How popular is the baby name Lillian 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 Lillian.

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Popularity of the baby name Lillian


Posts that mention the name Lillian

Where did the baby name Arbadella come from in 1936?

"Amos 'n' Andy" baby-naming contest (late 1936)
“Amos ‘n’ Andy” baby-naming contest

The similar names Arbadella and Arbedella both debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1936, and both saw peak usage the following year:

Girls named ArbadellaGirls named Arbedella
1938125
193733†9†
19366*6*
1935..
1934..
*Debut, †Peak usage

What was the influence?

The radio serial Amos & Andy — one of the very first situation comedies. The initial version of the show (1928-1943) aired for 15 minutes, five days per week, and was the most popular radio program in the nation in the late 1920’s and early 30’s. In fact, the show’s “popularity ensured the success of radio broadcasting as a form of mass entertainment.”

The show “was based on the model of minstrel shows, [and] thus based on racial stereotypes.” The main characters — African-American men named Amos Jones and Andy Brown — were played by white radio performers Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll.

In an episode that aired during October of 1936, Amos and his wife Ruby welcomed their first child, a baby girl. The baby wasn’t named right away — instead, the show’s sponsor, Pepsodent Tooth Paste, held a baby-naming contest.

The contest was advertised in newspapers nationwide. The ads noted that the judges would consider “originality, uniqueness, and suitability” when making their decision, and also offered some name-choosing prompts, such as:

  • “…you might think “Amanda” would be a suitable name because it contains so many of the letters of both “Amos” and “Andy.””
  • “…remember, too, the baby’s maternal grandmother is named Lillian.”

Thousands of prizes were offered, including a $5,000 grand prize. Here’s the full list (and what the prizes would be worth in today’s dollars):

  • 1st: $5,000 in baby bonds (equivalent to $92,183.93 in 2020)
  • 2nd: $1,000 in baby bonds ($18,436.79)
  • 3rd: $100 baby bond to each of 10 winners ($1,843.68)
  • 4th: $50 baby bond to each of 100 winners ($921.84)
  • 5th: $25 baby bond to each of 720 winners ($460.92)
  • 6th: $2 cash to each of 2000 winners ($36.87)

The contest closed in mid-November. The winning name, Arbadella — suggested by Mrs. Joseph L. Smith of Ohio — was announced in mid-December. (The second-place name, Ladicia Ann, was suggested by 12-year-old Indiana boy Urcel D. Miller.)

The late-in-the-year announcement of the winning name accounts for why the baby name Arbadella (and spelling variant Arbedella) debuted in the data in 1936, but saw even higher usage in 1937.

After welcoming Arbadella, Amos and Ruby went on to have two more children: Amos, Jr., and Amosandra. Neither of these fictional babies had a discernible impact on U.S. baby names, though.

What are your thoughts on the name Arbadella? Do you like it?

P.S. Another contest-winning name of the 1930s was Norita…

P.P.S. In the early 1950s, The Amos ‘n Andy Show aired on television. This time around, the characters were played by African-American actors. Despite good ratings, the show was cancelled after two years due to pressure from the NAACP.

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Leader-Post (27 Oct. 1936)

Popular baby names in Yukon (Canada), 2019

Flag of Yukon
Flag of Yukon

According to the Yukon Bureau of Statistics, the most popular baby names in Yukon in 2019 were Ava/Isla/Livia/Quinn (4-way tie) and Henry.

Here are all the baby names bestowed two or more times in Yukon last year:

Girl names

  • Ava
  • Isla
  • Livia
  • Quinn
  • Aaliyah
  • Abigail
  • Daisy
  • Elodie
  • Evelyn
  • Hailey
  • Lena
  • Lillian
  • Lily
  • Mabel
  • Molly
  • Olivia
  • Sadie
  • Sloane
  • Thea
  • Trinity
  • Willow
  • Wren

Boy names

  • Henry
  • Charles
  • Jason
  • Leo
  • Noah
  • Oliver
  • Alexander
  • Anthony
  • Axel
  • Clayton
  • Damon
  • Elias
  • Ellis
  • Ezra
  • Olivier
  • Owen
  • Sawyer
  • Theodore
  • Thomas

In 2018, the top names in Yukon were Amber/Grace (tie) and Thomas.

In 1990s and early 2000s, the top names in Yukon included Emily, Samantha, Alexander and James.

Source: Sponagle, Jane. “Oh, Henry! Here are the most popular baby names in Yukon in 2019.” CBC News 8 Jan. 2020.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Yukon (public domain)

What gave the baby name Carole a boost in 1942?

Actress Carole Lombard (1908-1942).
Carole Lombard

Ever wonder why the baby name Carole — already on the rise in the 1930s and early ’40s — saw such a big jump in usage in 1942 specifically?

Here’s the data:

  • 1944: 6,270 baby girls named Carole
  • 1943: 6,506 baby girls named Carole
  • 1942: 8,409 baby girls named Carole [peak usage]
  • 1941: 4,964 baby girls named Carole
  • 1940: 4,788 baby girls named Carole

And here’s the popularity graph for Carole, which clearly shows the spike:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Carole in the U.S. since 1880.
Usage of the baby name Carole

Around that time, there were two famous movie actresses named Carole: Carole Lombard and Carole Landis.

Lombard was the funny one — the “world’s champion attractive screwball,” according to Life magazine — while Landis was more of a traditional Hollywood starlet.

The main cause of that 1942 spike was no doubt the sudden death of Carole Lombard, who was the highest paid actress of her time. She had finished a successful War Bonds promotion tour in the Midwest in mid-January and was flying back to California when her plane crashed into the side of the Mount Potosi in Nevada (near Las Vegas). All 22 people on board were killed.

Was it just an accident? Or, given that the U.S. had been attacked at Pearl Harbor just a month earlier, was it something even darker? Had Lombard, the war-effort activist, been sabotaged by German spies?

But we can’t discount the influence of Landis entirely. It just so happens that, the same year, we see the surname Landis bubble up for the first time in the girls’ data:

Girls named LandisBoys named Landis
19455 baby girls28 baby boys
1944.13 baby boys
19436 baby girls22 baby boys
19425 baby girls*13 baby boys
1942.20 baby boys
*Debut

Sadly, Carole Landis died later the same decade of an apparent suicide.

So…how did each actress get her stage name?

  • Lombard, born Carol Jane Peters in 1908, chose “Carole” at the suggestion of a numerologist and “Lombard” because it was the surname of a friend.
  • Landis, born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste in 1919, “clearly borrowed from Carole Lombard, the first Hollywood star to spell her name that way.” She said she found “Landis” in the San Francisco telephone directory.

What are your thoughts on the name Carole? Would you use it?

P.S. One of those 1942 Caroles was Carole Jones, later known as actress Carol Lynley. And a 1943 Carole was Carole Penny Marshall, later known as actress/director Penny Marshall.

Sources:

  • Busch, Noel F. “A Loud Cheer for the Screwball Girl.” Life 17 Oct. 1938: 48-50, 62-64.
  • Gans, Eric Lawrence. Carole Landis: A Most Beautiful Girl. Jackson, MS: University of Mississippi Press, 2008.

Numerology: Baby names with a value of 6

Baby names with a numerological value of 6

If you’re on the hunt for baby names with a numerological value of 6, you’re in luck! Because today’s post features hundreds of 6-names.

Before we get to the names, though — how do we know that they’re “sixes” in numerology?

Turning names into numbers

Here’s how to calculate the numerological value of a name.

First, for each letter, come up with a number to represent that letter’s position in the alphabet. (Letter A would be number 1, letter B would be number 2, and so forth.) Then, add all the numbers together. If the sum has two or more digits, add the digits together recursively until the result is a single digit. That single digit is the name’s numerological value.

For instance, the letters in the name Weston correspond to the numbers 23, 5, 19, 20, 15, and 14. The sum of these numbers is 96. The digits of 96 added together equal 15, and the digits of 15 added together equal 6 — the numerological value of Weston.

Baby names with a value of 6

Below you’ll find the most popular 6-names per gender, according to the latest U.S. baby name data. I’ve further sub-categorized them by total sums — just in case any of those larger numbers are significant to anyone.

6

The letters in the following baby names add up to 6.

Girl name (6)Boy names (6)
AdaAbba, Baba

6 via 15

The letters in the following baby names add up to 15, which reduces to six (1+5=6).

Girl names (6 via 15)Boy names (6 via 15)
Aida, Alaa, Adia, An, AmaJad, Aadi, Gabe, An, Ej

6 via 24

The letters in the following baby names add up to 24, which reduces to six (2+4=6).

Girl names (6 via 24)Boy names (6 via 24)
Ava, Alaia, Maia, Nia, Hana, Rae, Amia, Dara, Kaci, Edna, Ani, FaigaIan, Dean, Aden, Dane, Kal

6 via 33

The letters in the following baby names add up to 33, which reduces to six (3+3=6).

Girl names (6 via 33)Boy names (6 via 33)
Kali, Mabel, Anahi, Mara, Alena, Shea, Andie, Vaeda, Adira, Aimee, Alara, Adhara, Arie, Daria, Elana, Bracha, Blanca, Hawa, Shae, Avia, Diane, Eira, Leana, Adria, Dasha, Amen, Amaiah, Eman, NahiaAiden, Isaac, Wade, Kobe, Fabian, Sam, Abdiel, Amar, Shea, Don, Said, Fred, Aram, Arie, Alfie, Fabio, Amen, Jin, Eidan, Adair

6 via 42

The letters in the following baby names add up to 42, which reduces to six (4+2=6).

Girl names (6 via 42)Boy names (6 via 42)
Eliana, Maria, Cecilia, Callie, Amira, Lilah, Elaina, Blair, Maggie, Esme, Amari, Anaya, Nola, Jemma, Macy, Emani, Arden, Ayana, Abril, Jhene, Aanya, Meera, Alisa, Rain, Amarah, Alex, Adalina, Maeva, Khalia, Rio, Kaliah, Dawn, Ileana, Katia, Janice, Danni, Nailea, Madina, Analeah, Evan, Cianna, Rian, Teddi, Rebel, Lili, Delta, Eevee, Maira, Neva, Rina, Sima, Lark, Aseel, LeighaAxel, Damian, Evan, Amari, Alex, Joel, Nash, Andre, Odin, Deacon, Jalen, Ayaan, Rio, Ander, Casen, Heath, Ameer, Dion, Eren, Cedric, Rene, Jacari, Aayan, Arden, Rian, Mikah, Cru, Hans, Axle, Karl, Sami, Aamir, Malek, Aven, Makhi, Nakoa, Ansh, Rain, Ori, Blair, Kanaan, Alias, Arin, Damani, Javi, Asim, Bakari, Talha, Azan

6 via 51

The letters in the following baby names add up to 51, which reduces to six (5+1=6).

Girl names (6 via 51)Boy names (6 via 51)
Layla, Delilah, Lydia, Myla, Khloe, Phoebe, Camilla, Charli, Maren, Elora, Nalani, Davina, Haley, Thalia, Irene, Jolie, Paula, Greta, Darcy, Claudia, Aiyana, Dixie, Lianna, Inaaya, Alannah, Caylee, Aubri, Zaina, Eris, Naveah, Tahlia, Amariah, Ameerah, Irina, Amerie, Nariah, Leora, Sidra, Asher, Heidy, Alanni, Flor, Cambrie, Taliah, Jelani, Karli, Emarie, Leanne, Finlee, Kamya, Kalaya, Anaiya, Nomi, Navaeh, Navie, ChanyMichael, Asher, Raiden, Hugo, Jamir, Ledger, Boone, Rome, Issac, Lachlan, Gary, Davian, Deandre, Adrien, Mikael, Gray, Jeriah, Sire, Ansel, Micheal, Lyam, Rashad, Jahseh, Jelani, Darien, Mars, Aariv, Masiah, Denis, Reggie, Ishan, Andrei, Freddie, Kainoa, Kallan, Evian, Omer, Von, Maddex, Rihaan, Robbie, Samael, Amarii, Kyan, Price, Clive, Derian

6 via 60

The letters in the following baby names add up to 60, which reduces to six (6+0=6).

Girl names (6 via 60)Boy names (6 via 60)
Hailey, Millie, Kehlani, Wren, Raven, Matilda, Skye, Nylah, Emely, Averie, Miranda, Selene, Novah, Fallon, Zora, Keziah, Rori, Azul, Maribel, Selina, Mirabel, Petra, Emori, Aashvi, Diamond, Juno, Aryana, Janiya, Judy, Raleigh, Kamiya, Isabell, Abriella, Dayanna, Desire, Eliora, Jannat, Khelani, Hindy, Kayden, Mylee, Camdyn, Nahomi, Aribella, Samaya, Marnie, Zamara, Daliyah, Eliyah, Kavya, Solei, Razan, Corina, Rocio, Maeleigh, Haylie, Caydence, Dakotah, Zenaida, BerlinLandon, Silas, Thiago, Kayden, Enzo, Grant, Bryan, Ibrahim, Ruben, Kason, Moshe, Lucian, Samir, Riggs, Cillian, Devon, Darren, Yahya, Wren, Billy, Benny, Maxim, Nikko, Camdyn, Viraj, Osiel, Lucio, Revan, Kiyan, Aaryan, Carsen, Hernan, Rayaan, Daryl, Aditya, Salman, Bennet, Viggo, Nolen, Genaro, Raleigh, Skye, Shamar, Markel, Emmit, Jahmari, Tobin, Raven, Diamond, Whit, Sven, Kaedyn, Novah, Jibril, Jayse, Cylas, Azaire

6 via 69

The letters in the following baby names add up to 69, which reduces to six (6+9=15; 1+5=6).

Girl names (6 via 69)Boy names (6 via 69)
Riley, Stella, Lillian, Parker, Oakley, Celeste, Harley, Giselle, Rylie, Katalina, Cameron, Maliyah, Addilyn, Laurel, Amoura, Henley, Giavanna, Miller, Janessa, Odette, Sally, Shanaya, Bayleigh, Priya, Zaynab, Audriana, Kaniyah, Saniya, Ziyah, Noura, Samirah, Lenore, Miamor, Jasper, Anastacia, Esty, Ariyana, Ayzel, Zarina, Keisy, Elyza, Ginny, Maevis, LuizaCameron, Jeremiah, Parker, Jasper, Brayden, Riley, Griffin, Malcolm, Hector, Oakley, Marcos, Kaison, Leandro, Miller, Conner, Benson, Kannon, Leonard, Kyro, Alvaro, Joziah, Evander, Castiel, Colten, Rhodes, Harley, Korbin, Darwin, Bishop, Howard, Achilles, Kyaire, Yaseen, Kenny, Tayden, Kalvin, Aston, Vivaan, Smith, Ruger, Linkin, Henley, Kyran, Cordell, Lonnie, Jaydon, Knight, Hendrik, Kory, Aayansh, Neizan, Ulices, Lowen, Croix, Erwin, Azekiel, Ayaansh, Arlow

6 via 78

The letters in the following baby names add up to 78, which reduces to six (7+8=15; 1+5=6).

Girl names (6 via 78)Boy names (6 via 78)
Genesis, Kennedy, Madilyn, Esmeralda, Melissa, Viviana, Scarlet, Julieta, Oaklyn, Kayleigh, Florence, Scout, Leilany, Estelle, Berkley, Harmoni, Jazmine, Leylani, Tilly, Corinne, Avyanna, Aislinn, Montana, Onyx, Harlyn, Louella, Yesenia, Kenzlee, Batsheva, Taryn, Haisleigh, Rylin, Zulema, Karissa, October, Yohanna, Renleigh, Karson, Pauline, Nazly, TaniyahRobert, Emiliano, Tucker, Patrick, Colson, Daxton, Karson, Onyx, Troy, Dominick, Vicente, Shmuel, Genesis, Scout, Shimon, Seamus, Renzo, Antoine, Montana, Kennedy, Darryl, Braulio, Chester, Gerson, Muhammed, Myheir, Rhyder, Domenico, Shulem, Zyir, Shakur, Callaway, Luqman, Oaklyn, Lennix, Bently, Jairus, Kazmir, Romelo

6 via 87

The letters in the following baby names add up to 87, which reduces to six (8+7=15; 1+5=6).

Girl names (6 via 87)Boy names (6 via 87)
Paisley, Everly, Mackenzie, Veronica, Journi, Marlowe, Marisol, Justice, Tallulah, Blessing, Maryjane, Brayleigh, Cattleya, Hermione, Lotus, Ashtyn, Unique, Cosette, Xitlali, Lilyann, Sequoia, Priscila, Layton, Philippa, Lizzie, Grettel, Lynnlee, Yocheved, Roxanna, Truth, Ellarose, Ellory, JaylynVincent, Victor, Joaquin, Stephen, Sonny, Kolton, Braylon, Dustin, Layton, Justice, Junior, Wylder, Maxton, Niklaus, Mayson, Sultan, Truth, Clinton, Truman, Hampton, Ashtyn, Cortez, Artist, Konnor, Geovanni, Matheus, Neythan, Mackenzie, Zavion, Monty, Zaylin, Yasser, Yeison, Jayvon, Javonte, Dempsey, Geoffrey, Yossi, Binyamin, Priest

6 via 96

The letters in the following baby names add up to 96, which reduces to six (9+6=15; 1+5=6).

Girl names (6 via 96)Boy names (6 via 96)
Destiny, Mallory, Blessyn, Shirley, Blakelynn, Kristen, Vivianne, Journii, Kirsten, TrulyWeston, Stanley, Ernesto, Knowledge, Turner, Krishiv, Pierson, Townes, Jayvion, Muhammadali, Allister, Rexton, Sylus, Triton, Nikolaos, Murray, Kolsyn

6 via 105

The letters in the following baby names add up to 105, which reduces to six (1+0+5=6).

Girl names (6 via 105)Boy names (6 via 105)
Wynter, Dorothy, Esperanza, Christine, Huntley, Lovelyn, Viktoria, CypressLorenzo, Maximilian, Gustavo, Xzavier, Tristen, Cypress, Johnathon, Giovonni, Huntley, Tytus

6 via 114

The letters in the following baby names add up to 114, which reduces to six (1+1+4=6).

Girl names (6 via 114)Boy names (6 via 114)
Rosemary, Jazzlyn, Brynnleigh, Treazure, VittoriaWinston, Princeton, Demetrius, Juancarlos, Townsend

6 via 123

The letters in the following baby names add up to 123, which reduces to six (1+2+3=6).

Girl names (6 via 123)Boy names (6 via 123)
Monserrat, Riverlyn, Antoinette, Kimberlynn, QuetzalliGrizzly, Johnthomas, Maxamillion, Lovensky, Timmothy

Number 6: Significance and associations

What does the number six mean in numerology?

There’s no definitive answer, unfortunately, because various numerological systems exist, and each one has its own interpretation of the number six. That said, if we look at a couple of modern numerology/astrology websites, we see 6 being described as “harmonious,” “loving,” “stable,” “compassionate,” and “responsible.”

We can also look at associations, which are a bit more concrete. Here are some things that are associated with the number 6:

  • Snowflake (six-fold symmetry)
  • Beehive (six-sided cells)
  • Guitar (6 strings)
  • Football (6 points for a touchdown)
  • Ice hockey (6 players per side, including the goalie)
  • Cube (six faces)
  • Six degrees of separation (the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from one other)

What does the number 6 mean to you? What are your strongest associations with the number?

P.S. To see names with other numerological values, check out the posts for the numbers one, two, three, four, five, seven, eight, and nine.

Sources: SSA, Numerology – Cafe Astrology, The meaning of the numbers 1 – 9 – World Numerology, 6 – Wikipedia

[Latest update: Jan. 2024]