How popular is the baby name Jefferson 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 Jefferson.

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Popularity of the baby name Jefferson


Posts that mention the name Jefferson

Popular baby names on Nantucket, 2023

Flag of Massachusetts
Flag of Massachusetts

The Massachusetts island of Nantucket, which sits about 30 miles off the coast Cape Cod, is home to over 14,000 year-round residents (though the population “swells to around 80,000 or more” during July and August).

According to the Nantucket Town Clerk’s office, a total of 158 babies were born on the island in 2023. But we only have access to the names of 108 of these babies. Why?

[B]ecause of a Massachusetts law that separates birth certificates based on the parent’s marital status. If the parents were not married at the time of the birth or the father is not named on the record, the birth certificate is considered a restricted record and is not public.

So, out of the 108 known names, which were the most popular? For girls it was a tie between Leah and Sarah (given to two babies each), and for boys it was a tie between Grayson and Lucas (also given to two babies each).

The 100 other babies were given 100 single-use names:

Archibald, Abigail, Abraham, Alejandro, Alister, Alyssa, Alvaro, Amina, Andrew, Asher, Aurora, Bayard, Beckett, Benjaminas, Brenda, Callan, Carter, Catherine, Cameron, Charlotte, Christiaan, Colin, Cole, Cooper, Curren, Damien, Daniel, Debora, Eden, Edwin, Edward, Emilia, Emma, Enzo, Evelyn, Ezra, Fabian, Fae, Fiona, Gaby, Gabriella, Greydon, Griffyn, Harbor, Henry, Israel, Jacob, Jaden, James, Jantyah, Jefferson, Joshua, Julie, Justina, Kairi, Kiara, Lakelyn, La’Klia, Larkin, Latifa, Leon, Liv, Luna, Lydia, Mabel, Madison, Marianne, Marlow, Matheus, Maverick, Max, Mia, Mila, Milo, Miles, Mukhammadyusuf, Nia, Penelope, Quinn, River, Robin, Roman, Samir, Scarlett, Sergio, Shay, Shepard, Silverio, Skye, Stephanie, Sullivan, Theodore, Therdore, Tiller, Timothy, Wilder, William, Yasna, Yvonne, Zaniyah

Tiller caught my eye — it may have come from the English surname (which originally referred to someone who tilled the soil), but, given the location, I’m hoping it was inspired by the tiller of a boat. Maybe Tiller will become the boaters’ version of Taylor/Tyler? :)

Olivia and Liam — the top names in Boston last year — are nowhere to be found on Nantucket’s list, interestingly.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Massachusetts (public domain)

Babies named for Napoléon Bonaparte

Portrait of French Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821)
Napoléon Bonaparte (circa 1812)

French military leader Napoléon Bonaparte may have spent his life trying to conquer a continent, but that life began and ended on islands.

He was born (as “Napoleone Buonaparte”) on the Mediterranean island of Corsica in 1769 — the same year that France took Corsica from the Republic of Genoa (now part of Italy). He died while in exile on the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena in 1821.

In between, Napoléon: attended military school on the mainland, began serving in the French Army, rose to prominence during the French Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars, became the de facto leader of France in 1799, declared himself Emperor in 1804, and proceeded to build a vast empire via the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815).

Needless to say, a large number of babies all over the world have been named “Napoleon” since that time.

I don’t want this post to get too crazy, though, so I’ve decided to collect namesakes from just two locations — France and the U.S. — and to stick to the years during which Napoléon was active.

Portrait of First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
Napoléon Bonaparte (circa 1803)

Napoléon’s namesakes in France

Thousands of French babies were named in honor of Napoléon from the mid-1790s to the mid-1810s.

In contrast with namesakes in other countries (like the U.S. and England), most of his French namesakes were given only his first name — not both names — and it was typically combined with one or more traditional French names (e.g., “Louis Napoléon,” “Jean Baptiste Napoléon”).

