How popular is the baby name Juniper 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 Juniper.

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Popularity of the baby name Juniper


Posts that mention the name Juniper

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2023

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Northern Ireland — which was partitioned from the rest of Ireland more than a century ago — is a constituent country of the United Kingdom (along with England, Scotland, and Wales).

What were the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland last year? Isla and Noah.

Here are the Northern Ireland’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Isla, 147 baby girls – pronounced IE-la
  2. Fiadh, 138 – pronounced FEE-a
  3. Grace, 137
  4. Emily, 136
  5. Olivia, 126
  6. Lily, 108
  7. Ella, 97
  8. Aoife, 94 – pronounced EE-fa
  9. Amelia, 92
  10. Freya, 90
  11. Charlotte, 87
  12. Annie, 84 (tie)
  13. Sophie, 84 (tie)
  14. Anna, 83
  15. Eabha, 79 – pronounced EY-va
  16. Ellie, 77
  17. Sophia, 76
  18. Evie, 74
  19. Ava, 73
  20. Maisie, 70
  21. Clodagh, 66 – pronounced KLOH-da
  22. Mia, 63 (tie)
  23. Sadie, 63 (tie)
  24. Rosie, 62 (tie)
  25. Ruby, 62 (tie)
  26. Ivy, 60
  27. Molly, 59
  28. Cara, 57 (4-way tie)
  29. Elsie, 57 (4-way tie)
  30. Lottie, 57 (4-way tie)
  31. Meabh, 57 (4-way tie) – pronounced mayv
  32. Zara, 56
  33. Aria, 54
  34. Erin, 53
  35. Ada, 52
  36. Hannah, 51
  37. Saoirse, 50 – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha
  38. Bonnie, 48
  39. Cora, 47 (4-way tie)
  40. Isabella, 47 (4-way tie)
  41. Lucy, 47 (4-way tie)
  42. Phoebe, 47 (4-way tie)
  43. Katie, 46 (tie)
  44. Niamh, 46 (tie) – pronounced neev or NEE-iv
  45. Rhea, 45 (tie)
  46. Willow, 45 (tie)
  47. Rose, 44
  48. Sofia, 42
  49. Daisy, 41 (tie)
  50. Sienna, 41 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 152 baby boys
  2. Jack, 146
  3. James, 131
  4. Cillian, 128 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  5. Charlie, 123
  6. Leo, 119
  7. Oisin, 116 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  8. Oliver, 114
  9. Luca, 108 (tie)
  10. Theo, 108 (tie)
  11. Tommy, 105
  12. Thomas, 103
  13. Jude, 93
  14. Arthur, 91
  15. Alfie, 85
  16. Daniel, 84
  17. Daithi, 82 – pronounced DAH-hee
  18. Harry, 77
  19. Ethan, 74
  20. Caleb, 73
  21. Finn, 71
  22. Henry, 70
  23. Ezra, 67 (tie)
  24. Jacob, 67 (tie)
  25. George, 66 (tie)
  26. Oscar, 66 (tie)
  27. Archie, 64 (3-way tie)
  28. Isaac, 64 (3-way tie)
  29. Ollie, 64 (3-way tie)
  30. Ronan, 63
  31. Lorcan, 62
  32. Reuben, 61 (tie)
  33. Shea, 61 (tie)
  34. Fionn, 60 (tie)
  35. Rory, 60 (tie)
  36. Darragh, 59
  37. Rian, 57
  38. Conor, 55 (tie)
  39. Freddie, 55 (tie)
  40. Arlo, 53 (tie)
  41. Patrick, 53 (tie)
  42. Luke, 52 (tie)
  43. Tom, 52 (tie)
  44. Jonah, 51 (tie)
  45. Odhran, 51 (tie) – pronounced OH-rawn
  46. Joshua, 50
  47. Max, 49 (tie)
  48. Theodore, 49 (tie)
  49. Michael, 47
  50. Mason, 46 (tie)
  51. Teddy, 46 (tie)

The names that qualified as the “top climbers” of 2023 were…

  • Rebecca, Rhea, Aurora, and Raya (for girls), and
  • Leon, Donnacha, Albie, and Seth (for boys).

