How popular is the baby name Neil 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 Neil.

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Popularity of the baby name Neil


Posts that mention the name Neil

Where did the baby name Shilo come from in 1970?

Neil Diamond's album "Velvet Gloves and Spit" (1970 reissue)
Neil Diamond album

Long before celebs Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt popularized the name Shiloh, singer Neil Diamond put the name Shilo (no H) on the onomastic map:

  • 1972: 35 baby girls and 19 baby boys named Shilo
  • 1971: 32 baby girls and 11 baby boys named Shilo
  • 1970: 38 baby girls and 9 baby boys named Shilo [dual-gender debut]
  • 1969: unlisted
  • 1968: unlisted

Diamond’s song “Shilo” was originally and released on the 1967 album Just for You, but his label wouldn’t release it as a single, because they didn’t think an introspective song about an imaginary childhood friend (“Shilo, when I was young / I used to call your name / When no one else would come / Shilo, you always came”) would be a commercial success.

Diamond switched labels in 1968. By 1970, several of his new songs (“Sweet Caroline” and “Holly Holy”) had become big hits.

The folks back at the original label decided to capitalize on this success by giving “Shilo” a different backing track and releasing the new version as a single. This spiffed-up version reached #24 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in April of 1970.

Diamond responded by re-recording the song (“with a quicker tempo, a tighter arrangement, and a bolder, if slightly less expressive vocal”) and including it on the reissued version of his 1968 album Velvet Gloves And Spit, which came out in late 1970 with a redesigned front cover that drew attention to the addition.

The song’s lyrics suggest that Shilo was female, but the name debuted in the baby name data for both genders in 1970. Shilo was the top girl-name debut of 1970, in fact. (Other dual-gender debuts include Dasani and Dondi.)

What are your thoughts on the baby name Shilo? Which spelling do you prefer?

Sources: Shilo – Neil Diamond | Song Info | AllMusic, Neil Diamond chart history – Billboard, SSA

Baby names from ‘American Gods’?

"American Gods"

Neil Gaiman’s award-winning book American Gods is going to be made into a TV series. Here’s a quick synopsis, courtesy of Nerdist:

For those of you who haven’t read the novel, American Gods centers around a war brewing between old and new gods; the traditional gods of biblical and mythological roots from around the world, who are now steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity, and drugs. The lead character, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday. Mr. Wednesday is a con man who is in reality one of the older gods on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities.

I don’t know when the show will be on the air (2016?) but Shadow’s name is already being thrown around a lot on social media, thanks to the #CastingShadow social media campaign.

Do you think we’ll see an uptick in the number of babies named Shadow the year the show comes out?

(At least two other Gaiman character names, Coraline and Yvaine, saw increased usage after the books Stardust and Coraline were made into movies.)

Update, July 2020: The show ended up debuting in April of 2017, and the usage of Shadow did indeed increase a bit that year:

  • 2018: 8 baby girls & 10 baby boys named Shadow
  • 2017: 12 baby girls & 19 baby boys named Shadow
  • 2016: 8 baby girls & 7 baby boys named Shadow
  • 2015: 10 baby girls & 11 baby boys named Shadow

Sources: Starz Greenlights Neil Gaiman’s American Gods Television Series, American Gods (TV series) – Wikipedia

What popularized the baby name Coraline?

Coraline

Neil Gaiman’s fantasy book Coraline (2002) tells the story of young Coraline Jones. The book was turned into a movie in 2009.

The book did inspire a few baby names, but watch what happens when the movie comes out:

  • 2013: 385 baby girls named Coraline
  • 2012: 325 baby girls named Coraline
  • 2011: 224 baby girls named Coraline
  • 2010: 237 baby girls named Coraline
  • 2009: 120 baby girls named Coraline
  • 2008: 11 baby girls named Coraline
  • 2007: 5 baby girls named Coraline
  • 2006: 7 baby girls named Coraline
  • 2005: unlisted
  • 2004: unlisted

Since 2012, the name Coraline has been among the top 1,000 baby girl names in the U.S.

How did Gaiman come up with the name? Here’s how he explained it during a recent commencement speech:

Fourthly, I hope you’ll make mistakes. If you make mistakes, it means you’re out there doing something. And the mistakes in themselves can be very useful. I once misspelled Caroline in a letter, transposing the A and O. And I thought, “Coraline…looks almost like a real name.”

What are your thoughts on the name Coraline? Do you like it more or less than Caroline?

Sources:

P.S. Yvaine is another Neil Gaiman character name…

How did Jacqueline Kennedy pronounce her name?

First Lady Jacqueline "Jackie" Kennedy (1929-1994)
Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy

Last week, audio recordings of Jacqueline Kennedy talking with historian Arthur Schlesinger were released under the title Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy.

In an interview about the recordings, Caroline Kennedy noted that most people pronounce “Jacqueline” incorrectly. At least, they aren’t saying it the way her mother used to say it. Jackie pronounced her first name JAK-uh-leen [vid], according to Caroline.

Interesting, no?

I’m trying to find video/audio of Jackie introducing herself, just for confirmation, but haven’t had any luck yet.

So, instead, here are a few Jackie-related name facts:

  • Jackie’s daughter Caroline is the inspiration behind Neil Diamond’s song “Sweet Caroline” (1969).
  • Sources claim that Jackie’s first child, who was stillborn, would have been named Arabella. One source states the name was inspired by the ship Arbella, which carried Puritans to New England during the Great Migration.
  • Jackie’s maiden name, Bouvier, has appeared in the SSA’s baby name data once — in 1963. Five baby boys were named Bouvier that year. This may have been due to the death of baby Patrick Bouvier in August, or the death of JFK in November.
  • Jackie’s second married name, Onassis, has appeared on the SSA’s baby name list three times. The first was in 1968, when she wed Aristotle Onassis. Six baby boys were named Onassis that year.

Source: Pottker, Jan. Janet and Jackie: The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter, Jacqueline Kennedy. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2001.