How popular is the baby name Junior 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 Junior.

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Popularity of the baby name Junior


Posts that mention the name Junior

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2021

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

South Africa — the southernmost country in Africa — shares a border with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Eswatini. Its eleven official languages include Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, and English.

In 2021, South Africa welcomed 949,757 babies — 491,056 girls and 498,573 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Melokuhle and Lethabo.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Melokuhle, 3,784 baby girls
  2. Omphile, 2,500
  3. Iminathi, 2,387
  4. Lisakhanya, 2,369
  5. Lethabo, 2,336
  6. Amahle, 2,103
  7. Lesedi, 2,098
  8. Rethabile, 2,035
  9. Lethokuhle, 2,032
  10. Asemahle, 1,844

Boy Names

  1. Lethabo, 3,213 baby boys
  2. Lubanzi, 2,810
  3. Melokuhle, 2,619
  4. Junior, 2,027
  5. Lethokuhle, 1,993
  6. Siphosethu, 1,953
  7. Omphile, 1,898
  8. Lwandle, 1,862
  9. Banele, 1,816
  10. Ofentse, 1,765

As usual, the two top-10 lists have several names in common: Melokuhle (the #1 girl name), Lethabo (the #1 boy name), Omphile, and Lethokuhle.

In 2020, the top baby name in South Africa for both genders was Melokuhle.

Sources: Recorded live births, 2021 – Statistics South Africa, South Africa – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain)

Where did the baby name Junellen come from in 1947?

Junellen Hawthorne on the cover of "Calling All Girls" (November, 1944)
Junellen Hawthorne

The baby name Junellen has appeared in the U.S. baby name data just once so far, in 1947:

  • 1949: unlisted
  • 1948: unlisted
  • 1947: 12 baby girls named Junellen [debut]
  • 1946: unlisted
  • 1945: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A fashion model named Junellen Hawthorne.

Junellen was profiled in an article called “Model from Vermont” that was published in Parade, the nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, in March of 1947. The issue’s cover also featured a photo of Junellen (though not her name).

Junellen Hawthorne in Parade Magazine (March, 1947)
“Model from Vermont”

According to the article, 20-year-old Junellen Hawthorne lived part-time on her family’s farm in Vermont, and the other part of the time in New York City, where she worked as a fashion model for the John Robert Powers modeling agency (believed to be the world’s first modeling agency).

Junellen’s Parade photos were shot by photographer André de Dienes, who, about a year and a half earlier, had hired a 19-year-old named Norma Jeane Baker (the future Marilyn Monroe!) for her first modeling job.

So how did Junellen come to have her unusual first name? Her parents created it by combining their own names, Junior and Ellen. (Junellen was an only child.)

What are your thoughts on the name Junellen?

Sources:

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2021

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

The Midwestern state of Iowa welcomes roughly 40,000 babies per year.

Last year, the most popular baby names in the state were Charlotte and Oliver, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Here are Iowa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Charlotte, 174 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 148
  3. Amelia, 141
  4. Ava, 125
  5. Emma, 121
  6. Evelyn, 111
  7. Nora, 110
  8. Sophia, 108
  9. Willow, 101
  10. Eleanor & Harper, 99 (tie)

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 207 baby boys
  2. Liam, 176
  3. Henry, 169
  4. Noah, 136
  5. Asher, 131
  6. Theodore, 129
  7. Hudson, 125
  8. Owen, 123
  9. Brooks, 122
  10. Jack, 120

The SSA’s rankings for Iowa are very similar, though, so…why bother posting Iowa’s own rankings?

Because the state also releases the rest of its baby name data (yay!), so we have a chance to see the names at the other end of the spectrum.

Over 3,600 girl names and over 2,800 boy names were bestowed just once in Iowa last year. Here’s a selection of Iowa’s unique baby names of 2021:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Amazingrace, Biftu, Celine D’Arc, DaRell, Endellion, Fiolla, Geranium, Hagia-Sophia, Heulwen, Isniin, Johovana, KipperMay, Libba, Mauslynn, Nardos, Onnova, Phyu, Qualoni, Rexha, Six, Tempo, Ulani, Villandry, Wintwar, Xhivani, Yolna, ZelleAdventurous, Biden Rafael, Conker, Divoc, Eastwood, Felty, Grimnir, Healer, Heritier, Isidoro, Judicael, Kenaniah, Lil Junior, McClane, Nightly, Oswalt, Pilot, Qua, Rensselaer, Senanu, Tchite, Utah, Veon, Winiga, XanLee, Yuepheng, Zelldean

Some thoughts on a few of the above…

  • Divoc is “Covid” spelled backwards.
  • Endellion is a Cornish place name. (Former UK PM David Cameron used this name a few years back.)
  • Hagia Sophia, which means “holy wisdom” in ancient Greek, refers to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
  • Heritier (héritier) means “heir” in French.
  • Isniin means “Monday” in Somali.
  • McClane is the surname of the main character (John McClane) in the Die Hard movies.
  • Villandry is a commune in central France.
  • Wintwar (Wint War) is a Burmese name. (A number of refugees from Myanmar live in Iowa.)
  • Zelle is a digital payments network (launched in 2017).

In 2020, the top two names in Iowa were Olivia and Oliver.

Sources: Top Baby Names – Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal, Iowa – Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by population – Wikipedia, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2020

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

For 2020, Statistics South Africa didn’t release one set of baby name rankings covering the entire country. Instead, it released nine sets of rankings, each representing one of the country’s nine provinces.

So let’s start with that. Here are the top 3 girl names and top 3 boy names of 2020 within each of South Africa’s nine provinces, listed from most to least populous:

  • Gauteng (26.0% of the population)
    • Top girl names: Lesedi, 843; Melokuhle, 835; Lethabo, 809
    • Top boy names: Lethabo, 995; Bokamoso, 636; Omphile, 633
  • KwaZulu-Natal (19.3%)
    • Top girl names: Lisakhanya, 1,607; Asemahle, 1,301; Melokuhle, 991
    • Top boy names: Lubanzi, 1,759; Melokuhle, 1,202; Ayabonga, 1,196
  • Western Cape (11.8%)
    • Top girl names: Melokuhle, 410; Othalive, 262; Mia, 216
    • Top boy names: Liam, 338; Noah, 254; Lundanele, 240
  • Eastern Cape (11.3%)
    • Top girl names: Enzokuhle, 669; Melokuhle, 667; Othalive, 641
    • Top boy names: Enzokuhle, 727; Othalive, 565; Melokuhle, 492
  • Limpopo (9.8%)
    • Top girl names: Tshegofatso, 586; Amogelang, 572; Lethabo, 562
    • Top boy names: Ofentse, 622; Phenyo, 588; Katlego, 564
  • Mpumalanga (7.8%)
    • Top girl names: Melokuhle, 816; Amahle, 597; Minenhle, 439
    • Top boy names: Blessing, 443; Banele, 424; Junior, 397
  • North West (6.9%)
    • Top girl names: Warona, 451; Reatlegile, 351; Omolemo, 340
    • Top boy names: Lethabo, 510; Refentse, 336; Warona, 267
  • Free State (4.9%)
    • Top girl names: Amohelang, 363; Omphile, 309; Rethabile, 299
    • Top boy names: Lethabo, 525; Amohelang, 400; Katleho, 355
  • Northern Cape (2.2%)
    • Top girl names: Warona, 89; Remofilwe, 79; Omolemo, 74
    • Top boy names: Lethabo, 96; Leano, 63; Refentse, 63

Using only the data they gave us (nine top-ten lists), here’s what I came up with for the most popular baby names in the country for 2020:

Girl Names:

  • Melokuhle
  • Enzokuhle
  • Lesedi
  • Rethabile
  • Lethabo

Boy Names:

  • Melokuhle
  • Lethabo
  • Lubanzi
  • Banele
  • Junior

But we’re missing a lot of data here, so there’s no telling how close these are to the official national rankings.

In 2019, the top baby names in South Africa were Melokuhle and Enzokuhle.

Update, 3/6/22: Commenter Andrea very kindly pointed out that I totally missed (!) the national rankings in the statistical release I cited. I’m sorry about that, everyone. Here are the top 10 lists:

Girl Names

  1. Melokuhle, 4,347 baby girls
  2. Amahle, 2,523
  3. Enzokuhle, 2,370
  4. Lisakhanya, 2,327
  5. Lethabo, 2,319
  6. Omphile, 2,300
  7. Lesedi, 2,236
  8. Okuhle, 2,225
  9. Lethokuhle, 2,222
  10. Rethabile, 2,094

Boy Names

  1. Melokuhle, 3,187 baby boys
  2. Lethabo, 3,139
  3. Lubanzi, 3,029
  4. Enzokuhle, 2,871
  5. Banele, 2,793
  6. Junior, 2,323
  7. Lethokuhle, 2,196
  8. Ayabonga, 2,105
  9. Siyabonga, 1,972
  10. Omphile, 1,857

Sources: P0305 – Recorded live births, 2020, List of South African provinces by population – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain)