How popular is the baby name Psalm 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 Psalm.

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Popularity of the baby name Psalm


Posts that mention the name Psalm

Louisiana quadruplets: Lyric, Paisley, Psalm, Fallyn

kinderfest

In November of 2024, Louisiana couple Farrah and Peyton Larry (and their 2-year-old son PJ) welcomed quadruplets that — like these quads in Texas, and these quads in Massachusetts — were actually two sets of identical twins.

What did they name their four baby girls?

Lyric, Paisley, Psalm, and Fallyn.

(Lyric and Fallyn are one set of twins; Paisley and Psalm are the other.)

I don’t know how the names were chosen, but I do know how they were assigned: Farrah and Peyton wrote the names on slips of paper, put the slips into a Ziploc bag, and randomly selected one name after each birth.

What are your thoughts on these names? (If you had to name a set of all-girl quadruplets, what names would you choose?)

Sources:

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

Girl names that end with an M-sound

Girl names that end with an M-sound

In the U.S., most of the names given to baby girls end with a vowel sound. And many of the remaining names end with an N-sound.

So, what about girl names that end with other sounds?

Below is a selection of girl names that end with an M-sound, regardless of last letter. The names are ordered by current popularity.

Autumn
From the English word for the season. Here’s the popularity graph for Autumn.

Miriam
The Hebrew form of the name Mary. Here’s the popularity graph for Miriam.

Tatum
From the English surname, which is derived from the place name Tatham, meaning “Tata’s homestead.” Here’s the popularity graph for Tatum.

Dream
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Dream.

Maryam
The Arabic, Persian, and Urdu form of the name Miriam. Here’s the popularity graph for Maryam.

Salem
From any of various locations called Salem. (The infamous “witch trial” town in Massachusetts was named after the biblical town of Shalem.) Here’s the popularity graph for Salem.

Reem
An Arabic word meaning “gazelle.” Here’s the popularity graph for Reem.

Storm
From the type of weather. Here’s the popularity graph for Storm.

Harlem
From the New York City neighborhood, which was named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Here’s the popularity graph for Harlem.

Charm
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Charm.

Blossom
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Blossom.

Denim
From the type of fabric used to make blue jeans. Here’s the popularity graph for Denim.

Tasneem
From a Quranic word that refers to a fountain in Paradise (heaven). Here’s the popularity graph for Tasneem.

Wisdom
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Wisdom.

Rhythm
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Rhythm.

Airam
The name Maria spelled backwards. Here’s the popularity graph for Airam.

Kim
A nickname for Kimberly (though it also has several other possible derivations). Here’s the popularity graph for Kim.

Shalom
A Hebrew word meaning “peace.” Here’s the popularity graph for Shalom.

Ahlam
An Arabic word meaning “dreams.” Here’s the popularity graph for Ahlam.

Bloom
From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Bloom.


Less-common girl names that end with an M-sound include Özlem, Nilam, Plum, Sonam, Psalm, Elham, and Thyme.

Which of the above do you like most? What others can you think of?

P.S. Here are lists of girl names that end with D-, K-, L-, R-, S-, T-, V-, and Z-sounds.

Sources: SSA, Behind the Name

Pop culture baby name game results, 2019

Which of the names in the 2019 pop culture baby name game saw increases in usage last year? And which did not? All the results are below!

Here are the names that increased in usage from 2018 to 2019:

  • Alita (f) increased by 554%.
  • Banks (f) increased by 267%, and increased as a boy name as well. Suggested by alex.
  • Posie (f) increased by 143%. Suggested by alex.
  • Psalm (m) increased by 129%, but decreased as a girl name.
  • Maelyn (f) increased by 91%. Suggested by Elisabeth.
  • Navy (f) increased by 85%, and increased as a boy name as well. Suggested by Elisabeth.
  • Archie (m) increased by 82%, and re-emerged as a girl name in the data as well.
  • Asante (m) increased by 80%, and increased as a girl name as well. Suggested by Elisabeth.
  • Hart (m) increased by 73%, but decreased as a girl name. Suggested by alex.
  • Ciro (m) increased by 70%. Suggested by alex.
  • Alaiya (f) increased by 66%. Suggested by alex.
  • Myracle (f) increased by 51%. Suggested by Elisabeth.
  • Boomer (m) increased by 45%. Suggested by Aya.
  • Billie (f) increased by 42%, and increased as a boy name as well.
  • Valentine (m) increased by 38%, and increased as a girl name as well. Suggested by alex.
  • Kamala (f) increased by 30%.
  • Birdie (f) increased by 29%. Suggested by Elisabeth.
  • Rosalia (f) increased by 28%. Suggested by alex.
  • Myles (m) increased by 26%, and increased as a girl name as well. Suggested by alex.
  • Rue (f) increased by 24%. Suggested by Elisabeth.
  • Rami (m) increased by 24%, and increased as a girl name as well. Suggested by Elisabeth.
    • Incidentally, the usage of Malek also increased. :)
  • Jed (m) increased by 23%. Suggested by Elisabeth.
  • Hayes (m) increased by 19%, but decreased as a girl name. Suggested by alex.
  • Ace (m) increased by 16%, and increased as a girl name as well. Suggested by alex.
  • Elsa (f) increased by 16%. Suggested by elbowin.
  • Maverick (m) increased by 14%, and increased as a girl name as well. Suggested by Elisabeth.
  • Brixton (m) increased by 14%, but decreased as a girl name.
  • Lucca (m) increased by 13%, but decreased as a girl name. Suggested by alex.
  • Phoebe (f) increased by 11%. Suggested by Elisabeth.
  • Valentino (m) increased by 8%. Suggested by alex.
  • Dorian (m) increased by 3%, but decreased as a girl name.
  • Gloria (f) increased by 3%.
  • Roux (f) increased by 3%, but decreased as a boy name. Suggested by alex.
  • Adeya debuted with 22 baby girls.
  • Marsai was a double-debut: 10 baby girls, 5 baby boys.
  • Kaavia debuted with 15 baby girls. Suggested by alex.
  • Eryss re-emerged in the data with 5 baby girls. Suggested by alex.
  • Embrii debuted with 5 baby girls. Suggested by alex.

