How popular is the baby name Linux 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 Linux.

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Popularity of the baby name Linux


Posts that mention the name Linux

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2023

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

The U.S. state of Iowa welcomes “around 40,000” babies each year.

What were the most popular names among last year’s babies specifically? Charlotte and Oliver, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

Here are Iowa’s top 20+ girl names and top 20+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Charlotte, 161 baby girls
  2. Evelyn, 128
  3. Harper, 127
  4. Olivia, 126
  5. Amelia, 125
  6. Emma, 110
  7. Sophia, 109
  8. Eleanor, 106
  9. Ava, 102
  10. Hazel, 88
  11. Nora, 84
  12. Violet, 82
  13. Willow, 77
  14. Mia, 76
  15. Isabella, 75 (tie)
  16. Ivy, 75 (tie)
  17. Lainey, 74
  18. Isla, 71
  19. Grace, 69
  20. Aurora, 67 (tie)
  21. Ellie, 67 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Oliver, 194 baby boys
  2. Henry, 173
  3. Theodore, 154
  4. Liam, 147
  5. Jack, 135 (tie)
  6. Noah, 135 (tie)
  7. Hudson, 114
  8. William, 112
  9. James, 104
  10. Owen, 103
  11. Cooper, 99 (tie)
  12. Maverick, 99 (tie)
  13. Leo, 95
  14. Brooks, 94
  15. Waylon, 91
  16. Benjamin, 88
  17. Wyatt, 87
  18. Elijah, 85
  19. Asher, 84 (3-way tie)
  20. Bennett, 84 (3-way tie)
  21. Lucas, 84 (3-way tie)

The SSA’s rankings for Iowa are mostly (but not exactly) the same.

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Iowa last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Ainekulu, Berthenina, Caspia, Dotlyn, Eterna, Fauna, Genavee, Historia, Ivella, Jaspen, Kimawari, Landrine, Malulani, Nicklin, Osprey, Pendeza, Quenya, Rosehip, Still, Tcharleen, Vanlal, Wembley, Xanna, Yangkuoth, ZiigwanAsphodel, Brodysseus, Calmly, Datsun, Ethic, Fisk, Grealish, Haiku, Inguun, Jozion, Kakashi, Linux, Malipo, Nayrold, Omegajoe, Pomaikai, Quantum, Render, Sabawoon, Thaylor, Vybe, Witt, Xiver, Yekini, Zettlin

Some possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:

  • Grealish is the surname of English soccer player Jack Grealish.
  • Kakashi is a character from the Japanese manga/anime series Naruto. (The literal translation of his name is “scarecrow.”)
  • Kimawari is the Japanese name of the Pokémon character Sunflora.
  • Malipo means “payments” or “revenge” in Swahili.
  • Malulani is a particular star in Hawaiian astronomy. (The literal translation of the star’s name is “celestial shade.”)
  • Pendeza means “to be pleasing” or “to be attractive” in Swahili.
  • Pomaikai is based on the Hawaiian word pomaika’i, which means “good fortune.”
  • Sabawoon means “dawn” in Pashto.
  • Wembley is a soccer stadium (and music venue) in London.
  • Ziigwan means “it is (early) spring” in Ojibwe.

Finally, here’s a link to Iowa’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)

Popular baby names in Austin (Texas), 2017

Flag of Texas
Flag of Texas

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a set of baby name data for Austin, Texas, for the year 2017. While it isn’t current, it does seem to be complete — so it includes hundreds of rare and single-use names (which are always fascinating!).

The data accounts for nearly 19,900 births (9,733 girls and 10,163 boys), and features nearly 6,100 names (3,431 given to girls, 2,656 given to boys).

According to this data, which comes from the City of Austin’s Open Data Portal, the top baby names in the capital of Texas five years ago were Emma and James.

Here are Austin’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 98 baby girls
  2. Isabella, 88
  3. Olivia, 84
  4. Mia, 81
  5. Evelyn, 77
  6. Sophia, 75
  7. Ava, 73
  8. Abigail, 59 (tie)
  9. Charlotte, 59 (tie)
  10. Emily, 58
  11. Camila, 56 (tie)
  12. Elizabeth, 56 (tie)
  13. Harper, 53
  14. Amelia, 52
  15. Penelope, 51 (tie)
  16. Sofia, 51 (tie)
  17. Scarlett, 46
  18. Ella, 45
  19. Avery, 43 (tie)
  20. Zoe, 43 (tie)
  21. Lillian, 41
  22. Layla, 40 (tie)
  23. Madison, 40 (tie)
  24. Eleanor, 39
  25. Victoria, 38
  26. Allison, 37
  27. Claire, 36 (3-way tie)
  28. Elena, 36 (3-way tie)
  29. Luna, 36 (3-way tie)
  30. Aria, 35 (tie)
  31. Chloe, 35 (tie)
  32. Ellie, 34 (tie)
  33. Katherine, 34 (tie)
  34. Samantha, 33
  35. Hannah, 30 (4-way tie)
  36. Hazel, 30 (4-way tie)
  37. Mila, 30 (4-way tie)
  38. Stella, 30 (4-way tie)
  39. Leah, 29
  40. Cora, 28 (5-way tie)
  41. Genesis, 28 (5-way tie)
  42. Grace, 28 (5-way tie)
  43. Natalie, 28 (5-way tie)
  44. Ximena, 28 (5-way tie)
  45. Clara, 27 (3-way tie)
  46. Eliana, 27 (3-way tie)
  47. Ruby, 27 (3-way tie)
  48. Audrey, 26 (tie)
  49. Sarah, 26 (tie)
  50. Alexa, 25 (3-way tie)
  51. Everly, 25 (3-way tie)
  52. Lily, 25 (3-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. James, 104 baby boys
  2. Noah, 85
  3. Daniel, 83
  4. Benjamin, 82
  5. William, 80
  6. Oliver, 75
  7. Liam, 74
  8. Alexander, 73
  9. Sebastian, 70
  10. Henry, 67
  11. Elijah, 66 (tie)
  12. Mateo, 66 (tie)
  13. Ethan, 65
  14. Jackson, 63
  15. Anthony, 61
  16. Jacob, 60
  17. Aiden, 59 (tie)
  18. Luke, 59 (tie)
  19. David, 58 (tie)
  20. Samuel, 58 (tie)
  21. John, 56
  22. Isaac, 55 (tie)
  23. Julian, 55 (tie)
  24. Michael, 54
  25. Charles, 53 (3-way tie)
  26. Jack, 53 (3-way tie)
  27. Matthew, 53 (3-way tie)
  28. Jose, 52 (tie)
  29. Joshua, 52 (tie)
  30. Wyatt, 50
  31. Aaron, 49 (4-way tie)
  32. Grayson, 49 (4-way tie)
  33. Joseph, 49 (4-way tie)
  34. Levi, 49 (4-way tie)
  35. Dylan, 48
  36. Hudson, 47
  37. Josiah, 46 (3-way tie)
  38. Logan, 46 (3-way tie)
  39. Santiago, 46 (3-way tie)
  40. Jayden, 45
  41. Nathan, 44
  42. Christopher, 43 (tie)
  43. Thomas, 43 (tie)
  44. Andrew, 42 (4-way tie)
  45. Gabriel, 42 (4-way tie)
  46. Luis, 42 (4-way tie)
  47. Owen, 42 (4-way tie)
  48. Lucas, 41
  49. Adrian, 40 (3-way tie)
  50. Axel, 40 (3-way tie)
  51. Christian, 40 (3-way tie)

On the girls’ list, Allison caught my eye. It ranked 26th in Austin in 2017, but 61st nationally the same year. Interesting.

Farther down on the boys’ list was Austin itself, in 95th place — vs. 75th nationally — with 21 baby boys. Much farther down was Texas, with 2 baby boys.

And now it’s time for the unique names!

One-of-a-kind names were given to 24% of the baby girls and 17% of the baby boys born in Austin in 2017. Here’s a sampling of the names that were bestowed just once:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Aubrion, Autry, Blue Jay, Cadeau, Ceiba, Dulceluna, Eeriemoon, Fiza, Gilana, Holleen, Itzigueri, Jill, Kasleen, Lillabee, L’Oreal, Mauzie, Millioni, Nincye, Nobelina, Orchid, Princess Plethora, Qiwei, Roshnee, Scepter, Shanze, Thais, Tsumugi, Umutoni, Vyga, Wengiel, Xyzla, Ynafets, ZieglindAshton Alchimist, Bruges, Cayenne, Dalbus, Eames, Fenghua, Ganesh, Getsai, Hackett, Itzae, Jizael, Kavelli Kaine, Linnaeus, Linux, Mazoree, Mistral, Naranna, Nimbus, Olince, Penn, Qhing, Rigveda, Shooter, Syphax, Tavoric, Templar, Urfan, Vetri, Wajahat, Xavi, Yoonbin, Zaxton

Some possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:

  • Cadeau is the French word for “present, gift.”
  • Ceiba is a type of tree.
  • Tsumugi Shirogane is a character from the 2017 video game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
  • Ynafets is “Stefany” spelled backwards.
  • Bruges is the capital of West Flanders (a province of Belgium).
  • Mistral is a strong late-winter wind in southern France.
  • The Rigveda is a sacred Hindu text.

I’ve never posted rankings for Austin before, but I have posted rankings recently for two nearby Texas cities: Houston (which is more than twice the size of Austin, population-wise) and College Station (which is about an eighth of the size of Austin).

Sources: From Aadhav to Zyva: 6,087 Names of Babies Born in Austin in 2017 | Open Data | City of Austin Texas, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Texas (public domain)

The top girl-name debuts of 2016

lotus bud

Movie-inspired Rey was the girl name that debuted most impressively on the U.S. charts in 2016.

In order for a rare baby name to debut on the Social Security Administration’s annual baby name list, it has to be given to at least 5 babies of either one gender or the other within a given year.

Of all the girl names that debuted in 2016, the following were the most popular:

1. Rey, 63 baby girls
2. Khelani, 29
3. Yurany, 18
4. Eretria, 17
5. Cirilla, 16
6. Mehlani, 16
7. Osinachi, 16
8. Ahitana, 14
9. Iselis, 14
10. Shivanya, 13

Other girl names that debuted were Hathaway, Dashly, Thatcher, Riverly, Wrenlee, Skaii, Yaz, Zyva, Furiosa, Kylo, Lagertha, Brilliance, Finely, Liss, Million, Tafari, Amaranth, Artist, Blessence, Caliber, Ceridwen, Curie, Flourish, Linux, Pryor, Versailles, and Veruca.

Where do these names come from? Here are a few explanations:

  • Rey – from the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
  • Khelani – variant of Kehlani, last year’s top debut name.
  • Eretria – from the TV show The Shannara Chronicles.
  • Cirilla – from the video game The Witcher.
  • Iselis – from the reality TV show Gran Hermano (USA version).
  • Shivanya – from the TV show Naagin.
  • Furiosa – from the movie Mad Max.

Can you come up with explanations for any of the others?

Here are the top girl name debuts of 2015.

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

Have babies been named Linux?

Tux the penguin, the Linux mascot
Tux the Linux mascot

In August of 2008, a couple in Sweden named their baby boy Linux after the open-source operating system.

Linux’s dad said that “[t]he reaction from family and friends has been positive — they all like it. Our families think it’s a bit of an unusual name but still a nice one, and our friends like it because it sounds cool!”

He announced the name to fellow Linux users that October, asking community members to send along “any stuff with the name Linux on [it], like stickers, pens, and so on” that they could spare.

The baby name Linux is also being used in the U.S these days:

  • 2015: 6 baby boys named Linux
  • 2014: unlisted
  • 2013: 8 baby boys named Linux
  • 2012: 5 baby boys named Linux [debut]
  • 2011: unlisted

The operating system was created by Finnish software engineer Linus Torvalds. “Linux,” which Torvalds pronounces LEE-nux, is a portmanteau of Linus and Unix (the name of an earlier operating system).

What do you think of the name Linux? Do you like it more or less than Linus?

Update, 5/13/2017: Linux debuted as a girl name in the U.S. baby name data in 2016!

Sources: A baby named Linux – Linux.com, SSA
Image: Tux by Larry Ewing under CC0 1.0.