How popular is the baby name Natalie 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 Natalie.

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Popularity of the baby name Natalie


Posts that mention the name Natalie

Iowa septuplets: Kenneth, Alexis, Natalie, Kelsey…

kinderfest

I’ve posted about sextuplets and octuplets before, but never septuplets!

A set of seven — four boys and three girls — was born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey on November 19, 1997. The McCaughey septuplets are the world’s first surviving set of septuplets.

What are the names of all seven? Here are their firsts and middles:

  1. Kenneth Robert
  2. Alexis May
  3. Natalie Sue
  4. Kelsey Ann
  5. Nathan Roy
  6. Brandon James
  7. Joel Steven

The McCaugheys also have an older daughter named Mikayla Marie (b. 1996).

What are your thoughts on the names? If you were having a set of seven (same mix of genders), which names would you choose?

Sources: McCaughey septuplets – Wikipedia, Happy birthday x 7! McCaughey septuplets turn 23

Where did the baby name Novalee come from in 1962?

Rex Allen singing "(Son) Don't Go Near The Indians" on the Grand Ole Opry in 1963
Rex Allen singing “(Son) Don’t Go Near The Indians”

The name Novalee saw an uptick in usage following the release of the 2000 movie Where the Heart Is, in which Natalie Portman played teenager Novalee Nation. (Novalee’s daughter Americus also influenced U.S. baby names.)

But the very first time Novalee appeared in the data was way back in 1962:

  • 1966: unlisted
  • 1965: 5 baby girls named Novalee
  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: 6 baby girls named Novalee
  • 1962: 7 baby girls named Novalee [debut]
  • 1961: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Country music. Specifically, “(Son) Don’t Go Near The Indians,” which was Rex Allen’s most successful song.

It’s about a man who falls for the Indian maiden Nova Lee only to discover that, not only was he adopted, but Nova Lee is actually his biological sister. (Seems like a weirdly incestuous twist for ’60s country music, doesn’t it?)

Here’s Rex singing the song live:

According to Billboard, the song reached #17 on the Hot 100 chart in October of 1962, and #4 on the Hot Country Singles chart the next month.

The name Nova (without the “lee”) also saw higher usage in the early ’60s thanks to “(Son) Don’t Go Near The Indians,” but that temporary increase was eclipsed fifty years later when Nova suddenly became very trendy. (It entered the top 1,000 in 2011, the top 100 in 2017, and the top 50 just last year.)

Do you like the name Novalee?

Sources: Rex Allen – Wikipedia, Rex Allen | Billboard, SSA

Top first letters of U.S. baby names, 2020

Wondering which first letters were the most popular in 2020?

For baby girls, the most-used first letter was A, followed by E and M. The least-used first letter was U. More than 272,000 baby girls got an A-name last year, whereas fewer than 700 got a U-name.

Top first letters of female baby names in the U.S. in 2020.

The three most-used girl names per letter last year were…

  • A: Ava, Amelia, Abigail
  • B: Brooklyn, Bella, Brielle
  • C: Charlotte, Camila, Chloe
  • D: Delilah, Daisy, Daniela
  • E: Emma, Evelyn, Ella
  • F: Faith, Freya, Finley
  • G: Gianna, Grace, Genesis
  • H: Harper, Hazel, Hannah
  • I: Isabella, Isla, Ivy
  • J: Josephine, Jade, Julia
  • K: Kinsley, Kennedy, Kaylee
  • L: Luna, Layla, Lily
  • M: Mia, Mila, Madison
  • N: Nora, Nova, Natalie
  • O: Olivia, Olive, Oakley
  • P: Penelope, Paisley, Piper
  • Q: Quinn, Queen, Quincy
  • R: Riley, Ruby, Rylee
  • S: Sophia, Sofia, Scarlett
  • T: Taylor, Teagan, Trinity
  • U: Unique, Uma, Una
  • V: Victoria, Violet, Valentina
  • W: Willow, Winter, Willa
  • X: Ximena, Xiomara, Xena
  • Y: Yaretzi, Yara, Yareli
  • Z: Zoey, Zoe, Zara

For baby boys, the most-used first letter was J, followed by A and L. The least-used first letter was, again, U. More than 205,000 baby boys got a J-name last year, whereas fewer than 2,500 got a U-name.

Top first letters of male baby names in the U.S. in 2020.

The three most-used boy names per letter last year were…

  • A: Alexander, Aiden, Asher
  • B: Benjamin, Brooks, Bennett
  • C: Carter, Charles, Christopher
  • D: Daniel, David, Dylan
  • E: Elijah, Ethan, Ezra
  • F: Finn, Felix, Francisco
  • G: Grayson, Gabriel, Greyson
  • H: Henry, Hudson, Hunter
  • I: Isaac, Isaiah, Ian
  • J: James, Jacob, Jackson
  • K: Kai, Kayden, Kingston
  • L: Liam, Lucas, Logan
  • M: Mason, Michael, Mateo
  • N: Noah, Nathan, Nolan
  • O: Oliver, Owen, Oscar
  • P: Parker, Patrick, Peter
  • Q: Quinn, Quentin, Quincy
  • R: Ryan, Roman, Robert
  • S: Sebastian, Samuel, Santiago
  • T: Theodore, Thomas, Tyler
  • U: Uriel, Uriah, Ulises
  • V: Vincent, Victor, Valentino
  • W: William, Wyatt, Wesley
  • X: Xavier, Xander, Xzavier
  • Y: Yusuf, Yosef, Yehuda
  • Z: Zachary, Zion, Zayden

Finally, here are the totals for girls and boys side-by-side on the same chart:

Top first letters of baby names in the U.S. in 2020.

Overall, the top first letter was A and the least popular first letter was (of course!) U.

Where did the baby name Lacosta come from in 1974?

La Costa's album "With All My Love" (1975).
La Costa album

The interesting name Lacosta first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1974, and it reached peak usage several years later in 1977:

1978: 17 baby girls named Lacosta
1977: 40 baby girls named Lacosta [peak]
1976: 33 baby girls named Lacosta
1975: 27 baby girls named Lacosta
1974: 6 baby girls named Lacosta [debut]
1973: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Country singer LaCosta Tucker — older sister of Tanya Tucker. LaCosta recorded under the name “La Costa” from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s.

LaCosta’s parents, “oilfield nomads” Beau and Juanita, moved the family around the South while the children were growing up in the 1950s and ’60s.

Their first kid they very conventionally called Don, but after that they named them exotically, to relieve the drab hardness of their existence. They called their first girl LaCosta. “In Spanish, it means ‘the coast’,” she says.

“When we were living In Seminole, Texas, where I was born, our parents had a real good friend who lived In Denver City, about 15 miles away. Her name was LaCosta Ivey, and they named me after her because they liked her and they were looking for a name that was different.”

In 1999 — more than two decades after “Lacosta” debuted in the data — Tanya herself used it as a middle name for her third child, daughter Layla LaCosta Laseter.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Lacosta?

Source: “LaCosta, Tanya Tucker’s Big Sister, Gets A Break, Too.” Cincinnati Enquirer 25 Jun. 1974: 34.

P.S. Natalie Cole included a song called “La Costa” on her 1977 album Thankful. But the song wasn’t a single, and the album was released late in the year (November), so I doubt the song had much influence on baby names.