With that in mind, I went out of my way to find combinations that were a bit more varied…

  • Napoléon Baillot, b. 1793 in France
  • Jacques Napoléon Desiré Campa, b. 1795 in France
  • Napoléon Stéphanie Joseph Therin, b. 1797 in France
  • Napoléon Joseph Buttin, b. 1799 in France
  • Napoléon-Jean Demeester, b. 1800 in France
  • Napoléon Nicolas Senelar, b. 1801 in France
  • Guillaume Napoléon Pelletier, b. 1802 in France
  • Willebrod Napoléon Désiré Degrave, b. 1803 in France
  • Charlemagne Napoléon Lambert, b. 1804 in France
  • Napoléon Louis François Richounne, b. 1805 in France
  • Napoléon Parfait Furpille, b. 1806 in France
    • parfait means “perfect” in French
  • Bienaimé Napoléon Le Cagneux, b. 1807 in France
    • bienaimé means “beloved” in French
  • François Desiré Prosper Napoléon Loiseau, b. 1808 in France
  • Napoléon La Paix Lemasson, b. 1809 in France
    • la paix means “peace” in French
  • Gustave Napoléon Fichet, b. 1810 in France
  • Esprit Napoléon Houdry, b. 1811 in France
    • esprit means “spirit” in French
  • Napoléon Bonaventure Dusautier, b. 1812 in France
  • Auguste César Napoléon Decoene, b. 1813 in France
  • Napoléon-Etienne Vernoni, b. 1814 in France
  • Fructueux Napoléon Artigue, b. 1815 in France
    • fructueux means “successful” in French

Almost all of the namesakes in this group were boys, but a handful were girls with feminized forms of the name (like Napoléonne, Napoléonide, and Napoléontine).

Several dozen more boys — most of them born early on — were given only the surname:

  • Jacques Dominique Bonaparte Venkirch, b. 1796 in France
  • Augustin Bonaparte Joseph Galle, b. 1797 in France
  • Jean Baptiste Bonaparte Mollard, b. 1798 in France
  • Séraphin Adolphe Bonaparte Decorne, b. 1799 in France
  • Alexis Sébastien Bonaparte Poirée, b. 1801 in France

Napoléon had usually been called “General Bonaparte” or “citizen Bonaparte” before mid-1802, when the people of France went to the polls to decide: “Should Napoléon Bonaparte be consul for life?” Millions voted yes, and, after that, “he was generally known as Napoléon rather than Bonaparte.”

Napoléon’s namesakes in the U.S.

Napoléon didn’t wage any wars on North American soil (though he did sell a lot of that soil in 1803, when he let go of the Louisiana Territory for $15 million). Nonetheless, U.S. newspapers paid close attention to him:

French plebiscite mentioned in U.S. newspaper (July, 1802)
The “consul for life” vote mentioned in a Virginia newspaper, 1802

Americans were clearly impressed by Napoléon’s achievements, judging by the hundreds of U.S. namesakes born in the late 1790s and first decades of the 1800s. Many of these babies received both his first name and his surname:

Others were given only his first name:

And a good number simply got his surname:

  • Buonapart Manly Towler, b. 1796 in New York
  • Buonaparte Bennett, b. 1797 in Maryland
  • Buonaparte Mann, b. 1798 in Rhode Island
  • William Bonaparte Wood, b. 1799 in Massachusetts
  • Charles Bonapart Hunt, b. 1800 in Maine
  • George Washington Bonaparte Towns, b. 1801 in Georgia
  • Louis Bonaparte Chamberlain, b. 1802, probably in Mississippi
  • Lucion Bonaparte Keith, b. 1803 in Massachusetts
  • Consul Bonaparte Cutter, b. 1804 in Massachusetts
    • Napoléon Bonaparte served as Premier consul from 1799 to 1804
  • John Bonaparte Dixon, b. 1805 in North Carolina
  • Erastus Bonaparte White, b. circa 1806 in Rhode Island
  • Socrates Bonaparte Bacon, b. 1807 in Massachusetts
  • Bonaparte Crabb, b. 1808 in Tennessee
  • Madison Bonaparte Miller, b. 1809 in Vermont
    • James Madison served as 4th U.S. president from 1809 to 1817
  • Bonaparte Hopping, b. 1810 in New Jersey
  • Israel Bonaparte Bigelow, b. 1811 in Connecticut
  • Joseph Bonaparte Earhart, b. 1812 in Pennsylvania
  • Ampter Bonaparte Otto, b. 1813 in New York
  • William Bonaparte Steen, b. 1814 in South Carolina
  • Leonard Bonaparte Williams, b. 1815 in Virginia

A few of the people named Bonaparte (but not Napoléon) did have other given names — like Lucien, and Jerome — that could have been inspired by other members of the Bonaparte family. I found a Josephine Bonaparte Evans (b. 1815), for instance, who was probably named after Napoléon’s first wife.

Another of the relatively few females in this group was Federal Ann Bonaparte Gist (b. 1799), the daughter of Joshua Gist, who served in the Maryland Militia during the Revolutionary War.

Portrait of French Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821)
Napoléon Bonaparte in coronation robes

Defining “Napoléon” and “Bonaparte”

Other famous men named Napoléon Bonaparte (including Napoleon III) also had namesakes, but it was the original Napoléon Bonaparte who put these two unusual names on the map.

So…what do they mean?

The Italian forename Napoleone has obscure origins, so the meaning isn’t known for certain. One popular theory is that it’s made up of the elements Neapolis, the original name of Naples, and leone, meaning “lion.” When Bonaparte was born in 1769, the name was “relatively common around Genoa and Tuscany,” though it was spelled a variety of ways (e.g., Nabulio, Nabulione, Napulione, Napolionne, Lapulion). The name had been used in his family before; his father’s uncle, for instance, was also named Napoleone.

The Italian surname Buonaparte, on the other hand, is much more straightforward: it’s made up of the elements buona, meaning “good,” and parte, meaning “part, share, portion.”

Was anyone in your family tree named after Napoléon?

Sources:

The Lamar family of Georgia

Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar I (b. 1797)
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar I

John and Rebecca Lamar married in the mid-1790s and lived on a 1,000-acre cotton plantation near Milledgeville, Georgia. They welcomed a total of nine children, four sons and five daughters, whose names were…

  1. Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus (b. 1797)
  2. Mirabeau Buonaparte (b. 1798)
  3. Thomas Randolph (b. 1800)
  4. Evalina (b. 1803)
  5. Jefferson Jackson (b. 1804)
  6. Amelia (b. 1807)
  7. Louisa Elizabeth (b. 1807)
  8. Mary Ann (b. 1814)
  9. Loretto Rebecca (b. 1818)

The boys were named by their paternal uncle, Zachariah — a self-taught bachelor who also lived on the plantation and who,

like many of the men in the old plantation times, gave himself up to the ideal world of literature and history […] So when son after son was born to the head of the house this bookish enthusiast claimed the privilege of naming his infant nephews after his favorite of the moment, and the amiable and doubtless amused parents consented. Thus Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, Mirabeau Buonparte, Jefferson Jackson, Thomas Randolph, and Lavoisier Legrand (a grandchild) indicate how his interest shifted from history to politics, and from politics to chemistry.

Oldest son Lucius (named for Roman statesman Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus) went on to become a judge. Two of his own sons — Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II and Jefferson Mirabeau Lamar — had careers in law as well. In fact, Lucius II served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1888 to 1893.

Second son Mirabeau (named for the Comte de Mirabeau and Napoleon) also went into law initially. Later he got into politics, and ended up becoming the second president of the Republic of Texas. (He was also the first vice president, under Sam Houston.)

I couldn’t find anyone in the family’s third generation named “Lavoisier Legrand,” but one of Mary’s sons was named Lucius Lavoisier (middle name in honor of French chemist Antoine Lavoisier).

Sources:

Numerology: Baby names with a value of 8

Baby names with a numerological value of 8

If you’re on the hunt for baby names with a numerological value of 8, you’re in luck! Because today’s post features hundreds of 8-names.

Before we get to the names, though — how do we know that they’re “eights” in numerology?

Turning names into numbers

Here’s how to calculate the numerological value of a name.

