How popular is the baby name Orange 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 Orange.

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 Orange


Posts that mention the name Orange

Baby names associated with orange: Autumn, Ember, Saffron, Blaze

Orange-colored leaves in autumn

Looking for baby names that are associated with the color orange — including baby names that mean “orange”?

If so, you’re in luck — I’ve collected dozens of ideas for you in this post.

But, before we get to the names, let’s take a look at what the color orange represents…

Symbolism of orange

What does the color orange signify?

In Western cultures in particular, orange can be symbolic of:

  • Warmth
  • Creativity
  • Adventure
  • Freshness
  • Happiness
  • Attraction
  • Success

It can also be associated with safety. A vivid reddish-orange — one that contrasts well with the blue of the sky — is used to make clothing and equipment highly visible in certain circumstances (e.g., at construction sites, during hunting season).

In Eastern cultures, orange is considered a sacred color. In Hinduism, for example, orange represents fire and, thereby, purity (as impurities are burned away by fire).

Orange-colored flames of a fire

Baby names associated with orange

All of the names below have an association with the color orange. The names range from common to uncommon, and their associations range from strong to slight.

Those that have been popular enough to appear in the U.S. baby name data are linked to their corresponding popularity graphs.

Aethon and Aithon
Aethon, also spelled Aithon, is derived from the Ancient Greek word aithon, which means “burning, blazing.”

Aki
Aki is a Japanese name that can mean “autumn,” depending upon the kanji being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Aki.

Alba
Alba is a feminine name meaning “dawn” in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, and other Romance languages. Here’s the popularity graph for Alba.

Amber
The word amber refers to fossilized tree resin that is commonly used as a gemstone. By extension, the word also refers to the yellowish-orange color of this material. The fossilized resin, which washes up on the seashore in the Baltic region, came to be called “amber” during the Middle Ages — likely due to an association with ambergris (a material produced by sperm whales that also washes up on the shore). Here’s the popularity graph for Amber.

Anatole
Anatole is the modern French masculine form of Anatolius. Here’s the popularity graph for Anatole.

Anatolia
Anatolia is a feminine form of Anatolius. Here’s the popularity graph for Anatolia.

Anatolios
Anatolios was an Ancient Greek name derived from the word anatole, meaning “sunrise.”

Anatolius
Anatolius is the Latinized form of Anatolios.

Anatoliy
Anatoliy is the modern Russian and Ukrainian masculine form of Anatolius. Here’s the popularity graph for Anatoliy.

Apricot
Apricot fruits are yellowish-orange. Apricot trees are part of the genus Prunus.

Aurora
Aurora, the Latin word for “dawn,” was the name of the Roman goddess of dawn. Here’s the popularity graph for Aurora.

Autumn
The word autumn refers to the season during which the leaves of deciduous trees turn various colors, including orange. Halloween — a holiday strongly associated with the color orange — is also celebrated during Autumn (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). Here’s the popularity graph for Autumn.

Azar
Azar is a Persian gender-neutral name meaning “fire.” Here’s the popularity graph for Azar.

Blaze
The vocabulary word blaze refers to a fire, particularly one that’s burning intensely. Blaze is also a homophone of the (more traditional) name Blaise, which ultimately derives from the Latin word blaesus, meaning “lisping.” Here’s the popularity graph for Blaze.

Canna
Canna flowers are sometimes orange. The genus name Canna is derived from the Latin word canna, meaning “reed.” Here’s the popularity graph for Canna.

Carnelian
Carnelian, a variety of the mineral chalcedony, is frequently orange. The name of the stone ultimately comes from the Latin word cornus, which refers to a type of berry, altered by the influence of the Latin word carneus, meaning “flesh-colored.”

Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum (pronounced krih-SAN-thuh-muhm) flowers are often orange. The genus name Chrysanthemum is derived from a combination of the Ancient Greek words khrysos, meaning “gold,” and anthemon, meaning “blossom, flower.” Here’s the popularity graph for Chrysanthemum.

Citrine
Citrine, a variety of the mineral quartz, is usually orange. The adjective citrine can be traced back to the Latin word citrus. Here’s the popularity graph for Citrine.

Clementine
Clementine fruits are a cross between mandarin orange and sweet orange. They were named after French priest Clément Rodier, who discovered the cultivar while in Algeria. The name Clément is derived from the Latin word clemens, meaning “merciful.” Here’s the popularity graph for Clementine.

Copper
Copper is a metallic element with a lustrous orange-brown color. Here’s the popularity graph for Copper.

Dahlia
Dahlia flowers are sometimes orange. The genus Dahlia was named in honor of Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. Here’s the popularity graph for Dahlia.

Dawn
Dawn refers to the period of time in the early morning (before sunrise) when the sky begins to brighten with daylight. This light at dawn tends to have an orange hue. The word dawn can be traced back to the Old English verb dagian, meaning “to become day.” Here’s the popularity graph for Dawn.

Dysis
Dysis, the Ancient Greek word for “sunset,” was the name of the Greek goddess of the hour of sunset.

Ember
The word ember refers a glowing, slowly burning piece of solid fuel (like wood or coal). It’s often used in the plural to refer to the smoldering remains of a fire. Here’s the popularity graph for Ember.

Eos
Eos, the Ancient Greek word for “dawn,” was the name of the Greek goddess of dawn.

Fajr
Fajr is an Arabic feminine name meaning “dawn.” Here’s the popularity graph for Fajr.

Fiamma
Fiamma (pronounced FYAM-ma) is an Italian feminine name meaning “flame.” Here’s the popularity graph for Fiamma.

Fox
Fox fur, if you’re talking about the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), is largely orange. The word fox is ultimately derived from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning “tail.” Here’s the popularity graph for Fox.

Gaeul
Gaeul is a Korean gender-neutral name meaning “autumn.”

Gladiola
Gladiola refers to Gladiolus, a genus of plants with flowers that are sometimes orange. The genus name, meaning “little sword” (a diminutive of the Latin word gladius, “sword”) refers to the shape of the leaves. Here’s the popularity graph for Gladiola.

Helen
Helen is a form of the Ancient Greek name Helene, which is likely based on the word helene, meaning “torch.” Also, plants of the genus Helenium have flowers that are sometimes orange. The genus was named in honor of Helen of Troy. Here’s the popularity graph for Helen.

Honey
Honey can be orange. The Old English word for “honey” was hunig. Here’s the popularity graph for Honey.

Iskra
Iskra is a feminine name meaning “spark” in Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, and other Slavic languages. Here’s the popularity graph for Iskra.

Jack
Jack is part of “Jack-o’-Lantern” — a term that, since the 1800s, has referred to a carved pumpkin used as a lantern during Halloween. It originated as “Jack of the lantern” in 17th-century England, where it was used as a generic term for any lantern-carrying night watchman. Here’s the popularity graph for Jack.

Frederic Leighton's painting "Flaming June" (1895)
“Flaming June”

June
June (besides being a month) is part of “Flaming June” — the name of the 1895 painting by Frederic Leighton. “Flaming June” features a red-headed woman wearing a diaphanous orange dress and sleeping by the sea (which reflects the golden rays of the setting sun). Here’s the popularity graph for June.

Keahi
Keahi is a Hawaiian gender-neutral name meaning “the fire.” Here’s the popularity graph for Keahi.

Kealaula
Kealaula is a Hawaiian gender-neutral name that means “the light of early dawn” or “the sunset glow.” The literal definition is “the flaming road” (ala means “path, road,” and ula means “to flame”).

Marigold
The word marigold refers to any flowering plant of either the New World genus Tagetes or the Old World genus Calendula. By extension, it also refers to the yellowish-orange color of these flowers. Here’s the popularity graph for Marigold.

Meli
Meli was the Ancient Greek word for “honey.” Here’s the popularity graph for Meli.

Monarch
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) have wings that are largely orange. They were named “monarch” in the 1800s, possibly in honor of England’s King William III, who was also the Prince of Orange. The word is derived from a combination of the Ancient Greek words monos, meaning “alone,” and arkhos, meaning “ruler.” Here’s the popularity graph for Monarch.

Neven
Neven is a masculine name meaning “marigold” in Serbian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, and other Slavic languages. Here’s the popularity graph for Neven.

Nevena
Nevena is the feminine form of Neven. Here’s the popularity graph for Nevena.

Orange
Orange, of course, refers to the color orange. :) Orange fruits were introduced to Europe by the Moors in the 10th century. The word for the fruit, which can be traced back to Sanskrit, entered the English language (via French) in the late 14th century. The first recorded use of “orange” as a color name in English didn’t come along until the early 16th century. (This explains why many things that are clearly orange — like red hair, red foxes, and the robin redbreast — are called “red”: They were named long before the color-word “orange” entered the English language!) Here’s the popularity graph for Orange.

Orchid
Orchid flowers are sometimes orange. Orchids are all members of the Orchidaceae family of plants. Here’s the popularity graph for Orchid.

Oriole
Oriole is a type of bird that often has orange plumage. “Oriole” is the common name of birds in the genera Icterus and Oriolidae. The common name is derived from the Latin word aureolus, meaning “golden.” Here’s the popularity graph for Oriole.

Peach
Peach fruits are typically orange. Peach trees are part of the genus Prunus. Here’s the popularity graph for Peach.

Pele
Pele, the Hawaiian word for “lava flow, volcano, eruption,” was the name of the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. Here’s the popularity graph for Pele.

Pyrrha
Pyrrha is the feminine form of Pyrrhus. Here’s the popularity graph for Pyrrha.

Pyrrhos
Pyrrhos, meaning “flame-colored,” was an Ancient Greek name derived from the word pyr, meaning “fire.”

Pyrrhus
Pyrrhus is the Latinized form of Pyrrhos.

Robin
Robin redbreast originally referred to the Old World songbird Erithacus rubecula, which has orange plumage on the face and breast. “Robin” is a Middle English diminutive of the name Robert. Here’s the popularity graph for Robin.

Roth
Roth comes from a German surname that can be traced back to the Middle High German word rot, meaning “red.” It was originally a nickname for a red-haired person. Here’s the popularity graph for Roth.

Rowan
Rowan is an Anglicized form of Ruadhán. Here’s the popularity graph for Rowan.

Roy
Roy is an Anglicized form of Ruadh. Here’s the popularity graph for Roy.

Ruadh
Ruadh (pronounced roo-ah) means “red” or “red-haired” in Irish and Scottish Gaelic.

Ruadhán
Ruadhán is a diminutive form of Ruadh.

Rufina and Rufino
Rufina (feminine) and Rufino (masculine) are the modern Spanish forms of the Roman family name Rufinus, which was based on Rufus. Here are the popularity graphs for Rufina and Rufino.

Rufus
Rufus derives from the Latin word rufus, meaning “red” or “red-haired.” Here’s the popularity graph for Rufus.

Rusty
Rusty is an adjective referring to rust (iron oxide), which tends to be orange-brown. Here’s the popularity graph for Rusty.

Saffron
Saffron is a spice made from the styles and stigmas of Crocus sativus flowers. By extension, the word — which can be traced back to the Arabic name for the spice, za’faran — also refers to the deep yellowish-orange color of fabrics dyed with saffron. Here’s the popularity graph for Saffron.

Seville
Seville orange is a variety of bitter orange named after the Spanish city of Sevilla. Here’s the popularity graph for Seville.

Shachar
Shachar is a Hebrew gender-neutral name meaning “dawn.”

Shraga
Shraga is an Aramaic masculine name meaning “candle.” Here’s the popularity graph for Shraga.

Shula
Shula is an Arabic feminine name meaning “flame.” Here’s the popularity graph for Shula.

Smith
Smith comes from a surname that originally referred to a metalworker, such as a blacksmith or a farrier. When heated metal (like iron) comes out of a fire to be forged, it’s often glowing a yellowish-orange color. The smith in “blacksmith” is likely derived from the Old English verb smitan, meaning “to smite” or “to strike” (as with a hammer). Here’s the popularity graph for Smith.

Sunrise and Sunset
Sunrise and Sunset are times at which the sun appears reddish-orange. Particles in the Earth’s atmosphere scatter more short-wavelength light than long-wavelength light, so when the sun is low on the horizon — and its light is traveling a longer distance through the atmosphere to reach your eyes — you’ll end up seeing less violet and blue, and more red and orange. Here are the popularity graphs for Sunrise and Sunset

Tangerine
Tangerine fruits are orange. Tangerine trees are part of the genus Citrus. Here’s the popularity graph for Tangerine.

Tawny
Tawny is an adjective that refers to a brownish-orange color. Here’s the popularity graph for Tawny.

Tiger
Tiger (Panthera tigris), the largest living species of cat, has fur that is mostly orange. Here’s the popularity graph for Tiger.

Tigerlily
Tigerlily refers to “tiger lily,” the common name of several species of flowering plant in the genus Lilium — particularly the species Lilium lancifolium — that have showy orange flowers. Here’s the popularity graph for Tigerlily.

Ushas
Ushas, the Sanskrit word for “dawn,” was the name of the Vedic (Hindu) goddess of dawn.

Valencia
Valencia orange is a cultivar of sweet orange named after the Spanish city of València. Here’s the popularity graph for Valencia.

Zinnia
Zinnia flowers are sometimes orange. The genus Zinnia was named in honor of German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn. Fun fact: An orange zinnia blossomed in space in early 2016! Here’s the popularity graph for Zinnia.

Zora
Zora is a feminine name meaning “dawn” in Serbian, Czech, Croatian, Bulgarian, and other Slavic languages. Here’s the popularity graph for Zora.

Can you think of any other names that have a connection to the color orange?

P.S. Want to see more color-related baby names? Here are lists of red, yellow, green, blue, and purple names.

Sources:

Images:

[Latest update: Dec. 2023]

The Oranges of Orangeville

Orange Jull (1845-1920)
Orange Jull

In the late 1880s, locomotives in snowy regions of North America began making use of the newly invented rotary snowplow. One of the co-inventors of the rotary snowplow was Orange Jull (1845-1920) of Orangeville, Ontario.

Wait…Orange from Orangeville? There has to be a connection there, right?

Yup!

Orange Jull was part of a large extended family that included multiple men named Orange. All were descendants of businessman Orange Lawrence (1786-1861), originally from Connecticut, who relocated in the 1840s to the spot that would later be called Orangeville in his honor. Here’s the story:

Orange Lawrence was just the type of settler this developing community needed – an entrepreneur. Upon his arrival, he bought 300 acres of land. He laid out the southeast part of town, bought Grigg’s Mill, opened a general store and a tavern, and built a second mill. He also founded the first school in Orangeville and he became the first postmaster in 1847. So strong was the mark he left on this community that everyone agreed Orangeville was the most appropriate name.

