How popular is the baby name Rhaenyra 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 Rhaenyra.

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Popularity of the baby name Rhaenyra


Posts that mention the name Rhaenyra

Girl names on the rise in Canada, 2023

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Which names were the trendiest among baby girls born in Canada last year?

Below you’ll find Canada’s fastest-rising and highest-debuting girl names of 2023.

Rises (absolute)

Here are the girl names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of absolute change (number of babies) from 2022 to 2023:

  1. Sofia, rose from 763 to 887 baby girls (+124)
  2. Lainey, 77 to 189 (+112)
  3. Maeve, 368 to 462 (+94)
  4. Margot, 230 to 319 (+89)
  5. Rehmat, 151 to 237 (+86)

Lainey was influenced by Lainey Wilson, a Louisiana-born country singer who has also made appearances on the popular TV series Yellowstone. (In the U.S., Lainey was one of the fastest-rising girl names of 2023.)

Rises (relative)

Here are the girl names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of relative change (percentage of babies) from 2022 to 2023:

  1. Anant, rose from 5 to 39 baby girls (680% increase)
  2. Tiaraoluwa, 5 to 20 (300%)
  3. Mehnoor, 5 to 19 (280%)
  4. Hasrat, 12 to 43 (258%)
  5. Bibi, 5 to 17 (240%) [tie]
  6. Japnaaz, 5 to 17 (240%) [tie]

Debuts

Finally, here are the girl names that debuted most impressively in Canada’s baby name data in 2023:

  1. Barkat, 46 baby girls
  2. Aizal, 18
  3. Elaria, 16
  4. Adab, 13 [tie]
  5. Rhaenyra, 13 [tie]

I’m not sure why nearly four dozen Canadian girls were named Barkat (Hindi for “prosperity”) last year. The Indian movie Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (2023) featured a fictional location called Al-Barkat, but I doubt this is the explanation. (In the U.S., Barkat also debuted in 2023 — but with 10 babies as opposed to 46.)

Rhaenyra was inspired by the character Rhaenyra Targaryen from TV series House of the Dragon. (In the U.S., Rhaenyra debuted in 2022 and rose significantly in 2023.)

Other girl-name debuts in the Canadian data included Idalia (9), Lagertha (7), Lilibet (6), Azzurra (5), Lilac (5), and Purity (5).

Do you have thoughts/theories about any of the names above?

Sources: First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number) – Statistics Canada, Baby Names Observatory – Statistics Canada

Image: Adapted from Turkey-2036 by Dennis Jarvis under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Girl names on the rise in the United States in 2023

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Which girl names increased in usage the most from 2022 to 2023?

Here’s a table of the fastest-rising girl names of 2023. On the left are the top 25 increases in terms of absolute change (number of babies). On the right are the top 25 increases in terms of relative change (percentage of babies).

RankGirl nameAbsolute riseGirl nameRelative rise
1Lainey2,231Jaretssi1,322%
2Amira707Eluney1,314%
3Wrenley538Eleia913%
4Eden531Arelys886%
5Eliana529Miyori825%
6Lucy421Savani617%
7Georgia404Evanora586%
8Margot396Arayla580%
9Aitana378Darice580%
10Maeve373Analeia556%
11Antonella372Iyari460%
12Millie368Neylan455%
13Sofia367Kaeli451%
14Kaeli352Adaleth443%
15Adaline334Gemmalee400%
16Ashley312Jazlynne360%
17Alora306Lynnie320%
18Mia298Neylani318%
19Sadie291Adalet315%
20Kaia276Icelynn313%
21Miley262Rhaenyra310%
22Azari252Alitzel299%
23Adeline250Annya283%
24Haven238Arabell270%
25Elliana237Vallie*267%

*Also at 267% was Yosuani.

We got a sneak preview of the rise of Lainey in the Wyoming rankings a couple of days ago! Lainey has no doubt been influenced by country singer Lainey Wilson.

And the SSA’s news release mentioned that TikToker Kaeli McEwen is likely behind the sudden interest in Kaeli.

If you can explain any of the other rises, please leave a comment!

Update, 3:15pm (MST): I’m working on the debut name posts right now, and just noticed that one of highest-debuting girl names last year was the Eluney-like Aluney (with 21 baby girls).

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Turkey-2036 by Dennis Jarvis under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2022

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Northern Ireland, which is located on the island of Ireland, is actually part of the United Kingdom (along with Scotland, England, and Wales — all of which are located on the next-door island of Great Britain).

Last year, Northern Ireland welcomed 20,929 babies — 10,242 girls and 10,687 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Grace and James.

