How popular is the baby name Obama 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 Obama.

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Popularity of the baby name Obama


Posts that mention the name Obama

Unusual baby names from Quebec: Awesome, Jde, Luzer

Over the weekend, I read through the giant database of Quebec baby names for 2008. Most of the names there were familiar English or French names. A few were (very long!) Native American names. Here are some that stood out:

  • Anakin & Anakyn (male) – Five of the former, two of the latter.
  • Archippe (male) – Means “horse-master” in ancient Greek.
  • Awesome (male)
  • Coatl (male) – Means “snake” in Nahuatl.
  • Dakota-Edison (male)
  • Dune (female)
  • Eileen Osiris (female)
  • Ellliot (male)
  • Elyjah Woody (male) – Elijah Wood fans, perhaps?
  • Enzo Versace (male)
  • Jde (male)
  • Junior Aroma (male)
  • Kaleb-Wolf (male) – Reminds me of Nakoa-Wolf.
  • Kierkegaard II (male)
  • Lady Victoria (female) – The most regal-sounding entry.
  • Lazuli (female)
  • Loveland-Jacobs (female)
  • Luna Mist (female)
  • Luzer (male)
  • Maully (female)
  • Obama Kerby (male) and Stephan-Obama (male)
  • Owen-Walter (male)
  • Ramses-Emmanuel (male)
  • Readily-Chang (male)
  • Ruly (female)
  • Schnobxxxxxxxxxxxx (male)
  • Thunder-Jr (male)
  • Tia-Maria (female)
  • Trevelle Anabelle (female)
  • Tyler-Layden (male) – Why yes, the baby name charts are indeed Tyler-laden right now.
  • Velvili (female)
  • Vernadette (female) – Vernon + Bernadette?
  • Wyclef Jean (male) – There are fans, and then there are superfans.

Have an opinion about any of the above?

If you’ve perused the list yourself, do you remember spotting anything interesting?

Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2008

Flag of Alberta
Flag of Alberta

In 2008, the Canadian province of Alberta welcomed 24,526 baby girls and 26,017 baby boys. The baby girls shared a total of 6,829 names, while the baby boys shared a total of 5,513.

Here are the top five baby names, per gender, of 2008:

Girl Names

  1. Ava & Olivia [tied]
  2. Isabella
  3. Sophia
  4. Chloe
  5. Grace

Boy Names

  1. Ethan
  2. Liam
  3. Nathan
  4. Noah
  5. Owen

And here are a handful of the unique names bestowed just once in Alberta last year:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Anaïs
Anarchy
Castle
Harloquinn
Jetaime*
Science
Tyranny
Valkyrie		Barack
Delorian
Gonzo
Jury
Natorious
Obama
Optimus
Rexall*

*Je t’aime means “I love you” in French, and Rexall is a drugstore chain in Canada.

Here are Alberta’s baby name rankings for 2007 and 2006.

Sources: Service Alberta, Edmonton Sun

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)

How did Barack Obama influence U.S. baby names?

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Sasha Obama, and Malia Obama (in the White House in 2009)
Barack Obama and family

Several days ago, Senator Barack Obama defeated Senator John McCain in the U.S. presidential election.

So far, several U.S. babies have been named in honor of Obama:

  • Jordan Barack Treasure (born on November 3 in New York)
  • Benjamin Barack Kimbrough (born on November 4 in Arkansas)
    • His father, Walter Kimbrough, is the president of Philander Smith College.
  • Pierre Obama Adell Willis (born on November 4 in Georgia)
    • His nickname is “The Little President.”
  • Sanjae Obama Fisher (born on November 4 in Florida)
  • Te’Jean Barack Bowen (born on November 4 in California)
  • Sasha Malia Ann Taylor (born on November 5 in Maryland)
  • Barack Jeilah (born on November 5 in Arizona)

Barack Obama’s first name is based on an Arabic word meaning “blessing.” His last name comes from a word meaning “bent over” or “limping” in the Luo language.

Have you spotted any other Barack Obama namesakes in your area? Let me know and I’ll add them to the post.

P.S. Babies are also being named for Obama in Kenya.

Update, Aug. 2024: So how did the election of Barack Obama in late 2008 influence U.S. baby names overall?

According to the U.S. baby name data, Barack was the fastest-rising baby name of 2008, and both Barack and Obama reached peak popularity in 2009.

Boys named BarackBoys named Obama
201115.
201028.
200972†16†
20085214*
20075*.
*Debut, †Peak usage

The name of Obama’s older daughter, Malia (pronounced mah-LEE-ah), also reached peak popularity in 2009. The name of his younger daughter, Sasha, saw a spike in usage the same year.

Girls named MaliaGirls named Sasha
20111,011 [rank: 313th]858 [rank: 374th]
20101,075 [rank: 301st]944 [rank: 341st]
20091,700† [rank: 192nd]1,251 [rank: 262nd]
2008967 [rank: 345th]916 [rank: 361st]
2007817 [rank: 400th]926 [rank: 350th]
†Peak usage

The name of Obama’s wife, Michelle, did not see a discernible increase in usage — likely because the name Michelle has been in decline since the early ’70s (when it was one of the top girl names in the country).

Sources:

Image: P090109-0127 by the U.S. government (via Flickr)

Kenyan babies being named Barack, Michelle

The Obama family

Mere hours after Barack Obama became U.S. President-elect, the names Barack, Obama and Michelle began popping up on birth certificates throughout Kenya.

Out of the 15 babies born in a Kisumu hospital the day after the election, for instance, five boys were named Barack Obama, two girls were named Michelle, and one girl was named Baracka Obama. (Kisumu is a town close to where Obama’s father was born.)

Two of the babies — one Barack and one Michelle — are twins.

Sources: Pitter patter of tiny Obamas; Obama name craze for Kenya babies

Image: P090109-0127 by the U.S. government (via Flickr)