How popular is the baby name Norman 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 Norman.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Norman


Posts that mention the name Norman

What gave the baby name Roni a boost in 1955?

Roni Marie with the Donahoes (Jan. 1955)
Roni Marie with the Donahoes

The movie-inspired baby name Rawnie from a few weeks ago reminded me of the baby names Roni and Roni Sue, neither of which I’ve posted about yet. So today let’s check out Roni, which saw a spike in usage in the mid-1950s:

  • 1958: 89 baby girls named Roni
  • 1957: 94 baby girls named Roni
  • 1956: 134 baby girls named Roni (ranked 864th)
  • 1955: 295 baby girls named Roni (ranked 536th) [peak usage]
  • 1954: 70 baby girls named Roni
  • 1953: 49 baby girls named Roni

What was the cause?

A feel-good news story about a 17-month-old Greek orphan named Roni Marie. She was being adopted by childless Texas couple Norman and Helen Donahoe in very early 1955. (This is how the story managed to slightly increase the usage of Roni among 1954 babies.)

Norman, a Navy lieutenant, “took his Christmas leave to hitchhike to Athens for the brown eyed foundling.” He spent 3 weeks in Greece finalizing the adoption.

Once Roni was his, the pair set off on the return trip, which lasted from January 8 to January 13.

“Roni Marie’s trip to the U.S. became somewhat of a diaper derby for Lieutenant Donahoe…he was rapidly running out of disposable diapers and he worried about the dwindling supply. But he was able to add to his diaper stock during a stopover in Morocco.”

LIFE Magazine, a little late to the party, printed a short blurb about the Donahoes on January 24.

So how do you feel about the name Roni? Do you like it any more or less than Rawnie?

P.S. A follow-up article published in 1961 revealed that Norman and Helen had gone on to adopt one more Greek orphan, Steven, and then have two biological children, Eloni [sic?] and Donald. (I’m assuming Eloni’s name was really Eleni, which is a Greek form of Helen.)

Sources:

  • “Cry from an Immigrant.” Life 24 Jan. 1955: 48.
  • “Donahoe Family Grows.” Daytona Beach Morning Journal 16 Jun. 1961: 1.
  • “Greek-Born Lass Meets Foster Mom.” Toledo Blade 14 Jan. 1955: 3.
  • “Hitching Yank and His Baby Halted in Italy.” Chicago Sunday Tribune 9 Jan. 1955: 38.

Image: Clipping from Life magazine (24 Jan. 1955)

Hollywood names invented by Henry Willson

American talent agent Henry Willson (1911-1978)
Henry Willson

Hollywood talent agent Henry Willson — the man behind the beefcake craze of the 1950s — liked to invent snappy stage names for his clients. “Catchy, iterative, marquee-size monikers were his trademark.”

And several of his clients (such as Troy Donahue, and Tab Hunter) went on to achieve so much fame that they, in turn, had an influence on U.S. baby names.

Here are some of the names that Willson came up with (or helped come up with):

Stage nameReal name
Chad EverettRaymon Cramton
Dack & Dirk RamboNorman & Orman Rambo (twins)
Guy MadisonRobert Moseley
John SaxonCarmine Orrico
Rhonda FlemingMarilyn Louis
Rock HudsonRoy Fitzgerald
Rory CalhounFrancis McCown
Tab HunterArthur Gelien
Touch Connors (later known as Mike Connors)Krekor Ohanian
Troy DonahueMerle Johnson
Ty Hungerford (later known as Ty Hardin)Orison Hungerford
Yale SummersRoy Neuvohner

Red-headed Rhonda Fleming’s surname was chosen because it sounded like the word flaming.

Speaking of flames, Rory Calhoun’s first name was inspired by Francis McCown’s brief stint as a firefighter (i.e., “roaring blazes”).