First, for each letter, come up with a number to represent that letter’s position in the alphabet. (Letter A would be number 1, letter B would be number 2, and so forth.) Then, add all the numbers together. If the sum has two or more digits, add the digits together recursively until the result is a single digit. That single digit is the name’s numerological value.

For instance, the letters in the name Wyatt correspond to the numbers 23, 25, 1, 20, and 20. The sum of these numbers is 89. The digits of 89 added together equal 17, and the digits of 17 added together equal 8 — the numerological value of Wyatt.

Baby names with a value of 8

Below you’ll find the most popular 8-names per gender, according to the latest U.S. baby name data. I’ve further sub-categorized them by total sums — just in case any of those larger numbers are significant to anyone.

8

The letters in the following baby names add up to 8.

Girl name (8)Boy name (8)
BeaAbe

8 via 17

The letters in the following baby names add up to 17, which reduces to eight (1+7=8).

Girl names (8 via 17)Boy names (8 via 17)
Gia, Bo, Afia, Eabha, CalaBo, Mac, Cam, Md, Jeb

8 via 26

The letters in the following baby names add up to 26, which reduces to eight (2+6=8).

Girl names (8 via 26)Boy names (8 via 26)
Leah, Maci, Jana, Pia, Dua, Gema, Calia, Brea, CamiEli, Bear, Bode, Obed, Asaad, Adil

8 via 35

The letters in the following baby names add up to 35, which reduces to eight (3+5=8).

Girl names (8 via 35)Boy names (8 via 35)
Mila, Clara, Dahlia, Laila, Heidi, Alicia, Cleo, Hadlee, Cadence, Carla, Ayah, Aarna, Sana, Leela, Chava, Lidia, Hafsa, Haya, Jiana, Ambar, Uma, Jaina, Kamia, Adella, Nika, BobbieLiam, Cole, Eric, Kaden, Jax, Edgar, Kian, Bodie, Makai, Jase, Abram, Creed, Lance, Marc, Jet, Koah, Anas, Akeem, Saif, Ajani, Kain, Hagen, Alakai, Mahdi, Cadence, Eyad, Koi, Beckam, Calen, Najee, Eliah, Blu

8 via 44

The letters in the following baby names add up to 44, which reduces to eight (4+4=8).

Girl names (8 via 44)Boy names (8 via 44)
Ariana, Faith, Hope, Helen, Opal, Keira, Jenna, Anais, Cielo, Xena, Kiera, Celina, Micaela, Khadija, Maliah, Erika, Ainara, Brenda, Rue, Karma, Rya, Carlee, Sanai, Sahana, Tamia, Claira, Hailie, Halima, Nella, Anisa, Jacey, Aleya, Atalia, TinaJayce, Kaiden, Judah, Abraham, Brian, Dante, Archie, Andy, Allen, Ray, Dakari, Hugh, Alaric, Braden, Boaz, Jakobe, Kaleo, Jadon, Akiva, Micaiah, Karam, Emile, Adonai, Arjan, Zael, Akram, Finan, Trae, Athan, Essa, Nicco

8 via 53

The letters in the following baby names add up to 53, which reduces to eight (5+3=8).

Girl names (8 via 53)Boy names (8 via 53)
Julia, Eliza, Samara, Laura, Reign, Legacy, Rosa, Chelsea, Kendra, Malaya, Kori, Kamari, Livia, Shay, Zainab, Deborah, Casey, Layan, Riya, Vayda, Zaya, Nayla, Emilie, Atlas, Aryah, Anyla, Carmela, Marcela, Harlie, Kaelani, Layna, Marli, Blakelee, Hadassa, Alyna, Ollie, Senna, Keren, Jadore, Sora, Greer, Marta, Ahuva, Kaleigh, Xenia, Bryce, Tamar, Bexlee, Emiko, Rayah, Analy, Jaycie, Alize, Kior, Oaklie, Kelsea, TahaniArcher, Atlas, Gavin, Bryce, Aziel, Colin, Khalil, Casey, Kamari, Kyle, Camilo, Kohen, Saul, Reign, Kareem, Keith, Legacy, Felipe, Brodie, Jairo, Zev, Ollie, Beaux, Makari, Aydin, Elmer, Umar, Cormac, Caius, Efrain, Syed, Vince, Yair, Gerard, Guy, Faris, Leeland, Kiran, Izael, Shay, Adolfo, Kove, Aidyn, Kahlil, Braiden, Koby, Lukah, Sora, Eyden, Simcha, Baruch, Yash, Mendel, Tyce, Ghaith, Tuff, Aylan, Eduin, Corban, Kwame, Jahleel, Yug, Mckay, Brix, Cedrick, Lamir, Ayaz

8 via 62

The letters in the following baby names add up to 62, which reduces to eight (6+2=8).

Girl names (8 via 62)Boy names (8 via 62)
Natalie, Leilani, Sienna, Georgia, Kylie, Ariyah, Arielle, Serena, Avianna, Danielle, Navy, Jordan, Kennedi, Gloria, Leslie, Adrianna, Noor, Ramona, Ayleen, Luisa, Keily, Xyla, Tori, Ailany, Solana, Aylani, Annabella, Queen, Yelena, Liyana, Estela, Karmen, Malky, Dalett, Magdalene, Nuri, Avril, Samaira, Terra, Sarina, Laynee, Isobel, Samaria, Toby, Amiracle, Harbor, Ilyana, Mackenna, Kiley, Mason, Mehlani, Kaislee, Eryn, Keyli, Adalyne, Kaloni, Alyse, Analucia, Eugenia, ElliemaeMason, Josiah, Jordan, Adonis, Callum, Ronan, Briggs, Louie, Hassan, Zahir, Randy, Talon, Benedict, Osman, Menachem, Matheo, Casper, Toby, Javon, Andreas, Randall, Bernard, Freddy, Elyas, Nikola, Jovan, Riot, Rudra, Elvin, Xion, Johann, Angus, Alton, Maxx, Mayer, Brenden, Aziz, Navy, Kamren, Braven, Floyd, Adriano, Harun, Jareth, Noor, Chadwick, Axyl, Levin

8 via 71

The letters in the following baby names add up to 71, which reduces to eight (7+1=8).

Girl names (8 via 71)Boy names (8 via 71)
Avery, Zoey, Adalynn, Jasmine, Finley, Octavia, Rowan, Lauren, Shiloh, Astrid, Maryam, Gabrielle, Charleigh, Shelby, Marianna, Royal, Eleanora, Jaylin, Lettie, Mariella, Wendy, Romy, Mireya, Prisha, Briley, Milly, Jailyn, Annaleigh, Elysia, Jazelle, Analiyah, Karleigh, Wilder, Kyler, Betsy, Xareni, Kenslee, Annalisa, Kenleigh, Maryn, EverliSamuel, Rowan, Rhett, Avery, Kyler, Finley, Orion, Royal, Wilder, Apollo, Mathias, Zayne, Emanuel, Wells, Shiloh, Kenzo, Moses, Soren, Nikolai, Julien, Raylan, Flynn, Azriel, Shepard, Mariano, Zeus, Maison, Pierre, Jovani, Kylin, Ross, Jaylin, Jessiah, Steve, Chozen, Javion, Sammy, Jahziel, Destin, Amarion, Brewer, Haroon, Xavian, Daylon, Raziel, Theoden, Yasiel, Izrael, Atharva, Drayden, Abdirahman, Dwight, Khylan, Shyne, Devante, Jionni, Merlin, Niccolo, Quill, Deklyn, Othman, Rickey, Usher, Blayze, Neithan

8 via 80

The letters in the following baby names add up to 80, which reduces to eight (8+0=8).

Girl names (8 via 80)Boy names (8 via 80)
Savannah, Alexandra, Stevie, Colette, Cassidy, Monroe, Emberly, Cassandra, Marceline, Ensley, Cynthia, Lakelyn, Spencer, Carsyn, Marissa, Tyler, Bennett, Lizeth, Preslee, Estefania, Elianny, Annaliese, Pyper, Leonora, Shaindy, Brooks, Jeanette, Polly, Ravyn, Therese, Thyri, Zariya, Sumaya, Mayleigh, Sayler, Austen, Brenleigh, IssabellaBrooks, Bennett, Tyler, Alejandro, Spencer, Moises, Emmitt, Zyon, Waylen, Bryant, Jeremias, Kooper, Eliezer, Cashton, Giancarlo, Alessio, Monroe, Savion, Ransom, Wilmer, Emrys, Giorgio, Samarth, Carsyn, Santiel, Austen, Stefano, Kashmere, Krishna, Kanyon, Cassidy, Theron, Wayland, Latrell, Mouhamed, Carsten

8 via 89

The letters in the following baby names add up to 89, which reduces to eight (8+9=17; 1+7=8).

Girl names (8 via 89)Boy names (8 via 89)
Raelynn, Summer, Emerson, Winter, Alexandria, Felicity, Ivory, Virginia, Alisson, August, Rosalina, Avalynn, Beverly, Arizbeth, Quincy, Marjorie, Susanna, Winry, Wesley, Gentry, Halston, Hartley, Jazmyn, Wyatt, Bellarose, Azariyah, UnityWyatt, Wesley, August, Emerson, Titus, Travis, Garrett, Enrique, Mauricio, Quincy, Alistair, Osiris, Massimo, Graysen, Syncere, Gentry, Antony, Halston, Yisrael, Winter, Zyion, Salomon, Aleister, Dusty, Oswaldo

8 via 98

The letters in the following baby names add up to 98, which reduces to eight (9+8=17; 1+7=8).

Girl names (8 via 98)Boy names (8 via 98)
Scarlett, Valentina, Allyson, Crystal, Londynn, Julietta, Kenzley, Jocelynn, Fatoumata, KynzleeTrevor, Jefferson, Zephyr, Lazarus, Marquis, Brexton, Klayton, Giuseppe, Kashtyn, Everson, Britton, Hutton, Colston, Donatello, Kurtis, Zayvian

8 via 107

The letters in the following baby names add up to 107, which reduces to eight (1+0+7=8).

Girl names (8 via 107)Boy names (8 via 107)
Treasure, Dominique, Phoenyx, Charolette, WinsleyPreston, Dominique, Yousuf, Giovanny, Prosper

8 via 116

The letters in the following baby names add up to 116, which reduces to eight (1+1+6=8).

Girl names (8 via 116)Boy names (8 via 116)
Royalty, Annistyn, Eternity, Suzette, ChristiannaCornelius, Stryker, Treyson, Royalty, Prescott

8 via 125

The letters in the following baby names add up to 125, which reduces to eight (1+2+5=8).

Girl names (8 via 125)Boy names (8 via 125)
Rozalynn, Tristyn, Oliviarose, Skyelynn, RemingtynKyngston, Tristyn, Octavious, Vishruth, Dontavius

Number 8: Significance and associations

What does the number eight mean in numerology?

There’s no definitive answer, unfortunately, because various numerological systems exist, and each one has its own interpretation of the number eight. That said, if we look at a couple of modern numerology/astrology websites, we see 8 being described as “successful,” “ambitious,” “organized,” “practical,” and “authoritative.”

We can also look at associations, which are a bit more concrete. Here are some things that are associated with the number 8:

  • Figure 8
    • Infinity symbol
    • Analemma (diagram showing the position of the sun over the course of a year)
    • Figure-eight knot
  • Octopus (8 arms)
  • Spider (8 legs)
  • 8-bit computing
  • 8-track cartridge
  • Eight-ball (in pool)
    • Magic 8 Ball (fortune-telling toy)
  • Eight-ender (perfect score in the sport of curling)

What does the number 8 mean to you? What are your strongest associations with the number?

P.S. To see names with other numerological values, check out the posts for the numbers one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and nine.

Sources: SSA, Numerology – Cafe Astrology, The meaning of the numbers 1 – 9 – World Numerology, 8 – Wikipedia

[Latest update: Jan. 2024]