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just three babies each:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aizal, Blathnaid, Colleen, Dianaimh, Everly, Georgina, Helen, Ivie, Juniper, Keeley, Laney, Meabha, Neala, Orlagh, Paisley, Searlaith, Tillie, Vera, YasmineAngus, Barney, Connlan, Darren, Ewan, Finbarr, Gearoid, Hamish, Jameson, Kieran, Lughan, Milan, Ned, Orhan, Paraic, Ruaidhri, Scott, Tate, Zayn

What about middle names? The top picks for the middle spot were…

  • Rose, Grace, Mary, Elizabeth, and Marie (for girls), and
  • James, John, Patrick, William, and Thomas (for boys).

Finally, here are Northern Ireland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Source: Baby Names 2023 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Most popular baby girl names (letter by letter) in the U.S. in 2023

First letter usage for baby girl names in the U.S. in 2023

Going letter by letter, what were last year’s most popular baby girl names?

Before we get to the lists, a few quick facts:

  • The most common first letter for girl names in 2023 was A (used 16.48% of the time), followed by E (9.49%) and M (9.17%).
  • The least common first letter for girl names in 2023 was U (used 0.04% of the time), followed by Q (0.24%) and X (0.32%).
  • The first letter that increased the most in usage for girl names (from 2022 to 2023) was D.
  • The first letter that decreased the most in usage for girl names (from 2022 to 2023) was A.

Top girl names starting with A:

  1. Amelia, 12,311 baby girls
  2. Ava, 9,682
  3. Aurora, 6,054
  4. Aria, 5,996
  5. Avery, 5,859
  6. Abigail, 5,661
  7. Addison, 3,520
  8. Alice, 3,336
  9. Adeline, 3,074
  10. Audrey, 3,032

Top girl names starting with B:

  1. Brooklyn, 2,850 baby girls
  2. Bella, 2,540
  3. Brielle, 2,064
  4. Brianna, 1,875
  5. Blakely, 1,854
  6. Bailey, 1,678
  7. Blake, 1,346
  8. Blair, 1,263
  9. Brynlee, 1,210
  10. Brooke, 1,032

Top girl names starting with C:

  1. Charlotte, 12,596 baby girls
  2. Camila, 7,565
  3. Chloe, 5,960
  4. Claire, 3,195
  5. Caroline, 2,859
  6. Cora, 2,738
  7. Clara, 2,648
  8. Charlie, 2,235
  9. Cecilia, 2,050
  10. Catalina, 1,928

Top girl names starting with D:

  1. Delilah, 4,031 baby girls
  2. Daisy, 2,412
  3. Diana, 1,307
  4. Delaney, 1,283
  5. Daphne, 1,257
  6. Daniela, 1,230
  7. Dahlia, 1,219
  8. Dakota, 1,183
  9. Danna, 1,052
  10. Dream, 920

Top girl names starting with E:

  1. Emma, 13,527 baby girls
  2. Evelyn, 9,082
  3. Eleanor, 6,739
  4. Elizabeth, 6,566
  5. Emily, 6,154
  6. Ellie, 5,951
  7. Ella, 5,643
  8. Eliana, 5,329
  9. Emilia, 4,670
  10. Elena, 4,261

Top girl names starting with F:

  1. Freya, 2,061 baby girls
  2. Faith, 1,256
  3. Finley, 1,106
  4. Fatima, 893
  5. Francesca, 820
  6. Fiona, 764
  7. Frances, 755
  8. Felicity, 676
  9. Fernanda, 653
  10. Faye, 610

Top girl names starting with G:

  1. Gianna, 6,129 baby girls
  2. Grace, 4,886
  3. Genesis, 3,651
  4. Gabriella, 2,782
  5. Georgia, 2,157
  6. Genevieve, 1,734
  7. Gemma, 1,649
  8. Gracie, 1,237
  9. Gia, 1,155
  10. Gabriela, 1,041

Top girl names starting with H:

  1. Harper, 7,769 baby girls
  2. Hazel, 6,154
  3. Hannah, 4,102
  4. Hailey, 2,776
  5. Hadley, 2,304
  6. Hallie, 1,553
  7. Haven, 1,353
  8. Harmony, 1,297
  9. Harlow, 1,266
  10. Hope, 1,011

Top girl names starting with I:

  1. Isabella, 10,808 baby girls
  2. Isla, 5,357
  3. Ivy, 5,036
  4. Iris, 2,921
  5. Isabelle, 1,785
  6. Isabel, 1,743
  7. Itzel, 839
  8. Imani, 645
  9. Izabella, 630
  10. Ivory, 581

Top girl names starting with J:

  1. Josephine, 3,347 baby girls
  2. Jade, 2,908
  3. Josie, 2,504
  4. Juniper, 2,382
  5. Julia, 2,290
  6. Juliette, 1,785
  7. June, 1,694
  8. Jasmine, 1,585
  9. Journee, 1,423
  10. Juliana, 1,240

Top girl names starting with K:

  1. Kinsley, 3,188 baby girls
  2. Kennedy, 3,069
  3. Kehlani, 1,854
  4. Katherine, 1,697
  5. Kaylee, 1,641
  6. Kaia, 1,608
  7. Kylie, 1,439
  8. Khloe, 1,381
  9. Kimberly, 1,329
  10. Kailani, 1,315

Top girl names starting with L:

  1. Luna, 7,811 baby girls
  2. Lily, 6,146
  3. Layla, 5,678
  4. Lucy, 4,858
  5. Leah, 3,953
  6. Lainey, 3,928
  7. Lillian, 3,927
  8. Leilani, 3,543
  9. Liliana, 2,787
  10. Lydia, 2,716

Top girl names starting with M:

  1. Mia, 11,359 baby girls
  2. Mila, 5,895
  3. Madison, 5,160
  4. Maya, 4,067
  5. Madelyn, 3,632
  6. Maeve, 3,046
  7. Maria, 2,893
  8. Madeline, 2,726
  9. Millie, 2,559
  10. Melody, 2,557

Top girl names starting with N:

  1. Nora, 5,994 baby girls
  2. Nova, 5,248
  3. Naomi, 4,456
  4. Natalie, 3,418
  5. Natalia, 2,717
  6. Nevaeh, 2,326
  7. Norah, 1,479
  8. Noelle, 1,451
  9. Nyla, 1,236
  10. Noa, 1,041

Top girl names starting with O:

  1. Olivia, 15,270 baby girls
  2. Oakley, 1,874
  3. Oaklynn, 1,815
  4. Olive, 1,640
  5. Ophelia, 1,166
  6. Octavia, 1,123
  7. Oaklee, 685
  8. Opal, 624
  9. Oakleigh, 596
  10. Oaklyn, 514

Top girl names starting with P:

  1. Penelope, 6,041 baby girls
  2. Paisley, 3,727
  3. Parker, 2,293
  4. Piper, 2,066
  5. Peyton, 1,953
  6. Phoebe, 1,580
  7. Presley, 1,517
  8. Palmer, 1,129
  9. Poppy, 1,072
  10. Payton, 990

Top girl names starting with Q:

  1. Quinn, 2,846 baby girls
  2. Quincy, 263
  3. Queen, 128
  4. Quetzaly, 72
  5. Quinley, 50
  6. Quetzalli, 44
  7. Qamar, 40
  8. Quetzali, 37
  9. Quinnley, 28
  10. Quincey, 27

Top girl names starting with R:

  1. Riley, 4,617 baby girls
  2. Ruby, 3,333
  3. Raelynn, 2,406
  4. Rylee, 2,328
  5. Rose, 2,237
  6. Remi, 2,170
  7. Reagan, 1,721
  8. Reese, 1,663
  9. Rosalie, 1,640
  10. Ruth, 1,594

Top girl names starting with S:

  1. Sophia, 11,944 baby girls
  2. Sofia, 7,641
  3. Scarlett, 6,288
  4. Stella, 4,357
  5. Sadie, 3,586
  6. Sophie, 3,578
  7. Sarah, 2,749
  8. Savannah, 2,739
  9. Serenity, 2,548
  10. Skylar, 2,522

Top girl names starting with T:

  1. Tatum, 1,314 baby girls
  2. Taylor, 1,185
  3. Talia, 1,181
  4. Teagan, 996
  5. Thea, 970
  6. Tessa, 960
  7. Trinity, 866
  8. Thalia, 520
  9. Tiana, 488
  10. Taytum, 430

Top girl names starting with U:

  1. Unique, 103 baby girls
  2. Ulani, 80
  3. Uma, 72
  4. Una, 48
  5. Unity, 46
  6. Unknown, 41
  7. Ursula, 39
  8. Uriyah, 22
  9. Uriah, 21
  10. Urvi, 19

Top girl names starting with V:

  1. Violet, 6,342 baby girls
  2. Victoria, 4,434
  3. Valentina, 4,075
  4. Vivian, 2,801
  5. Valerie, 1,944
  6. Valeria, 1,860
  7. Vera, 1,328
  8. Vivienne, 1,283
  9. Vanessa, 1,010
  10. Viviana, 844

