How popular is the baby name Jeremy 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 Jeremy.

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Popularity of the baby name Jeremy


Posts that mention the name Jeremy

Popular baby names in the United States, 2022

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The new rankings have arrived!

Earlier today, the SSA released the 2022 U.S. baby name data, revealing that the top names in the nation are Olivia and Liam yet again.

I have a number of analysis posts coming up, but let’s start with the basic rankings — first a quick top 10, then a full top 500.

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 16,573 baby girls
  2. Emma, 14,435
  3. Charlotte, 12,891
  4. Amelia, 12,333
  5. Sophia, 12,310
  6. Isabella, 11,662
  7. Ava, 11,039
  8. Mia, 11,018
  9. Evelyn, 9,289
  10. Luna, 8,922

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 20,456
  2. Noah, 18,621
  3. Oliver, 15,076
  4. James, 12,028
  5. Elijah, 11,979
  6. William, 11,282
  7. Henry, 11,221
  8. Lucas, 10,909
  9. Benjamin, 10,842
  10. Theodore, 10,754

The boys’ top 10 includes the same 10 names as in 2021.

In the girls’ top 10, Luna replaced Harper.

And here are the top 500 baby names in the U.S., per gender, for 2022…

RankGirl NamesBoy Names
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
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29
30
31
32
33
34
35
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40
41
42
43
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46
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48
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50
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67
68
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79
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85
86
87
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91
92
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96
97
98
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100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
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121
122
123
124
125
126
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131
132
133
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136
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138
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142
143
144
145
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148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
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291
292
293
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295
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297
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299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
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349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
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374
375
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381
382
383
384
385
386
387
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389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
Olivia
Emma
Charlotte
Amelia
Sophia
Isabella
Ava
Mia
Evelyn
Luna
Harper
Camila
Sofia
Scarlett
Elizabeth
Eleanor
Emily
Chloe
Mila
Violet
Penelope
Gianna
Aria
Abigail
Ella
Avery
Hazel
Nora
Layla
Lily
Aurora
Nova
Ellie
Madison
Grace
Isla
Willow
Zoe
Riley
Stella
Eliana
Ivy
Victoria
Emilia
Zoey
Naomi
Hannah
Lucy
Elena
Lillian
Maya
Leah
Paisley
Addison
Natalie
Valentina
Everly
Delilah
Leilani
Madelyn
Kinsley
Ruby
Sophie
Alice
Genesis
Claire
Audrey
Sadie
Aaliyah
Josephine
Autumn
Brooklyn
Quinn
Kennedy
Cora
Savannah
Caroline
Athena
Natalia
Hailey
Aubrey
Emery
Anna
Iris
Bella
Eloise
Skylar
Jade
Gabriella
Ariana
Maria
Adeline
Lydia
Sarah
Nevaeh
Serenity
Liliana
Ayla
Everleigh
Raelynn
Allison
Madeline
Vivian
Maeve
Lyla
Samantha
Rylee
Eva
Melody
Clara
Hadley
Julia
Piper
Juniper
Parker
Brielle
Eden
Remi
Josie
Rose
Arya
Eliza
Charlie
Peyton
Daisy
Lucia
Millie
Margaret
Freya
Melanie
Elliana
Adalynn
Alina
Emersyn
Sienna
Mary
Isabelle
Alaia
Esther
Sloane
Mackenzie
Amara
Ximena
Sage
Cecilia
Valeria
Reagan
Valerie
Catalina
River
Magnolia
Kehlani
Summer
Ashley
Andrea
Isabel
Oakley
Olive
Oaklynn
Ember
Kaylee
Georgia
Juliette
Anastasia
Genevieve
Katherine
Blakely
Reese
Amaya
Emerson
Brianna
June
Alani
Lainey
Arianna
Rosalie
Sara
Jasmine
Ruth
Adalyn
Ada
Bailey
Ariella
Wren
Myla
Khloe
Callie
Elsie
Alexandra
Ryleigh
Faith
Norah
Margot
Zuri
Journee
Aspen
Gemma
Kylie
Molly
Blake
Zara
Alaina
Alana
Brynlee
Amy
Annie
Saylor
Ana
Amira
Kimberly
Noelle
Kamila
Morgan
Phoebe
Harmony
Sutton
Taylor
Finley
Lilah
Juliana
Lila
Londyn
Kailani
Vera
Kaia
Angela
Hallie
Diana
Lennon
Presley
Arabella
Aliyah
Lilly
Milani
Jordyn
Camille
Ariel
Aubree
Selena
Sawyer
Nyla
Delaney
Mariana
Rachel
Adaline
Leila
Collins
Lia
Octavia
Kali
Lena
Kiara
Kaylani
Elaina
Daniela
Leia
Gracie
Dakota
Elise
Hope
Harlow
Lola
Stevie
Malia
Miriam
Alora
Gia
Evangeline
Brooke
Lilith
Sydney
Ophelia
Alayna
Tatum
Evie
Rowan
Marley
Daphne
Kayla
Dahlia
Lucille
Blair
Adelaide
Wrenley
Haven
Teagan
Adelyn
Alyssa
Payton
Jane
Mckenna
Celeste
Juliet
Palmer
Maggie
Rebecca
London
Noa
Samara
Thea
Kendall
Mya
Talia
Winter
Angelina
Vivienne
Esme
Laila
Nina
Trinity
Vanessa
Mabel
Camilla
Jocelyn
Journey
Paige
Phoenix
Amina
Alivia
Amari
Joanna
Nicole
Annabelle
Raegan
Aitana
Julianna
Lauren
Catherine
Adriana
Madilyn
Harley
Tessa
Evelynn
Elianna
Rory
Dream
Nayeli
Poppy
Gabriela
Jayla
Cataleya
Celine
Hayden
Shiloh
Mariah
Charlee
Maisie
Regina
Adelynn
Briella
Giselle
Fatima
Danna
Alessia
Mckenzie
Wynter
Fiona
Brooklynn
Gracelynn
Luciana
Alexis
Everlee
Laura
Selah
Reign
Alayah
Rosemary
Lilliana
Ariyah
Heidi
Esmeralda
Logan
Amora
Kalani
Leighton
Cali
Melissa
Aniyah
Izabella
Michelle
Raelyn
Alessandra
Viviana
Madeleine
Arielle
Serena
Francesca
Brynn
Gwendolyn
Kira
Destiny
Elle
Makayla
Alaya
Malani
Willa
Saige
Makenna
Remington
Demi
Adelina
Raya
Astrid
Azalea
Veronica
Meadow
Anaya
Elisa
Raven
Alexandria
Hattie
Alicia
Sabrina
Gracelyn
Matilda
Skye
Annalise
Frances
Miracle
Maia
Helen
Lana
Daleyza
Rosie
Charli
Bianca
Royalty
Sarai
Amiyah
Nylah
Aylin
Maryam
Scarlet
Antonella
Sylvia
Sylvie
Nadia
Ari
Lexi
Mylah
Julieta
Lorelei
Avianna
Armani
Camryn
Emely
Rylie
Colette
Daniella
Liana
Brinley
Kate
Salem
Marlee
Alison
Carmen
Felicity
Fernanda
Holly
Ariah
Aisha
Kora
Amanda
Ailani
Elaine
Emory
Joy
Oaklee
Lyric
Madelynn
Haisley
Allie
Helena
Danielle
Katalina
Carolina
Zariah
Navy
Cassidy
Lorelai
Stephanie
Alma
Mira
Legacy
Jolene
Anya
Dorothy
Paris
Yaretzi
Aurelia
Maddison
Renata
Jimena
Xiomara
Itzel
Heaven
Lyra
Estella
Gabrielle
Maren
Liam
Noah
Oliver
James
Elijah
William
Henry
Lucas
Benjamin
Theodore
Mateo
Levi
Sebastian
Daniel
Jack
Michael
Alexander
Owen
Asher
Samuel
Ethan
Leo
Jackson
Mason
Ezra
John
Hudson
Luca
Aiden
Joseph
David
Jacob
Logan
Luke
Julian
Gabriel
Grayson
Wyatt
Matthew
Maverick
Dylan
Isaac
Elias
Anthony
Thomas
Jayden
Carter
Santiago
Ezekiel
Charles
Josiah
Caleb
Cooper
Lincoln
Miles
Christopher
Nathan
Isaiah
Kai
Joshua
Andrew
Angel
Adrian
Cameron
Nolan
Waylon
Jaxon
Roman
Eli
Wesley
Aaron
Ian
Christian
Ryan
Leonardo
Brooks
Axel
Walker
Jonathan
Easton
Everett
Weston
Bennett
Robert
Jameson
Landon
Silas
Jose
Beau
Micah
Colton
Jordan
Jeremiah
Parker
Greyson
Rowan
Adam
Nicholas
Theo
Xavier
Hunter
Dominic
Jace
Gael
River
Thiago
Kayden
Damian
August
Carson
Austin
Myles
Amir
Declan
Emmett
Ryder
Luka
Connor
Jaxson
Milo
Enzo
Giovanni
Vincent
Diego
Luis
Archer
Harrison
Kingston
Atlas
Jasper
Sawyer
Legend
Lorenzo
Evan
Jonah
Chase
Bryson
Adriel
Nathaniel
Arthur
Juan
George
Cole
Zion
Jason
Ashton
Carlos
Calvin
Brayden
Elliot
Rhett
Emiliano
Ace
Jayce
Graham
Max
Braxton
Leon
Ivan
Hayden
Jude
Malachi
Dean
Tyler
Jesus
Zachary
Kaiden
Elliott
Arlo
Emmanuel
Ayden
Bentley
Maxwell
Amari
Ryker
Finn
Antonio
Charlie
Maddox
Justin
Judah
Kevin
Dawson
Matteo
Miguel
Zayden
Camden
Messiah
Alan
Alex
Nicolas
Felix
Alejandro
Jesse
Beckett
Matias
Tucker
Emilio
Xander
Knox
Oscar
Beckham
Timothy
Abraham
Andres
Gavin
Brody
Barrett
Hayes
Jett
Brandon
Joel
Victor
Peter
Abel
Edward
Karter
Patrick
Richard
Grant
Avery
King
Caden
Adonis
Riley
Tristan
Kyrie
Blake
Eric
Griffin
Malakai
Rafael
Israel
Tate
Lukas
Nico
Marcus
Stetson
Javier
Colt
Omar
Simon
Kash
Remington
Jeremy
Louis
Mark
Lennox
Callum
Kairo
Nash
Kyler
Dallas
Crew
Preston
Paxton
Steven
Zane
Kaleb
Lane
Phoenix
Paul
Cash
Kenneth
Bryce
Ronan
Kaden
Maximiliano
Walter
Maximus
Emerson
Hendrix
Jax
Atticus
Zayn
Tobias
Cohen
Aziel
Kayson
Rory
Brady
Finley
Holden
Jorge
Malcolm
Clayton
Niko
Francisco
Josue
Brian
Bryan
Cade
Colin
Andre
Cayden
Aidan
Muhammad
Derek
Ali
Elian
Bodhi
Cody
Jensen
Damien
Martin
Cairo
Ellis
Khalil
Otto
Zander
Dante
Ismael
Angelo
Brantley
Manuel
Colson
Cruz
Tatum
Jaylen
Jaden
Erick
Cristian
Romeo
Milan
Reid
Cyrus
Leonel
Joaquin
Ari
Odin
Orion
Ezequiel
Gideon
Daxton
Warren
Casey
Anderson
Spencer
Karson
Eduardo
Chance
Fernando
Raymond
Bradley
Cesar
Wade
Prince
Julius
Dakota
Kade
Koa
Raiden
Callan
Hector
Onyx
Remy
Ricardo
Edwin
Stephen
Kane
Saint
Titus
Desmond
Killian
Sullivan
Mario
Jay
Kamari
Luciano
Royal
Zyaire
Marco
Wilder
Russell
Nasir
Rylan
Archie
Jared
Gianni
Kashton
Kobe
Sergio
Travis
Marshall
Iker
Briggs
Gunner
Apollo
Bowen
Baylor
Sage
Tyson
Kyle
Oakley
Malik
Mathias
Sean
Armani
Hugo
Johnny
Sterling
Forrest
Harvey
Banks
Grady
Kameron
Jake
Franklin
Lawson
Tanner
Eden
Jaziel
Pablo
Reed
Pedro
Zayne
Royce
Edgar
Ibrahim
Winston
Ronin
Leonidas
Devin
Damon
Noel
Rhys
Clark
Corbin
Sonny
Colter
Esteban
Erik
Baker
Adan
Dariel
Kylo
Tripp
Caiden
Frank
Solomon
Major
Memphis
Quinn
Dax
Hank
Donovan
Finnegan
Nehemiah
Andy
Camilo
Asa
Jeffrey
Santino
Isaias
Jaiden
Kian
Fabian
Callen
Ruben
Alexis
Emanuel
Francis
Garrett
Kendrick
Matthias
Wells
Augustus
Jasiah
Alijah
Alonzo
Koda
Collin
Ford
Frederick
Jaxton
Kohen
Troy
Kason
Seth
Denver
Kyson
Ares
Raphael
Bodie
Sylas
Uriel
Zaiden
Shiloh
Lewis
Kieran
Marcos
Bo
Shepherd
Philip
Zaire
Gregory
Princeton
Roberto
Leland
Eithan

More coming soon — stay tuned!

Sources: Popular Baby Names – SSA, Olivia and Liam Remain Most Popular Baby Names for 2022 – SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)

Name quotes #113: Oscar, Mackenzie, Miro

double quotation mark

It’s time for another batch of name quotes!

From a recent Daily Mirror article about schoolteachers Lainey Clarke and Ben Hubbard, who live in Buckinghamshire with their newborn…plus two spirits named Dave and Andy:

Dave even helped them when it came to deciding baby names.

“Every name we liked we’d then remember a naughty school kid we’d taught — it was a nightmare,” laughs Ben.

“We did a spirit box session [one person asks questions and another sits blindfolded with headphones on and relays messages from the spirit world] and the word Apollo was spoken. We listened back after he was born and were stunned to find that Dave had named our baby.”

From a Today.com article published earlier this year about like-named twins who married like-named twins:

Identical twins Briana and Brittany, 35, married identical twins Josh [Joshua] and Jeremy Salyers, 37, and now they’re introducing the world to their babies, who are so genetically similar that the cousins are more like brothers.

[…]

The Salyers are parents to Jett, who turned 1 in January, and Jax, who will turn 1 in April, and the cousins share more than the same first initial. Their unique situation makes them genetic brothers.

(Many U.S twins born in the early 2000s were also given similar names.)

From a recent Morley Kert woodworking video, part of a discussion between Morley and a male client named Mackenzie who he’d just met in-person:

Morley: “So I have something I need to tell you.”

Mackenzie: “Oh?”

Morley: “I fully assumed from your name that you were female.”

Mackenzie: “I think a lot of people do. Technically, technically, 52% of Mackenzies are female now. Which is — we’re losing the battle.”

(I’m curious where Mackenzie found that number, because the balance between male and female babies named Mackenzie hasn’t been close to 50% since the mid-1970s.)

Graph of the usage of the baby name Mackenzie in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Mackenzie

From a 2008 Jezebel post about about celebrity baby names:

To try to find out if celebrity kids can outrun their ridiculous names, MSNBC turns to Peaches Geldof, the celebutante who, in 2006, claimed, “I hate ridiculous names, My weird name has haunted me all my life.” Apparently, Peaches has made peace with her wacky moniker over the past few years, recently telling a reporter “It haunted me in my youth, but now I like it. I always got teased about it at primary school, being named after a fruit. Now people find it appealing. I like my name. I think it’s sexy and unusual.”

From the 2004 article “A Real Gem: Pop artist Ruby Mazur leads charmed life in LV” in the Las Vegas Sun:

Classic rock is pouring through Mazur’s spacious home, his 250-pound Newfoundland, Zeus, is circling the commotion and the artist’s 16-year-old twin sons, Cezanne and Miro, visiting from Vienna, are glancing over with a smile.

[…]

Now living in the golfing community of Rhodes Ranch, Mazur can sit back and scan his past and future. Two of his children — 18-year-old son Matisse and his daughter, actress and model Monet Mazur — are grown.

[Mazur, whose children are named after four famous artists — just like the Ninja Turtles, coincidentally — designed the cover art for thousands of albums during the 1970s.]

From a 2015 article about Anglo-Saxon personal names in History Today:

In the century before the Conquest, Scandinavian names had become so common in some areas that, not only had names such as Toki and Gyða been incorporated into the naming stock, but hybrid names had developed, creating truly Anglo-Scandinavian names, like Ælfcytel (combining Old English Ælf-, ‘elf’, and Old Norse -kettill, ‘cauldron’).

[This source also made an appearance in quotes #110.]

A name-change story (contributed by a Texas woman named Melanie) from a recent Washington Post article about changing babies’ names:

We named our second daughter Francisca. We called to tell my parents. My mother, who sounded disappointed, asked, “What was your second choice?” We told her Amelia. Mom told us that Amelia was her mother’s sister’s name. We said that was nice and moved on to calling other relatives. When we called my sister in law and told her we named our daughter Francisca, she said, “That’s funny, I had a dream you named the baby Amelia.” So right then the baby’s name was changed to Amelia.

For more quotes about names, check out the name quotes category.

Popular male names in England, 1560-1621

Merton College (University of Oxford)
Merton College (University of Oxford)

A while back, I stumbled upon a register of people associated with Oxford University from the mid-16th century to the early 17th century.

Interestingly, the editor of the register decided to include a section dedicated to first names and surnames. That section included a long list of male forenames and their frequency of occurrence from 1560 to 1621.

The editor claimed that, for several reasons, these rankings were “probably…more representative of English names than any list yet published” for that span of time. One reason was that the names represented men from “different grades of English society” — including peers, scholars, tradesmen, and servants.

So, are you ready for the list?

Here’s the top 100:

  1. John, 3,826 individuals
  2. Thomas, 2,777
  3. William, 2,546
  4. Richard, 1,691
  5. Robert, 1,222
  6. Edward, 957
  7. Henry, 908
  8. George, 647
  9. Francis, 447
  10. James, 424
  11. Nicholas, 326
  12. Edmund, 298
  13. Anthony, 262
  14. Hugh, 257
  15. Christopher, 243
  16. Samuel, 227
  17. Walter, 207
  18. Roger, 195
  19. Ralph, 182
  20. Peter (and Peirs/Pers), 175
  21. Humphrey, 168
  22. Charles, 139
  23. Philip, 137
  24. David, 129
  25. Matthew, 116
  26. Nathaniel, 112
  27. Michael, 103
  28. Alexander, 98 (tie)
  29. Arthur, 98 (tie)
  30. Laurence, 90
  31. Giles, 88
  32. Stephen, 86
  33. Simon, 83
  34. Daniel, 79
  35. Joseph, 78 (tie)
  36. Lewis, 78 (tie)
  37. Andrew, 69
  38. Roland, 65
  39. Griffith (and Griffin), 60
  40. Evan, 55
  41. Abraham, 54 (tie)
  42. Leonard, 54 (tie)
  43. Owen, 53
  44. Gilbert, 52
  45. Morris (and Maurice), 51
  46. Bartholomew, 46 (3-way tie)
  47. Oliver, 46 (3-way tie)
  48. Timothy, 46 (3-way tie)
  49. Morgan, 45
  50. Martin, 44 (tie)
  51. Rice, 44 (tie)
  52. Gabriel, 41
  53. Benjamin, 40
  54. Jeffrey/Geoffrey, 38
  55. Ambrose, 36
  56. Adam, 35
  57. Toby (and Tobias), 34
  58. Jerome, 33
  59. Ellis, 30
  60. Paul, 29
  61. Bernard, 28 (3-way tie)
  62. Gregory, 28 (3-way tie)
  63. Isaac, 28 (3-way tie)
  64. Jasper (and Gaspar), 26 (3-way tie)
  65. Josiah (and Josias), 26 (3-way tie)
  66. Randall (and Randolph), 26 (3-way tie)
  67. Miles, 24
  68. Lancelot, 23
  69. Austin (and Augustine), 22 (tie)
  70. Jarvis (and Gervase), 22 (tie)
  71. Brian, 21
  72. Matthias, 20 (tie)
  73. Reginald (and Reynold), 20 (tie)
  74. Jeremy, 19
  75. Theophilus, 19
  76. Joshua 18 (3-way tie)
  77. Marmaduke, 18 (3-way tie)
  78. Valentine, 18 (3-way tie)
  79. Fulke, 17 (tie)
  80. Sampson (and Samson), 17 (tie)
  81. Clement, 16 (4-way tie)
  82. Ferdinando, 16 (4-way tie)
  83. Herbert, 16 (4-way tie)
  84. Zachary, 16 (4-way tie)
  85. Cuthbert, 15 (3-way tie)
  86. Emanuel, 15 (3-way tie)
  87. Vincent, 15 (3-way tie)
  88. Adrian, 14 (3-way tie)
  89. Elias, 14 (3-way tie)
  90. Jonah (and Jonas), 14 (3-way tie)
  91. Tristram, 13
  92. Allan, 12 (6-way tie)
  93. Ames, 12 (6-way tie)
  94. Barnaby (and Barnabas), 12 (6-way tie)
  95. Gerard (and Garret), 12 (6-way tie)
  96. Lionel, 12 (6-way tie)
  97. Mark, 12 (6-way tie)
  98. Abel, 11 (3-way tie)
  99. Erasmus, 11 (3-way tie)
  100. Roderic, 11 (3-way tie)

Did the relative popularity of any of these names surprise you?

The editor did note that “the more common names occur more frequently than they ought to…from the tendency to confuse less common names with them.”

For example, a person called ‘Edmund,’ if he is frequently mentioned in the Register, is almost certain to be somewhere quoted as ‘Edward,’ ‘Gregory’ as ‘George,’ ‘Randall’ or ‘Raphael’ as ‘Ralph,’ ‘Gilbert’ as ‘William,’ and so on.

Now here are some of the less-common names, grouped by number of appearances in the register:

10 appearancesIsrael, Luke
9 appearancesCadwalader, Jenkin, Percival
8 appearancesBennet/Benedict, Godfrey, Howell, Jonathan, Raphael, Theodore
7 appearancesBaldwin, Gawen/Gavin, Hercules, Job, Kenelm, Meredith, Silvester, Solomon, Watkin
6 appearancesAlban, Basil, Caleb, Cornelius, Dennis, Guy, Jacob, Patrick
5 appearancesDudley, Edwin, Eustace, Ezechias/Hezekiah, Ezekiel, Hannibal, Joel, Moses, Peregrine, Simeon, Thurstan, Zacchaeus
4 appearancesFelix, Maximilian, Phineas
3 appearancesAaron, Abdias, Amos, Arnold, Baptist, Barten, Devereux, Diggory, Eleazer, Elisha, Ely, Ephraim, Euseby, German, Hamnet, Hilary, Hopkin, Jevan (“a form for Evan”), Justinian, Lemuel, Osmund, Pexall, Shakerley, Swithin
2 appearancesAngell, Audley, Avery, Bruin, Caesar, Calcot, Carew, Carr, Cecil, Cheyney, Clare, Collingwood, Conon/Conan, Darcy, Dominic, Elkanah, Emor, Ethelbert, Fitz-William, Frederic, Gamaliel, Gideon, Gifford, Goddard, Gray, Hamlet, Hammond, Harvey, Hastings, Hatton, Hector, Isaiah, Jethro, Joscelyn, Julius, Knightley, Mordecai, Morton, Nathan, Nevell, Obadiah, Otho, Pascho, Philemon, Polydor, Price, Raleigh, Raymond, Reuben, Rouse, Sabaoth, Sebastian, Seth, Silas, Silvanus, Tertullian, Umpton, Warren, Wortley, Zouch

Finally, lets check out some of the single-appearance names.

Over 250 names were in the register just once. I won’t include all of them, but here are about half:

  • Accepted, Aegeon, Albinus, Alford, Algernon, Ammiel, Arcadius, Arundel, Atherton, Aubrey, Aunstey, Aymondesham*
  • Bamfield, Beauforus, Bezaliel, Blaise, Bulstrod, Burgetius
  • Cadoc, Calvin, Candish, Cannanuel, Chiddiock, Chilston, Chrysostom, Conrad (“probably a foreigner”), Cosowarth, Creswell, Cyprian
  • Dabridgcourt, Darby, Delvus, Deodatus, Dier, Donwald, Dunstan
  • Elihu, Erisy, Esdras, Everard
  • Fernand, Fettiplace, Fines, Florice, Fogge, Fulbert
  • Geraint, Gerald, Glidd, Gourneus, Granado, Grange, Gratian
  • Hattil, Haut, Hercius, Hodges
  • Jarniot, Jephson, Jerameel, Jeremoth, Jolliffe
  • Kelamus, Killingworth, Kingsmell
  • Lambard, Leoline, Levinus, Leyson, Livewell
  • Maior, Maniewe, Marchadine, Mardocheus, Mattathias, Moyle
  • Nargia, Nizael, Norwich, Noye
  • Ogier, Olliph, Otwell
  • Pancras, Peleger, Periam, Person, Phatnell, Poynings, Purify
  • Renewed, Rheseus (“a Latinism for Rice”), Rimprum, Rollesley, Rotheram, Rumbold
  • Sabinus, Scipio, Sefton, Slaney, Snappe, Southcot, St. John, Stockett, Stukeley
  • Tanfield, Thekeston, Thrasibulus, Timoleon, Tournie, Tupper
  • Ulpian, Utred
  • Wallop, Walsingham, Warian, Warnecombe, Whorwood, Willgent
  • Yeldard
  • Zorobabel

*Could “Aymondesham” be a typo for Agmondesham?

Which of these uncommon names do you find the most intriguing?

Source: Register of the University of Oxford, vol. 2, part 4, edited by Andrew Clark, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1889.

Image: Merton College from Merton Field by Jonas Magnus Lystad under CC BY-SA 4.0.

[Latest update: Dec. 2022]

Where did the baby name Jefre come from in 1961?

jefre, baby name, 1960s, newspapers

Early in the 2010s, I published a list of the top debut names per year. In the middle of the 2010s, I published a list of the top one-hit wonder names per year and noted that four names made both lists: Narice, Saford, Gevan, and Jefre.

A few months after putting up the second list, I covered Saford. But I didn’t write about any of the other names until last week’s post on Gevan. After that one, I decided that it was time to finally post about the other two, so today we’ll do one and next week we’ll look at the other.

Out of the four names, Jefre had the most impressive debut:

  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: 21 baby boys named Jefre [debut]
  • 1960: unlisted
  • 1959: unlisted

It appeared right around the time the name Jeffrey was at peak usage, so it would be easy to write off Jefre as a spelling variant of then-stylish Jeffrey.

But there’s more to the story.

Actor Jeremy Slate (birth name: Robert Bullard Perham) was one of the stars of the short-lived TV show The Aquanauts (1960-1961), about a pair of divers in Southern California.

One Sunday in mid-July, 1961, newspapers across the country ran a story about the swimming habits of Jeremy’s young family, which consisted of his wife Beverly and their four children: Jamie (girl), Jason, Jeremy Jr., and Jefre. It wasn’t long — just two pages — but it included two big photographs, both featuring eight-year-old Jefre.

Ironically, the piece came out about a month and a half after the very last episode of The Aquanauts aired. (And it wasn’t even being called The Aquanauts at that point; a few months before being canceled, the series was re-titled Malibu Run.)

So that explains the sudden appearance/disappearance of “Jefre” in the U.S. baby name data. What are your thoughts about this name? Do you like it, or do you prefer a more common spelling?

Sources: