How popular is the baby name Juan 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 Juan.

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Popularity of the baby name Juan


Posts that mention the name Juan

Popular baby names in Argentina, 2020 & 2021

Flag of Argentina
Flag of Argentina

According to data from Argentina’s Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAPER), the most popular baby names in the country in both 2020 and 2021 were Emma and Mateo.

First, here are Argentina’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names, 2020

  1. Emma, 7,966 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 5,409
  3. Martina, 5,236
  4. Isabella, 5,214
  5. Alma, 4,620
  6. Catalina, 4,099
  7. Mia, 4,084
  8. Ambar, 3,730
  9. Victoria, 3,722
  10. Delfina, 3,574

Boy Names, 2020

  1. Mateo, 7,750 baby boys
  2. Bautista, 5,237
  3. Juan, 5,125
  4. Felipe, 4,785
  5. Bruno, 4,440
  6. Noah, 4,428
  7. Benicio, 4,225
  8. Thiago, 3,772
  9. Ciro, 3,663
  10. Liam, 3,516

And, second, here are Argentina’s provisional 2021 rankings (which cover the year up to November 16):

Girl Names, 2021 (provisional)

  1. Emma, 5,201 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 3,958
  3. Alma, 3,579
  4. Martina, 3,475
  5. Isabella, 3,447
  6. Catalina, 3,025
  7. Mia, 2,651
  8. Roma, 2,389
  9. Sofía, 2,317
  10. Emilia, 2,316

Boy Names, 2021 (provisional)

  1. Mateo, 5,166 baby boys
  2. Bautista, 3,783
  3. Felipe, 3,673
  4. Noah, 3,563
  5. Juan, 3,381
  6. Liam, 3,114
  7. Benicio, 2,952
  8. Bruno, 2,821
  9. Thiago, 2,611
  10. Lorenzo, 2,256

My source article noted that the 2020 boys’ rankings included the names of all three of Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi’s sons: Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro.

It also noted that the girl name Roma was rarely used in the country until actress Dalma Maradona — daughter of Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona — welcomed her own daughter, Roma, in March of 2019. The next year, the name jumped to 15th place on the girls’ list. The year after that, it entered the top 10.

Finally, the name Lautaro — the Hispanicized version of Leftraru that we saw in the rankings for next-door neighbor Chile last week — ranked within Argentina’s top 20 in both 2020 and 2021. The name’s trendiness in Argentina right now probably has less to do with the original Lautaro (a 16th-century Mapuche warrior from Chile) and more to do with Argentine soccer player Lautaro Martínez.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Argentina (public domain)

African names in the newspapers

In 1971, a list of African names published in Jet magazine had an impact on U.S. baby names.

In 1977, a list of African names published in Ebony magazine had a similar impact on U.S. baby names.

And in between, in 1973, a list of African names was published in an interesting place: U.S. newspapers nationwide. That is, not in a magazine written for an African-American audience specifically.

African names, newspaper article, 1973, baby names
African names in U.S. newspapers, Aug. 1973

So…did this newspaper-based list have an impact as well?

Yes, turns out it had roughly the same impact as the other two lists.

The opening line of the article was: “Here’s help for young black couples wanting to give their infants African names.” Toward the end, the article featured a list of 23 names. Most of these names ended up seeing movement in the data, including 10 (!) debuts.

  1. Abeni – debuted in 1974
  2. Avodele – never in the data
  3. Dalila – increased in usage ’73
  4. Fatima – increased in usage ’73/’74
  5. Habibah – debuted in 1974
  6. Halima – increased in usage ’74
  7. Hasina – debuted in 1974
  8. Kamilah – increased in usage ’73/’74
  9. Salama – debuted in 1974
  10. Shani – increased in usage ’74
  11. Yaminah – debuted in 1973
  12. Zahra – debuted in 1973
  13. Abdu – debuted in 1973
  14. Ali – no movement in the data
  15. Bakari – debuted in 1973
  16. Hasani – debuted in 1973
  17. Jabari – increased in usage ’73/’74
  18. Jelani – debuted in 1973
  19. Muhammad – no movement in the data
  20. Rudo – never in the data
  21. Sadiki – not in data yet
  22. Zikomo – not in data yet
  23. Zuberi – not in data yet

The article cited as its source The Book of African Names (1970) by Chief Osuntoki. As it turns out, though, the Chief wasn’t a real person. He was a fictional character invented by the publisher, Drum and Spear Press. Here’s a quote from the book’s introduction, purportedly written by the Chief:

It is strange, indeed, it hurts my heart, that brothers from afar often come to greet me bearing such names as “Willie”, “Juan” and “François”. But we can not be hard against them, for they have been misled.

Of the 23 names listed above, the one that debuted most impressively was Jelani. In fact, Jelani ended up tied for 43rd on the list of the top boy-name debuts of all time.

  • 1976: 55 baby boys named Jelani
  • 1975: 46 baby boys and 6 baby girls named Jelani [debut as a girl name]
  • 1974: 53 baby boys named Jelani
  • 1973: 36 baby boys named Jelani [overall debut]
  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: unlisted

Which of those 23 names do you like best?

Sources:

  • “African chief explains symbolism of names.” San Bernardino County Sun 15 Aug. 1973: B-4.
  • Markle, Seth M. A Motorcycle on Hell Run: Tanzania, Black Power, and the Uncertain Future of Pan-Africanism, 1964-1974. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 2017.

Where did the baby name Viveca come from in 1948?

Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors (1920-1995)
Viveca Lindfors

The name Viveca may bring to mind American actress Vivica Fox, but she wasn’t the woman who put this name it on the map way back in in 1948:

  • 1950: 15 baby girls named Viveca
  • 1949: 13 baby girls named Viveca
  • 1948: 7 baby girls named Viveca [debut]
  • 1947: unlisted
  • 1946: unlisted

The influence here was Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors — born Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors in Uppsala in 1920.

She’d been a film star in Europe since the early ’40s, but didn’t start appearing in movies in the U.S. until 1948.

One of her earliest movies for American audiences was Adventures of Don Juan (1948), in which she played Queen Margaret, the married love interest of Don Juan (played by Errol Flynn).

Viveca (and her name) were featured on the front cover of Life magazine in February of 1949. The blurb describing the cover began:

Viveca (pronounced Viv’eca) Lindfors is 28 years old, has brown hair and blue eyes, loves snow and hates hats, and has a very independent personality.

Her name can be traced back to the German name Wiebke [pronounced VEEB-kuh], the feminine form of Wiebe [VEE-buh]. They’re ultimately based upon the Germanic element wig, meaning “war.”

The spelling Vivica emerged in the data a few years later, and (as you’d expect) saw a big jump in usage in the ’90s, thanks to Vivica Fox.

What are your thoughts on the name Viveca? Which spelling do you prefer?

Sources:

Manx names: Aalid, Gilno, Creena

Manx flag

The last native speaker of Manx Gaelic — a fisherman named Ned — died in the mid-1970s.

Since then, one of the ways the Isle of Man has attempted to keep the Manx language alive is through baby names.

In mid-2003, the government released a short booklet, “Some Manx First Names” (pdf), to encourage expectant parents to give their babies traditional Manx names.

In recent years there has been an increase in the use of Manx names but often prospective parents were only aware of the more common names. The booklet includes the more popular names, for example Juan (well born) for a boy and Breeshey (shining) for a girl and less commonly used names for example Fintan (a little fair one) for a boy and Blaa (flower) for a girl.

I have yet to see any Manx names at the top of the Isle of Man rankings (e.g., 2020), but perhaps they’ll get there one day.

In the meanwhile, here’s a sampling of names from the booklet. The booklet’s original definitions are in quotes, and I’ve added some extra info in parentheses.

Male Manx Names

  • Austeyn, “venerable” (form of Augustine)
  • Conylt/Conal, “love” (form of Conall, “strong wolf”)
  • Finlo, “fair Scandinavian” (form of Finlugh, possibly “fair Lugh“)
  • Gilno/Dilno, “saint’s servant” (from the Manx words for “servant,” guilley, and “saint,” noo)
  • Mayl, “like God [Michael]”
  • Ramsey, “place name” (Ramsey is the Isle of Man’s second-largest town; “wild garlic island” in Old English)
  • Stoill, “with a will” (I can’t figure out the derivation here)

Female Manx Names

  • Aalid/Aelid, “beauty” (from the Manx word for “beauty,” aalid)
  • Ailstreena, “feminine of Alister” (both come from Alexander, “defending men”)
  • Creena, “wise” (from the Manx word for “wise,” creeney)
  • Malane, “magnificent [Madeline]” (form of Magdalene, “of Magdala“)
  • Onnee, “grace [Annie]”
  • Renny, “a fern” (from the Manx word for “fern,” rhennee)
  • Vorana, “great” (I can’t figure out the derivation here either)

Do you like any of these names?

Sources: A Manx name for your baby (2005), Behind the Name