Here are the names that did not increase in usage from 2018 to 2019:

Abril, Aeko, Arendelle, Asahd, Avani, Catori, Charli, Deckard, Donna, Eilish, Garima, Gil, Gilmher, Gima, Greedy, Greta, Huckleberry, Idina, Iduna, Kelleth, Lia, Lisann, Lizzo, Luce, Maleficent, Malone, Marli, Megan, Miren, Nadia, Nipsey, Post, Riyaz, Sameeksha, Sanni, Sansa, Saybie, Shaed, Shahadi, Sulwe, Taeyang, Wick

(These names saw equal usage, less usage, or weren’t in the data at all.)

Here are the late bloomers (i.e., names that were part of the 2018 game, but didn’t rise/debut until 2019):

  • Kulture double-debuted with 17 baby girls and 5 baby boys.
  • Chevel debuted with 17 baby girls.
  • Zaxai debuted with 14 baby boys.
  • Qira debuted with 13 baby girls.
  • Story increased by 40 baby girls (but fell for boys).
  • Dash increased by 25 baby boys (but fell for girls).
  • Akash increased by 14 baby boys.
  • Storm increased by 10 baby girls (but fell for boys).
  • Kiki increased by 4 baby girls.

Finally, two more things…

  • While the name Nipsey didn’t debut in 2019, Nipsey Hussle’s legal first name, Ermias, was the fastest-rising boy name of 2019 (in terms of relative increase).
  • Dua, one of the rising names in last year’s game, stayed perfectly level this time around — exactly 72 baby girls in both ’18 and ’19. (In the UK, on the other hand, Dua’s usage increased quite a bit.)

What are your thoughts on the results this year? Did anything surprise you?

[The usual disclaimer: Some of the names above were already moving in the direction indicated. Others were influenced by more than a single pop culture person/event. In each case, I leave it up to you to judge the degree/nature of pop culture influence.]

Pop culture baby name game, 2019

pop culture baby name game, 2019

Time for the annual Pop Culture Baby Name Game!

But first: Happy birthday, Elvis Presley! (He would have been 85 today.)

So now, think back to 2019. Think of all the pop culture that caught your attention. Think of movies, music, TV shows, social media, sports, video games, news, politics, products, and so forth.

Which of these things had an influence on U.S. baby names last year, do you think? Which baby names will see higher usage (or appear for the very first time) in the 2019 data thanks to 2019 pop culture?

Here are some names to start with:

  • Adeya – from celebrity baby Adeya (born in March to Kehlani)
  • Alita – from the movie Alita: Battle Angel
  • Archie – from royal baby Archie (born in May to Harry & Meghan)
  • Billie – from singer Billie Eilish
  • Brixton – from the movie Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
  • Deckard – from the movie Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
  • Dorian – from hurricane Dorian
  • Eilish – also from singer Billie Eilish
  • Gloria – from the St. Louis Blues anthem “Gloria
  • Greedy – from NFL player Andraez Montrell “Greedy” Williams
  • Greta – from environmental activist Greta Thunberg
  • Lizzo – from rapper/singer Lizzo (originally a Melissa)
  • Luce – from the movie Luce
  • Maleficent – from the movie Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
  • Nipsey – from the late rapper Nipsey Hussle
  • Post – from rapper Post Malone
  • Psalm – from celebrity baby Psalm (born in May to Kim & Kanye)
  • Saybie – from San Diego micro-preemie “Saybie”
  • Shaed – from the band Shaed (“Trampoline”)
  • Sulwe – from the book Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o
  • Wick – from the movie John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

A few names from the 2018 game (Kamala? Kelleth? Sanni? Marsai?) might still be applicable as well.

What other names should we add to the list? Let me know by commenting below. Please don’t forget to mention the pop culture influence!

I’ll be posting the game results in May of 2020, a few days after the SSA releases the 2019 baby name data. If you don’t want to miss the results post, just subscribe to NBN!