How popular is the baby name Joseph 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 Joseph.
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The small Canadian city of Port Alberni, which is located on Vancouver Island, finally welcomed its first baby of 2023 on the morning of January 4.
Born at West Coast General Hospital to parents Andre-Anne and Joseph Danshin, the baby boy was named Solander Laurent Danshin.
Why “Solander”?
He was named after Solander Island, an ecological reserve off the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. Both his parents work at sea, said Andre-Anne.
“It’s a name that resonates a lot with us,” she said.
The small, rocky island of Solander — which was named in honor of Swedish botanist Daniel Solander (1733-1782), who had been a pupil of Carl Linnaeus — was designated as a reserve in 1971 in order to “protect large colonies of breeding seabirds and their habitat.”
The Swedish surname Solander is made up of the elements sol, meaning “sun” in Swedish (and various other languages), and andros, meaning “man” in Ancient Greek. (Andros is also an element in Andre-Anne’s compound first name.)
What are your thoughts on the name Solander?
P.S. Solander has an older brother named Beaufort.
New York City, located in southeastern New York state, is the most populous city in the United States.
In 2021, New York City welcomed 99,262 babies — 48,648 girls and 50,614 boys.
What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma and Liam.
Here are New York City’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2021:
Girl Names
Emma, 434 baby girls
Olivia
Mia
Sophia
Leah
Ava
Isabella
Amelia
Luna
Sofia
Boy Names
Liam, 703 baby boys
Noah
Ethan
Lucas
Jacob
Joseph
David
Daniel
Aiden
Benjamin
In the girls’ top 10, Luna and Sofia replaced Sarah and Chloe.
In the boys’ top 10, Benjamin replaced Alexander.
Names in the top 100 included: Grace, Lily, Violet, Aurora, Angel, Ruby, Rose, Harper, Axel, Melody, Summer, Serenity, Iris, Autumn, Jade, Chase, August, Angelina, Ivy, Eden, Goldy, Daisy, Journey, and Faith. (Genders weren’t specified, but most of these look like girl names to me.)
Looking for baby names that are associated with red — including baby names that mean “red”?
If so, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve collected dozens of options for you in this post.
Before we get to the names, though, let’s take a quick look at what the color red represents…
Symbolism of red
What does the color red signify?
In Western cultures in particular, red can be symbolic of:
Love
Passion
Strength
Power
Danger
Excitement
Energy
The link between the color red and emotionally-charged situations may be attributable to the fact that we blush involuntarily when we experience intense feelings (such as anger, lust, or embarrassment).
Top baby names associated with red
To determine the top red names, I first had to take into account the fact that certain names have a stronger connection to the color than other names. (I also did this for the posts on orange, yellow, blue, and purple names.)
With that in mind, here are the top baby names that have an obvious association with the color red:
Ruby
Rose
Scarlet
Carmine
Mars
Now here are the same five names again, but this time around I’ve added some details (including definitions, rankings, and popularity graphs).
Ruby
The word ruby refers to the red variety of the mineral corundum. By extension, it also refers to the red color of these crystals.
The name of the stone can be traced back to the Medieval Latin term lapis rubinus, meaning “red stone” (from rubeus, meaning “red,” and lapis, meaning “stone”).
Ruby is currently the 62nd most popular girl name in the U.S.
Usage of the baby name Ruby
Rose
The word rose refers to any flowering plant of the genus Rosa, the name of which ultimately derives from the Greek word for the plant, rhodon.
Roses come in various colors, but shades of red have long been favored — so much so that the word rose, by extension, has also referred to a pinkish-red or purplish-red color since the early 16th century.
Rose is currently the 116th most popular girl name in the nation.
Usage of the baby name Rose
Scarlet
Scarlet is a bright shade of red. The name of the color comes from the Medieval Latin word scarlata (or scarlatum), which referred to a type of woolen cloth that was often, though not always, dyed red.
The more popular spelling of the name, Scarlett, represents transferred usage of the English surname. The surname Scarlett originally referred to a person who sold or worked with the cloth.
Scarlet is currently the 450th most popular girl name in the U.S. (Scarlett ranks 20th.)
Usage of the baby name Scarlet
Carmine
The vocabulary word carmine (pronounced KAHR-mien) refers to the pigment made from the cochineal insect, which lives on prickly pear cacti. By extension, it also refers to the purplish-red color of this pigment.
Spanish explorers, who learned of the pigment through the Nahuas (Aztecs), began exporting it to Europe in the early 16th century. Its name (in Europe) is based on the Medieval Latin word carminium — a form of the Arabic word qirmiz, meaning “crimson,” influenced by the Latin word minium, meaning “cinnabar.”
The word also happens to be a homograph of the personal name Carmine (pronounced KAHR-mee-neh), which is the Italian masculine form of Carmen.
Carmine is currently the 1,282nd most popular boy name in the nation.
Usage of the baby name Carmine
Mars
The pronoun Mars initially referred to the Roman god of war.
Later, when the ancient Romans chose names for the five visible planets of the solar system, they named the one with the reddish color — which is reminiscent of blood — after the god of war. (The surface of Mars appears reddish due to the presence of iron oxide in the planet’s soil.)
Mars is currently the 1,305th most popular boy name in the U.S.
Usage of the baby name Mars
More names associated with red
All the names below have an association with the color red. The names range from traditional to unusual, and their associations range from strong to slight.
Those that have been popular enough to appear in the U.S. baby name data are linked to their corresponding popularity graphs.
Akane is a Japanese feminine name that — depending upon the kanji being used to write the name — can refer to the madder plant (genus Rubia), the dye made from the root of the madder plant, or the purplish-red color of that dye.
Amaranth flowers are frequently red. The genus name Amaranthus is derived from a combination of the ancient Greek words amarantos, meaning “unfading,” and anthos, meaning “flower.”
Amaryllis flowers are often red. The genus name Amaryllis is derived from the ancient Greek word amarysso, meaning “to sparkle.”
Anara is a Kazakh and Kyrgyz feminine name based on the word anar, meaning “pomegranate.”
Azalea flowers are sometimes red. The (obsolete) genus name Azalea is derived from the ancient Greek word azaleos, meaning “dry.”
Berry fruits are frequently red. The Old English word for “berry” was berie.
Brick is commonly red. In fact, the term “brick red” refers to the brownish-red color of red clay bricks.
Burgundy is a purplish-red color. The name of the shade was inspired by red wine from the region of Burgundy in France.
Camellia flowers are often red. The genus Camellia is was named in honor of Moravian botanist Georg Joseph Kamel.
Canna flowers are sometimes red. The genus name Canna is derived from the Latin word canna, meaning “reed.”
Cardinal birds (genus Cardinalis) — the males in particular — have red plumage. The common name “cardinal,” inspired by the red robes of Roman Catholic cardinals, is ultimately derived from the Latin word cardinalis, meaning “principal, chief.”
Carnelian, a variety of the mineral chalcedony, is often red. The name of the stone ultimately comes form from the Latin word cornus, which refers to a type of berry, altered by the influence of the Latin word carneus, meaning “flesh-colored.”
Cherry fruits are typically red. Cherry trees are part of the genus Prunus.
Chrysanthemum flowers are sometimes red. The genus name Chrysanthemum is derived from a combination of the ancient Greek words khrysos, meaning “gold,” and anthemon, meaning “blossom, flower.”
Coral is a pink-orange shade of red. The name of the shade refers to the color of precious coral, which was first discovered in the Mediterranean Sea.
Crimson is a deep shade of red. Crimson pigment was originally made from the kermes insect, which lives on evergreen oaks. (The pigment fell out of favor in Europe after the introduction of carmine from the New World in the early 1500s.)
Dahlia flowers are sometimes red. The genus Dahlia was named in honor of Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Delima is an Indonesian feminine name meaning “pomegranate.”
Edom is a Biblical masculine name based on the Hebrew word ‘adom, meaning “red.”
Erythia, based on the ancient Greek word eruthrós, meaning “red,” was the name of several figures in Greek mythology.
Eztli is the Nahuatl word for blood. (Fun fact: The red pigment made from cochineal that Europeans called carmine was called nocheztli, or “prickly pear blood,” by the Nahuas.)
Flann is an Irish masculine name meaning “blood red.”
Flannán is a diminutive form of Flann.
Garnet is a gemstone that is typically dark red. The name of the stone ultimately comes from the Latin word granatum, meaning “pomegranate” (literally, “having many seeds”) — a reference to the resemblance between garnets and pomegranate seeds.
Garance is a French feminine name that refers to the madder plant (genus Rubia), the dye made from the root of the madder plant, or the purplish-red color of that dye.
Gladiola refers to Gladiolus, a genus of plants with flowers that are sometimes red. The genus name, meaning “little sword” (a diminutive of the Latin word gladius, “sword”) refers to the shape of the leaves.
Gül (pronounced gool) is a Turkish feminine name meaning “rose.”
Helen is part of Helenium, a genus of plants with flowers that are sometimes red. The genus was named in honor of Helen of Troy.
Jagoda (pronounced YAH-goh-dah) is a feminine name meaning “strawberry” in Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene, and other South Slavic languages.
Jasper, an opaque type of microcrystalline quartz, is commonly red. The name of the stone ultimately comes from the ancient Greek word iaspis.
Kamala is a Hindi feminine name based on the Sanskrit word kamala, meaning “pale red.”
Kimmernaq is a Greenlandic feminine name meaning “lingonberry.”
Lohit is a Hindi masculine name based on the Sanskrit word lóhita, meaning “red.”
Orchid flowers are sometimes red. Orchids are all members of the Orchidaceae family of plants.
Phoenix refers to the mythical bird, but the name of that bird was based on the ancient Greek word phoinix, meaning “purple” or “crimson.”
Poinsettia bracts are usually red. “Poinsettia” is the common name of the plant species Euphorbia pulcherrima. The common name commemorates U.S. politician Joel Roberts Poinsett, who introduced the plant to the U.S. (from Mexico) in the 1820s.
Poppy flowers are commonly red. The Old English word for “poppy” was popig.
Reed (also spelled Reid) comes from an English and Scottish surname that can be traced back to the Middle English word for “red.”
Rimmon is a Hebrew gender-neutral name meaning “pomegranate.”
Rohit is a Hindi masculine name based on the Sanskrit word róhita, meaning “red.”
Roth comes from a German surname that can be traced back to the Middle High German word rot, meaning “red.” It was originally a nickname for a red-haired person.
Ruadh (pronounced roo-ah) means “red” or “red-haired” in Irish and Scottish Gaelic.
Rubina is a Portuguese and Italian and feminine name meaning “ruby.”
Rufus derives from the Latin word rufus, meaning “red” or “red-haired.”
Rufino (masculine) and Rufina (feminine) are the modern Spanish forms of the Roman family name Rufinus, which was based on Rufus.
Russell comes from a surname that can be traced back to the Old French word rous, meaning “red.”
Shani is a Hebrew gender-neutral name meaning “scarlet, red.”
Strawberry fruits are red. Strawberry plants are part of the genus Fragaria.
Tulip flowers are often red. The name of the flower can be traced back to the Ottoman Turkish word tülbent, meaning “turban.”
Ulaan is a Mongolian gender-neutral name meaning “red.”
Vadelma is a Finnish feminine name meaning “raspberry.”
Vardan is an Albanian masculine name meaning “rose.”
Verbena flowers are sometimes red. The genus name Verbena is derived from the Latin word verbena, which referred to the leaves, twigs, and branches of specific plants (like laurel, olive, and myrtle) that were used during religious ceremonies.
A few days ago, I stumbled upon a set of baby name data for Austin, Texas, for the year 2017. While it isn’t current, it does seem to be complete — so it includes hundreds of rare and single-use names (which are always fascinating!).
The data accounts for nearly 19,900 births (9,733 girls and 10,163 boys), and features nearly 6,100 names (3,431 given to girls, 2,656 given to boys).
According to this data, which comes from the City of Austin’s Open Data Portal, the top baby names in the capital of Texas five years ago were Emma and James.
Here are Austin’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2017:
Girl Names
Emma, 98 baby girls
Isabella, 88
Olivia, 84
Mia, 81
Evelyn, 77
Sophia, 75
Ava, 73
Abigail, 59 (tie)
Charlotte, 59 (tie)
Emily, 58
Camila, 56 (tie)
Elizabeth, 56 (tie)
Harper, 53
Amelia, 52
Penelope, 51 (tie)
Sofia, 51 (tie)
Scarlett, 46
Ella, 45
Avery, 43 (tie)
Zoe, 43 (tie)
Lillian, 41
Layla, 40 (tie)
Madison, 40 (tie)
Eleanor, 39
Victoria, 38
Allison, 37
Claire, 36 (3-way tie)
Elena, 36 (3-way tie)
Luna, 36 (3-way tie)
Aria, 35 (tie)
Chloe, 35 (tie)
Ellie, 34 (tie)
Katherine, 34 (tie)
Samantha, 33
Hannah, 30 (4-way tie)
Hazel, 30 (4-way tie)
Mila, 30 (4-way tie)
Stella, 30 (4-way tie)
Leah, 29
Cora, 28 (5-way tie)
Genesis, 28 (5-way tie)
Grace, 28 (5-way tie)
Natalie, 28 (5-way tie)
Ximena, 28 (5-way tie)
Clara, 27 (3-way tie)
Eliana, 27 (3-way tie)
Ruby, 27 (3-way tie)
Audrey, 26 (tie)
Sarah, 26 (tie)
Alexa, 25 (3-way tie)
Everly, 25 (3-way tie)
Lily, 25 (3-way tie)
Boy Names
James, 104 baby boys
Noah, 85
Daniel, 83
Benjamin, 82
William, 80
Oliver, 75
Liam, 74
Alexander, 73
Sebastian, 70
Henry, 67
Elijah, 66 (tie)
Mateo, 66 (tie)
Ethan, 65
Jackson, 63
Anthony, 61
Jacob, 60
Aiden, 59 (tie)
Luke, 59 (tie)
David, 58 (tie)
Samuel, 58 (tie)
John, 56
Isaac, 55 (tie)
Julian, 55 (tie)
Michael, 54
Charles, 53 (3-way tie)
Jack, 53 (3-way tie)
Matthew, 53 (3-way tie)
Jose, 52 (tie)
Joshua, 52 (tie)
Wyatt, 50
Aaron, 49 (4-way tie)
Grayson, 49 (4-way tie)
Joseph, 49 (4-way tie)
Levi, 49 (4-way tie)
Dylan, 48
Hudson, 47
Josiah, 46 (3-way tie)
Logan, 46 (3-way tie)
Santiago, 46 (3-way tie)
Jayden, 45
Nathan, 44
Christopher, 43 (tie)
Thomas, 43 (tie)
Andrew, 42 (4-way tie)
Gabriel, 42 (4-way tie)
Luis, 42 (4-way tie)
Owen, 42 (4-way tie)
Lucas, 41
Adrian, 40 (3-way tie)
Axel, 40 (3-way tie)
Christian, 40 (3-way tie)
On the girls’ list, Allison caught my eye. It ranked 26th in Austin in 2017, but 61st nationally the same year. Interesting.
Further down on the boys’ list was Austin itself, in 95th place — vs. 75th nationally — with 21 baby boys. Much further down was Texas, with 2 baby boys.
And now it’s time for the unique names!
One-of-a-kind names were given to 24% of the baby girls and 17% of the baby boys born in Austin in 2017. Here’s a sampling of the names that were bestowed just once:
Some possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:
Cadeau is the French word for “present, gift.”
Ceiba is a type of tree.
Tsumugi Shirogane is a character from the 2017 video game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
Ynafets is “Stefany” spelled backwards.
Bruges is the capital of West Flanders (a province of Belgium).
Mistral is a strong late-winter wind in southern France.
The Rigveda is a sacred Hindu text.
I’ve never posted rankings for Austin before, but I have posted rankings recently for two nearby Texas cities: Houston (which is more than twice the size of Austin, population-wise) and College Station (which is about an eighth of the size of Austin).
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