I’m not sure how Orange Lawrence came to be named “Orange,” but his name may have been inspired by the surname Orange, which could have originally referred to a location in France (such as Orange, Vaucluse).

Source: History of Orangeville – Town of Orangeville
Image: Museum of Dufferin

Long list of unusual names: Delazon, Twentyman, Narsworthy

Here are many dozens of interesting and uncommon names that have caught my eye over the years…

  • Adonijah Strong Welch (b. 1821) – U.S. Senator from Florida.
  • Aeriwentha Faggs “Mae” Starr (b. 1932) – American athlete.
  • Alcaeus Hooper (b. 1859) – mayor of Baltimore, Maryland from 1895 to 1897.
  • Anzia Yezierska (b. 1885) – Polish writer.
  • Arphaxed Loomis (b. 1798) – U.S. Representative from New York.
  • Arvo Ojala (b. 1920) – marksman and Hollywood advisor on the “quick-draw.”
  • Astyanax M. Douglass (b. 1838) – politician/physician from Tennessee.
  • Autherine Juanita Lucy (b. 1929) – activist from Alabama.
  • Balduína “Bidú” de Oliveira Sayão (b. 1902) – Brazilian opera singer.
  • Baskerville Holmes (b. 1964) – American basketball player named for The Hound of the Baskervilles.
  • Berbiedell Slate (b. 1930) – from North Carolina.
  • Berinthia “Berry” Berenson-Perkins (b. 1948) – U.S. actress and photographer.
  • Bertita Harding (b. 1902) – German writer.
  • Beveridge Webster (b. 1908) – pianist.
  • Bird Segle Mcguire (b. 1865) – U.S. Delegate and representative from Oklahoma.
  • Bland Ballard (b. 1761) – soldier and statesman.
  • Bluma Appel (b. 1919) – Canadian philanthropist.
  • Bodine Koehler (b. 1992) – Dutch-Puerto Rican model.
  • Brazilla Carroll Reece (b. 1889) – U.S. Representative from Tennessee.
  • Breaux Greer (b. 1976) – U.S. athlete.
  • Bredo Morstoel – the inspiration behind Frozen Dead Guy Days in Colorado.
  • Bruria Kaufman (b. 1918) – American theoretical physicist.
  • Bunnatine “Bunny” Greenhouse (b. circa 1944) – Halliburton whistleblower.
  • Calbraith Perry “Cal” Rodgers (b. 1879) – made the first flight across the U.S. (in multiple legs) during 1911.
  • Calvary Morris (b. 1798) – U.S. Representative from Ohio.
  • Camoralza Hagler Spahr (b. 1826) – politician from Ohio.
  • Canvass White (b. 1790) – American civil engineer.
  • Carr Van Anda (b. 1864) – managing editor of the New York Times.
  • Catulle Mendès (b. 1841) – French writer.
  • Cavada Humphrey (b. 1919) – U.S. actress.
  • Cedella “Ciddy” Marley Booker (b. 1926) – mother of Bob Marley.
  • Chalkley “Chalk” Beeson (b. 1848) – owned the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas.
  • Chamintney Stovall Thomas (b. 1899) – Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame inductee.
  • Cherubusco Newton (b. 1848) – U.S. Representative from Louisiana.
  • Chloethiel Woodard Smith (b. 1910) – architect and urban planner.
  • Ciallagalena “Lena” Cobb Williams (b. circa 1900) – from Faubourg Tremé (New Orleans).
  • Civilla Martin (b. 1866) – Canadian-American hymn writer.
  • Clairève Grandjouan (b. 1929) – archaeologist from France.
  • Claricia (13th century) – German illuminator:
claricia, german psalter
  • D-Cady Herrick (b. 1846) – politician from New York.
  • Daeida Wilcox Beveridge (b. 1861) – founded and named Hollywood.
  • Dakota Starblanket “Cody” Wolfchild – the first baby to be breastfed on television (specifically, on Sesame Street in 1977).
  • Davenie Johanna “Joey” Heatherton (b. 1944) – U.S. actress.
  • De La Mancha “Mancha” Bruggemeyer (b. 1865 in England) – Chicago judge.
  • Delarivier Manley (d. 1724) – (female) English novelist.
  • Delazon Smith (b. 1816) – Senator from Oregon.
  • deLesseps Story Morrison (b. 1912) – mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana from 1946 to 1961.
  • Delloreese Patricia Early (b. 1931) – American actress (stage name Della Reese).
  • De Sacia Mooers (b. 1888) – silent film actress from Michigan.
  • Devorguille de Burgh (13th century) – English noblewoman.
  • Diocletian “Dio” Lewis (b. 1823) – early exercise advocate, from New York. (He wrote about the importance of physical training for both sexes in The Atlantic in 1862.)
  • Dusolina Giannini (b. 1902) – Italian-American soprano.
  • Elfyn Llwyd (b. 1951) – Welsh barrister and politician.
  • Epiphanny Prince (born in the 1980s) – set the U.S. high school girls’ basketball record by scoring 113 points in a single game on February 1, 2006.
  • Erminnie Adele Platt Smith (b. 1836) – American geologist and linguist. (Erminnie is a diminutive of Ermintrude.)
  • Espy Van Horne (b. 1795) – U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.
  • Etchika Choureau (b. 1929) – French actress.
  • Eudald Carbonell i Roura (b. 1953) – Spanish archaeologist, anthropologist and paleontologist.
  • Eulavelle Lee Drake (b. 1913) – from California.
  • Falconer Madan (b. 1851) – librarian at the Bodleian Library of Oxford University. (His granddaughter was Venetia Burney, below.)
  • Felissa Rose Esposito (b. 1969) – actress.
  • Feramorz Little (b. 1820) – mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah from 1876 to 1882.
  • Fidelis Morgan (b. 1952) – English stage actress.
  • Filippo “Lippo” Lippi (b. 1406) – Italian painter.
  • Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (b. 1882) – U.S. Representative from New York. (Later the Mayor of New York.)
  • Foxhall A. Parker (b. 1821) – U.S. Navy officer during the American Civil War. (His father was also a Foxhall, and he had a brother named Dangerfield.)
  • Ghillean Tolmie Prance (b. 1937) – British botanist and ecologist.
  • Ginery Twichell (b. 1811) – U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.
  • Gjon Mili (b. 1904) – Albanian-American photographer.
  • Glendy Burke – mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1865. The Stephen Foster song Glendy Burke is about a steamboat that was probably named for the mayor.
  • Godlove Stein Orth (b. 1817) – U.S. Representative from Indiana.
  • Gouverneur Morris (b. 1752) – U.S. Senator from New York.
  • Goyn A. Sutton (b. 1816) – mayor of Springfield, Illinois from 1860 to 1864.
  • Green Berry Raum (b. 1829) – U.S. Representative from Illinois.
  • Green Clay (b. 1757) – Kentucky politician.
  • Grlenntys Chief Kickingstallionsims (b. 1986) – Alabama State University basketball player.
  • Gwethalyn Graham (b. 1913) – Canadian writer and activist.
  • Halifax Shackleton (b. circa 1895) – 16-year-old girl born in Halifax, Yorkshire, according to the 1911 England and Wales census.
  • Hanelle M. Culpepper – American filmmaker.
  • Harmanus Peek (b. 1782) – U.S. Representative from New York.
  • Hawthorne Wingo – New York Knicks player during the 1970s. (Discovered this one in a Beastie Boys song, of all places.)
  • Heartsill Ragon (b. 1885) – U.S. Representative from Arkansas.
  • Hempstead Washburne (b. 1852) – mayor of Chicago, Illinois from 1891 to 1893.
  • Henderina “Rina” Victoria Scott (b. 1862) – was born in English botanist and cinematographer.
  • Hoagland Howard “Hoagy” Carmichael (b. 1899) – American composer, singer, actor, and band leader.
  • Holiday Reinhorn (b. 1964) – fiction writer and wife of Rainn Wilson (see below).
  • Hubbard Hinde Kavanaugh (b. 1802) – Methodist Episcopal bishop.
  • Humphrey Hawksley (b. 1964) – English journalist.
  • Hurieosco Austill (b. 1841) – from Alabama.
  • Huw Wheldon (b. 1916) – Welsh broadcaster and Royal Television Society president. (Huw is the Welsh version of Hugh.)
  • Ib Jørgen Melchior (b. 1917) – Danish-American film director and screenwriter.
  • Icie Macy Hoobler (b. 1892) – American physiologist and biochemist.
  • Idawalley Zorada “Ida” Lewis (b. 1842) – American lighthouse keeper.
  • Idola Saint-Jean (b. 1880) – Canadian activist.
  • Iley Lawson Hill (b. 1808) – from Ohio. One of the longest-living “Real Daughters” of the American Revolution, she died in 1913 at the age of 104.
  • Iorwith Wilbur Abel (b. 1908) – U.S. labor leader.
  • Isagani R. Cruz (b. 1945) – Filipino writer.
  • Isambard Kingdom Brunel (b. 1806) – English engineer who created the Great Western Railway, along with a number of steamships, bridges and tunnels.
  • Islin Auster (b. 1904) – U.S. film producer.
  • Ithamar Conkey Sloan (b. 1822) – U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.
  • Itimous Thaddeus Valentine (b. 1926) – U.S. Representative from North Carolina.
  • Itti Kinney Reno (b. 1862) – writer from Tennessee.
  • Jacobena Angliss (b. 1896) – Australian philanthropist.
  • Jacquemin (15th century) – brother of Jeanne d’Arc.
  • Jacquetta Hawkes (b. 1910) – British archaeologist and writer.
  • Ja Hu Stafford (b. 1834 in North Carolina) – early Arizona settler. His name was originally Jehu. He also went by “J. Hugh.”
  • Jascha Heifetz (b. 1901) – Lithuanian violinist.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru (b. 1889) – first Prime Minister of India. Served for 4 terms, from 1947 until 1964.
  • Jeduthun Wilcox (b. 1768) – U.S. Representative from New Hampshire.
  • Jeh (pronounced “Jay”) Charles Johnson (b. 1957) – politician from New York. His name “comes from a Liberian chief his grandfather met on a U.N. mission” according to the Washington Post.
  • Jettabee Ann Hopkins (b. 1905) – radio scriptwriter from Nebraska.
  • Jetur Rose Riggs (b. 1809) – U.S. Representative from New Jersey.
  • Jouett Shouse (b. 1879) – lawyer, newspaper publisher, and politician.
  • Keriman Halis Ece (b. 1913) – Turkish beauty queen crowned Miss Universe 1932.
  • Kindred Jenkins Morris (b. 1819) – mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 1869 to 1871.
  • Kirkpatrick Macmillan (b. 1813) – Scottish blacksmith who invented the pedal bicycle (circa 1840).
  • Kittredge Haskins (b. 1836) – U.S. Representative from Vermont.
  • Lascelles Abercrombie (b.1881) – British poet and literary critic.
  • Le Gage Pratt (b. 1852) – U.S. Representative from New Jersey.
  • LeBreton Dorgenois – mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1812.
  • Leonidas Lent Hamline (b. 1797) – U.S. philanthropist.
  • Lianella Carell (b. 1927) – Italian film actress.
  • Lilialyce Akers (b. 1927) – first female professor at the University of Louisville.
  • Loammi Baldwin (b. 1744) – Engineer, politician, and American Revolutionary War soldier.
  • Lodowicke Muggleton (b. 1609) – English religious thinker.
  • Lodusky Jerusha Taylor (b. 1856) – from Minnesota. (The name Lodusky is based on the name of the 18th-century opera Lodoïska.)
  • Loleatta Holloway (b. 1946) – American singer.
  • Lystra Gretter (b. 1858) – nurse and public health care innovator.
  • Magloire Pélage (b. 1769 in Martinique) – soldier and leader of the resistance movement against the English.
  • Mahonri Macintosh Young (b. 1877) – sculptor and artist.
  • Majestic Mapp (b. 1980) – basketball player. (Brother of Scientific, see below.)
  • Maltbie Davenport Babcock (b. 1858) – U.S. clergyman.
  • Mamphela Aletta Ramphele (b. 1947) – South African doctor and activist.
  • Manton Marble (b. 1834) – editor of the New York World.
  • Marjabelle Young Stewart (b. 1924) – etiquette expert from Iowa.
  • Marshevet Hooker (b. 1984) – American sprinter.
  • Matokie “Tokie” Slaughter (b. 1919) – (female) U.S. banjo player.
  • Mattiwilda Dobbs (b. 1925) – American opera singer.
  • McKaskia Stearns Bonnifield (b. 1833) – from West Virginia.
  • Mellcene Thurman Smith (b. 1872) – from Missouri.
  • Melusina Fay Peirce (b. 1836 in Vermont) – feminist and leader of the “cooperative housekeeping” movement.
  • Meridel Le Sueur (b. 1900) – American feminist/socialist writer.
  • Merze Tate (b. 1905) – scholar and professor.
  • Miel de Botton (b. 1960s) – Swiss art collector.
  • Milward Lee Simpson (b. 1897) – Governor of Wyoming.
  • Minervina (4th century) – the first wife of Constantine the Great.
  • Miquita Oliver (b. 1984) – British TV presenter and actress.
  • Moscelyne Larkin (b. 1925) – Native American ballerina.
  • Mountstuart Elphinstone (b. 1779) – Scottish statesman and historian.
  • Nanaline Holt Inman Duke (b. 1871) – mother of Doris Duke.
  • Naphtali Daggett (b. 1727) – pastor, professor, and Yale’s second president.
  • Narsworthy Hunter (b. circa 1802) – U.S. Delegate from Mississippi Territory.
  • Neith Boyce (b. 1872) – (female) American novelist and journalist.
  • Nelleke Noordervliet (b. 1945) – Dutch novelist.
  • Ney Elias (b. 1884) – English explorer/diplomat.
  • Ninibeth Beatriz Leal Jiménez (b. 1971) – Venezuelan beauty queen crowned Miss World 1991.
  • Nomaindia Mfeketo (b. 1952) – the fourth woman and the first black woman to become mayor of Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Nunnally Hunter Johnson (b. 1897) – American filmmaker.
  • Odalys García (b. 1975) – Cuban actress and singer.
  • Olinthus Gilbert Gregory (b. 1774) – English mathematician.
  • Ora Orr – U.S. patent holder.
  • Orange Noble (b. 1817) – Pennsylvania politician.
  • Orator H. LaCraft (b. 1850) – Politician from Wisconsin.
  • Orchard Cook (b. 1763) – U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.
