How popular is the baby name Jon in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Jon.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Jon


Posts that Mention the Name Jon

Name quotes #118: Meeno, Ronaldo, Crusoe

double quotation mark

April is here, so it’s time for another batch of name quotes!

From a 2011 interview with former child actor Meeno Peluce:

My parents split the country when I was conceived. They traveled across Europe looking for the perfect place to have their perfect child. It was 1969, a voice had spoken to my mom. It said, “Go to India.” Then a short time later it said, “You’re pregnant.” They had been married 10 years and my mom was not supposed to be able to have kids. But the voice spoke and so they left America behind and headed for the world. They made great friends in Yugoslavia, one had the perfect name. Miroslav, Man of Peace. So I was named after him, but not in Yugoslavia.

[…]

My folks pulled into Amsterdam on a snowy night with all the lights glistening and my mom knew it was the perfect place and that’s where I was born, their little man of peace, Miro.

A couple years later we were in Katmandu at the foot of Swayambhunath where Buddha had come to make his last speeches. A monk came over, picked me up, and asked my name. “Miro,” my mother told him. “No,” I corrected her. “No more Miro, only Meeno, only Meeno.” And I wouldn’t answer to anything else.

(Meeno, the half-brother of Soleil Moon Frye, co-starred with Jon-Erik Hexum in the early ’80s sci-fi TV show Voyagers!)

From a 2009 NPR interview with jazz singer and pianist Blossom Dearie (1924-2009):

It is my real name, and everybody asks me that, but I don’t mind answering that question. […] I was born in the springtime, and my father gave me the name Blossom cause I was born in April and my bothers brought blossoms in the house.

(TV character Blossom Russo was named after Blossom Dearie.)

From an article about the first spoken dialogue system used in space:

Since Clarissa’s developers planned to set her up on the International Space Station (ISS), the team “went looking for names that had ‘ISS’ in them,” said [John] Dowding. “There aren’t many of those. Clarissa won out,” [Manny] Rayner told Space.com, adding that the team thought a woman’s name would make the system sound friendly.

(The system was first used aboard the ISS in 2005 — about a decade after Clarissa Explains it All was on the air.)

From an Instagram post by Irish television presenter Lisa Cannon:

I always feel oddly yet loosely connected to [the late Lisa Marie Presley] as I was an only child too and was named after her… Lisa Sara Marie Cannon – Lisa Marie because my father like the rest of the world was an Elvis fan and my middle name Sara after Bob Dylan’s Wife. My father at the time was a budding Rock Journalist for Hot Press Magazine & the NME in London so music of all genres was always playing in our home. When people ask you the origin of your name or who your named after it was always “Elvis’ daughter & Bob Dylan’s Wife” which always got a smile.

From a recent article about YouTube influencers The Newbys:

Tiny traveller Crusoe Newby is less than two years old — but has already tottered his way around 24 different countries.

[…]

Named after fictional castaway Robinson Crusoe, the hero of the 18th century novel by Daniel Defoe, he had travelled to 11 countries while still in the womb. But his official tally of 24 have all been racked up since his birth. His adventure started when Tara and John decided to sell their Bristol home and convert a £3,000 van to travel the globe in May 2020.

[…]

“Robinson Crusoe is John’s favourite book of all time because it inspired him as a young boy to think of a life of adventure.”

From a 2016 article about Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo:

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was named, in part, after Ronald Reagan, president of the United States at the time of his birth [in 1985] and his father’s favorite actor. “My parents named me after him because they both liked this name and thought it sounded strong,” he tells me. “I know that my father admired him.”

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

What popularized the baby name Chael in the early 2010s?

MMA fighter Chael Sonnen
Chael Sonnen

The interesting name Chael, after first appearing in the U.S. baby name data in the early 2000s, rose to peak usage in 2013:

  • 2015: 35 baby boys named Chael
  • 2014: 60 baby boys named Chael
  • 2013: 96 baby boys named Chael [peak]
  • 2012: 61 baby boys named Chael
  • 2011: 34 baby boys named Chael

What was the influence?

Mixed martial artist Chael Sonnen (pronounced CHAYL SUN-en; first name similar to “jail”), whose career lasted from the late 1990s to the late 2010s.

He was most famous during the early 2010s, when he was a top contender in two different UFC weight classes. Also during that time period, he cemented his reputation as one of MMA’s best trash-talkers.

Sonnen’s initial fight with Anderson Silva* for the UFC Middleweight Championship in August of 2010 was voted Fight of the Year at the annual World MMA awards. Ahead of their highly anticipated re-match in July of 2012, a Bleacher Report writer said:

Chael Sonnen is a name that seems to be on the tip of every MMA fans’ tongues these days. Whether you’re online or watching UFC televised programming, Sonnen’s name and face are everywhere.

(Later the same year, a poster at the MMA Underground forum asked, rather presciently: “Will Chael be the hot new boys name for 2013?“)

In April of 2013, Sonnen lost his third and final title bout, this time against Jon Jones in the Light Heavyweight division. But he did win MMA Personality of the Year in 2013 — ousting the usual recipient, Joe Rogan.

So how did Sonnen, who was born in Oregon in 1977, get the first name Chael? Here’s what he said during a Reddit AMA a few years ago:

My Mom took the name “Michael” and removed the “Mi”.

She also altered the pronunciation, of course.

What are your thoughts on the name Chael?

Sources:

*Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva are both from Brazil, but they’re not related.

Popular baby names in Iceland, 2021

iceland

Iceland is a sparsely populated (and actively volcanic!) island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean, very close to the Arctic Circle.

Last year, Iceland welcomed 4,866 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Embla and Aron.

Here are Iceland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Embla, 31 baby girls
  2. Emilía, 29 (tie)
  3. Sara, 29 (tie)
  4. Sóley, 26 – means “buttercup” in Icelandic.
  5. Aþena, 25 (tie) – form of Athena.
  6. Matthildur, 25 (tie) – form of Matilda.
  7. Katla, 24
  8. Guðrún, 23
  9. Eva, 22 (3-way tie)
  10. Saga, 22 (3-way tie)
  11. Viktoría, 22 (3-way tie)
  12. Anna, 21 (4-way tie)
  13. Bríet, 21 (4-way tie)
  14. Emma, 21 (4-way tie)
  15. Hekla, 21 (4-way tie)
  16. Júlía, 19
  17. Móeiður, 18
  18. Aldís, 17 (3-way tie)
  19. Andrea, 17 (3-way tie)
  20. Elísabet, 17 (3-way tie)
  21. Freyja, 16 (tie)
  22. Kristín, 16 (tie)
  23. Ísabella, 15 (tie)
  24. Katrín, 15 (tie)
  25. Alexandra, 14 (7-way tie)
  26. Hanna, 14 (7-way tie)
  27. Klara, 14 (7-way tie)
  28. Margrét, 14 (7-way tie)
  29. Rakel, 14 (7-way tie)
  30. Salka, 14 (7-way tie)
  31. Una, 14 (7-way tie)
  32. Hrafnhildur, 13 (3-way tie) – comprised of elements meaning “raven” and “battle.”
  33. Íris, 13 (3-way tie)
  34. Þórdís, 13 (3-way tie)
  35. Kolbrún, 12
  36. Berglind, 11 (7-way tie)
  37. Birta, 11 (7-way tie)
  38. Helga, 11 (7-way tie)
  39. Kamilla, 11 (7-way tie)
  40. Laufey, 11 (7-way tie)
  41. María, 11 (7-way tie)
  42. Sóldís, 11 (7-way tie)
  43. Amelía, 10 (14-way tie)
  44. Aría, 10 (14-way tie)
  45. Áróra, 10 (14-way tie)
  46. Elín, 10 (14-way tie)
  47. Hafdís, 10 (14-way tie)
  48. Heiðdís, 10 (14-way tie)
  49. Hildur, 10 (14-way tie)
  50. Hrafntinna, 10 (14-way tie) – based on the Icelandic word hrafntinnu, meaning “obsidian.” (The elements mean “raven” and “flint.”)
  51. Lena, 10 (14-way tie)
  52. Lóa, 10 (14-way tie)
  53. Mía, 10 (14-way tie)
  54. Natalía, 10 (14-way tie)
  55. Unnur, 10 (14-way tie)
  56. Ylfa, 10 (14-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Aron, 41 baby boys
  2. Jökull, 36 – (pronounced yoh-kut, roughly) means “glacier” in Icelandic.
  3. Alexander, 31
  4. Kári, 30
  5. Emil, 28
  6. Jón, 27
  7. Óliver, 25
  8. Matthías, 24 (tie)
  9. Mikael, 24 (tie)
  10. Atlas, 23 (tie)
  11. Elmar, 23 (tie)
  12. Óðinn, 22
  13. Birnir, 21 (tie)
  14. Sigurður, 21 (tie)
  15. Baldur, 20 (6-way tie)
  16. Birkir, 20 (6-way tie) – based on the Icelandic word birki, meaning “birch”
  17. Brynjar, 20 (6-way tie)
  18. Ísak, 20 (6-way tie)
  19. Stefán, 20 (6-way tie)
  20. Tómas, 20 (6-way tie)
  21. Dagur, 19
  22. Styrmir, 18
  23. Úlfur, 18
  24. Bjartur, 17 (5-way tie)
  25. Daníel, 17 (5-way tie)
  26. Fannar, 17 (5-way tie)
  27. Guðmundur, 17 (5-way tie)
  28. Róbert, 17 (5-way tie)
  29. Ari, 16 (6-way tie)
  30. Jóhann, 16 (6-way tie)
  31. Kristófer, 16 (6-way tie)
  32. Óskar, 16 (6-way tie)
  33. Theodór, 16 (6-way tie)
  34. Viktor, 16 (6-way tie)
  35. Baltasar, 15 (3-way tie)
  36. Bjarki, 15 (3-way tie)
  37. Ólafur, 15 (3-way tie)
  38. Benedikt, 14 (9-way tie)
  39. Benjamín, 14 (9-way tie)
  40. Einar, 14 (9-way tie)
  41. Hjörtur, 14 (9-way tie)
  42. Hrafn, 14 (9-way tie)
  43. Jakob, 14 (9-way tie)
  44. Kristján, 14 (9-way tie)
  45. Magnús, 14 (9-way tie)
  46. Ýmir, 14 (9-way tie)
  47. Hinrik, 13 (4-way tie)
  48. Hlynur, 13 (4-way tie) – means “maple” in Icelandic.
  49. Máni, 13 (4-way tie) – based on the Old Norse word máni, meaning “moon.”
    • Máni was the personification of the moon in Germanic mythology.
  50. Ragnar, 13 (4-way tie)

Notably, the girl name Saga jumped from 80th place in 2020 to 10th in 2021.

Here are several interesting names from outside the top 50:

More Girl NamesMore Boy names
Dagbjört (“day” + “light”), 5Frosti (“frost”), 12
Melkorka (a character from a saga), 5Nökkvi (“boat, skip”), 9
Kría (“arctic tern”) 4Víkingur, 8
Ósk (“wish”), 2Snæbjörn (“snow” + “bear”), 5
Ugla (“owl”), 2Örlygur (“warrior”), 2

And, because Iceland releases all of its baby name data (yay!), we can check out names at the other end of the spectrum.

Over 340 girl names and over 360 boy names were bestowed just once in Iceland last year. Here’s a selection of Iceland’s unique baby names of 2021:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Álfrún, Blíða, Charlotta, Dýrleif, Elínrós, Fanndís, Gígja, Hjaltey, Irmý, Jökla, Kristrún, Lílú, Marlaug, Myrkey, Nanna, Oddný, Pála, Quin, Rökkva, Svanhvít, Þórkatla, Unndís, Viðey, Wilrie, Ylfur, ZojaÁstmar, Barði, Carlos, Döggvi, Dreki, Ellert, Feykir, Greipur, Himri, Ísarr, Jörfi, Klettur, Kveldúlfur, Loftur, Myrkvi, Númi, Öxar, Pálmi, Röskvi, Skúmur, Sumarliði, Þorfinnur, Vigfús, Xander, Yariel, Zoran

Some simplified definitions for a few of the above…

  • Döggvi, “dew”
  • Dreki, “dragon”
  • Dýrleif, “deer” + “heir”
  • Fanndis, “snowdrift” + “woman”
  • Feykir, “fire”
  • Gigja, “fiddle”
  • Himri, short for himbrimi, “common loon” in Icelandic
  • Jökla, feminine version of Jökull, the #2 boy name
  • Myrkvi, “darkness (caused by fog or a storm)” or “eclipse
  • Sumarliði, “summer-farer”
  • Svanhvit, “swan” + “white”

There was also a single non-binary name, Blær (“light breeze”), registered in Iceland last year.

Interestingly, about a decade ago, a teenager named Blær forced Iceland to legally recognize her name — which, at that time, was considered solely masculine — by taking the government to court. Perhaps that court battle paved the way for Blær to become a dual-gender name in Iceland? Hm…

The last time I posted rankings for Iceland, in 2018, the top two names (Embla and Aron) were the same.

Sources: Vinsælustu nöfnin 2021 | Þjóðskrá, Vinsælustu nöfnin 2021 | Þjóðskrá, Nordic Names
Image by Kamil Kalbarczyk from Unsplash

Popular baby names in the Faroe Islands, 2021

Faroe

The Faroe Islands, which are part of the kingdom of Denmark, are a North Atlantic archipelago located between Iceland and Scotland‘s Shetland Islands.

Last year, the Faroes welcomed 683 babies — 327 girls and 356 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Lea/Lív (tie) and Jónas.

Here are the Faroe Islands’ top 20+ girl names and top 30+ boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Lea, 7 baby girls (tie)
  2. Lív, 7 (tie)
  3. Emma, 5 (4-way tie)
  4. Julia, 5 (4-way tie)
  5. Ria, 5 (4-way tie)
  6. Sólja, 5 (4-way tie)
  7. Hjørdis, 4 (6-way tie)
  8. Isabella, 4 (6-way tie)
  9. Nora, 4 (6-way tie)
  10. Ronja, 4 (6-way tie)
  11. Sofía, 4 (6-way tie)
  12. Vár, 4 (6-way tie)
  13. Alda, 3 (13-way tie)
  14. Amalia, 3 (13-way tie)
  15. Ann, 3 (13-way tie)
  16. Anna, 3 (13-way tie)
  17. Bára, 3 (13-way tie)
  18. Eva, 3 (13-way tie)
  19. Eyð, 3 (13-way tie)
  20. Joan, 3 (13-way tie)
  21. Klara, 3 (13-way tie)
  22. Liva, 3 (13-way tie)
  23. Maria, 3 (13-way tie)
  24. Olivia, 3 (13-way tie)
  25. Petra, 3 (13-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Jónas, 10 baby boys
  2. Nóa, 9
  3. Andrias, 6 (4-way tie)
  4. Jógvan, 6 (4-way tie)
  5. Markus, 6 (4-way tie)
  6. Mattias, 6 (4-way tie)
  7. Adrian, 5 (4-way tie)
  8. Gilli, 5 (4-way tie)
  9. Jákup, 5 (4-way tie)
  10. Tróndur, 5 (4-way tie)
  11. Bragi, 4 (9-way tie)
  12. Brandur, 4 (9-way tie)
  13. Brimir, 4 (9-way tie)
  14. Hjalti, 4 (9-way tie)
  15. Jóhan, 4 (9-way tie)
  16. Liam, 4 (9-way tie)
  17. Ólavur, 4 (9-way tie)
  18. Óli, 4 (9-way tie)
  19. Ragnar, 4 (9-way tie)
  20. Áki, 3 (14-way tie)
  21. Benjamin, 3 (14-way tie)
  22. Dávid, 3 (14-way tie)
  23. Elias, 3 (14-way tie)
  24. Filip, 3 (14-way tie)
  25. Hans, 3 (14-way tie)
  26. Jens, 3 (14-way tie)
  27. Jóel, 3 (14-way tie)
  28. Jón, 3 (14-way tie)
  29. Kári, 3 (14-way tie)
  30. Leon, 3 (14-way tie)
  31. Silas, 3 (14-way tie)
  32. Teitur, 3 (14-way tie)
  33. Uni, 3 (14-way tie)

Some of the other baby names bestowed in the Faroe Islands in 2021 include…

  • Brá (2 girls), based on the Old Norse word brá, meaing “eyelash.”
  • Brosi (1 boy), based on the Old Norse word brosa, meaning “to smile.”
  • Drós (1 girl), based on an Old Norse word meaning “woman.”
  • Fípa (1 girl), based on the Old Norse word fífa, meaning “cotton grass.”
  • Flykra (1 girl), means “(snow) flake” in Faroese.
  • Glæma (1 girl), means “ray of light” in Faroese.
  • Glóð (2 girls), based on an Old Norse word meaning “ember, glow.”
  • Røskva (1 girl), based on an Old Norse word meaning “vigorous, brave.”
  • Smæra (1 girl), means “clover” in Faroese.
  • Urð (1 girl), based on an Old Norse word meaning “fate, destiny.”

In 2020, the top names in the Faroe Islands were Anna/Olivia (tie) and Benjamin/Elias/Lukas (3-way tie).

Sources: Statistical Database (Names) – Hagstova Føroya, Faroe Islands – Wikipedia, Nordic Names