Here are the country’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Grace, 168 baby girls
  2. Emily, 152
  3. Fiadh, 148 – pronounced FEE-a
  4. Olivia, 141
  5. Isla, 118
  6. Aoife, 113 – pronounced EE-fa
  7. Lily, 110
  8. Annie, 97
  9. Evie, 94 (tie)
  10. Freya, 94 (tie)
  11. Amelia, 91
  12. Ella, 88
  13. Charlotte, 87
  14. Ava, 84 (tie)
  15. Sophia, 84 (tie)
  16. Anna, 80 (tie)
  17. Erin, 80 (tie)
  18. Eabha, 74 – pronounced EY-va
  19. Katie, 72 (tie)
  20. Ruby, 72 (tie)
  21. Maisie, 71 (tie)
  22. Sophie, 71 (tie)
  23. Lucy, 70
  24. Ellie, 69
  25. Aria, 65
  26. Niamh, 64 – pronounced neev or NEE-iv
  27. Molly, 59 (tie)
  28. Rosie, 59 (tie)
  29. Clodagh, 57 (tie) – pronounced KLOH-da
  30. Mia, 57 (tie)
  31. Hannah, 56
  32. Meabh, 55 (tie) – pronounced mayv
  33. Willow, 55 (tie)
  34. Elsie, 54
  35. Cora, 52 (tie)
  36. Phoebe, 52 (tie)
  37. Ada, 51
  38. Bonnie, 49 (tie)
  39. Isabella, 49 (tie)
  40. Eva, 48 (4-way tie)
  41. Georgia, 48 (4-way tie)
  42. Ivy, 48 (4-way tie)
  43. Sadie, 48 (4-way tie)
  44. Cara, 47 (tie)
  45. Harper, 47 (tie)
  46. Emma, 46 (tie)
  47. Zara, 46 (tie)
  48. Chloe, 45 (tie)
  49. Rose, 45 (tie)
  50. Poppy, 44 (tie)
  51. Saoirse, 44 (tie) – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha

Boy names

  1. James, 175 baby boys
  2. Jack, 169
  3. Noah, 146
  4. Theo, 132
  5. Charlie, 131
  6. Oliver, 123
  7. Oisin, 119 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  8. Harry, 118
  9. Cillian, 111 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  10. Thomas, 107
  11. Leo, 106
  12. Finn, 98
  13. Tommy, 97
  14. Daniel, 90
  15. Alfie, 87
  16. Luca, 83
  17. Freddie, 81
  18. Arthur, 80
  19. Jacob, 79
  20. Jude, 77
  21. Luke, 74 (tie)
  22. Ollie, 74 (tie)
  23. Caleb, 72 (tie)
  24. Ronan, 72 (tie)
  25. Ethan, 69
  26. Darragh, 67
  27. Shea, 65
  28. Rory, 64
  29. Archie, 63 (tie)
  30. Joshua, 63 (tie)
  31. Adam, 62 (3-way tie)
  32. Jonah, 62 (3-way tie)
  33. Matthew, 62 (3-way tie)
  34. Daithi, 61 – pronounced DAH-hee
  35. Ezra, 60 (3-way tie)
  36. Michael, 60 (3-way tie)
  37. Odhran, 60 (3-way tie) – pronounced OH-rawn
  38. George, 59
  39. Reuben, 58
  40. Henry, 57 (4-way tie)
  41. Isaac, 57 (4-way tie)
  42. Logan, 57 (4-way tie)
  43. Teddy, 57 (4-way tie)
  44. Jake, 55 (tie)
  45. Max, 55 (tie)
  46. Mason, 54
  47. Alexander, 53
  48. Conan, 52 (3-way tie)
  49. Conor, 52 (3-way tie)
  50. Joseph, 52 (3-way tie)

The fastest-rising names in the girls’ top 100 were Pippa, Nevaeh, Lucia, Croia, and Maeve.

The fastest-rising names in the boy’s top 100 were Hugo, Luca, Hudson, Rian, and Nathan.

And here’s a selection of names from the other end of the spectrum — names that were given to just 3 babies each in Northern Ireland last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aeza, Banba/Banbha, Brilliana, Cobhlaith, Della, Eilish, Faoiltiarna, Glencia, Hetty, Israella, Jersey, Kevia, Lilium, Marcy, Neansai, Orlaithi, Prim, Rhaenyra, Simona, Tiggy, Una, Yvonne, ZuzuAlvie, Bonyo, Caolach, Dubhaltach, Evenezer, Fazza, Ghyth, Hamish, Igor, Jivko, Kylian, Lughaidh, Maui, Norrin, Olcan, Plunkett, Rupert, Selkie, Tuathal, Ugnius, Vivaan, Windsor, Yaurik, Zeki

Some explanations/associations for a few of the above…

  • Banba – a goddess in Irish mythology.
    • Banbha – the modern spelling of Banba.
  • Faoiltiarna – an Irish name made up of the elements faol, “wolf,” and tighearna, “lord.”
  • Olcan – a 5th-century Irish saint associated with the village of Armoy in County Antrim.
  • Rhaenyra – a character from the TV series House of the Dragon (a prequel to Game of Thrones).
  • Selkie – a seal/human shapeshifter in Celtic (as well as Norse) mythology.

Finally, let’s take a look at middle names. About 86% of the girls and 89% of the boys born in Northern Ireland last year were given at least one middle name. The middles chosen most often were…

  • Rose, Grace, Elizabeth, Mary, and Marie (for girls), and
  • James, John, Patrick, Michael, and Thomas (for boys).

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing more Irish name pronunciations, just click that link.

Sources: Baby Names 2022 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Northern Ireland – Wikipedia, Faoiltiarna – Oxford Reference

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

Girl names that debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 2022

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Which girl names emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2022 for the first time ever?

A total of 676 girl names debuted in the data last year, and the most impressive debut was made by Jazaiyah. Here are the top debuts overall:

  1. Jazaiyah, 46 baby girls
  2. Yahritza, 44
  3. Rhaenyra, 31
  4. Brisley, 29
  5. Navany, 28
  6. Jhersi, 27
  7. Aidanna, 22
  8. Soleen, 21
  9. Jeizy, 20
  10. Aizal, 19
  11. Yasani, 19
  12. Ayuri, 15
  13. Kheumani, 15
  14. Yasaniy, 15
  15. Lextyn, 14

Yahritza could be from the band Yahritza y Su Esencia, which was nominated for a couple of Latin Grammy Awards last year. And Rhaenyra is no doubt from Rhaenyra Targaryen, the character from House of the Dragon (the Game of Thrones prequel).

Here are some more debuts:

13 baby girlsArnaaz, Malenia, Nogivenname, Ridge, Taqdeer, Wrenlynn
12 baby girlsDebani, Keyoir, Sirey, Yavani
11 baby girlsEzmeray, Makkari, Vihika, Xalani
10 baby girlsAhmiri, Arhareddy, Audin, Bonnibelle, Debahni, Illiyeen, Mariahelena, Monaco, Ozzlyn, Pualena, Zenni
9 baby girlsGwynnevere, Keylany, Meilanni, Miyuri, Nyloni, Raihan, Ratza, Reza, Satouri, Silayah, Xile, Xoemi, Zamiri
8 baby girlsAdaleigha, Ahilany, Eivor, Elladora, Elyanis, Ensly, Ermani, Heimy, Iversyn, Izlani, Jaiyori, Kaelanni, Kaiomi, Kheilani, Kiptynn, Leialani, Lulwah, Malonii, Manraj, Miyomi, Myori, Ozma, Rishy, Rivie, Rufaida, Rynnlee, Wrenlyn, Wrennly, Xyelle, Yesbeth, Yulibeth

Debani, Debahni, and all similar names are spelling variants of Debanhi, one of the fastest-rising girl names of 2022. (“Nogivenname,” of course, is just a placeholder. I wonder which U.S. state it’s coming from…)

Finally, here’s a selection of the rest of the debuts:

  • 7 baby girls: Amias, Atla, Bibiaisha, Chiloh, Dazari, Effat, Fall, Ihlani, Kovi, Nelin, Sersi, Tomyris, Vaylynn, Yumeko, Zephra
  • 6 baby girls: Amni, Bauer, Debhani, Eana, Energi, Granger, Hallow, Harleaux, Idelette, Jaspen, Kanvi, Leomi, Masoka, Nanala, Phyre, Racelynn, Rush, Skipper, Taiga, Tiabeanie, Zouri
  • 5 baby girls: Akame, Anacaona, Apricity, Bardot, Castalia, Cloudy, Coyote, Cyxx, Finch, Genendel, Hecate, Iga, Illumi, Kawehilani, Klonni, Losaline, Lunar, Moonlight, Nynaeve, Ozra, Pendo, Plumeria, Posh, Raavee, Ryu, Seoul, Skylark, Tissaia, Tsiyon, Velour, Velzy, Yildiz, Zalora

Sersi is a character from the movie Eternals (2021), Tiabeanie is a character from the animated series Disenchantment, Nynaeve is a character from the series The Wheel of Time, and Tissaia is a character from the series The Witcher.

Apricity, intriguingly, is an obscure noun that refers to the warmth of the sun in winter. I’m not sure why parents are using at as a name now, though.

If you can explain any of the other debuts, please leave a comment!

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri