How popular is the baby name Mariah 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 Mariah.

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Popularity of the baby name Mariah


Posts that mention the name Mariah

Where did the baby name Milira come from in 1990?

Milira's self-titled debut album (1990)
Milira album

The rare name Milira first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1990:

  • 1992: unlisted
  • 1991: 16 baby girls named Milira [peak]
  • 1990: 7 baby girls named Milira [debut]
  • 1989: unlisted
  • 1988: unlisted

It more than doubled in usage a year later, then dropped back below the 5-baby threshold.

Where did it come from?

New York-based R&B singer Milira Jones, known mononymously as Milira (pronounced mil-IE-ruh).

Milira’s self-titled debut album, released in June of 1990, featured her two most successful singles: “Mercy Mercy Me” (a “gently hip-hoppy version” of the Marvin Gaye classic) and “Go Outside in the Rain.” Neither one reached Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, but both landed inside the top 40 on the Hot R&B Singles chart (peaking at #21 and #36, respectively).

Incidentally, one music reviewer began her critique of the album by calling attention to Milira’s name:

Milira — not to be confused with Malaria, Madonna, Martika or CBS recording starlet Mariah — hasn’t much of anything new to offer R&B fans, but what she does, she does professionally.

What are your thoughts on the name Milira?

Sources:

Most popular baby names in various locations, 2009

Here are some of the most popular baby names of 2009 in various places in the U.S. and elsewhere. I’ll add to this list as I spot other articles and news releases. In the meanwhile, if you see something that I’ve missed, please comment or e-mail me (with the source).

LocationGirl nameBoy name
Alberta, Canada (source)OliviaEthan
Australian Capital Territory (source)OliviaWilliam
Arizona, USA (source)IsabellaJacob
British Columbia, Canada (source)OliviaEthan
Chile (source)MartinaBenjamín
Derry, Northern Ireland, UK (source)Ava & Ellie (tie)Matthew
Evansville, IN, USA (source)OliviaAidan
Germany (source)MarieMaximilian
Knox County, IL, USA (source)AddisonLogan
Macomb County, MI, USA (source)AvaAnthony
Malta (post)Maria/Mariah/MarieLuke/Luca
Manitoba, Canada (source)AvaLiam
Nebraska, USA (source)AddisonAlexander
New South Wales, Australia (source)IsabellaWilliam
New Zealand (source)SophieJack
Newcastle, England, UK (source)LexiOliver
Northern Territory, Australia (source)IsabellaJack
Peterborough, England, UK (source)SophieMohammed
Oakland County, MI, USA (source)IsabellaJack
Quebec, Canada (source)LéaWilliam
Queensland, Australia (source)ChloeWilliam
San Mateo County, CA, USA (source)SophiaAlexander
Saskatchewan, Canada (source)EmmaEthan
Scotland, UK (source)SophieJack
Sheffield, England, UK (source)ChloeHarry
South Australia, Australia (source)CharlotteJack
Sweden (source)AliceLucas
Tasmania, Australia (source)Ruby & Charlotte (tie)Oliver
Tennessee, USA (source)EmmaWilliam
The Netherlands (source)EmmaDaan
United States (source)IsabellaJacob
Victoria, Australia (source)OliviaWilliam
Wyoming, USA (source)MadisonAiden

P.S. Some of the names above actually represent several variants of the name.

Popular baby names in Malta, 2007

Flag of Malta
Flag of Malta

Malta seems to be having some trouble tallying baby names. According to the island’s National Statistics Office, these were the top boy names of 2007:

  1. Luke/Luca, 98 baby boys
  2. Matthew/Matteo/Matthias, 88
  3. Jake, 56
  4. Julian, 40
  5. John/Gianni/Jean/Juan/Sean, 38
  6. Nicholas/Nikolai & Aiden, 37 (tie)
  7. Kieran, 35
  8. Isaac, 34
  9. Andrew/André/Andrea & Zack, 33 (tie)
  10. Nathan/Nathaniel, 32
  11. Jeremy/Jerome & James/Jamie & Jayden, 31 (tie)
  12. Daniel & Gabriel & Miguel, 29 (tie)
  13. Liam, 28
  14. Alexander/Alessandro/Alejandro & Neil, 26 (tie)
  15. Michael/Mikiel/Mikail/Michele & Carl/Carlo/Karl & Kyle, 24 (3-way tie)
  16. Benjamin & Thomas/Tommaso, 20 (tie)
  17. Christian/Kristian, 18
  18. Mark/Marc/Marco, 17
  19. Dejan & Denzel, 16 (tie)
  20. Kayden, 13

There’s nothing wrong with the list itself. But problems begin when you try to compare this list with the 2006 list.

For instance, in 2006, 49 boys were named Michael or Michele. A year later, there’s no way to tell if either of these names has became more or less popular — all we know is that 24 boys were named Michael, Michele Mikiel or Mikail, and that 29 boys were named Miguel specifically.

And that’s just the beginning. Between 2006 and 2007, Nicholas became Nicholas/Nikolai, Thomas became Thomas/Tommaso, and James became James/Jamie. Alexander became Alexander/Alessandro/Alejandro, while (accent-less) Andre became Andrew/André/Andrea. All of these odd groupings make it impossible to draw conclusions about how the popularity level of a specific name has changed over time.

I am also suspicious about spelling. Aidan (#6) and Jaydon (#19) from the 2006 list seemed to morph into Aiden (#6) and Jayden (#11) in 2007.

Finally — and this may be nit-picky — I dislike how Jeremy and Jerome were lumped together. The names may look alike, but they are unrelated.

I have issues with the girl names as well:

  1. Maria/Mariah, 73 baby girls
  2. Martina, 47
  3. Julia/Giulia, 42
  4. Christina/Kristina/Christine/Christa, 41
  5. Elisa/Eliza/Elizabeth, 39
  6. Sarah, 36
  7. Emma & Maya, 34 (tie)
  8. Nicole/Nicola/Nicolette, 31
  9. Amy & Jasmine/Yasmine, 30 (tie)
  10. Michela/Michelle, 29
  11. Katrina/Katie & Shania, 27 (tie)
  12. Aaliyah & Hayley & Jade, 21 (tie)
  13. Alexandra/Alessandra/Alessia, 20
  14. Francesca & Ylenia, 19 (tie)
  15. Kylie, 18
  16. Kaya, 17
  17. Emily & Kayleigh, 16 (tie)
  18. Kelsey & Leah & Rihanna & Thea, 15 (4-way tie)
  19. Ella & Elena & Kiera & Kyra, 14 (4-way tie)
  20. Hannah, 13

Between 2006 and 2007, Julia became Julia/Giula, Nicole became Nicole/Nicola/Nicolette, Jasmin (sans e) became Jasmine/Yasmine, and Elisa/Eliza became Elisa/Eliza/Elisabeth. Michela went from being grouped with Michaela to being grouped with Michelle.

And, as with the boys, I don’t think spelling stayed consistent. Hailey (#10, 2006) became Hayley (#12, 2007) and Kaylie (#17, 2006) became Kayleigh (#17, 2007).

Malta, you’re driving me crazy! I hope the top names of 2008 are listed more logically, i.e., using name-groupings that have been used before.

Source: Naming Babies: 2007 [pdf]

Image: Adapted from Flag of Malta (public domain)

Popular baby names in Malta, 2006

Flag of Malta
Flag of Malta

The National Statistics Office of Malta, a tiny island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, compiles baby name rankings by lumping variant spellings of names (like Matthew, Matteo and Matthias) together into a single entry.

The most popular baby names in Malta last year were:

Girl Names

  1. Maria/Mariah (73 babies)
  2. Maya (53)
  3. Amy (43)
  4. Martina & Emma (tie; 40 each)
  5. Shania (36)
  6. Ylenia & Michela/Michaela & Sarah (tie; 35 each)
  7. Elisa/Eliza (33)
  8. Julia (32)
  9. Jasmin (30)
  10. Hailey (72)
  11. Nicole (26)
  12. Francesca (25)
  13. Catherine/Katarina/Kate (23)
  14. Amber & Hannah (tie; 19 each)
  15. Emily & Kelsey (tie; 18 each)
  16. Thea (16)
  17. Kaylie & Lara (tie; 15 each)
  18. Matthea (14)
  19. Mireille & Naomi (tie; 13 each)
  20. Aaliyah (12)

Boy Names

  1. Luke/Luca (79 babies)
  2. Matthew/Matteo/Matthias (78)
  3. Jake (67)
  4. Andre & Isaac & Michael/Michele (tie; 49 each)
  5. Nicholas (46)
  6. Aidan (42)
  7. Kieran (41)
  8. Daniel (40)
  9. Kyle (37)
  10. Nathan/Nathaniel (31)
  11. Gabriel (30)
  12. Christian & Julian & Liam (tie; 27 each)
  13. Alexander (26)
  14. Zachery (23)
  15. Thomas (22)
  16. James (21)
  17. Benjamin (18)
  18. Tristan (17)
  19. Jaydon & Kurt & Leon & Sven (tie; 16 each)
  20. Denzel & John Paul (tie; 15 each)

There were 1,846 girls and 2,039 boys born in Malta in 2006. (The country only has 402,000 inhabitants total.) Based on the numbers above, 41% of those girls and 46% of those boys were given a top-20 name.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Malta (public domain)