How popular is the baby name Matilda 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 Matilda.

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Popularity of the baby name Matilda


Posts that mention the name Matilda

Popular baby names in Finland, 2021

Flag of Finland
Flag of Finland

The country of Finland is located in Northern Europe and shares land borders with Russia, Sweden, and Norway.

Most of the people in Finland speak Finnish (86.5%), but the rest of the population speaks either Swedish (5.2%), Sami (0.04%), or some other language (8.3%) such as Russian, Estonian, or Arabic.

Last year, Finland welcomed over 51,000 babies. At the time the country released its baby name data, 50,547 of these babies — 24,764 girls and 25,783 boys — had been named.

And what were the most popular names overall? Olivia and Leo.

Finland’s baby name data is broken down by language group, so let’s start with the Finnish speakers…

Finnish speakers

Of the 41,478 (named) babies born to Finnish speakers in Finland last year, 20,301 were girls and 21,177 were boys.

Here are the top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 312 baby girls
  2. Lilja, 274
  3. Eevi, 272
  4. Sofia, 271
  5. Venla, 254 (3-way tie)
  6. Aino, 254 (3-way tie)
  7. Isla, 254 (3-way tie)
  8. Aada, 240
  9. Emma, 233
  10. Aava, 230
  11. Helmi, 225
  12. Linnea, 214 (tie)
  13. Ellen, 214 (tie)
  14. Kerttu, 202
  15. Pihla, 201
  16. Ella, 197
  17. Viola, 195
  18. Hilla, 189
  19. Elli, 188
  20. Seela, 187
  21. Enni, 179
  22. Emilia, 178
  23. Alma, 168
  24. Livia, 160
  25. Minea, 159
  26. Matilda, 157
  27. Elsa, 154
  28. Ilona, 140 (tie)
  29. Mila, 140 (tie)
  30. Hilda, 138
  31. Amanda, 134 (tie)
  32. Alisa, 134 (tie)
  33. Elsi, 132 (tie)
  34. Alina, 132 (tie)
  35. Hilma, 125
  36. Frida, 124
  37. Mette, 120
  38. Hertta, 119 (tie)
  39. Lumi, 119 (tie)
  40. Nella, 117
  41. Aurora, 115
  42. Siiri, 113
  43. Vilma, 110
  44. Saimi, 107 (tie)
  45. Selma, 107 (tie)
  46. Viivi, 105 (tie)
  47. Iida, 105 (tie)
  48. Oona, 104
  49. Martta, 102
  50. Neela, 92

Boy Names

  1. Leo, 397 baby boys
  2. Eino, 394
  3. Oliver, 371
  4. Elias, 362
  5. Väinö, 361
  6. Onni, 301
  7. Eeli, 279
  8. Noel, 276
  9. Toivo, 259
  10. Joel, 245
  11. Aatos, 230 – a Finnish term meaning “thought”
  12. Hugo, 229
  13. Emil, 224
  14. Leevi, 218
  15. Vilho, 211
  16. Alvar, 202
  17. Eemil, 186
  18. Eetu, 179
  19. Oiva, 178 – means “splendid” in Finnish
  20. Julius, 177
  21. Viljami, 176
  22. Nooa, 172
  23. Niilo, 168
  24. Otso, 157 – means “bear” in Finnish
  25. Lenni, 153
  26. Daniel, 151
  27. Anton, 149
  28. Luka, 148
  29. Aapo, 143
  30. Kasper, 142
  31. Aarni, 140
  32. Eelis, 139 (tie)
  33. Matias, 139 (tie)
  34. Veikko, 138 (tie)
  35. Aaron, 138 (tie)
  36. Mikael, 135
  37. Edvin, 134
  38. Benjamin, 130
  39. Jasper, 127 (3-way tie)
  40. Samuel, 127 (3-way tie)
  41. Rasmus, 127 (3-way tie)
  42. Eemeli, 126 (3-way tie)
  43. Milo, 126 (3-way tie)
  44. Niklas, 126 (3-way tie)
  45. Jooa, 123
  46. Iivo, 120 (3-way tie)
  47. Veeti, 120 (3-way tie)
  48. Max, 120 (3-way tie)
  49. Lucas, 117
  50. Urho, 116

Minna Saarelma-Paukkala, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, had this to say about Finland’s unique baby names:

Many of them are nature-related, such as Havu (Sprig), Vadelma (Raspberry), Skysy (Autumn) or Tyrsky (Wave). Many new names are also created on the basis of older names, such as snow (Lumi) related ones like Lumia, Lumiina and Lumitähti.

She also noted that names trendy in Finland in the 1940s — particularly those beginning with the letter r, such as Ritva and Raimo — could be coming back. “Reino, for example, has already risen into the top 100.” (Reino is the Finnish form of Reynold.)

Swedish speakers

Of the 3,458 (named) babies born to Swedish speakers in Finland last year, 1,698 were girls and 1,760 were boys. Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Saga, 35
2. Stella, 29
3. Ellen, 27
4. Edith, 24
5. Olivia, 23
6. Astrid, 21 (tie)
7. Ebba, 21 (tie)
8. Elsa, 20
9. Selma, 19
10. Tove/Iris/Livia, 18 each (3-way tie)		1. Liam, 35
2. Oliver, 29
3. Benjamin, 28
4. William, 27
5. Alvar, 26
6. Hugo, 25
7. Theo, 23 (5-way tie)
8. Emil, 23 (5-way tie)
9. Frans, 23 (5-way tie)
10. Leon/Elias, 23 each (5-way tie)

Interestingly, Alice and Noah — the top names in Sweden — weren’t as popular among the Swedes of Finland. Alice didn’t even make the top 50. (Noah ranked 50th exactly.)

Other languages

Of the 5,611 (named) babies born in Finland last year to parents who speak something other than Finnish or Swedish, 2,765 were girls and 2,846 were boys. Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Sofia, 48
2. Maria, 24
3. Eva, 20
4. Emma, 19 (tie)
5. Mia, 19 (tie)
6. Anna, 18
7. Emilia, 17 (3-way tie)
8. Mila, 17 (3-way tie)
9. Sara, 17 (3-way tie)
10. Mira/Olivia, 16 each (tie)		1. Adam, 38
2. Elias, 35
3. Daniel, 27
4. Leo, 26
5. Muhammad, 21
6. Mark, 20
7. Oliver, 17
8. Benjamin, 15 (3-way tie)
9. Lucas, 15 (3-way tie)
10. Mikael, 15 (3-way tie)

Finally, here are Finland’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Suosituimmat Etunimet | Digi- ja väestötietovirasto, Olivia and Leo Finland’s most popular baby names in 2021, Population and Society – Statistics Finland, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Finland (public domain)

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2021

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, England and Wales welcomed close to 625,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.

Here are England and Wales’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 3,649 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 3,164
  3. Isla, 2,683
  4. Ava, 2,576
  5. Ivy, 2,245
  6. Freya, 2,187
  7. Lily, 2,182
  8. Florence, 2,180
  9. Mia, 2,168
  10. Willow, 2,067
  11. Rosie, 2,028
  12. Sophia, 2,019
  13. Isabella, 2,010
  14. Grace, 1,992
  15. Daisy, 1,873
  16. Sienna, 1,869
  17. Poppy, 1,841
  18. Elsie, 1,840
  19. Emily, 1,797
  20. Ella, 1,756
  21. Evelyn, 1,729
  22. Phoebe, 1,678
  23. Sofia, 1,671
  24. Evie, 1,670
  25. Charlotte, 1,654
  26. Harper, 1,480
  27. Millie, 1,472
  28. Matilda, 1,437
  29. Maya, 1,433
  30. Sophie, 1,375
  31. Alice, 1,359
  32. Emilia, 1,353
  33. Isabelle, 1,304
  34. Ruby, 1,300
  35. Luna, 1,261
  36. Maisie, 1,229
  37. Aria, 1,202
  38. Penelope, 1,194
  39. Mila, 1,133
  40. Bonnie, 1,121
  41. Eva, 1,091
  42. Hallie, 1,070
  43. Eliza, 1,064
  44. Ada, 1,058
  45. Violet, 1,057
  46. Esme, 1,013
  47. Arabella, 1,012
  48. Imogen, 998
  49. Jessica, 997
  50. Delilah, 981

Boy Names

  1. Noah, 4,525 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 4,167
  3. George, 4,141
  4. Arthur, 3,766
  5. Muhammad, 3,722
  6. Leo, 3,465
  7. Harry, 3,089
  8. Oscar, 3,071
  9. Archie, 2,928
  10. Henry, 2,912
  11. Theodore, 2,889
  12. Freddie, 2,873
  13. Jack, 2,847
  14. Charlie, 2,674
  15. Theo, 2,514
  16. Alfie, 2,338
  17. Jacob, 2,319
  18. Thomas, 2,302
  19. Finley, 2,283
  20. Arlo, 2,154
  21. William, 2,093
  22. Lucas, 1,965
  23. Roman, 1,923
  24. Tommy, 1,901
  25. Isaac, 1,888
  26. Teddy, 1,875
  27. Alexander, 1,830
  28. Luca, 1,807
  29. Edward, 1,806
  30. James, 1,772
  31. Joshua, 1,737
  32. Albie, 1,729
  33. Elijah, 1,657
  34. Max, 1,650
  35. Mohammed, 1,619
  36. Reuben, 1,534
  37. Mason, 1,517
  38. Sebastian, 1,516
  39. Rory, 1,483
  40. Jude, 1,482
  41. Louie, 1,461
  42. Benjamin, 1,423
  43. Ethan, 1,398
  44. Adam, 1,367
  45. Hugo, 1,325
  46. Joseph, 1,307
  47. Reggie, 1,287
  48. Ronnie, 1,285
  49. Harrison, 1,254
  50. Louis, 1,240

Two of the names that saw marked increases in usage last year, Luca and Raya, were helped along by the animated films Luca (2021) and Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).

And the name Lilibet re-surfaced in the data (after a seven-year absence) with eight baby girls, no doubt thanks to the royal influence of Prince Harry’s daughter Lilibet, who was born in California in June of 2021.

Map of the nine regions of England
England’s nine regions

Home to nearly 56.5 million people, England is divided into nine regions. The top baby names within each of these regions last year were…

Girl NamesBoy Names
North East
(4.6% of the population)		1. Olivia, 167
2. Rosie, 137
3. Freya, 136
4. Isla, 135
5. Amelia, 129		1. George, 211
2. Oliver, 208
3. Noah, 188
4. Harry, 186
5. Charlie, 166
North West
(13.1% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 460
2. Isla, 373
3. Ava, 347
4. Amelia, 338
5. Ivy, 308		1. Muhammad, 875
2. Noah, 616
3. George, 603
4. Oliver, 584
5. Harry, 508
Yorkshire & the Humber
(9.7% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 298
2. Amelia, 272
3. Ava, 256
4. Isla, 230
5. Ivy, 222		1. Muhammad, 669
2. Noah, 449
3. Oliver, 415
4. George, 402
5. Arthur, 340
East Midlands
(8.7% of pop.)		1. Amelia, 288
2. Olivia, 281
3. Ava, 214
4. Isla, 206
5. Elsie/Mia, 200 (tie)		1. Oliver, 386
2. George, 378
3. Noah, 363
4. Harry, 302
5. Arthur, 298
West Midlands
(10.6% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 356
2. Amelia, 342
3. Isla, 234
4. Freya, 230
5. Ava, 228		1. Muhammad, 667
2. Noah, 447
3. Oliver, 378
4. Arthur, 362
5. George, 352
East
(11.2% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 478
2. Amelia, 371
3. Isla, 337
4. Ava, 323
5. Ivy, 281		1. George, 539
2. Noah, 499
3. Oliver, 497
4. Arthur, 464
5. Leo, 426
London
(15.6% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 459
2. Amelia, 455
3. Mia, 402
4. Sofia, 392
5. Maya, 383		1. Muhammad, 689
2. Noah, 626
3. Leo, 507
4. Adam, 429
5. Alexander, 407
South East
(16.5% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 615
2. Amelia, 546
3. Isla, 465
4. Ava, 454
5. Florence, 447		1. George, 729
2. Arthur, 701
3. Oliver, 693
4. Noah, 651
5. Henry, 609
South West
(10.1% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 360
2. Isla, 287
3. Florence, 277
4. Amelia, 259
5. Willow, 233		1. Arthur, 459
2. Noah, 410
3. George, 400
4. Oliver, 394
5. Oscar, 369

Wales, a separate country within the United Kingdom, is home to more than 3.1 million people. The top 10 names per gender in Wales last year were…

Girl Names (Wales)Boy Names (Wales)
1. Olivia, 173
2. Amelia, 164
3. Isla, 126
4. Freya, 114
5. Ivy 112 (tie)
6. Rosie, 112 (tie)
7. Ava, 110
8. Grace, 109
9. Lily, 107
10. Evie, 106		1. Noah, 275
2. Oliver, 213
3. Arthur, 186
4. Theo, 170
5. Leo, 168
6. Charlie, 156
7. Archie, 154
8. George, 152
9. Jack, 136
10. Oscar, 135

Welsh-origin names in that ranked within Wales’ top 100 included…

  • Girl names: Alys, Ffion, Seren, Eira, Mabli, Cadi, Eleri
  • Boy names: Osian, Elis, Macsen, Cai, Morgan, Gruffydd, Rhys

Now it’s time for a selection of names from the other end of the spectrum. Each of the rare names below was given to just 3 babies in England and Wales in 2021:

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Avesta, Branwen, Callisto, Dwynwen, Elliw, Fenne, Gwenlli, Hestia, Isidora, Jogaile, Kerenza, Lubaba, Monia, Nepheli, Orzala, Petruta, Ruari, Siri, Thisbe, Uriella, Valley, Wilder, Xana, Yris, ZelalAudie, Buddy-Bear, Cuthbert, Deaglan, Emeric, Finlo, Glyndwr, Horace, Ibrar, Johnboy, Kerr, Leofric, Madoc, Nazar, Ovi, Porter, Ranulph, Sirius, Teifion, Urhan, Vladut, Warwick, Xion, Yavuz, Zuko
  • Dwynwen is the name of the Welsh patron saint of lovers. St. Dwynwen’s Day, the Welsh version of St. Valentine’s Day, is celebrated on January 25th.
  • Glyndwr is a reference to Welsh nobleman Owain Glyndwr, who led the Welsh Revolt (1400-1415) against the Kingdom of England.
  • Teifion is based on the name of the River Teifi.

Finally, here’s a link to England and Wales’ 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. The ongoing rise of the baby name Mabel accelerated in the late 2010s thanks to mononymous English singer/songwriter Mabel — who just so happens to be the niece of Eagle-Eye Cherry.

Sources (all ONS):

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)
Map: Adapted from English regions 2009 by Nilfanion and Dr Greg under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Popular baby names in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1868

19th-century Providence, Rhode Island
19th-century Providence

Years ago, I discovered three documents with relatively complete lists of births for the city of Providence, Rhode Island, for the years 1866, 1867, and 1868. I’ve already created Providence’s baby name rankings for 1866 and 1867 using the first two documents, and today (finally!) I’ve got the third set of rankings for you.

Let’s start with some stats:

  • 1,762 babies were born in Providence in 1868, by my count. According to the introduction of the document I’m using a source, however, the total number is 1,866. I don’t know how to account for this discrepancy.
  • 1,617 of these babies (791 girls and 826 boys) had names that were known at the time of publication. The other 145 babies got blank spaces. Either their names hadn’t been registered yet, or they hadn’t been named yet, or perhaps these babies died young and never received a name.
  • 284 unique names (143 girl names and 141 boy names) were shared among these 1,617 babies.

And now, on to the names!

Top 5

A quick look at the top 5 girl names and boy names in Providence in 1868:

Top baby girl namesTop baby boy names
1. Mary
2. Catherine
3. Sarah
4. Ellen
5. Margaret		1. John
2. William
3. James
4. Charles
5. George

All Girl Names

  1. Mary, 149 baby girls
  2. Catherine, 39
  3. Sarah, 38
  4. Ellen, 31
  5. Margaret, 28
  6. Elizabeth, 25
  7. Alice, 24
  8. Anna, 20
  9. Ann, 16
  10. Emma, 14
  11. Eliza, 13
  12. Clara & Martha, 11 each (tie)
  13. Hannah & Lucy, 10 each (tie)
  14. Bridget, Grace, Jennie, Julia & Maria, 9 each (5-way tie)
  15. Annie, Florence, Jane, Minnie & Susan, 8 each (5-way tie)
  16. Agnes, Caroline, Cora, Ella & Harriet, 7 each (5-way tie)
  17. Anne, Carrie, Hattie, Ida, Mabel & Nellie, 6 each (6-way tie)
  18. Eva, Joanna, Lydia & Rosanna, 5 each (4-way tie)
  19. Abby, Charlotte, Emily, Jessie, Josephine, Lillian, Lizzie, Louisa, Louise, Marion, Phebe, Rosella & Theresa, 4 each (13-way tie)
  20. Anastasia, Bertha, Edith, Gertrude, Isabella, Nettie, Pearl, Rebecca & Susanna, 3 each (9-way tie)
  21. Ada, Almira, Edna, Fannie, Flora, Frances, Helen, Henrietta, Inez, Laura, Lelia, Lillie, Lottie, Maud, Priscilla & Virginia, 2 each (16-way tie)
  22. Addie, Adelaide, Adelicia, Adeline, Agatha, Allene, Amanda, Amy, Angelica, Antoinette, Arabella, Augusta, Aurelia, B.*, Belle, Bessie, Betsey, Catharine, Celia, Claudia, Della, Eleanor, Eleanora, Estella, Estelle, Esther, Eudavelia, Eulalie, Evelyn, Francenia, Genevieve, Georgia, Honora, Imogene, Jesse, Juliette, Kate, Leonora, Lilla, Lillias, Lorena, Luella, Luetta, Magdalena, Marian, Marietta, Matilda, Mercy, Minerva, Miriam, Myra, Myrtis, Nanoan, Nora, Pauline, Reberta, Rhoda, Roberta, Rosa, Rose, Ruth, Sabrina, Sophia, Stella & Winifred, 1 each (65-way tie)

*What do you think the “B.” might have stood for?