  • Orrice Abram Murdock, Jr. (b. 1893) – U.S. Senator from Utah.
  • Ortha Orrie Barr (b. 1879) – Ohio politician.
  • Oseola McCarty (b. 1908) – U.S. philanthropist.
  • Ossian Ray (b. 1835) – U.S. Representative from New Hampshire.
  • Otha Donner Wearin (b. 1903) – representative from Iowa.
  • Ottobuono de’ Fieschi (later Pope Adrian V) was born in Italy during the 13th century.
  • Ottola Nesmith (b. 1889) – U.S. actress.
  • Ottorino Respighi (b. 1879) – Italian composer, musicologist and musician.
  • Outerbridge Horsey (b. 1777) – U.S. Senator from Delaware.
  • Ovington Eugene Weller (b. 1862) – U.S. Representative from Maryland.
  • Owsley Brown Frazier (b. 1935) – businessman and philanthropist.
  • Pandro Samuel “Pan” Berman (b. 1905) – U.S. film producer.
  • Pantazi Ghica (b. 1831) – Wallachian-born Romanian politician, lawyer and writer.
  • Pelatiah Webster (b. 1726) – political economist and writer.
  • Percenia Johnson – American nurse. She was on the cover of Jet in 1953:
percenia, nurse
  • Persifor Frazer (b. 1736) – soldier and industrialist from Pennsylvania.
  • Phanor Breazeale (b. 1858) – U.S. Representative from Louisiana.
  • Philadelph Van Trump (b. 1810) – U.S. Representative from Ohio.
  • Philleo Nash (b. 1909) – U.S. politician.
  • Phyllida Law (b. 1932) – Scottish actress. Also the mother of actress Emma Thompson.
  • Pinckney Pinchback (b. 1837) – Governor of Louisiana.
  • Pitcairn Morrison (b. 1795) – American army officer.
  • Pomeroy Tucker (b. 1802) – American journalist.
  • Potto Brown (b. 1797) – English miller and philanthropist.
  • Powhatan Ellis (b. 1790) – Senator from Mississippi.
  • Powhaten Woolridge Maxey (b. 1810) – mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 1843 to 1844.
  • Quirinus Kuhlmann (b. 1651) – German Baroque poet and mystic.
  • Race Imboden (b. 1993) – Olympic foil fencer from Florida. He was named after the Jonny Quest character Race Bannon.
  • Rainn Wilson (b. 1966) – actor and husband of Holiday Reinhorn (see above).
  • Rainbow Sun Francks (b. 1979) – Canadian actor and songwriter. (His sister is Cree, below.)
  • Rensis Likert (b. 1903) – American organizational psychologist.
  • Rensselaer Westerlo (b. 1776) – Representative from New York.
  • Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. (b. 1764) – U.S. Senator from Ohio. (Later, the Governor of Ohio. Later still, Postmaster General.)
  • Reverdy Johnson (b. 1796) – statesman and jurist.
  • Richenda Carey (b. 1948) – British actress.
  • Ricou Ren Browning (b. 1930) – U.S. film director.
  • Rienzi Melville Johnston (b. 1849) – U.S. Senator from Texas.
  • Rikissa Birgersdotter (13th century) – Queen of Norway.
  • Ringgold Lardner (b. 1885) – sports columnist and writer.
  • Rivers Cuomo (b. 1970) – musician.
  • Roberdeau Buchanan (b. 1839) – American astronomer. was born in Pennsylvania in 1839. (His first name was his mother’s maiden name.)
  • Rousseau Owen Crump (b. 1843) – U.S. Representative from Michigan. (Previously the Mayor of West Bay City.)
  • Rulon Gardner (b. 1971) – American Greco-Roman wrestler.
  • Rychacviana Coffie – Miss Curaçao 2005.
  • Sacheverell Sitwell (b. 1897) – English poet and art critic.
  • Saer de Quincy, Earl of Winchester (b. 1155) – Magna Carta signatory.
  • Sandahl Bergman – American actress.
  • Schelto Patijn (b. 1936) – Dutch politician.
  • Scientific Mapp (b. 1980) – basketball player. (Brother of Majestic, see above.)
  • Secvara Livsey – American model. She was on the cover of Jet in 1955.
  • Sharlto Copley (b. 1973) – South African actor.
  • Shirin Ebadi (b. 1947) – Iranian lawyer and human rights activist. First Iranian and first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (in 2003).
  • Smedley Darlington (b. 1827) – U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania. (Grandfather of Smedley Darlington Butler, below.)
  • Smedley Darlington Butler (b. 1881) – at one time, the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. (Grandson of Smedley Darlington, above.)
  • Smoloff Palace Love (b. 1826) – soldier, teacher, and lawyer from Kentucky.
  • Sobieski Ross (b. 1828) – U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.
  • Spark Masayuki Matsunaga (b. 1916) – senator from Hawaii. (Previously a Representative from Hawaii.)
  • Speedy Long (1928-2006) – U.S. Representative from Louisiana.