Which group of names do you prefer, the stage names (on the left) or the real names (on the right)?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from Modern Screen (Oct. 1946)

[Latest update: Oct. 2025]

41 Pun-names for April Fools’ Day (4/1)

painting of a smiling man

I can’t play a prank on you for April Fools’ Day, but I can give you a list of personal names that seem like pranks.

Except, they’re not.

All of the below are legit first & last names that belonged to real people — often multiple people. (In parentheses I’ve added rough estimates of how many instances I’ve come across so far.)

  1. Alma Mater (several)
  2. April Showers (dozens)
  3. Bear Trapp (one)
  4. Candy Cane (several)
  5. Cliff Hanger (several)
  6. Constant Agony (two)
  7. Constant Craps (one)
  8. Crystal Ball (dozens)
    • There’s also Krystal Ball, who ran for office in Virginia a few years back.
  9. Death Knox (one)
  10. Gettysburg Battle (one)
  11. Gold Mine (two)
  12. Green Bean (several)
  13. Hazel Nut/Nutt (dozens)
  14. Ima Hogg (one)
  15. Jed I Knight (one)
  16. London England (dozens)
  17. Mud Brown (three)
  18. Never Fail (two) — father and son
    • The son’s headstone offers context for the name by referencing 1 Corinthians 13: “Love never fails.”
  19. Norman Conquest (two)
  20. North West (hundreds)
  21. Nude Mann (one)
  22. Orbit Moon (one)
  23. Orchestra Harp (one)
  24. Paris France (several)
  25. Preserved Fish (several)
  26. Pullman Carr (several)
  27. Rainy Day (one)
  28. River Bottom (one)
  29. Rocky Mountain (dozens)
  30. Sandy Beach (dozens)
  31. Sea Shore (several)
  32. Seymour Butts (two) — not just a Bart Simpson prank call!
  33. Shanda Lear (one)
  34. Silence Bellows (one)
  35. Soda Popp (one)
  36. Strong Beer (one)
  37. Tell No Lyes (several)
  38. Ten Million (one)
    • He had a daughter named Decillian Million.
  39. Timber Wood (one)
    • He has a sister named Drift Wood.
  40. Truly Wright (several)
  41. Tu Morrow (one)
    • Daughter of actors Rob Morrow and Debbon Ayer (read: debonaire)

Which one do you think is the best? Or should I say, the worst?

Sources:

Image: Falstaff (1921) by Eduard von Grützner

Celebrity baby name: Kahekili

Another celebrity has gone with a Hawaiian baby name. Helen Hunt has a daughter named Makena Lei, Lisa Bonet has a son named Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha, and now Evangeline Lilly has a son named Kahekili.

This is old news, actually. Lilly’s baby (with boyfriend Norman Kali) was born in mid-2011, and the name was revealed later that year. Kahekili means “the thunder” in Hawaiian: ka is “the” and hekili is “thunder.”

But apparently Lilly has only recently come out with the full story behind Kahekili’s name:

My son was born outside in Hawaii in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm that was so insane that we had an island-wide power outage… We were woken out of our sleep by the thunder, it was so intense, and in Hawaii they call that mana, which is like your essence or your spirit… so we had to name him after his mana.

She’d previously mentioned that the baby was born “outside in a thunderstorm.” Also, that the name wasn’t chosen right away: “My baby did not have a name for a month. It took me a month to name my child.”

A handful of other baby boys have been named Kahekili lately. In fact, over past few years, the name has popped up on the national list three times and on the Hawaii list twice:

  • 2012: 6 baby boys named Kahekili nationally
  • 2011: unlisted
  • 2010: 6 baby boys named Kahekili nationally, 5 in Hawaii
  • 2009: 5 baby boys named Kahekili nationally [debut], all 5 in Hawaii [debut]
  • 2008: unlisted

I wonder how many of these babies were born during thunderstorms.

What do you think of the name Kahekili?

Sources: Evangeline Lilly – Wikipedia, The Things They Say – Hollywood.com, Evangeline Lilly was in labor for 30 hours (h/t elbowin, for making me look up Tauriel)