How popular is the baby name Legal 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 Legal.

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Popularity of the baby name Legal


Posts that mention the name Legal

Babies named for Elbridge Gerry

American politician Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814)
Elbridge Gerry

When you think of politician Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), what comes to mind?

Probably the political portmanteau gerrymander, which was mockingly coined by a newspaper cartoonist in 1812.

But Gerry was one of the founding fathers of the United States.

He signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He refused to sign the Constitution, though, because it didn’t include a Bill of Rights. He promptly helped draft and pass a Bill of Rights (i.e., the first ten amendments) while serving as a member of the inaugural House of Representatives.

He went on to serve as the eighth governor of Massachusetts (1810-1812), and died while in office as the fifth vice president of the United States (1813-1814) under James Madison.

Hundreds of baby boys were named after Elbridge Gerry. Most were born in Gerry’s home state of Massachusetts. The rest came from nearby states, particularly Maine (which was part of Massachusetts from the 1650s to 1820). Some examples…

My favorite namesake, a Mainer named Elbridge Gerry Berry, wasn’t born until 1822.

P.S. Elbridge Gerry is to gerrymandering as Ambrose Burnside is to sideburns…

Sources: Elbridge Gerry – Wikipedia, FamilySearch.org, Find a Grave
Image: Elbridge Gerry (1861) by James Bogle

What turned Silver into a baby name in 1896?

“Silver Lunatics”

The name Silver — which regularly appears in the U.S. baby name data these days — first popped up way back in the 1890s, when it suddenly debuted with an impressive 10 baby boys:

  • 1898: unlisted
  • 1897: unlisted
  • 1896: 10 baby boys named Silver [debut]
  • 1895: unlisted
  • 1894: unlisted

If we look at the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) data, we see a similar spike in the number of people named Silver in 1896:

  • 1898: 8 people named Silver
  • 1897: 6 people named Silver
  • 1896: 18 people named Silver
  • 1895: 6 people named Silver
  • 1894: 8 people named Silver

Can you guess the cause?

I’ll give you two hints. First, look what happens to the name Bryan that year:

  • 1898: 57 baby boys named Bryan
  • 1897: 97 baby boys named Bryan
  • 1896: 157 baby boys named Bryan
  • 1895: 27 baby boys named Bryan
  • 1894: 9 baby boys named Bryan

Now check out how the name Jennings peaks a year later:

  • 1898: 28 baby boys named Jennings
  • 1897: 50 baby boys named Jennings
  • 1896: 40 baby boys named Jennings
  • 1895: 9 baby boys named Jennings
  • 1894: 5 baby boys named Jennings

No doubt you’ve pieced it together: 1896 was the year William Jennings Bryan ran for president, and the central issue for Democrats that year was Free Silver.

The U.S. was in the middle of a depression, and Free Silver supporters (the “Silverites”) thought the depression could be alleviated via the coinage of silver.

“For true believers,” the Encyclopedia Britannica states, “silver became the symbol of economic justice for the mass of the American people.”

And those “true believers” were very likely the ones naming their kids Silver back in 1896.

But Bryan’s opponent, William McKinley, was able to convince voters that Free Silver was a bad thing — that the resultant inflation would harm the economy — and won the election.

What do you think of the baby name Silver?

P.S. Want to see other money-inspired monikers? Try Legal Tender, Silver Dollar, Free Silver, Gold Standard, and Depression.

Sources: William Jennings Bryan – Wikipedia, Free Silver – Wikipedia, Free Silver Movement – Britannica.com, SSA

Image: A down-hill movement – LOC

Baby name story: Legal Tender

jacob coxey
Jacob Coxey and family (in 1914, not 1894)

From March 25 to May 1, 1894, wealthy socialist politician Jacob Coxey led a group of hundreds of unemployed men — “Coxey’s Army” — on a march from Massillon, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. Their aim? To demand that the U.S. government assist the unemployed by offering a subsidized labor program.

About a month before the march began, on February 26, Coxey had welcomed a baby boy. Given his unorthodox political views, and the fact that one of his personal mottoes was “there’s nothing wrong with this country that money won’t cure,” it isn’t too surprising that he named his son Legal Tender Coxey.

Legal Tender and the rest of the Coxey family met Jacob and the protesters in Washington, D.C., but the march was ultimately unsuccessful and Jacob was arrested. The family soon returned to Ohio.

Sadly, in 1901, Legal Tender Coxey died of scarlet fever.

But his father Jacob lasted until 1951 — long enough to see FDR’s New Deal programs (like the NRA) come into existence in the early 1930s, following the Great Depression.

Though Legal Tender’s name was unusual, it wasn’t unique; so far I’ve found 20 other people with the name. Most were also born in the 1890s. Two examples: Legal Tender Wise, born in Texas in 1895, and Legal Tender Wright, born in Ohio in 1896.

(The “Coxey’s Army” march occurred during the economic depression of the 1890s, which gave rise to the Free Silver movement, which I’ll post about soon…)

Sources:

Image: Jacob ‘General’ Coxey – LOC