How popular is the baby name Jasper 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 Jasper.

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Popularity of the baby name Jasper


Posts that mention the name Jasper

Pilgrim baby names: Oceanus and Peregrine

Painting "Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620" (1899) by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

A few weeks ago I visited the pilgrim exhibit at the Provincetown Museum. A sign that was part of the exhibit read:

The Mayflower, a merchant ship of 181 tons and a length of just over 100 feet, carried on its historic first voyage to the New World [in 1620] 102 passengers and a crew of about 30. The voyage lasted 66 days. In the crossing, William Button died and Oceanus Hopkins was born. 102 passengers arrived in Provincetown. At Provincetown, Peregrine White was born, Dorothy Bradford, James Chilton, Jasper More and Edward Thompson died.

Oceanus, whose name is the Latin word for “ocean,” was born in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Peregrine’s name comes from the Latin word peregrinus, meaning “foreigner,” “traveler,” “one from abroad.” (The word Pilgrim is derived from the same source, in fact.)

Update: Here are all of the Pilgrim names, a post from several Thanksgivings ago.

Twilight baby names: Carlisle, Edward, Esmé, Rosalie

Twilight

Isabella and Jacob are already two of the top baby names in the nation. Emmett and Jasper have been on the rise since the 1970s. Alice began picking up steam a few years before Twilight was first published. But the other major Twilight names — Carlisle, Edward, Esmé and Rosalie — could use some help.

Here’s the current situation:

  • Carlisle: unranked.
  • Edward: ranked 148th, but slowly sinking since peaking at 8th in the 1910s-1920s.
  • Esmé: unranked.
  • Rosalie: unranked.

I believe Edward stands the best chance of benefiting from America’s Twilight craze, both because it’s already moderately popular and because it features more prominently in the story than the other three names. I do hope Carlisle, Esmé and Rosalie get a boost as well, though. (Esmé especially — I think it would be a lovely alternative to names like Emily and Emma.)

What do you think: Will a book about the undead be able to bring any of these names back to life? If so, which one(s)?

Pilgrim names for Thanksgiving

The Mayflower Compact, 1620 (1899) by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

In honor of the holiday, I thought I’d put together a list of Pilgrim names.

Specifically, these are the first names of all the people (passengers + crew) who traveled to the New World aboard the Mayflower in 1620, plus the number of people that had each name.

According to what we know, the most common names were John for males and Mary for females.

Male Mayflower Names

Bartholomew (1)
Christopher (1)
Degory* (1)
Edmund (1)
Edward (6)
Elias (1)
Francis (3)
George (1)
Gilbert (1)
Giles (1)
Henry (1)
Isaac (1)
James (1)
Jasper (1)
John (15)
Joseph (2)
Love (1)
Moses (1)
Myles (1)
Oceanus** (1)
Peregrine** (1)
Peter (1)
Resolved (1)
Richard (5)
Robert (1)
Roger (1)
Samuel (3)
Solomon (1)
Stephen (1)
Thomas (4)
William (8)
Wrestling (1)
+ 4 anonymous males

Female Mayflower Names

Alice (2)
Ann (1)
Catherine (1)
Constance (1)
Damaris (1)
Desire (1)
Dorothy (2)
Eleanor (1)
Elizabeth (3)
Ellen (1)
Humility (1)
Joan (1)
Mary (6)
Priscilla (1)
Remember (1)
Rose (1)
Sarah (1)
Susanna (2)
+ 2 anonymous females

*More on Degory.
**More on Oceanus and Peregrine.

P.S. Want to see some Pilgrim surnames?

Image: The Mayflower Compact, 1620 (1899) by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris