How popular is the baby name Priscill 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 Priscill.

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Popularity of the baby name Priscill


Posts that mention the name Priscill

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

  • 2020: Jexi

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Apr. 2024]

Glitch alert: Why are there truncated names in the 1989 U.S. baby name data?

glitch

While doing some name research recently, I noticed a whole bunch of typos like “Christop” and “Alexandr” among the top 1,000 U.S. baby names of 1989.

I figured all the typos must be coming from a single source, so I checked the SSA’s state-by-state data, starting with the larger states. Didn’t see anything in California, didn’t see anything in Texas…but then I checked New York, and there they were:

Typo# in U.S.# in NY% in NY
Christop (m)1,0821,082100%
Christin (f)92649954%
Stephani (f)63648977%
Elizabet (f)44541994%
Alexandr (f)301301100%
Alexande (m)30129999%
Katherin (f)27724890%

A few of the above may not be typos, but the fact that so many are concentrated in a single place suggests that most are.

Given the time period and consistent truncation, my guess is that one of the counties in New York started using a computer system in 1989 that only allowed the input of up to 8 characters per name.

Now the big question: Did this glitch skew the national baby name rankings?

Yes, but only for Alexandra:

Name(s)# in U.S.Rank in U.S.
Alexandra (f)7,67943rd (old)
Alexandra (f) + Alexandr (f)7,98041st (new)

All 301 of the baby girls named Alexandr were born in New York, so it’s likely that all of them are typos. If we add these 301 to the total for Alexandra, the new number nudges Alexandra up two spots to #41. (This would bump the names Brittney and Hannah down one spot each.)

UPDATE, April 2020: I scanned the SSA’s full set of data for 1989 and found even more typos:

Typo# in U.S.# in NY% in NY
Jacqueli (f)157157100%
Cassandr (f)152152100%
Christia (m)828098%
Jacquely (f)504794%
Kristoph (m)4444100%
Johnatha (m)343191%
Anastasi (f)222091%
Francesc (f)1919100%
Dominiqu (f)1515100%
Nicolett (f)151280%
Annemari (f)141393%
Kassandr (f)1313100%
Johnatho (m)1212100%
Mackenzi (m)11982%
Sebastia (m)1111100%
Bernadet (f)99100%
Demetriu (m)99100%
Geneviev (f)99100%
Kristofe (m)99100%
Alejandr (m)8675%
Antoinet (f)88100%
Cassondr (f)88100%
Constanc (f)88100%
Francisc (m)8788%
Priscill (f)77100%
Annamari (f)66100%
Angeliqu (f)55100%
Francesc (m)55100%

Many of the above were one-hit wonders, which makes sense.

P.S. Here are two more glitches I’ve found since writing this post: the Korea/Kansas glitch and the Essfa glitch.

Image: Adapted from Data loss of image file (public domain)