How popular is the baby name Maleficent 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 Maleficent.

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Popularity of the baby name Maleficent


Posts that mention the name Maleficent

How did “The Addams Family” influence baby names in the 1960s?

The Addams Family (l-r): Gomez, Wednesday, Uncle Fester, Morticia, Lurch, Grandmama, Pugsley
The Addams Family (l-r): Gomez, Wednesday, Uncle Fester, Morticia, Lurch, Grandmama, Pugsley

The characters in The Addams Family originated in single-panel newspaper cartoons drawn by Charles Addams in the late ’30s. They were all nameless until the darkly funny TV sitcom The Addams Family (1964-1966) came along and named them.

And so, thanks to the show, three brand-new baby names debuted in the U.S baby name data in the mid-1960s:

Wednesday

The name Wednesday appeared in 1965:

  • 1968: 14 baby girls named Wednesday
  • 1967: 15 baby girls named Wednesday
  • 1966: 22 baby girls named Wednesday
  • 1965: 15 baby girls named Wednesday [debut]
  • 1964: unlisted

This was inspired by somber 6-year-old Wednesday Addams (played by Lisa Loring). Her name was taken from “Wednesday’s child is full of woe” — a line in the nursery rhyme “Monday’s Child.”

Morticia

The name Morticia also appeared in 1965:

  • 1968: 5 baby girls named Morticia
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: 7 baby girls named Morticia
  • 1965: 9 baby girls named Morticia [debut]
  • 1964: unlisted

The variant Marticia debuted that year as well.

This one was inspired by Addams family matriarch Morticia Addams (played by Carolyn Jones). Her name was clearly based on the Latin word mort, meaning “death,” and closely resembles the modern word mortician.

Addam

A third baby name that appeared in the data in 1965 was Addam:

  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted
  • 1965: 6 baby boys named Addam [debut]
  • 1964: unlisted

It’s not technically “Addams,” but it’s close enough for us to assume it was inspired by the show. (The standard spelling, Adam, saw a spike in usage in 1964. I’m not sure if this was caused by the show, though.)

So here’s today’s question: which goth-girl name do you like more, Morticia or Maleficent?

Source: The Addams Family (TV series) – Wikipedia

Baby name prediction: Cruella?

The new Cruella

The 2014 film Maleficent gave rise to the unlikely baby name Maleficent. So will the upcoming film Cruella similarly inspire parents to name their kids Cruella?

Cruella de Vil is the well-known Disney villainess from the 1961 animated movie 101 Dalmations. In mid-2021, Disney plans to release the live-action Cruella, which will apparently feature a younger, pre-evil version of Cruella (played by Emma Stone). The story will be set in “the punk rock era of the 1970s.”

On the one hand, the name Cruella is clearly based upon the word “cruel,” and the character’s intent in original movie was to capture, kill and skin a bunch of puppies (!) in order to make a fur coat.

On the other hand, the name Cruella easily shortens to Ella, which has been a trendy top-20 name for over a decade now. And the character in the upcoming movie will no doubt be portrayed in a more sympathetic manner (taking a page out of the Maleficent playbook).

What are your thoughts on this one?

Source: First Look at Emma Stone in Disney’s Live-Action ‘Cruella’ Drops

Popular and unique baby names in Idaho, 2017

Flag of Idaho
Flag of Idaho

According to Idaho’s Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, the most popular baby names in the state in 2017 were Emma and Oliver.

Here are Idaho’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Emma, 108 baby girls
2. Olivia, 102
3. Charlotte, 96
4. Evelyn, 91
5. Amelia, 78
6. Harper, 75 (tie)
7. Ava, 75 (tie)
8. Abigail, 71
9. Sophia, 67
10. Elizabeth, 60

Boy Names
1. Oliver, 114 baby boys
2. Liam, 102
3. William, 93
4. James, 87
5. Lincoln, 85
6. Samuel, 84
7. Mason, 80
8. Logan, 78 (3-way tie)
9. Jackson, 78 (3-way tie)
10. Henry, 78 (3-way tie)

In the girls’ top 10, Sophia replaced Emily (now 21st).

In the boys’ top 10, Samuel, Logan, and Jackson replaced Wyatt (now 11th), Owen (15th), and Noah (16th). Interestingly, Samuel, which has been trending downward nationally, nearly doubled in usage in Idaho from 2016 to 2017.

The SSA’s 2017 rankings for Idaho include the same 20 names, but in slightly different order on both sides.

And finally, if you’re wondering about Idaho’s unusual baby names, here’s a selection from 2017…

  • Female names: Adventure, Embers, Epic, Evening, Flawless, Heartland, Helvetika, Island, Maleficent, Petal, Rapunzel, Solstice
  • Male names: Arseny, Banker, Calgary, Cuahuhtemoc, Desirejoy, Everest, Hiker, Obsidian, Sinister, Solaris, Venture, Zealous

Source: Reports and Statistics | Idaho Department of Health and Welfare

Image: Adapted from Flag of Idaho (public domain)

The top girl-name debuts of 2015

lotus bud

The music-inspired name Kehlani was the top debut name for baby girls in 2015.

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 U.S. babies of either one gender or the other within a given year.

Of all the girl names that debuted in 2015, the following were the most popular:

1. Kehlani, 48 baby girls
2. Dayelin, 34
3. Abrish, 29
4. Alahia, 22
5. Hazelgrace, 22
6. Brave, 17
7. Nadyalee, 17
8. Hoorain, 15
9. Aitanna, 14
10. Aithana, 14
11. Aytana, 14
12. Brexley, 14
13. Jeshia, 14
14. Averyrose, 13
15. Absalat, 12
16. Kassiani, 12
17. Ovi, 12
18. Viyona, 12
19. Charlestyn, 11
20. Ditya, 11
21. Kylierae, 11
22. Mansirat, 11

And a handful from the 10-and-under group: Tanvika, Espn (it arrives for girls, finally!), Heavenlyjoy, Wylder, Yemariam, Carver, Edelweiss, Gloricely, Darasimi, Elshaddai, Ezoza, Maggiemae, Zeppelyn, Amitis, Anthem, Moxley, Wellesley, Witten, Gatsby, Skyland, Adorable, Brizleth, Lameese, Ludovica, Maleficent (Maleficent!), Maori, Stellaluna, Vaiga, Vydia.

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

  • Kehlani – from Kehlani Parrish (stage name Kehlani), American R&B singer.
  • Hazelgrace – from Hazel Grace Lancaster, a character from The Fault in Our Stars (2014).
  • Nadyalee – from Nadyalee Torres, Puerto Rican model, finalist on Nuestra Belleza Latina 2015.
  • Hoorain – from celebrity baby Hoorain, born in July of 2015 to Pakistani actors Ayeza Khan and Danish Taimoor.
  • Aitanna, Aithana, and Aytana – from celebrity baby Aitana, born in August of 2014 to Mexican actors Alessandra Rosaldo and Eugenio Derbez.

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

Here are the boy name debuts, and here are the top girl name debuts of 2014.

Source: SSA

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