How popular is the baby name Rebecca 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 Rebecca.

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Popularity of the baby name Rebecca


Posts that mention the name Rebecca

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2012

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

The most popular baby names in England and Wales were announced last week.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the region’s top names were Harry for boys and Amelia for girls.

Here are the top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Top Girl NamesTop Boy Names
1. Amelia
2. Olivia
3. Jessica
4. Emily
5. Lily
6. Ava
7. Mia
8. Isla
9. Sophie
10. Isabella
11. Evie
12. Ruby
13. Poppy
14. Grace
15. Sophia
16. Chloe
17. Isabelle
18. Ella
19. Freya
20. Charlotte		1. Harry
2. Oliver
3. Jack
4. Charlie
5. Jacob
6. Thomas
7. Alfie
8. Riley
9. William
10. James
11. Joshua
12. George
13. Ethan
14. Noah
15. Samuel
16. Daniel
17. Oscar
18. Max
19. Muhammad
20. Leo

The England-only top 20 included all of the above except for Archie (not Leo) on the boys’ side.

The Wales-only top 20 included Dylan, Mason, Logan, Tyler and Isaac (not Samuel, Daniel, Oscar, Max or Muhammad) for boys and Seren, Megan, Ffion and Layla (not Isla, Chloe, Freya or Charlotte) for girls.

Newbies to the England and Wales top 100 are…

  • Hugo, Sonny, Seth, Elliott, Theodore, Rory and Ellis for boys. (Out are Joel, Hayden, John, Ashton, Jackson, Ben and Reece.)
  • Mollie, Ivy, Darcey, Tilly, Sara and Violet for girls. (Out are Lexie, Lauren, Rebecca, Tia, Nicola and Kayla.)

Here’s a selection of names from the other end of the list (each given to 10 babies or fewer):

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Ambreen, Anest, Arrietty, Arzoo, Bowie, Charvi, Cressida, Csenge, Delyth, Devoiry, Eveie, Flourish, Gwenno, Liepa, Llio, Lliwen, Loveday, Mayameen, Mazvita, Migle, Makanaka, Ocean-Blu, Pip, Senuli, Strawberry, Testimony, Tiggy, TulsiAlieu, Atreyu, Bede, Betzalel, Boston, Cavalli, Celt, Cem, Connah, Croyde, Dacre, Exodus, His, Huckleberry, James-Dean, Jools, Jovi, Louix, MD., Messiah, Motty, Neyo, Nuh, Nuno, Papa, Peregrine, Platon, Reco, Rhome, Soul, Ting, Tirth, Ugnius, Wing, Winner

Finally, here are some older posts with the 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008 lists of most popular names in England & Wales.

Source: Baby Names, England and Wales, 2012 (ONS)

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Popular baby names in Ireland, 2012

Flag of Ireland
Flag of Ireland


The most popular baby names in Ireland came out a few days ago.

According to the Central Statistics Office, the country’s top names are Emily for girls and Jack for boys.

Here are the top 100 girl names and top 100 boy names of 2012:

Girl Names

  1. Emily
  2. Sophie
  3. Emma
  4. Grace
  5. Lily
  6. Mia
  7. Ella
  8. Ava
  9. Lucy
  10. Sarah
  11. Aoife
  12. Amelia
  13. Hannah
  14. Katie
  15. Chloe
  16. Caoimhe
  17. Saoirse
  18. Kate
  19. Holly
  20. Ruby
  21. Sophia
  22. Anna
  23. Lauren
  24. Leah
  25. Amy
  26. Isabelle
  27. Molly
  28. Ellie
  29. Jessica
  30. Olivia
  31. Roisin
  32. Ciara
  33. Kayla
  34. Julia [tie]
  35. Zoe [tie]
  36. Laura
  37. Niamh
  38. Abbie
  39. Erin
  40. Rachel
  41. Robyn
  42. Aisling
  43. Faye
  44. Rebecca
  45. Eva [tie]
  46. Layla [tie]
  47. Ellen
  48. Cara
  49. Freya
  50. Abigail [tie]
  51. Eve [tie]
  52. Isabella [tie]
  53. Megan
  54. Aine [tie]
  55. Clodagh [tie]
  56. Aoibhinn
  57. Millie
  58. Nicole
  59. Aoibheann
  60. Maja
  61. Sadhbh
  62. Eabha
  63. Charlotte
  64. Amber [tie]
  65. Caitlin [tie]
  66. Sofia [tie]
  67. Alannah
  68. Zara
  69. Alice
  70. Maria
  71. Elizabeth [tie]
  72. Lena [tie]
  73. Mary [tie]
  74. Emilia
  75. Aimee [tie]
  76. Lilly [tie]
  77. Hollie
  78. Aoibhe
  79. Victoria
  80. Eimear [tie]
  81. Maya [tie]
  82. Isabel [tie]
  83. Orla [tie]
  84. Evie
  85. Kayleigh
  86. Brooke [tie]
  87. Clara [tie]
  88. Meabh
  89. Lexi
  90. Tara
  91. Daisy [tie]
  92. Katelyn [tie]
  93. Ailbhe [tie]
  94. Amelie [tie]
  95. Natalia [tie]
  96. Sara [tie]
  97. Hanna [tie]
  98. Laoise [tie]
  99. Ruth [tie]
  100. Madison [tie]
  101. Maeve [tie]
  102. Maisie [tie]
  103. Rose [tie]

Boy Names

  1. Jack
  2. James
  3. Daniel
  4. Sean
  5. Conor
  6. Adam
  7. Harry
  8. Ryan
  9. Dylan
  10. Michael
  11. Luke
  12. Charlie
  13. Liam
  14. Oisin
  15. Cian
  16. Jamie
  17. Thomas
  18. Alex
  19. Noah
  20. Darragh
  21. Patrick
  22. Aaron
  23. Cillian
  24. Matthew
  25. John
  26. Nathan
  27. David [tie]
  28. Fionn [tie]
  29. Evan
  30. Ethan
  31. Jake
  32. Kyle
  33. Rian
  34. Ben [tie]
  35. Max [tie]
  36. Eoin
  37. Tadhg
  38. Finn
  39. Callum
  40. Samuel
  41. Joshua
  42. Rory
  43. Jayden
  44. Joseph
  45. Tyler
  46. Sam
  47. Shane
  48. Mark [tie]
  49. Robert [tie]
  50. Aidan
  51. William
  52. Ronan
  53. Eoghan
  54. Alexander [tie]
  55. Leon [tie]
  56. Cathal
  57. Mason
  58. Tom
  59. Oliver
  60. Andrew
  61. Oscar
  62. Ciaran
  63. Bobby
  64. Jacob
  65. Senan
  66. Rhys
  67. Scott
  68. Benjamin [tie]
  69. Cormac [tie]
  70. Kevin
  71. Lucas
  72. Alan
  73. Donnacha [tie]
  74. Jakub [tie]
  75. Christopher
  76. Filip [tie]
  77. Killian [tie]
  78. Josh
  79. Alfie
  80. Tommy
  81. Ruairi
  82. Odhran
  83. Oran
  84. Leo
  85. Isaac
  86. Dara [tie]
  87. Jason [tie]
  88. Zach
  89. Martin [tie]
  90. Peter [tie]
  91. Brian
  92. Danny
  93. Niall [tie]
  94. Tomas [tie]
  95. Edward [tie]
  96. Stephen [tie]
  97. Logan
  98. Kacper
  99. Anthony
  100. Billy

New to the top 100 list are Isaac, Danny and Logan for boys and Evie, Amelie, Hanna, Maisie and Rose for girls.

Some of the specifically Irish names in the top 100 are…

  • Girls: Aoife, Caoimhe, Saoirse, Roisin, Ciara, Niamh, Aisling, Aine, Clodagh, Aoibhinn, Aoibheann, Sadhbh, Eabha, Aoibhe, Eimear, Meabh, Ailbhe, Laoise, Maeve
  • Boys: Liam, Oisin, Cian, Darragh, Cillian, Fionn, Rian, Eoin, Tadhg, Finn, Callum, Rory, Ronan, Eoghan, Cathal, Ciaran, Senan, Cormac, Donnacha, Ruairi, Odhran, Niall

Sources: Jack and Emily most popular baby names, Irish Babies’ Names – CSO

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)

Baby girl gets 49 names: Princess India Rosa…

This baby didn’t get 139 names, but 49 is still excessive, don’t you think?

Diana and Arthur Martello of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, had a baby girl in May of 1989 and gave her 49 names. (Initially it was just 43, but they added 6 more a few weeks later.)

Here are all 49 names:

Princess India Rosa Kathleen Pearla Meshelle Suzanne Luchianna Irena Iris Veronica Donna Holly Robin Concha Kristian Tonya Elizabeth Joana Magali Lavinia Ruth Sandy Lori Appolonia Concepteone Stephenie Victoria Ira Maria Jane Claudia Pamela Shirley Mellissa Leah Rebecca Simone Alana Loren Joy Angie Pheonix Cynthia Christine Eleanor Meg Sophia Eunice

Diana was the one who came up with them. She said her inspiration included TV shows like Matt Houston, T.J. Hooker, Santa Barbara, and The Young and the Restless.

If you could go back in time and rename this baby girl, which two names (out of the 49) would you choose as her first and middle names?

Sources:

  • Musala, Jane C. “A Nickname Makes it 45.” Allegheny Times 30 May 1989: A3.
  • Musala, Jane C. “The Good News is Short-Lived.” Allegheny Times 28 Jun. 1989: A3.

Baby name story: Panther

Panthera onca (black variant)

Famous British writer Herbert George “H. G.” Wells — author of sci-fi classics such as The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine — carried on a decade-long extramarital affair with fellow British writer Rebecca West from 1913 to 1923.

[B]y the autumn of 1913 the lovers were addressing each other as “Jaguar” (Wells) and “Panther” (West). By December, West was pregnant. Rusticated to the Norfolk coast, she gave birth to their son on Aug. 4, 1914.

What did they name him? Anthony Panther West — his middle name an allusion to his mother’s “feline prowess in bed.”

I wonder how Anthony (who went on to become a writer, like his parents) felt about his middle name upon learning of its origin.

P.S. Rebecca West’s birth name was Cicely Isabel Fairfield. She took the pen name “Rebecca West” from a character in Henrik Ibsen’s play Rosmersholm (1886).

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Loro Parque 08 by Jerzy Strzelecki under CC BY-SA 3.0.