen, born in 1883
Alexandrina:
Caroline Alexandrina Phillips, born in 1873
Mary Alexandrina Hedges, born in 1874
Alexandrina Horsnell, born in 1874
Algeria:
Louis Algeria Noizet, born in 1872
Aliquin:
Edward Aliquin Poley, born in 1860
Allanshaw:
Joseph Allanshaw Moss, born in 1883
Frederick Allanshaw Shields, born in 1883
Almora:
Almora May Leech, born in 1856
Emily Almora Hamper, born in 1883
Joseph Henry Almora Alford, born in 1883
Mary Almora Clothier, born in 1887
Almora Merten, born in 1887
Alnwick Castle:
William Alnwick Bull, born in 1861
Alpheta:
Mary Alpheta Stone, born in 1877
Alsatia:
Alsatia Campbell Carnalian, born in 1877
Altmore:
Eliza Altmore Harris, born in 1883
Alumbagh:
Alumbagh Eleanor Bright, born in 1868
Sarah Louise Alumbagh Hancock, born in 1868
Alvington:
Alvington Oak Silvester, born in 1879
Amoor:
William Amoor Walker, born in 1864
Anchoria:
Anchoria Adelaide Williams, born in 1890
Angerona:
Mary Angerona Harwood, born in 1875
Anglesey:
Clara Anglesey Oakley, born in 1859
Emma Jane Anglesey Conbrough, born in 1874
Anglia:
James Craig Anglia Watt, born in 1871
Emma Anglia Hewitt, born in 1873
Margaret Anglia Smith Mulholland, born in 1874
Anglo Saxon:
Mary Saxon Copeland, born in 1860
Antiope:
Lilias Antiope Carrick, born in 1884
Aorangi:
Arthur Aorangi Burrow, born in 1884
Aorangi Millar, born in 1885
Ellen Corbet Aorangi Browne, born in 1891
Aorangi Townsend, born in 1934
Arabic:
Isabella Arabic East, born in 1887
Arcadia:
Arcadia Herbert, born in 1877
Archer:
Archer Grainger Bryans, born in 1883
Beatrice Archer Shambers, born in 1885
Argo:
Sigri Argo Larsen, born in 1877
Arica:
Aricania Pereg, born in 1883
Arizona:
Helen Arizona Erickson, born in 1881
Sarah Arizona Duggan, born in 1881
Ole Arizona Melting, born in 1881
Agnes Arizona Kane, born in 1884
Elenor Arizona Poulteny, born in 1884
Elizabeth Arizona Harvey, born in 1887
Marie Arizona Malm, born in 1887
Arundel Castle:
Arundal Sheal Davis, born in 1870
Leopold Arundel Hofmeyer, born in 1876
George Arundel Baylis, born in 1876
Charles Arundel Holden, born in 1876
Arvonia:
Herbert John Arvon Hughes, born in 1881
Ashmore:
James Alfred George Henry Ashmore Curtis, born in 1882
He in turn gave his name to Medford, Minnesota, in the 1850s. His father, Englishman William K. Colling, was an early Minnesota settler who “said that he had a son who was born on board the ship Medford, and was named Medford, in honor of the ship, and proposed that the town should be named Medford in honor of the boy.”
One of last week’s post featured Glenna Lee McCarthy, whose father was famous Texas oil prospector and entrepreneur Glenn McCarthy (1907-1988).
Writer Edna Ferber fictionalized Glenn’s rags-to-riches life story in her novel Giant (1952) with the character Jett Rink.
The book was later made into a movie, which came out in October of 1956. Jett was played by James Dean, who had died in a car accident a month before the film premiered.
The other two main characters were Jordan “Bick” Benedict (played by Rock Hudson) and his wife Leslie Benedict (Elizabeth Taylor). Secondary characters included the Benedicts’ son Jordan, or “Jordy” (Dennis Hopper) and a neighbor named Vashti (Jane Withers).
The movie did well at the box office and was nominated for various Academy Awards, including a posthumous Best Actor nomination for Dean. It also gave a boost to several baby names:
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.