Top girl names starting with W:

  1. Willow, 4,727 baby girls
  2. Wrenley, 1,654
  3. Wren, 1,537
  4. Winter, 826
  5. Wynter, 801
  6. Willa, 717
  7. Wrenlee, 512
  8. Winnie, 485
  9. Whitley, 383
  10. Waverly, 305 (tie)
  11. Winona, 305 (tie)

Top girl names starting with X:

  1. Ximena, 1,809 baby girls
  2. Xiomara, 761
  3. Xyla, 275
  4. Xena, 233
  5. Xochitl, 214
  6. Xolani, 176
  7. Xitlali, 135
  8. Xylah, 96
  9. Xenia, 75
  10. Xareni, 69

Top girl names starting with Y:

  1. Yaretzi, 547 baby girls
  2. Yara, 485
  3. Yareli, 388
  4. Yasmin, 309
  5. Yamileth, 292
  6. Yusra, 201
  7. Yuna, 198
  8. Yaritza, 183
  9. Yaneli, 162
  10. Yasmine, 158

Top girl names starting with Z:

  1. Zoe, 5,160 baby girls
  2. Zoey, 4,040
  3. Zuri, 1,471
  4. Zara, 1,282
  5. Zariah, 740
  6. Zahra, 543
  7. Zariyah, 457
  8. Zelda, 401
  9. Zaniyah, 382
  10. Zaria, 371

Source: SSA

Girl names that end with an R-sound

Girl names that end with an R-sound

In the U.S., most of the names given to baby girls end with a vowel sound. And many of the remaining names end with an N-sound.

So, what about girl names that end with other sounds?

Below is a selection of girl names that end with an R-sound, regardless of last letter. The names are ordered by current popularity.

Harper
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person who played the harp. Here’s the popularity graph for Harper.

Eleanor
From the Occitan name Alienor, which may mean “the other Aenor.” Here’s the popularity graph for Eleanor.

Claire
A French form of the name Clara. Here’s the popularity graph for Claire.

Skylar
Based on the Dutch surname Schuyler, meaning “scholar.” Here’s the popularity graph for Skylar.

Piper
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person who played the pipe (a type of wind instrument). Here’s the popularity graph for Piper.

Juniper
From the type of tree. Here’s the popularity graph for Juniper.

Parker
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person employed as the keeper of a hunting park. Here’s the popularity graph for Parker.

Esther
A name from the Hebrew Bible that may be based on the Persian word for “star.” Here’s the popularity graph for Esther.

River
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for River.

Summer
From the season. Here’s the popularity graph for Summer.

Ember
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Ember.

Saylor
Based on the English word sailor — though it also happens to be an English surname meaning “dancer.” Here’s the popularity graph for Saylor.

Taylor
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person who worked as a tailor. Here’s the popularity graph for Taylor.

Sawyer
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person who sawed wood. Here’s the popularity graph for Sawyer.

Blair
From the Scottish surname, which is derived from the place name Blair, meaning “field” (often “battlefield”). Here’s the popularity graph for Blair.

Palmer
From the English surname, which originally referred to a pilgrim. Here’s the popularity graph for Palmer.

Winter
From the season. Here’s the popularity graph for Winter.

Jennifer
A Cornish form of the name Guinevere. Here’s the popularity graph for Jennifer.

Briar
From the English vocabulary word that refers to a thorny plant. Here’s the popularity graph for Briar.

Amber
From the type of gemstone (which is actually fossilized tree resin). Here’s the popularity graph for Amber.

Carter
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person who transported goods. Here’s the popularity graph for Carter.

Dior
From the French fashion house Dior, named for founder Christian Dior. Here’s the popularity graph for Dior.

Clover
From the type of small plant. Here’s the popularity graph for Clover.

Treasure
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Treasure.

Noor
An Arabic word meaning “light.” Here’s the popularity graph for Noor.

Kimber
A nickname for Kimberly. Here’s the popularity graph for Kimber.

Hunter
From the English and Scottish surname, which originally referred to a huntsman. Here’s the popularity graph for Hunter.

Baylor
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person who delivered goods. Here’s the popularity graph for Baylor.

Denver
From the English surname, which is derived from the place name Denver, meaning “Dane’s ford.” Here’s the popularity graph for Denver.

