How popular is the baby name Sammy 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 Sammy.

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Popularity of the baby name Sammy


Posts that mention the name Sammy

Boy names beyond the top 1,000 of 2009

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Kelly recently clued me in to something extremely cool: the SSA has released lists of all the baby names that were given to 5+ babies in the U.S. every year since 1880. You can download the lists directly from the SSA.

I was going to publish all of the 2009 names here in a single post, but WordPress couldn’t handle it. So instead I’ll start where the top 1,000 left off and give you all the names that were given to 100+ babies last year.

Let’s start with boy names. The 1,000th most popular boy name last year was Mustafa, given to 194 babies. After Mustafa comes…

  • 193: Eddy, Edison, Jovany, Rayden, Ulysses
  • 192: Cordell, Leroy
  • 191: Brecken, Clarence, Dimitri, Immanuel, Nathanial
  • 190: Benson, Coby, Jedidiah, Joziah, Legend, Yehuda
  • 189: Kohen, Milton
  • 188: Brennon, Jayvon, Pierre, Sheldon, Simeon
  • 187: Bernard, Donavan, Taj, Thaddeus
  • 186: Eliseo
  • 185: Kamren, Kelton
  • 184: Jacobi, Rocky, Theo
  • 183: none
  • 182: Braylin, Turner
  • 181: Jaylan, Yousef
  • 180: Cristobal, Marcello, Maximillian, Santana
  • 179: Anish, Dariel, Gaven, Gordon, Lamont
  • 178: Darion, Daylen, Ephraim, Joan
  • 177: Domenic, Harvey, Javen, Major, Miller
  • 176: none
  • 175: Gibson, Iker, Johann
  • 174: Bishop, Glenn
  • 173: Cayson, Leif, Leighton, Lionel, Rishi
  • 172: Braedyn, Gonzalo, Jericho, Langston, Treyton
  • 171: Armaan, Jesiah, Lathan, Marquez, Menachem, Oswaldo, Truman
  • 170: Andreas, Estevan, Kooper, Reilly, Ryley
  • 169: Kamarion
  • 168: Coen, Eliot, Hank, Kyan, Markell, Miguelangel, Mikah, Otto
  • 167: Dion, Landry, Marques
  • 166: Anson, Geovanny, Jaedyn, Jai, Jullian, Maxton
  • 165: Aleksander, Bernardo, Channing, Darrius, Destin, Emory, Hendrix, Tayden
  • 164: Ameer, Dereck, Dwight, Enoch, Forrest, Nazir, Stephan
  • 163: Cornelius, Lucca, Mikel, Shimon, Tyce, Yisroel
  • 162: Carmine, Dontae, Jaleel, Keanu, Lennox, Shiloh
  • 161: Augustine, Dhruv, Perry
  • 160: Colter, Eamon, Thiago
  • 159: Boden, Presley, Rowen, Tegan, Treyvon
  • 158: Jan, Kenji, Zakary, Zyon
  • 157: Adin, Baron, Maksim, