How popular is the baby name Jeffrey 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 Jeffrey.

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Popularity of the baby name Jeffrey


Posts that mention the name Jeffrey

Biggest changes in boy name usage (England, 2013)

Here’s another “biggest changes” analysis, but this one is for the England and Wales boy names. (We looked at the girl names yesterday.)

The tables below include two versions of each list. On the left are the top raw-number differences, taking all names into account. On the right are the top ranking differences, taking only the top 1,000 names (roughly) into account.

Biggest Increases in Popularity

Raw Numbers (all names)Rankings (top 1,000)
  1. Oscar, +1,222 babies
  2. Muhammad, +338
  3. Henry, +320
  4. Joey, +288
  5. Oliver, +280
  6. Teddy, +276
  7. Arthur, +249
  8. Archie, +203
  9. Edward, +185
  10. Theodore, +167
  1. Greyson, +1388 spots
  2. Harvey-Lee, +898
  3. Salahuddin, +759
  4. Bernard, +715
  5. Camden, +686
  6. Kayson, +583
  7. Raife, +531
  8. Buster and Abubakr [tie], +517
  9. Jeffrey and Brax [tie], +499
  10. Emre, +492

I think the rise of Oscar can be attributed, at least in part, to Oscar Pistorius. Can you think of explanations for any of the other names? (I’d especially like to know what gave Buster a boost.)

Biggest Decreases in Popularity

Raw Numbers (all names)Rankings (top 1,000)
  1. Riley, -1,703 babies
  2. Harry, -1,280
  3. Tyler, -1,104
  4. Alfie, -705
  5. Ethan, -649
  6. Charlie, -532
  7. Joshua, -471
  8. Callum, -467
  9. Ryan, -441
  10. Dylan, -407
  1. Rylan, -577 spots
  2. Ray, -339
  3. Rylie, -277
  4. Jeevan, -276
  5. Darren, -255
  6. Codey, -252
  7. Chace, -242
  8. Dorian, -239
  9. Kaelan, -231
  10. Riley-Jay, -228

A lot of Ry- and Ri- names took hits last year. Is the sound falling out of the favor? What do you think?

Top Debut Name

Gurfateh.

Fewer than 3 baby boys got the name in 2012, but 12 baby boys were named Gurfateh in 2013. (But keep in mind that I only have the full England and Wales baby name lists going back to 2007.)

Here are the U.S. boy names that changed the most in popularity in 2013, if you’d like to compare.

Source: Baby Names, England and Wales, 2013 – ONS

Popular and unique baby names in Quebec (Canada), 2013

Flag of Quebec
Flag of Quebec

Quebec’s top baby names of 2013 were announced yesterday.

According to data from the Régie des rentes du Québec (RRQ), the most popular baby names last year were Lea and William.

Here are Quebec’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2013:

Girl names

  1. Lea, 625 baby girls
  2. Emma, 500
  3. Olivia, 491
  4. Florence, 455
  5. Alice, 439
  6. Zoe, 415
  7. Rosalie, 404
  8. Juliette, 366
  9. Charlie, 343
  10. Chloe, 339
  11. Charlotte, 332
  12. Sofia, 304
  13. Jade, 302
  14. Mia, 299
  15. Eva, 289
  16. Camille, 286
  17. Victoria, 284
  18. Anais, 274
  19. Beatrice, 265
  20. Laurence, 260 (tie)
  21. Maeva, 260 (tie)

Boy names

  1. William, 823 baby boys
  2. Nathan, 771
  3. Samuel, 704
  4. Alexis, 699
  5. Olivier, 694
  6. Felix, 692
  7. Thomas, 692
  8. Liam, 683
  9. Jacob, 630
  10. Gabriel, 602
  11. Antoine, 516
  12. Logan, 516
  13. Raphael, 498
  14. Noah, 463
  15. Xavier, 441
  16. Benjamin, 420
  17. Emile, 413
  18. Charles, 397
  19. Adam, 389
  20. Leo, 386

Charlie is new to the girls’ top 10. In 2012, it ranked 12th.

On the boys’ side, Jayden is on the rise as well — from 38th in 2012 to 35th in 2013. (In the U.S., Jayden has been falling for a few years now.)

Finally, here are some baby names that were used only once or twice in Quebec last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Alaska (1), Alutchainah Winfrey (1), Cheleby-Prettey (1), Divine Jeremiah (1), Etye Tzirl (1), Fanny-Jade (1), Galaxyanne (1), Golding Merly (1), Iokennorehseriio (1), K La (1), Kellixia (1), Khaleesi (2), Khlde (1), Kinda Love (1), Kukuess (1), Libertad-Quillay (1), Luna Love (1), Luxshiny (1), Mamba Gabrielle (1), Marie-Neige (2), Milky (1), Nelricka (1), O-Feely (1), Nermine (2), Peggy Evie Maggie (2), Reness-May (1), Rougui (2), Rulx-Jeffrey (1), Schrolding Sarry (1), Shine Present (1), Skysea (1), Walter-Lynn (1), Zoolee (1)Aggaajuk (1), Best Blessing (1), Beckham (2), Charm Henri (1), Chumly (1), Clarenceford (1), D-Reck (1), Dick-Yan (1), Djeepy (1), Edwidge Lovensky (1), Ettuk (2), Fhitzjericho (1), Fox Henri (1), Frignol (1), Gayden (1), Hunter Chace (1), Indrix (1), Lafleche (2), Lucassie (2), Meyroi Deliver Midy (1), Micipsa (1), Nhel Rein (1), Noonard (1), Nyko (2), Queben (1), Rhodeelny (1), Sampo (1), Shragy (2), Syphax (2), Vwila (1), Warrior (1), Wedgy (1), Woody Tommy (1), Za-Ak (1)

Sources: Partenariat Données Québec, List of Baby Names – Retraite Québec

Image: Adapted from Flag of Quebec (public domain)

How did the movie “Exodus” influence baby names in the early 1960s?

The characters Ari, Jordana and Kitty from the movie "Exodus" (1960).
Ari, Jordana, and Kitty from “Exodus“

The 1960 movie Exodus, which was based on the bestselling book of the same name by Leon Uris, was set in the late 1940s at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel.

The title of this “Zionist epic” may signify departure but, on the baby name charts, the film triggered at least two new arrivals.

Before we get to the debuts, though, let’s look at the name Ari.

The film’s main character was young Israeli activist Ari Ben Canaan (played by Paul Newman). The year after the film came out, the baby name Ari — which was already appearing regularly in the U.S. baby name data — saw a rise in usage:

  • 1963: 32 baby boys named Ari
  • 1962: 35 baby boys named Ari
  • 1961: 52 baby boys named Ari
  • 1960: 32 baby boys named Ari
  • 1959: 13 baby boys named Ari

Ari means “lion” in Hebrew.

The same year, the baby name Akiva debuted thanks to the character Akiva (played by David Opatoshu), who was the leader of a radical resistance group and also Ari’s uncle.

  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: 5 baby boys named Akiva [debut]
  • 1960: unlisted
  • 1959: unlisted

Akiva, like Jacob, is a form of the Hebrew name Yaakov, which is often defined as “supplanter.”

Finally there’s the baby name Jordana, which corresponds to the “gun-toting, makeup-scorning” character Jordana Ben Canaan (played by Alexandra Stewart), who was Ari’s sister. Despite the film’s relatively late release in mid-December, this name popped up impressively in 1960, possibly due to the early press coverage of the film.

  • 1962: 12 baby girls named Jordana
  • 1961: 24 baby girls named Jordana
  • 1960: 19 baby girls named Jordana [debut]
  • 1959: unlisted
  • 1958: unlisted

Jordana is not a traditional Hebrew name. Jeffrey Goldberg, journalist and editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, notes that the movie “introduced the name ‘Jordana’ to the list of Jewish baby-name possibilities, which was a good thing.” Jordana is a feminized form of the name of the River Jordan.

Sources: Exodus (1960 film) – Wikipedia, The ‘Exodus’ Effect: The Monumentally Fictional Israel That Remade American Jewry

Baby names you can write with a single line in cursive: Cleo, Rhys, Edward, Ursula

Declaration of Independence (detail)

I wrote a letter to a friend not long ago, and the act of writing something longhand (which I rarely do anymore) made me wonder: which baby names can be written in cursive without lifting the pen from the page?

Turns out that many names can be written this way — so long as they don’t contain letters that need crossing/dotting (t, i, x, j) and don’t start with a tricky capital such as W or X.

Here are some examples of names that can be written in script with one continuous line of ink.

  • 3 letters: Ava, Moe, Ned, Rob, Ula
  • 4 letters: Cleo, Elmo, Jada, Rhys, Zane
  • 5 letters: Carla, Jesse, Nancy, Ryder, Yosef
  • 6 letters: Edward, Jazmyn, Morgan, Nelson, Ursula
  • 7 letters: Charles, Eleanor, Jeffrey, Malcolm, Rebecca
  • 8 letters: Alphonso, Emmanuel, Mercedes, Mohammad, Randolph
  • 9 letters: Cleveland, Esperanza, Jefferson, Magdalena, Rosabelle
  • 10 letters: Alessandra, Alessandro, Clarabella, Clarabelle, Jacquelynn

For more onomastic trivia, try this list of baby names that can be typed one-handed on a QWERTY keyboard.

Image: Adapted from United States Declaration of Independence (public domain)