  • Spessard Lindsey Holland (b. 1892) – U.S. Senator from Florida. (Previously the Governor of Florida.)
  • Spruille Braden (b. 1894) – diplomat and businessman with an interest in Latin America.
  • Spurzheim “Spud” Derby (b. 1856) – Indiana politician.
  • Squire Whipple (b. 1804) – civil engineer.
  • Stanyarne Wilson (b. 1860) – U.S. Representative from South Carolina.
  • Staats Cotsworth (b. 1908) – American radio actor.
  • Stevenson Magloire (b. 1963) – Haitian painter named after U.S. politician Adlai Stevenson.
  • Stirling Silliphant (b. 1918) – U.S. screenwriter.
  • Stith Thompson (b. 1885) – folklorist.
  • Sunshine Hillygus (b. circa 1976) – associate professor at Harvard.
  • Susybelle Wilkinson Lyons (b. 1923) – U.S. philanthropist.
  • Tammany Young (b. 1886) – U.S. stage and film actor.
  • Tapping Reeve (b. 1744) – law professor, jurist and writer. Opened the first law school in the United States.
  • Tazewell Ellett (b. 1856) – U.S. Representative from Virginia.
  • Tench Coxe (b. 1755) – U.S. Delegate from Pennsylvania.
  • Theophylact Bache (b. 1735) – merchant.
  • Thorowgood Smith (b. 1744) – mayor of Baltimore, Maryland from 1804 to 1808.
  • Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft (b. 1914) – U.S. actor and singer.
  • Tilghman Mayfield Tucker (b. 1802) – U.S. Representative from Mississippi. (Previously the Governor of Mississippi.)
  • Torquil Norman (b. 1933) – English philanthropist.
  • Trevanion W. Hugo (b. 1849) – mayor of Duluth, Minnesota from 1900 to 1903.
  • Trevenen Huxley (b. 1889) – Huxley brother (born after Julian, but before Aldous).
  • Twentyman Wood of Connecticut received U.S. patent 19,275 in 1858. (His name reminds me of Twentynine Palms, California.)
  • Uncas Aeneas Whitaker (b. 1900) – U.S. philanthropist.
  • Urbici Soler (b. 1890) – American sculptor.
  • Uz McMurtrie (b. 1884) – politician from Indiana.
  • Venetia Phair (née Burney, born in England in 1919) – she suggested the name for the planet Pluto when she was 11 years old. (Her grandfather was Falconer Madan, above.)
  • Verplanck Colvin (b. 1847) – lawyer, author and topographical engineer.
  • Verrazzani C. Bratton, Sr. (b. 1860) – Arkansas judge.
  • Vespasian Warner (b. 1842) – U.S. Representative from Illinois.
  • Victory Birdseye (b. 1782) – U.S. Representative from New York.
  • Volckert Petrus Douw (b. 1720) – mayor of Albany, New York from 1761 to 1770.
  • Voltairine de Cleyre (b. 1866) – anarchist and feminist.
  • Vyto J. Kab (b. 1959) – U.S. football player.
  • Waddy Thompson (b. 1798) – U.S. Representative from South Carolina.
  • Wambly Bald (b. 1902) – U.S. writer/columnist.
  • Waveney Bicker Caarten (b. 1902) – (female) English playwright.
  • Wellington Webb (b. 1941) – mayor of Denver, Colorado from 1991 to 2003.
  • Wentworth Miller (b. 1972) – American actor.
  • Whitemarsh B. Seabrook (b. 1793) – South Carolina politician.
  • Wigbolt Ripperda (b. circa 1535) – Governor of Haarlem (in the Netherlands) while the city was under siege by the Spanish army during the Eighty Years’ War.
  • Wilmot Redd (d. 1692) – one of the (female) victims of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
  • Wyke Bayliss (b. 1835) – British painter.
  • Wynkyn de Worde (d. 1534) – French printer. (The surname refers to a location in France, not words on the page, unfortunately.)
  • Xenophon P. Huddy (b. 1876) – American lawyer. An early specialist in automobile law.
  • Xenophon Pierce Wilfley (b. 1871) – U.S. Senator from Missouri.
  • Xiuhtezcatl (pronounced shu-tez-caht) Martinez (b. circa 2000) – environmental activist.
  • Yellow Light Breen (born in the 1970s) – lawyer and senior VP of Bangor Savings Bank.
  • Zackquill Morgan (18th cen.) – founder of Morgantown, West Virginia. Son of Morgan Morgan.
  • Zadock Pratt (b. 1790) – U.S. Representative from New York.
  • Zealous Tower (b. 1819) – American soldier and civil engineer.
  • Zell Bryan Miller (b. 1932) – U.S. Senator from Georgia. (Previously the Governor of Georgia.)
  • Zeme Lou North (b. 1938) – Texas-born actress.
  • Zwingle Whitefield Ewing (b. 1843) – politician from Ohio.
    • He may have been named with Swiss Reformation leader Huldrych Zwingli in mind.

Have you encountered any unusual or rare names lately? (In the phone book? In the paper? On TV?)