All Boy Names

  1. John, 112 baby boys
  2. William, 68
  3. James, 64
  4. Charles, 52
  5. George, 45
  6. Thomas, 37
  7. Frederick, 25
  8. Henry, 23
  9. Joseph, 22
  10. Edward, 19
  11. Daniel & Patrick, 18 each (tie)
  12. Robert, 17
  13. Frank, 16
  14. Francis, 15
  15. Walter, 13
  16. Michael, 11
  17. Albert, 10
  18. Arthur, 9
  19. Benjamin, Peter & Samuel, 7 each (3-way tie)
  20. Freddie, Harry, Herbert & Stephen, 6 each (4-way tie)
  21. Edwin, Lawrence, Lewis, Martin & Timothy, 5 each (5-way tie)
  22. Bernard, Edmund, Eugene, Louis, Philip & Richard, 4 each (6-way tie)
  23. Alfred, Augustus, Christopher, Eben, Horace, Howard, Hugh, Jeremiah, Matthew & Willard, 3 each (10-way tie)
  24. Abel, Barney, Byron, Dennis, Edgar, Ferdinand, Gilbert, Luke, Max, Nathaniel, Owen, Roger, Solomon & Victor, 2 each (14-way tie)
  25. Alden, Alexis, Allen, Alrick, Amos, Andrew, Ansel, Anson, Archibald, Asa, Ashby, Bartholomew, Calvin, Carlos, Clarence, Clark, Clarke, Clement, Clifford, Collyer, Crolander, Darius, David, Earl, Elisha, Ellis, Eri, Ernest, Erwin, Eusebe, Everett, Felix, Forrest, Foster, Franklin, Fred, Gardner, Jacob, Jason, Jerome, Jireh, Joaneto, Josiah, Jubal, Justin, Lawson, Lodovic, Louis, Lucien, Lyman, Major, Malachi, Manuel, Melbourne, Monroe, Morey, Morris, Myron, Nelson, Nicholas, Olney, Orville, Oscar, Pendleton, Ralph, Reuben, Rolfe, Rowland, Rufus, Simeon, Simon, Steven, Stewart, Theodore, Ulysses*, Volney, Warren, Whiting, Willie & Winchester, 1 each (80-way tie)

*Ulysses was likely named in honor of Ulysses S. Grant, who was elected president in 1868.

Twins

Finally, nineteen sets of twins were born in Providence in 1868. (All of these twin names are accounted for in the rankings above.)

Girl-girl twinsGirl-boy twinsBoy-boy twins
Caroline & Harriet
Lucy & Lydia
Mary & Rosanna
Margaret & Mary
Lizzie & Martha
(blank) & (blank)		Anne & Thomas
Emma & Charles
Florence & William
Hannah & Josiah
Ida & John
Isabella & John
Jennie & Horace		Charles & William
Francis & Robert
George & John
James & John
James & Stephen
(blank) & (blank)

Have any thoughts about these rankings, or about any of the specific names above?

Source: Snow, Edwin M. Alphabetical Lists of the Names of Persons Deceased, Born and Married in the City of Providence. Number three. Providence: Millard & Harker, 1870.

Popular baby names in Jersey (Channel Islands), 2020

Flag of Jersey
Flag of Jersey

According to Jersey’s Superintendent Registrar, the most popular baby names of 2020 on the island of Jersey (located in the English Channel) were Isabella and Lucas.

Below are Jersey’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names for each of the last five years:

Girl Names

20162017201820192020
1OliviaOliviaSiennaOliviaIsabella
2EmilyMiaAvaAvaWillow
3AvaPoppyAmeliaAmeliaEmily
4MiaEmilyMiaEllaEva
5SophieGraceSophiaEmiliaIsla
6MatildaEvieLunaIslaSophie
7AbigailIsabellaLillyLilyAlice
8MayaMillieCharlotteMiaSophia
9DaisyAmeliaFreyaIsabellaAva
10IvyRubyEmilyCharlotteHallie

Boy Names

20162017201820192020
1HarryCharlieLeoOliverLucas
2OliverHenryOliverJackGeorge
3NoahLucasJacobLucasWilliam
4JackOliverWilliamMasonHenry
5LeoNoahNoahOscarAlfie
6EthanEdwardJoshuaArchieOscar
7DylanSebastianCharlieGeorgeArchie
8TheoJacobHenryAlfieOliver
9JoshuaIsaacLoganArthurNoah
10JamesArchieJackBenjaminLiam

A total of 863 babies (419 females and 444 males) were born on the island in 2020.

Sources: 2020 Superintendent Registrar Annual Statement [PDF], Isabella And Lucas Lead Baby Names List, REVEALED: Jersey’s most popular baby names in 2020

Image: Adapted from Flag of Jersey (public domain)