How popular is the baby name Mcarthur in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Mcarthur.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Mcarthur


Posts that Mention the Name Mcarthur

The trendiest baby names of all time?

I’m no stats whiz, but Nathan Yau of FlowingData and David Taylor of Prooffreader are, and each has taken a stab at determining/ranking the trendiest baby names of all time in the U.S.

The FlowingData list of trendiest baby names was published last year. Nathan analyzed girl names and boy names separately. Here are his top 5 for each gender:

Trendiest Girl NamesTrendiest Boy Names
1. Catina
2. Deneen
3. Aaliyah
4. Allisson
5. Katina
1. Jalen
2. Tevin
3. Elian
4. Demond
5. Mcarthur

The Prooffreader list of trendiest baby names was published earlier this month. David analyzed all the names together (his overall top 100 was 80% girl names, 20% boy names). Here are his top 5 for each gender (with placement on the original list in parentheses):

Trendiest Girl NamesTrendiest Boy Names
1. Linda (#1)
2. Brittany (#3)
3. Debra (#4)
4. Shirley (#5)
5. Ashley (#6)
1. Dewey (#2)
2. Jason (#11)
3. Grover (#15)
4. Mark (#20)
5. Woodrow (#30)

Click through and check out their full lists. Then come back and tell me which list/methodology you prefer, and why.

Baby names with CAR: Carter, Scarlett, Oscar

steering wheel

Are you a car-lover looking for baby names that contain the word CAR?

If so, here’s a long list of options to choose from!

Top baby names with CAR

First, a quick rundown of the most popular names with the letter sequence “c-a-r,” according to the current U.S. baby name data.

Top girl names with “c-a-r”Top boy names with “c-a-r”
Scarlett
Caroline
Carmen
Scarlet
Carter
Carolina
Carly
Scarlette
Cara
Carsyn
Carter
Carson
Carlos
Oscar
Ricardo
Carmelo
Carl
Cartier
Giancarlo
Carlo

Now here are the same names again, but this time around I’ve added definitions, variant forms/spellings, and links to popularity graphs.

Cara

The name Cara comes either from the Italian word cara, meaning “beloved” (which is how it’s used in the name Caramia), or the Irish word cara, meaning “friend” (as in the case of Cara Delevingne).

The name is also sometimes spelled Carra, Carah, Carrah, and Caragh.

Carl, Carlo, Carlos, Carly, Carolina, Caroline + Giancarlo

The “carl” element of all seven names above — Carl, Carlo, Carlos, Carly, Carolina, Caroline, and Giancarlo — can be traced back to the Germanic name Karl, which meant “freeman” (i.e., not a serf or slave).

Feminine forms of these names include Carla, Carlota, and Carlotta. Diminutive forms include Carlito and Carlitos.

Variant forms of Caroline include Carolyn, Carolynn, and Carolyne.

The name Carly is also sometimes spelled Carlee, Carley, Carleigh, Carlie, Carli, or Carlei.

Carmelo + Carmen

The name Carmelo was derived from the Marian title “Our Lady of Carmel.” The Biblical place-name Carmel means “garden” in Hebrew.

The name Carmen is a variant form of Carmel that was influenced by the Latin word carmen, meaning “song.”

Other forms of Carmelo include Carmela, Carmello, and Carmella. Carmel itself is also used as a name.

Carter

The name Carter comes from the English surname that originally referred to someone who’s occupation was transporting goods by cart or wagon.

Cartier

The name Cartier — which is closely associated with the French jewelry brand — comes from a French surname that has several possible derivations. In some cases, Cartier is synonymous with Carter (see above). In other cases, it refers to a location.

Carson + Carsyn

The name Carson comes from a Scottish surname of unknown derivation.

Variant spellings of the name include Carsyn, Carsen, Carsin and Carsynn.

Oscar

The origin of the name Oscar isn’t known for certain. If it comes from Old Irish, it’s made up of elements meaning “deer” and “friend.” (The second element, cara, is the same one the gave rise to the name Cara.) If it comes from Old English, on the other hand, it’s comprised of elements meaning “god” and “spear.”

Ricardo

The name Ricardo is made up of Germanic elements meaning “ruler” and “hardy.”

A variant form of the name is Riccardo. Feminine forms include Ricarda and Riccarda.

Scarlett, Scarlet + Scarlette

The name Scarlett comes from the English surname that originally referred to someone who was employed as the maker or seller of a bright (often red-colored) woolen cloth called scarlet.

It was put on the map by fictional character Scarlett O’Hara in the late 1930s.

The name is also sometimes spelled Scarlet (like the color itself), Scarlette, Scarlotte, or Scarlytt. Modern Hispanic variants include Scarleth, Escarlet, Escarlett, and Escarleth.

(Before we leave this section, I just wanted to note — for all my fellow lefties out there — that both Cara and Carter are typed entirely with the left hand on a standard QWERTY keyboard.)

More names with CAR

So, what other names have CAR in them? Here are some less-common choices. (Most of these come directly from the SSA’s baby name data.)

  • Aboubacar
  • Alcario
  • Alucard
  • Amilcar
  • Boubacar
  • Hamilcar
  • Carabella
  • Caradoc
  • Caraline, Caralina
  • Caralyn, Caralynn
  • Carbon
  • Cardale
  • Cardarius
  • Cardea
  • Cardel, Cardell
  • Cardelia
  • Cardella
  • Carden, Cardin, Cardon, Cardyn
  • Carder
  • Cardero
  • Cardi
  • Cardinal
  • Careem
  • Careen, Carreen
  • Carel, Carell, Carrel, Carrell
  • Careli
  • Caren, Carin, Caron, Caryn
  • Carena
  • Caressa, Caresa, Carressa
  • Caresse, Caress
  • Caretha
  • Caretta
  • Carice
  • Caricia
  • Caridad
  • Carilee
  • Carina, Careena
  • Carine, Carinne, Carrine
  • Cario
  • Carisma
  • Carissa, Carisa, Caryssa, Carrisa, Carrissa
  • Carita
  • Carlasia
  • Carlene, Carleen, Carlean
  • Carletha, Carlethia
  • Carlia, Carlea, Carleah, Carliya, Carliyah
  • Carlier
  • Carlin, Carlon
  • Carlina, Carlena, Carleena
  • Carline
  • Carlis, Carliss
  • Carlisa
  • Carlissa
  • Carlisle, Carlyle
  • Carlson
  • Carlton, Carleton
  • Carlynn, Carlyn
  • Carma
  • Carmani
  • Carmelia
  • Carmesha, Carmeshia
  • Carmi, Carmie
  • Carmilla
  • Carmin
  • Carmina
  • Carmine
  • Carmisha
  • Carmo
  • Carnation
  • Carnel, Carnell
  • Carnelia
  • Carnella
  • Carnetta
  • Carney, Carnie
  • Carnesha, Carneshia
  • Carnisha
  • Carnita
  • Carol, Carole, Carrol, Carroll, Caryl
  • Carola
  • Carolann, Carolanne
  • Carold
  • Caroldean, Caroldine
  • Carolee, Caralee
  • Caroleen, Carolene
  • Caroleena
  • Carolen, Carolena
  • Caroletta, Carolette
  • Carolin
  • Carolus
  • Carpenter
  • Carper
  • Carr
  • Carranza
  • Carrera
  • Carrick
  • Carriana, Carrianna, Carianna, Cariana
  • Carrie, Carri, Carey, Cary, Carie, Cari
  • Carrieann, Carrieanne, Carriann, Carrianne, Cariann, Carianne
  • Carrigan
  • Carrington
  • Carshena
  • Carsten, Carston
  • Cartavious
  • Cartez
  • Cartha
  • Carthel
  • Carti
  • Cartina
  • Cartisha
  • Cartrell
  • Caruso
  • Carvel, Carvell
  • Carver
  • Carvin
  • Carwyn, Carwin
  • Carys, Caris, Carris
  • Carzell
  • Encarna
  • Encarnación
  • Dacari
  • Decari
  • Giscard
  • Icarus
  • Jacari, Jhacari
  • Jocari
  • Licarayén
  • Lucario
  • Macarena
  • Macari
  • Macaria
  • Macario
  • Macarius
  • McArthur, MacArthur
  • McCartney
  • Policarpia
  • Policarpio
  • Tocara, Tocarra, Toccara, Toccarra
  • Zacarias
  • Zacariah, Zacaria
  • Zacari, Zacary
  • Zaccaria

Some of these names could be considered variants of the more popular CAR names, though it’s hard to tell. For instance, Caralynn — is it a form of Caroline? Is it Cara + Lynn? (Maybe a bit of both?) Others are non-traditional spellings of more common names, such as Karim, Karen, and Cornelia.

Which CAR name do you like most? Let me know in the comments!

Sources:

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

[Latest update: Aug. 2022]

How did Douglas MacArthur influence baby names in the early 1940s?

American military leader Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964)
Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur was the popular U.S. Army General who received the Medal of Honor in 1942 for his service in the (first) Philippines Campaign of World War II.

How many babies were named in honor of Douglas MacArthur in 1942?

Quite a few. The number of babies named Douglas nearly tripled that year:

  • 1944: 6,996 baby boys named Douglas [rank: 34th]
  • 1943: 8,231 baby boys named Douglas [rank: 28th]
  • 1942: 11,234 baby boys named Douglas [rank: 23rd]
  • 1941: 4,149 baby boys named Douglas [rank: 53rd]
  • 1940: 3,729 baby boys named Douglas [rank: 56th]

And the number of baby boys named MacArthur (or some variant thereof) also swelled:

McarthurMacarthurMcartherMacarther
194413338..
19431736013.
194229014223*10*
1941145*..
19409...
*Debut

Variant “Mcarther” was the top debut name for baby boys in 1942, and variant “Macarther” was a one-hit wonder.

Isn’t it strange how “McArthur” became more popular than “MacArthur”? Perhaps certain newspapers of the day had trouble spelling the surname correctly.

Speaking of the media, many publications made note of the sudden trendiness of “Douglas MacArthur” as a baby name. For instance, here’s a small item from an April, 1942, issue of Time magazine:

“Born. Douglas MacArthur Brotherson, Douglas MacArthur Bryant, Douglas MacArthur Francis, Douglas MacArthur Miller, Douglas MacArthur Gunner, Douglas MacArthur Salavec, Douglas MacArthur Thompson, and Douglas Harold MacArthur; all in New York City.”

Finally, a few MacArthur-related asides:

  • Did you know that a string of men in Douglas MacArthur’s family had the partially reduplicated name Arthur MacArthur?
  • MacArthur was the one in charge of clearing the Bonus Expeditionary Force out of Washington, DC, back in 1932.
  • Another U.S. military man whose name became a trendy after a battle in the Philippines was George Dewey.

Source: “Milestones.” Time 20 Apr. 1942.