How popular is the baby name Mary 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 Mary.

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Popularity of the baby name Mary


Posts that mention the name Mary

Minnesota family with 22 children

kinderfest

In the mid-20th century, Alvin Joseph Miller and Lucille Rose Miller (née Kahnke) of Waseca, Minnesota, had 22 children — 15 girls and 7 boys.

Here are the names of all 22 siblings:

  1. Ramona Mary (born in 1940), who became a Franciscan nun
  2. Alvin Joseph, Jr. (b. 1942)
  3. Rose Ann (b. 1943)
  4. Kathleen Edith (b. 1945)
  5. Robert Vincent (b. 1946)
  6. Patricia Jean (b. 1947)
  7. Mary Lucille (b. 1948), nicknamed “Marylu”
  8. Diane Margaret (b. 1949)
  9. John Charles (b. 1950)
  10. Janet Irene (b. 1951)
  11. Linda Louise (b. 1953)
  12. Virginia Therese (b. 1954)
  13. Helen Rita (b. 1955), who wrote a book about growing up in a large family
  14. Arthur Lawrence (b. 1956)
  15. Dolores Maria (b. 1957)
  16. Martin Peter (b. 1959)
  17. Pauline Carmel (b. 1960)
  18. Alice Callista (b. 1961)
  19. Angela Mary (b. 1962)
  20. Marcia Marie (b. 1963)
  21. Gregory Eugene (b. 1964)
  22. Damien Francis (b. 1966)

Eight of the children had been born by April of 1950, when the Miller family was interviewed for the U.S. Census:

The Miller family on the 1950 U.S. Census
The Miller family (1950 U.S. Census)

Alvin and Lucille raised their children on a 300-acre farm that included a seven-bedroom farmhouse. Here’s how Diane (#8) described her childhood:

I remember a lot of rides in the wheelbarrow from the granary to the barn. I remember a lot of grinding feed, a lot of egg washing and packing, a lot of sitting by the wood stove in the basement, singing songs as we candled eggs.

Which of the names above do you like most?

P.S. Thank you to Destiny for letting me know about the Miller family a few months ago! (Destiny also told me about the Jones family of West Virginia.)

Sources:

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2023

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Northern Ireland — which was partitioned from the rest of Ireland more than a century ago — is a constituent country of the United Kingdom (along with England, Scotland, and Wales).

What were the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland last year? Isla and Noah.

Here are the country’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Isla, 147 baby girls – pronounced IE-la
  2. Fiadh, 138 – pronounced FEE-a
  3. Grace, 137
  4. Emily, 136
  5. Olivia, 126
  6. Lily, 108
  7. Ella, 97
  8. Aoife, 94 – pronounced EE-fa
  9. Amelia, 92
  10. Freya, 90
  11. Charlotte, 87
  12. Annie, 84 (tie)
  13. Sophie, 84 (tie)
  14. Anna, 83
  15. Eabha, 79 – pronounced EY-va
  16. Ellie, 77
  17. Sophia, 76
  18. Evie, 74
  19. Ava, 73
  20. Maisie, 70
  21. Clodagh, 66 – pronounced KLOH-da
  22. Mia, 63 (tie)
  23. Sadie, 63 (tie)
  24. Rosie, 62 (tie)
  25. Ruby, 62 (tie)
  26. Ivy, 60
  27. Molly, 59
  28. Cara, 57 (4-way tie)
  29. Elsie, 57 (4-way tie)
  30. Lottie, 57 (4-way tie)
  31. Meabh, 57 (4-way tie) – pronounced mayv
  32. Zara, 56
  33. Aria, 54
  34. Erin, 53
  35. Ada, 52
  36. Hannah, 51
  37. Saoirse, 50 – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha
  38. Bonnie, 48
  39. Cora, 47 (4-way tie)
  40. Isabella, 47 (4-way tie)
  41. Lucy, 47 (4-way tie)
  42. Phoebe, 47 (4-way tie)
  43. Katie, 46 (tie)
  44. Niamh, 46 (tie) – pronounced neev or NEE-iv
  45. Rhea, 45 (tie)
  46. Willow, 45 (tie)
  47. Rose, 44
  48. Sofia, 42
  49. Daisy, 41 (tie)
  50. Sienna, 41 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 152 baby boys
  2. Jack, 146
  3. James, 131
  4. Cillian, 128 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  5. Charlie, 123
  6. Leo, 119
  7. Oisin, 116 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  8. Oliver, 114
  9. Luca, 108 (tie)
  10. Theo, 108 (tie)
  11. Tommy, 105
  12. Thomas, 103
  13. Jude, 93
  14. Arthur, 91
  15. Alfie, 85
  16. Daniel, 84
  17. Daithi, 82 – pronounced DAH-hee
  18. Harry, 77
  19. Ethan, 74
  20. Caleb, 73
  21. Finn, 71
  22. Henry, 70
  23. Ezra, 67 (tie)
  24. Jacob, 67 (tie)
  25. George, 66 (tie)
  26. Oscar, 66 (tie)
  27. Archie, 64 (3-way tie)
  28. Isaac, 64 (3-way tie)
  29. Ollie, 64 (3-way tie)
  30. Ronan, 63
  31. Lorcan, 62
  32. Reuben, 61 (tie)
  33. Shea, 61 (tie)
  34. Fionn, 60 (tie)
  35. Rory, 60 (tie)
  36. Darragh, 59
  37. Rian, 57
  38. Conor, 55 (tie)
  39. Freddie, 55 (tie)
  40. Arlo, 53 (tie)
  41. Patrick, 53 (tie)
  42. Luke, 52 (tie)
  43. Tom, 52 (tie)
  44. Jonah, 51 (tie)
  45. Odhran, 51 (tie) – pronounced OH-rawn
  46. Joshua, 50
  47. Max, 49 (tie)
  48. Theodore, 49 (tie)
  49. Michael, 47
  50. Mason, 46 (tie)
  51. Teddy, 46 (tie)

The names that qualified as the “top climbers” of 2023 were…

  • Rebecca, Rhea, Aurora, and Raya (for girls), and
  • Leon, Donnacha, Albie, and Seth (for boys).

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just three babies each:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aizal, Blathnaid, Colleen, Dianaimh, Everly, Georgina, Helen, Ivie, Juniper, Keeley, Laney, Meabha, Neala, Orlagh, Paisley, Searlaith, Tillie, Vera, YasmineAngus, Barney, Connlan, Darren, Ewan, Finbarr, Gearoid, Hamish, Jameson, Kieran, Lughan, Milan, Ned, Orhan, Paraic, Ruaidhri, Scott, Tate, Zayn

What about middle names? The top picks for the middle spot were…

  • Rose, Grace, Mary, Elizabeth, and Marie (for girls), and
  • James, John, Patrick, William, and Thomas (for boys).

Finally, here are Northern Ireland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Source: Baby Names 2023 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

What popularized the baby name Shelby in the early 1990s?

The character Shelby Eatenton from the movie "Steel Magnolias" (1989)
Shelby from “Steel Magnolias“

According to the U.S. baby name data, usage of the name Shelby increased sharply among baby girls (and moderately among baby boys) from 1989 to 1991:

Girls named ShelbyBoys named Shelby
19929,396 [rank: 34th]453 [rank: 474th]
199110,219† [rank: 33rd]524† [rank: 427th]
19903,517 [rank: 100th]354 [rank: 525th]
19891,203 [rank: 229th]205 [rank: 694th]
1988881 [rank: 284th]184 [rank: 691st]
1987898 [rank: 273rd]176 [rank: 686th]
†Peak usage

That surge of over 6,700 baby girls from 1990 to 1991 was the biggest raw-number increase of the year. (The next-biggest jump was made by Mariah.)

Here’s the popularity graph:

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

Usage was strongest (relatively speaking) in rural western states. In 1991, Shelby ranked 5th among baby girls in Montana, 6th in Oklahoma and Wyoming, 8th in Kansas, 11th in Nebraska, 12th in both of the Dakotas as well as Alaska, and 13th in Utah.

What made the name Shelby so trendy all of a sudden?

I think the answer is a combination of two different influences: a movie character, and a country singer.

The first influence was character Shelby Eatenton from the movie Steel Magnolias, which was released in November of 1989.

Steel Magnolias, set in small-town Louisiana, focused on a group of Southern women — two of whom were Mary Lynn “M’Lynn” Eatenton (played by Sally Field) and her adult daughter Shelby (played by Julia Roberts).

Over the course of the film, Shelby married lawyer Jackson Latcherie and — despite the medical risks posed by her type 1 diabetes — decided to have a child. The baby, a boy, was also named Jackson.

The role earned Roberts her first Academy Award nomination (for Best Supporting Actress).

Steel Magnolias (which also gave boosts to the names Jackson and Mlynn) was adapted from the 1987 stage play of the same name by Robert Harling, who wrote it just months after his sister, Susan, had died of complications from type 1 diabetes.

Harling didn’t want to use real names, so (…) Susan became Shelby, after one of his mother’s cousins. “It’s that Southern thing of using a family name as a first name,” Harling says.

Shelby Lynne album "Sunrise" (1989)
Shelby Lynne album

The second influence was country singer Shelby Lynne, who was born in 1968 (as Shelby Lynn Moorer) and raised in Alabama.

Ten of her singles made Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. The most successful, “Things Are Tough All Over” [vid], peaked at #23 in January of 1991. Several months later, at the 26th Academy of Country Music Awards, she won the title of “Top New Female Vocalist” over fellow nominees Matraca Berg and Carlene Carter.

The names Shelbylynn and Shelbylyn both debuted in 1991, but, curiously, “Shelbylynne” never popped up in the data.

In an interview she gave toward the beginning of her career, Shelby Lynne was asked about the origin of her first name, which she described as “a guy’s name.” She answered,

I don’t know. My Daddy came up with it. Driving through Shelby County, I think, at one time or another, going through Birmingham or somewhere down there. Who knows, I’m just glad I got the name. There’s not many of us.

(Alabama is one of nine U.S. states with a Shelby County. All nine of these counties were named in honor of early American soldier and politician Isaac Shelby.)

What are your thoughts on the name Shelby? Do you like it better as a boy name or as a girl name?

Sources:

Top image: Screenshot of the trailer for Steel Magnolias

[Latest update: May 2025]

Girl names that end with an M-sound

Girl names that end with an M-sound

In the U.S., most of the names given to baby girls end with a vowel sound. And many of the remaining names end with an N-sound.

So, what about girl names that end with other sounds?

Below is a selection of girl names that end with an M-sound, regardless of last letter. The names are ordered by current popularity.

Autumn
From the English word for the season. Here’s the popularity graph for Autumn.

Miriam
The Hebrew form of the name Mary. Here’s the popularity graph for Miriam.

Tatum
From the English surname, which is derived from the place name Tatham, meaning “Tata’s homestead.” Here’s the popularity graph for Tatum.

Dream
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Dream.

Maryam
The Arabic, Persian, and Urdu form of the name Miriam. Here’s the popularity graph for Maryam.

Salem
From any of various locations called Salem. (The infamous “witch trial” town in Massachusetts was named after the biblical town of Shalem.) Here’s the popularity graph for Salem.

Reem
An Arabic word meaning “gazelle.” Here’s the popularity graph for Reem.

Storm
From the type of weather. Here’s the popularity graph for Storm.

Harlem
From the New York City neighborhood, which was named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Here’s the popularity graph for Harlem.

Charm
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Charm.

Blossom
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Blossom.

Denim
From the type of fabric used to make blue jeans. Here’s the popularity graph for Denim.

Tasneem
From a Quranic word that refers to a fountain in Paradise (heaven). Here’s the popularity graph for Tasneem.

Wisdom
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Wisdom.

Rhythm
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Rhythm.

Airam
The name Maria spelled backwards. Here’s the popularity graph for Airam.

Kim
A nickname for Kimberly (though it also has several other possible derivations). Here’s the popularity graph for Kim.

Shalom
A Hebrew word meaning “peace.” Here’s the popularity graph for Shalom.

Ahlam
An Arabic word meaning “dreams.” Here’s the popularity graph for Ahlam.

Bloom
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Bloom.

Less-common girl names that end with an M-sound include Özlem, Nilam, Plum, Sonam, Psalm, Elham, and Thyme.

Which of the above do you like most? What others can you think of?

P.S. Here are lists of girl names that end with D-, K-, L-, R-, S-, T-, V-, and Z-sounds.

Sources: SSA, Behind the Name