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, 2016

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby names in the country in 2016 were Precious and Junior.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Precious
2. Princess
3. Amahle
4. Luthando
5. Thandolwethu
6. Blessing
7. Angel
8. Siphesihle
9. Melokuhle
10. Amogelang

Boy Names
1. Junior
2. Blessing
3. Gift
4. Bandile
5. Prince
6. Melokuhle
7. Siyabonga
8. Lethabo
9. Amogelang
10. Lubanzi

In the girls’ top 10, Luthando, Siphesihle, and Amogelang replaced Minenhle, Faith, and Lesedi.

In the boys’ top 10, Amogelang and Lubanzi replaced Benele and Samkelo.

In 2015, the top two names were the same.

Sources: What’s in a name? SA’s most popular baby names revealed, Recorded live births, 2016 – Stats SA

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

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2015

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to data released last October by Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby names in the country in 2015 were Precious and Junior.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:

Girl Names
1. Precious, 6,598 baby girls
2. Princess, 4,762
3. Angel, 4,684
4. Amahle, 3,998
5. Minenhle, 3,347
6. Thandolwethu, 3,204
7. Melokuhle, 2,997
8. Blessing, 2,919
9. Faith, 2,906
10. Lesedi, 2,851

Boy Names
1. Junior, 10,743 baby boys
2. Blessing, 5,819
3. Gift, 4,898
4. Bandile, 4,078
5. Prince, 3,721
6. Siyabonga, 3,713
7. Melokuhle, 3,513
8. Lethabo, 3,280
9. Banele, 2,864
10. Samkelo, 2,748

The new #1 girl name, Precious, is also new to the top 10. (It replaced former #1 Iminathi, which dropped out of the top 10.) The top boy name is still the placeholder name Junior.

Most of the names above are brand new to the rankings, which is a bit suspicious. But I’m inclined to think that these 2015 rankings are more trustworthy than the 2014 rankings, as the raw numbers are much higher this time around.

At least five of the names above are from the isiZulu language. Here’s what they mean:

  • Amahle means “the beautiful ones”
  • Bandile means “they have extended in number”
  • Minenhle means “good/lovely day”
  • Siyabonga means “we are grateful”
  • Thandolwethu means “our love”

Sources: Most popular baby names in South Africa revealed, Top 10 most popular baby names for boys and girls in South Africa, Naming in Zulu – African Studies Center (Penn)

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

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2014

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to data from Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby names in the country in 2014 were Iminathi and Junior.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2014:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Iminathi, 1,116 baby girls
2. Minenhle, 880
3. Rethabile, 789
4. Bokamoso, 663
5. Karabo, 655
6. Amogelang, 629 (tie)
7. Tshegofatso, 629 (tie)
8. Lesedi, 610
9. Amahle, 601
10. Thandolwethu, 548		1. Junior, 1,137 baby boys
2. Bandile, 794
3. Kungawo, 716
4. Siyabonga, 709
5. Lethabo, 683
6. Khayone, 655
7. Mpho, 647
8. Bokamoso, 641
9. Kamogelo, 627
10. Thato, 622

These rankings aren’t entirely trustworthy, though. About 24% of the names registered in South Africa in 2014 represent babies born before 2014. They were simply registered late. And the placeholder name “Junior” was used so often at registration that it erroneously ended up in the #1 spot on the boys’ side.

But it is interesting that Bokamoso, which means “future” in Sesotho, made the top 10 for both genders.

Sources: Most popular names for babies in 2014, Junior, Iminathi and Bokamoso make top 10 most popular names list in SA

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

Unusual baby names from Quebec: Awesome, Jde, Luzer

Over the weekend, I read through the giant database of Quebec baby names for 2008. Most of the names there were familiar English or French names. A few were (very long!) Native American names. Here are some that stood out:

  • Anakin & Anakyn (male) – Five of the former, two of the latter.
  • Archippe (male) – Means “horse-master” in ancient Greek.
  • Awesome (male)
  • Coatl (male) – Means “snake” in Nahuatl.
  • Dakota-Edison (male)
  • Dune (female)
  • Eileen Osiris (female)
  • Ellliot (male)
  • Elyjah Woody (male) – Elijah Wood fans, perhaps?
  • Enzo Versace (male)
  • Jde (male)
  • Junior Aroma (male)
  • Kaleb-Wolf (male) – Reminds me of Nakoa-Wolf.
  • Kierkegaard II (male)
  • Lady Victoria (female) – The most regal-sounding entry.
  • Lazuli (female)
  • Loveland-Jacobs (female)
  • Luna Mist (female)
  • Luzer (male)
  • Maully (female)
  • Obama Kerby (male) and Stephan-Obama (male)
  • Owen-Walter (male)
  • Ramses-Emmanuel (male)
  • Readily-Chang (male)
  • Ruly (female)
  • Schnobxxxxxxxxxxxx (male)
  • Thunder-Jr (male)
  • Tia-Maria (female)
  • Trevelle Anabelle (female)
  • Tyler-Layden (male) – Why yes, the baby name charts are indeed Tyler-laden right now.
  • Velvili (female)
  • Vernadette (female) – Vernon + Bernadette?
  • Wyclef Jean (male) – There are fans, and then there are superfans.

Have an opinion about any of the above?

If you’ve perused the list yourself, do you remember spotting anything interesting?