How popular is the baby name Richard 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 Richard.

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Popularity of the baby name Richard


Posts that mention the name Richard

Babies named for the Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar — during which an outnumbered Royal Navy fleet (under Horatio Nelson) soundly defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet (under Napoleon Bonaparte) — took place off the south-western coast of Spain, near Cape Trafalgar, on October 21, 1805.

The battle cost Nelson his life, but the decisive victory “cemented Britain’s reputation as ruler of the seas.”

Dozens of babies in England were given the name “Trafalgar,” typically as a middle, over the next few years. Most of them were boys, but several were girls. Some examples…

  • John Trafalgar Black, b. 1806 in England
  • John Trafalgar Cotton, b. 1807 in England
  • Joseph Trafalgar Dowding, b. circa 1806 in England
  • Jane Trafalgar Grapes, b. 1805 in England
    • Among her siblings were William Nile (b. circa 1798), Charles Wellington (b. circa 1811), and Charlotte Waterloo (b. circa 1815) — likely named for the Battle of the Nile, the Duke of Wellington, and the Battle of Waterloo.
  • William Trafalgar Hannah, b. 1806 in England
  • Richard Trafalgar Hillgrove, b. 1807 in England
  • Robert Trafalgar May, b. 1807 in England
  • Louisa Trafalgar Priske, b. 1805 in England
  • John Trafalgar Salmon, b. 1805 in England
  • Samuel Trafalgar Sparks, b. 1807 in England

A good number of these babies — including Nelson Trafalgar Black (b. 1805 in Scotland) and Horatio Trafalgar Taylor (b. 1806 in England) — were also named in honor of the late admiral.

The Spanish place-name Trafalgar can be traced back to a pair of Arabic words. The first, taraf, means “edge, extremity” (in reference to the cape itself), and the second may mean “west.”

Sources: Battle of Trafalgar – Wikipedia, Battle of Trafalgar – Britannica, Battle of Trafalgar Timeline – National Maritime Museum, Cape Trafalgar – Wikipedia, FamilySearch.org

Image: Adapted from Battle of Trafalgar (1836) by William Clarkson Stanfield

D.C. sextuplets: Emily, Richard, Octavia, Stella, Ann-Marie, Alison

Thompson sextuplets
The five surviving Thompson sextuplets

In May of 1997, Washington, D.C., couple Linden and Jacqueline “Jackie” Thompson welcomed sextuplets.

What were the names of all six babies? Here are their firsts and middles:

  • Emily Elizabeth
  • Richard Linden
  • Octavia Daniella
  • Stella Kimberly
  • Ann-Marie Amanda
  • Alison Nicole (stillborn)

Richard was named after Linden’s late brother, Octavia after Jackie’s mother, Stella after Jackie’s grandmother, and Ann-Marie after Jackie’s sister. The name of the fifth surviving sextuplet, Emily, was one that Jackie simply liked. (Emily was the #1 girl name in the nation from 1996 to 2007.)

Despite being the first black family in the U.S. to have sextuplets, the Thompsons didn’t receive much in the way of publicity or material assistance.

Six months later, the white McCaughey family of Iowa welcomed septuplets. The McCaugheys received not just media attention but “a 12-seat Chevrolet van, baby food, Pampers, clothes, car seats, strollers, milk, groceries and even funding for the children’s college education.”

Eventually — thanks to “the rage of the black community, echoing through black radio talk shows” — the mainstream media covered the Thompson family, and this “exposure forced the corporate community and others to intervene and assist the Thompsons.”

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the cover of Jet magazine (29 Dec. 1997)

Where did the baby name Shireen come from in 1923?

The characters Omar and Shireen from the movie "Omar the Tentmaker" (1922)
Omar and Shireen from “Omar the Tentmaker“

The baby name Shireen first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1923:

  • 1925: unlisted
  • 1924: unlisted
  • 1923: 5 baby girls named Shireen [debut]
  • 1922: unlisted
  • 1921: unlisted

A similar uptick can be seen in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) data the same year:

  • 1925: 3 people named Shireen
  • 1924: 2 people named Shireen
  • 1923: 4 people named Shireen
  • 1922: no one named Shireen
  • 1921: 1 person named Shireen

What was drawing attention to the name Shireen around that time?

Two different characters in the silent film Omar the Tentmaker, which was released in December of 1922.

The movie was loosely based on the life of medieval Iranian polymath Omar Khayyam. Here’s how it was described in an advertisement:

Omar, most daring poet of ancient Persia, secretly wooed the beautiful, the forbidden Shireen, destined to be the bride of the Shah. Fleeing in the night, the Shah’s slaves tear them apart. Follows thrill, romance and conflict before the lovers are reunited in a most spectacular and smashing climax.

The plot, which spans a number of years, actually features two romances: the primary one between Omar (played by Guy Bates Post) and Shireen (Virginia Brown Faire), and a secondary one between the couple’s grown daughter “little Shireen” (Patsy Ruth Miller) and a Christian crusader.

The film was adapted from the 1914 play of the same name by playwright Richard Walton Tully.

The Persian name Shireen (also spelled Shirin) is transliteration of a Persian word meaning “sweet.” What are your thoughts on the name?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from Shadowland magazine (Oct. 1922)

Rare baby name: Castara

The book "Castara" (1634) by William Habington
“Castara“

While searching for “star” names recently, I discovered the curious name Castara, which was given to dozens of baby girls in the U.S. during the 1800s.

Some examples…

“Castara” reminded me of both Castor, the name from Greek mythology (and also the name of a star, coincidentally), and Castoria, the name of the old-timey patent medicine.

But I think the most likely explanation for this one is literature.

A volume of poetry called Castara was published anonymously in London in 1634. Later editions of the collection included extra poems and revealed the name of the author: William Habington, who’d invented the name “Castara” as a pseudonym for his wife, Lucy Herbert.

Habington’s poems had titles like…

  • “To Castara, Softly singing to her selfe.”
  • “To Castara, Inquiring why I loved her.”
  • “To Cupid, Upon a dimple in Castara’s cheeke.”
  • “To Castara, Upon a trembling kisse at departure.”
  • “To Castara, Weeping.”
  • “To Castara, Upon an embrace.”

Many of the poems praised Castara’s innocence and purity, so I believe Habington created the pseudonym from the Latin word castus, which means “morally pure,” “chaste.” (Castus is the word from which chaste derives, in fact.)

One researcher noted that, after Habington’s poems were published, the name Castara “rapidly [became] a generic name for a woman one might be in love with” in literature. For instance, in British writer Anna Maria Porter’s novel A Sailor’s Friendship (1805), the hero (who was probably modeled after Admiral Horatio Nelson) had a love interest named Castara.

Habington’s poems could be found in anthologies published in the U.S. during the 19th century. Several are featured in Richard Henry Stoddard’s The Loves and Heroines of the Poets (1861), for example. I also spotted mentions of Castara in various American periodicals (e.g., “…eloquent lines of Habington to his Castara…” in a California newspaper in 1857).

Despite this, the name Castara never caught on like some of the other names coined by writers — names such as Lorna, Pamela, Vanessa, and Wendy.

What are your thoughts on the name Castara?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from Castara