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 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)

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2019

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby names in the country in 2019 were Melokuhle and Enzokuhle.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl names

  1. Melokuhle, 3,418 baby girls
  2. Enzokuhle, 3,273
  3. Amahle, 2,534
  4. Lethabo, 2,420
  5. Omphile, 2,350
  6. Okuhle, 2,313
  7. Lesedi, 2,154
  8. Lethokuhle, 2,079
  9. Lisakhanya, 2,077
  10. Rethabile, 1,951

Boy names

  1. Enzokuhle, 3,851 baby boys
  2. Lethabo, 3,138
  3. Lubanzi, 3,110
  4. Melokuhle, 2,907
  5. Junior, 2,471
  6. Lethokuhle, 2,169
  7. Siyabonga, 1,979
  8. Omphile, 1,292
  9. Thato, 1,887
  10. Bokamoso, 1,883

In general, the popular baby forenames for males and females reflect positive hopes for the child, express beliefs and are inspired by positive connotations of both love and acceptance.

In 2018, the top name for both girls and boys was Enzokuhle.

In the girls’ top 10, Lethokuhle and Lisakhanya replaced Amogelang and Onthatile.

In the boys’ top 10, Lethokuhle replaced Amogelang.

Finally, the top five middle names per gender in 2019 were…

  • Girls: Precious, Princess, Angel, Blessing, Hope
  • Boys: Junior, Blessing, Gift, Prince, Lubanzi

Source: P0305 – Recorded live births, 2019 – Stats SA

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

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2018

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby name in the country last year — for both baby boys and baby girls — was (again) Enzokuhle.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names

  1. Enzokuhle, 3,751 baby girls
  2. Melokuhle, 3,076
  3. Amahle, 2,856
  4. Okuhle, 2,389
  5. Lethabo, 2,364
  6. Omphile, 2,205
  7. Lesedi, 2,092
  8. Rethabile, 2,050
  9. Amogelang, 1,849
  10. Onthatile, 1,810

Boy Names

  1. Enzokuhle, 4,124 baby boys
  2. Lethabo, 3,137
  3. Melokuhle, 2,823
  4. Lubanzi, 2,801
  5. Junior, 2,181
  6. Siyabonga, 2,039
  7. Bokamoso, 1,988
  8. Omphile, 1,905
  9. Amogelang, 1,847
  10. Thato, 1,808

In the girls’ top 10, Okuhle and Onthatile replaced Luthando and Thandolwethu.

In the boys’ top 10, Omphile and Thato replaced Bandile and Mpho.

And, looking at middle names, the top three choices per gender are exactly the same as the year before:

  • Girls: Precious, Princess, Angel
  • Boys: Junior, Blessing, Gift

Sources: P0305 – Recorded live births, 2018 – Stats SA, Most popular baby names in South Africa in 2018, Revealed: The most popular baby names in SA

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