How popular is the baby name Rudolph 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 Rudolph.
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Tuesday’s post about the Victorian-style Tylney Hall Hotel reminded me of a list of Victorian-era names that I’ve had bookmarked forever.
The list was created by amateur genealogist G. M. Atwater as a resource for writers. It contains names and name combinations that were commonly seen in the U.S. from the 1840s to the 1890s. Below is the full list (with a few minor changes).
| Victorian Era Female Names | Victorian Era Male Names |
|---|---|
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Which female name and male name do you like best?
On October 1, 1845, a baby girl was born in Texas to German immigrants Joseph and Elizabeth Beitel.
What did they name their daughter? Annexation.
Why? Probably to celebrate the annexation of the Republic of Texas by the United States.
In February of 1845 — during the last days of the presidency of John Tyler — the U.S. Congress voted in favor of admitting Texas to the Union. That the summer and fall, Texas assented to the annexation and drew up a new constitution. Finally, in late December, President James K. Polk signed the annexation bill into law, making Texas the 28th state.
Though she’s listed as “Annexation” on both the 1850 and 1860 U.S. Censuses, Annexation Beitel seemed to prefer the nicknames “Anna” and “Annie” during her lifetime, as this is how her name appears in most other places.
Joseph and Elizabeth also had at least eight other children from the 1830s to the 1850s. Here are the names of all nine, from oldest to youngest:
Sources: FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Texas annexation – Wikipedia
Image: Clipping of the 1860 U.S. Census
Want a boy name that’s not popular, but also not unheard of?
I looked through all the names at the bottom of SSA’s 2011 mega-list and found a bunch of hidden gems:
(In some cases, a different spelling of the name is more popular than what’s shown here. For instance, Laurence is rare, but Lawrence is moderately popular.)
Like any of these?
Spot any other good names at the end of the list?
P.S. Here’s the girls’ list.
Image: Adapted from Birmanian rock crystals by Mauro Cateb under CC BY-SA 3.0.
The unusual baby name Frosty has appeared in the U.S. baby name data just once so far:
What inspired this sudden interest in Frosty?
The Christmas song “Frosty the Snow Man,” believe it or not. Written and composed by Steve Nelson and Walter “Jack” Rollins, it was first published in 1950.
The lyrics tell the story of a snowman named Frosty (with “a corncob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal”) who magically comes to life when an “old silk hat” is placed on his head.
Gene Autry was one of the first artists to record it, and his version saw the greatest success during the 1950 holiday season. According to Billboard magazine, Autry’s “Frosty” peaked at #2 on the Best Selling Children’s Records chart for several weeks in a row at the end of 1950 and the beginning of 1951. More importantly, it peaked at #7 on the Best Selling Pop Singles chart during the first week of 1951. (The rankings that week were “based on reports received December 27, 28 and 29.”)
Other recordings of “Frosty the Snow Man” available during the 1950 holiday season included versions by Nat “King” Cole, Red Foley, Roy Rogers, Vaughn Monroe, Curt Massey, Guy Lombardo, Dick “Two-Ton” Baker, Harry Babbitt, and Jimmy Durante.
What are your thoughts on Frosty as a baby name? Do you like it more or less than Bimbo?
P.S. The biggest hit of Gene Autry’s career? “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” released just ahead of the 1949 holiday season. (Incidentally, the name Rudolph saw peak usage around the time Italian-born silent film actor Rudolph Valentino died in 1926, at age 31.)
Sources:
Image: “Frosty the Snow Man” sheet music (Smithsonian)
