How popular is the baby name Ludwig 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 Ludwig.

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Popularity of the baby name Ludwig


Posts that mention the name Ludwig

Popular baby names in Canada, 2024

Flag of Canada

Last year, our neighbor to the north welcomed 365,737 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah, for the fourth year in a row.

Here are Canada’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 1,639 baby girls
  2. Charlotte, 1,528
  3. Emma, 1,358
  4. Amelia, 1,123
  5. Sophia, 1,086
  6. Sofia, 921
  7. Mia, 905
  8. Chloe, 868
  9. Lily, 794
  10. Ava, 782
  11. Mila, 773
  12. Alice, 756
  13. Isla, 746
  14. Nora, 724
  15. Evelyn, 688
  16. Maya, 680
  17. Violet, 677
  18. Ellie, 676
  19. Sophie, 671
  20. Clara, 646
  21. Zoe, 620
  22. Aria, 610
  23. Elizabeth, 607
  24. Isabella, 601
  25. Abigail, 597
  26. Ella, 586
  27. Hazel, 573
  28. Florence, 569
  29. Hannah, 562
  30. Charlie, 559
  31. Eleanor, 550
  32. Eva, 549
  33. Ivy, 539
  34. Aurora, 538
  35. Harper, 522
  36. Emily, 521
  37. Luna, 508
  38. Rose, 503
  39. Victoria, 494
  40. Emilia, 469
  41. Scarlett, 465
  42. Grace, 461
  43. Eliana, 452
  44. Ayla, 442
  45. Georgia, 435
  46. Maeve, 432
  47. Julia, 431
  48. Elena, 427
  49. Penelope, 422
  50. Layla, 419

Boy names

  1. Noah, 2,115 baby boys
  2. Liam, 1,694
  3. Theodore, 1,429
  4. Leo, 1,410
  5. William, 1,367
  6. Oliver, 1,244
  7. Lucas, 1,183
  8. James, 1,131
  9. Benjamin, 1,090
  10. Thomas, 1,061
  11. Jack, 1,039
  12. Henry, 1,019
  13. Nathan, 991
  14. Adam, 962
  15. Ethan, 954
  16. Levi, 909
  17. Theo, 896
  18. Arthur, 883
  19. Jacob, 875
  20. Logan, 829
  21. Luca, 815
  22. Owen, 803
  23. Gabriel, 749
  24. Samuel, 723
  25. Jackson, 721
  26. Muhammad, 716
  27. Hudson, 707
  28. Daniel, 683
  29. Felix, 660
  30. Charles, 653
  31. Louis, 639
  32. Maverick, 626
  33. Elijah, 618
  34. Nolan, 586
  35. Caleb, 579
  36. Isaac, 573
  37. Alexander, 559
  38. Miles, 547
  39. Luke, 540
  40. Wesley, 534
  41. Bennett, 528
  42. Wyatt, 527
  43. Jayden, 520
  44. Mason, 511
  45. Ryan, 502
  46. David, 499
  47. Asher, 490
  48. Ezra, 489
  49. Austin, 483
  50. Beau, 475

Among Canada’s fastest-rising baby names were the girl names Lainey, Charlotte, and Eliana and the boy names Arjan, Zorawar, and Samuel.

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were given to just 5 babies each in Canada last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Anica, Boshra, Celestina, Daneen, Elilta, Floraly, Georgette, Hazelyn, Iriza, Juana, Kateri, Laylin, Miela, Navika, Ovee, Pessy, Quynh, Ramneek, Sedona, Tarini, Urwah, Vaya, Winsley, Yuvika, ZuhaAlazar, Birpartap, Clint, Drayce, Ender, Famien, Gaspar, Haoyu, Iktaj, Jove, Kipling, Ludwig, Modibo, North, Oleg, Pinchas, Qudus, Rapha, Savio, Tylan, Udham, Vidit, Wilbert, Yiheng, Zeeshan

Finally, here are Canada’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number) – Statistics Canada, Canada’s most popular baby names in 2024 (Sept. 2025)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Canada (public domain)

Unusual political names in Connecticut

Political map of the USA, 1956

James A. Bill (1817-1900) of Lyme, Connecticut, served in the Connecticut state senate in 1852 and 1853 and in the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1849 and 1867. He also happened to be a rare pro-slavery Northerner in the years before and during the Civil War. This fact is reflected in the names of the last three children:

  1. Elizabeth
  2. Phoebe
  3. Mary
  4. Rebecca
  5. Lodowick
  6. James
  7. Kansas Nebraska (born in July, 1855)
  8. Lecompton Constitution (b. October, 1857)
  9. Jefferson Davis (b. February, 1862)

Kansas Nebraska Bill was named after the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, but also allowed the territories to decide for themselves whether or not they would permit slavery (the “popular sovereignty” principle).

Lecompton Constitution Bill was named after the Lecompton Constitution (1857), a proposed pro-slavery constitution for the state of Kansas that was defeated early the next year.

And Jefferson Davis Bill was, of course, named after Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy throughout the Civil War.

Their older brother, Lodowick, inherited his interesting first name from James’s father. The name Lodowick — like Louis, Ludwig, and Luigi — can be traced back to the Germanic name Chlodovech, which consists of the elements hlud, meaning “famous, loud” and wig, meaning “war, battle.”

P.S. Other notable Civil War-era baby names include Emancipation Proclamation (“Prockie”), Gettysburg (“Gettie”), Kenesaw Mountain, and Elmer Ellsworth.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Reynolds’s Political Map of the United States 1856

Popular and unique baby names in Quebec (Canada), 2018

Flag of Quebec
Flag of Quebec

According to Retraite Québec, the most popular baby names in Quebec in 2018 were Emma and William.

Here are the province’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 612 baby girls
  2. Alice, 525
  3. Olivia, 490
  4. Léa, 473
  5. Charlie, 450
  6. Florence, 439
  7. Charlotte, 437
  8. Livia, 378
  9. Zoé, 346
  10. Béatrice, 331

Boy Names

  1. William, 739 baby boys
  2. Logan, 636
  3. Liam, 629
  4. Thomas, 601
  5. Noah, 568
  6. Jacob, 540
  7. Léo, 536
  8. Félix, 496
  9. Édouard, 488
  10. Nathan, 483

In the girls’ top 10, Livia (formerly ranked 21st) replaced Rosalie (now ranked 13th).

In the boys’ top 10, Félix (formerly ranked 14th) and Édouard (formerly 13th) replaced Raphael (now ranked 12th) and Alexis (now 13th).

Here are some of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Quebec last year:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Aoss, Bellanie, Cinsmaya, Daphnelia, Eva-Eve, Faylissia, Feberly-Aena, Grey Winter, Himalaya, Imallak, Jiverfa, Kandzy, Kiev, Luthien Valkyrie, Mirberlie-Hendessa, Neebin, Nerlandia, Om Shanti, Orlyvine, Pompinea, Prindarella, Queency, Rymasse, Sarah Believe, Thrinity, Tullaugak, Vireldis, Westerlyn, Yzis, ZuliviaAliocha, Bienfait, Broxgar, Clovis Ludovic, Derda, Evanel, Flash Wilder, Gavner, Hollywood, Igor Rugwiro, Inukpuk, Jaynox, Jelijah, Kelebriel, Keo-Archibald, Ludwig-Thoddy, Myozion, Nash Yango, Onder, Pasko, Qalingo, Romerick, Seigneur, Smile, Surprise, Taviano, Tommy Gunn, Valois, Villani, Wishley Jason, Yom Tov, Zyan Clyde

(I usually limit myself to one name per letter, but there was no way I could choose between “Seigneur,” “Smile” and “Surprise” on the boys’ list.)

Possible explanations for some of the above:

  • Aliocha Schneider, Canadian actor (born Nicolas Schneider)
  • Bien fait, French for “well done”
  • Himalaya, the mountain range in Asia (means “abode of snow” in Sanskrit)
  • Om Shanti, the salutation/chant (shanti means “peace” in Sanskrit)
  • Seigneur, originally a French title referring to a feudal lord
  • Tommy Gunn, short for Thompson submachine gun
  • Yom Tov, the Jewish greeting (shortened from yamim tovim, “good days,” referring to Jewish holidays)

In 2017, the top two names were the same.

Source: List of Baby Names – Retraite Québec

Image: Adapted from Flag of Quebec (public domain)

Babies named for Instagram filters?

Instagram filters

I started posting on Instagram recently. Though I haven’t used the filters much, seeing them in the app reminded me of something: Babycenter.com claimed, back in late 2015, that Instagram filter names were influencing baby names. And the clickbaity claim was (of course) picked up by various media outlets: Time, People, Vanity Fair, US Weekly, TechCrunch, Mashable, etc.

But the BabyCenter.com folks weren’t basing their claims on any sort of real-life baby name usage data. They were apparently just making assumptions based on their own website metrics.

In any case…it’s now 2019, and we do have access to usage data for 2015 (not to mention 2016 and 2017). So let’s use this data to determine whether or not their claim is true.

I analyzed the data for 44 names in total: 43 from filters — most current, several retired — plus the name “Lux,” which technically refers to a photo enhancement tool, not a filter. Zeroing in on usage from 2010 (the year Instagram was launched) to 2017, I noticed that…

  • 28 filter names did not see higher usage as baby names:
    • 20 had no SSA data to work with (1977, Crema, Charmes, Clarendon, Dogpatch, Early Bird, Gingham, Ginza, Hefe, Inkwell, Lo-Fi, Mayfair, Nashville, Poprocket, Skyline, Slumber, Stinson, Sutro, Toaster, X-Pro II)
    • 6 saw a decrease in usage (Aden, Brannan, Brooklyn, Kelvin, Reyes, Sierra)
    • 2 saw little/no change in usage (Ludwig, Rise)
  • 16 filter names did see higher usage as baby names:

So which, if any, of the 16 names above increased in usage because of Instagram?

Some of them, like trendy Hudson and Willow, were already on the rise by 2010. So it’s hard to know if these names were influenced at all by recent pop culture, let alone the app specifically. (Though that Juno-jump does seem significant.)

Others are associated with more than just a filter. Vesper was a Bond Girl, for instance, and Juno was a movie. So, even if Instagram was a factor, it was one of several. (BabyCenter.com’s original write-up from 2015 doesn’t even acknowledge this, e.g., “The Instagram-inspired name Lux…”)

In terms of filters actually influencing names, I think the strongest case can be made for Amaro. It wasn’t already on the rise in 2010, it did become more popular in the Instagram era, and the filter itself (as opposed to the Italian liqueur after which the filter was named) does seem to be the primary pop culture association these days.

On the other hand, Clarendon — despite being the first filter you see inside the app and, accordingly, the most-used filter overall — saw no corresponding uptick in usage on birth certificates, which is telling. (Though perhaps “Amaro” hits a stylistic sweet spot that “Clarendon” misses.)

My verdict? I’d say it’s possible that a handful of Instagram filters influenced real-life baby name usage…but I definitely wouldn’t declare that naming babies after filters was/is some sort of “hot trend,” as BabyCenter.com did.

What are your thoughts on all this? Have you ever met a baby named after an Instagram filter?

Sources: