How popular is the baby name Jim 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 Jim.

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Popularity of the baby name Jim


Posts that mention the name Jim

The names of Freddie Mercury’s cats

Freddie Mercury holding one of his cats
Freddie holding one of his cats

Freddie Mercury loved cats and owned quite a few. His partner of seven years, Jim Hutton, said that “Freddie treated the cats like his own children.”

So what were the names of his many cats? Freddie’s assistant Peter Freestone (who worked for the Queen singer from 1979 until the end of his life) could remember the names of 10 of them:

  • Dorothy
  • Tiffany
  • Tom
  • Jerry
  • Delilah
  • Goliath
  • Lily
  • Miko
  • Oscar
  • Romeo

All but one — purebred Tiffany, a gift from Freddie’s former fiancée Mary Austin — came from shelters.

But Mercury’s favorite wasn’t Tiffany. It was Delilah. He wrote the song “Delilah” on the album Innuendo (1991) just for her. The lyrics even include a string of meows.

Which of the cat names above is your favorite?

Source: Let’s talk about Freddie Mercury’s cats, the highlight of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Where did the baby name Kaseem come from in 1957?

The character Kaseem from the TV series "Jungle Jim" (1955-1956).
Kaseem from “Jungle Jim“

Jungle Jim started as a comic strip in the mid-1930s. The titular character, Jim Bradley, was an American hunter living in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Another main character was his native sidekick, Kolu.

Jungle Jim stories were adapted for radio, film, and eventually a short-lived television series consisting of 26 episodes that aired from 1955 to 1956. The TV show introduced several new characters, including a boy named Skipper, a chimp named Tamba, and a new native sidekick named Kaseem. (Many sources called him a “Hindu manservant.”)

The show didn’t do much for the names Skipper or Tamba, but it did boost the name Kaseem up over the SSA’s 5-baby threshold for the first time:

  • 1959: unlisted
  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: 11 baby boys named Kaseem [debut]
  • 1956: unlisted
  • 1955: unlisted

Incidentally, in the 1956 movie Zarak included a character named Kasim. And, surprisingly, Kaseem wasn’t the only turbaned man on TV influencing baby names in the ’50s — check out Korla.

Sources: Don Markstein’s Toonopedia: Jungle Jim, SSA

Image: Screenshot of Jungle Jim

Name-spotting: Melancthon

Sign inside Garden of the Gods park
Sign inside Garden of the Gods

We visited the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs recently. Inside the park, we spotted a “What’s In a Name?” sign that described how the park got its name back in the late 1850s:

As they looked over this area of cathedral-like rock spires, one man, Malancthon Beach, commented that the spot would be a great place for a beer garden someday. His friend, a poetic young man named Rufous Cable, replied that it was a place “fit for the Gods.”

It’s a cool story. To me, though, the first name “Malancthon” is way more interesting than the origin of the park name. :) Where did it come from?

Well, first, a couple of spelling corrections — Beach’s name was Melancthon, and Cable’s name was Rufus. They were two of the founders of Colorado City (which was later absorbed into Colorado Springs).

My best guess is that “Melancthon” is a tribute to 16th-century German theologian Philipp Melanchthon, one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. His surname at birth was Schwartzerd (“black earth” in German), but as a young man he Latinized his name to the classical equivalent Melanchthon (“black earth” in Greek).

CCC Company 1848, Camp SP-13-C, Morrison, Colorado

We also saw some names at Red Rocks, which is both a park and a famous amphitheater.

The amphitheater was constructed from 1936 to 1941 by men in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a work relief program that existed during the Great Depression. One display included a photo of 124 of the men in the local CCC. Here are their first names, sorted by frequency:

  • 5: Joe, Raymond
  • 4: Charles
  • 3: Arthur, Clarence, Edward
  • 2: Bill, Byron, Carl, David, Earnest, Edwin, Everett, Jack, James, Leo, Maurice, William
  • 1: Aaron, Albert, Aldine, Alfonso, Allen, Alva, Amos, Ancelmo, Arleigh, Aubrey, Audrey, Barnett, Blaine, Calvin, Celestino, Charley, Claud, Claude, Clayton, Cleston, Dale, Damas, Dan, Darold, Dick, Don, Donald, Ed, Elden, Elias, Elipio, Emerson, Emilio, Eric, Ernest, Eston, Fares, Frank, Fred, Glenn, Grant, Gust, Guy, Horace, Hubert, Irvin, Jake, Jasper, Jesse, Jim, John, Jose, Kenneth, Lawrence, Leland, Leonard, Lester, Louis, Lyman, Manual, Marvin, Max, Merce, Noah, Norman, Orval, Pasqual, Paul, Pete, Richard, Rowland, Rudolfo, Russel, Russell, Sandeford, Trenton, Willard

…What interesting names have you spotted while out and about recently?

Source: Melancthon Sayre Beach – Find a Grave

[Latest update: Jan. 2025]

Where did the baby name Raymie come from in 1960?

Movie poster for "Raymie" (1960)
“Raymie” poster

The name Raymie first popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 1960:

  • 1962: 12 baby boys named Raymie
  • 1961: 21 baby boys (and 5 baby girls) named Raymie
  • 1960: 8 baby boys named Raymie [debut]
  • 1959: unlisted
  • 1958: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The sentimental movie Raymie (1960), which followed a young boy named Raymie Boston on his quest to catch “Old Moe,” a giant barracuda who tormented the local fishermen in Raymie’s Southern California town. When Raymie finally managed to land Old Moe, though, he had a change of heart about killing the fish…

Possibly the best-remembered thing about the movie is the theme song, “Raymie,” which was sung (surprisingly well!) by comedian Jerry Lewis.

Raymie Boston — whose first name was likely a nickname for Raymond — was played by David Ladd, the son of actor Alan Ladd (who played Choya in Branded and Jim Bowie in The Iron Mistress).

What are your thoughts on the name Raymie?

Sources: Raymie – TCM, SSA

Image: Movie poster for Raymie