Sapphire
From the type of gemstone (which is typically blue). Here’s the popularity graph for Sapphire.

Guinevere
Based on the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar, which may mean “white phantom.” Here’s the popularity graph for Guinevere.

Chandler
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person who made or sold candles. Here’s the popularity graph for Chandler.

Spencer
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person who “dispensed provisions or money.” Here’s the popularity graph for Spencer.

Miller
From the English surname, which originally referred to a person who owned or operated a mill. Here’s the popularity graph for Miller.

Ryder
From the English and Irish surname, which originally referred to a horseman (though it also has several other possible derivations). Here’s the popularity graph for Ryder.

Lavender
From the type of plant that produces fragrant flowers. Here’s the popularity graph for Lavender.

Heather
From the type of flowering plant. Here’s the popularity graph for Heather.

Pepper
From the type of spice. Here’s the popularity graph for Pepper.

Jupiter
From the planet (or the Roman god). Here’s the popularity graph for Jupiter.

Adore
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Adore.

Ever
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Ever.

Amor
A Spanish and Portuguese word meaning “love.” Here’s the popularity graph for Amor.

Honor
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Honor.

Flor
A Spanish and Portuguese word meaning “flower.” Here’s the popularity graph for Flor.

Baker
From the English surname, which originally referred either to a person employed as a baker or to “the owner of a communal oven used by the whole village.” Here’s the popularity graph for Baker.

Desire
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Desire.

Star
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Star.

Jadore
From the French phrase j’adore, meaning “I adore” or “I love.” Here’s the popularity graph for Jadore.

Greer
From the Scottish surname, which is derived from the name Gregor. Here’s the popularity graph for Greer.

Cedar
From the type of tree. Here’s the popularity graph for Cedar.


Less-common girl names that end with an R-sound include Harbor, Tamar, Vesper, Pilar, Hajar, Azure, and Larimar.

Which of the above do you like most? What others can you think of?

P.S. Here are lists of girl names that end with D-, K-, L-, M-, S-, T-, V-, and Z-sounds.

Sources:

  • SSA
  • Behind the Name
  • Hanks, Patrick, Kate Hardcastle and Flavia Hodges. (Eds.) A Dictionary of First Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
  • Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

What turned Juniper into a baby name in 1969?

Donovan's single "Jennifer Juniper" (1968)
The single “Jennifer Juniper”

The playful song “Jennifer Juniper” by Scottish musician Donovan was released as a single in early 1968. It peaked at #26 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart in April.

Jennifer Juniper lives upon the hill
Jennifer Juniper, sitting very still

The inspiration behind the song was Jenny Boyd — the younger sister of famous English model Pattie Boyd (who, at that time, was married to George Harrison of the Beatles).

What effect did the song have on the baby names Jennifer and Juniper?

With Jennifer it’s hard to tell, as the name was already extremely trendy. It was also being featured elsewhere in pop culture (e.g., the 1968 song “Jennifer Eccles” by the Hollies).

  • 1971: 56,775 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 1st]
  • 1970: 46,153 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 1st]
  • 1969: 33,702 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 3rd]
  • 1968: 26,850 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 4th]
  • 1967: 18,238 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 10th]

Incidentally, Jenny Boyd’s legal name was not Jennifer Boyd, but Helen Mary Boyd. Here’s the story, according to Pattie:

She wasn’t actually christened Jenny: my mother named her Helen Mary, to please a couple of aunts, but I had a favorite teddy at the time called Jenny and I insisted my new sister be called by the same name.

It’s much easier to see the effect of “Jennifer Juniper” on the name Juniper, which debuted in the U.S. baby name data the year after the song came out:

  • 1971: 12 baby girls named Juniper
  • 1970: 7 baby girls named Juniper
  • 1969: 5 baby girls named Juniper [debut]
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted

It’s interesting that Donovan’s song “Laléna” came out months after “Jennifer Juniper,” and yet the name Lalena debuted in the SSA data a year ahead of Juniper.

Despite sounding similar, the names Jennifer and Juniper have different etymologies. Juniper, which refers to a type of tree, comes from the Latin word iuniperus. Jennifer, on the other hand, can be traced back to the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar, which is based on a pair of Celtic words that may have meant “white” and “phantom.” (The Arthuruan name Guinevere has the same origin.)

Which name, Jennifer or Juniper, do you prefer? Why?

Sources: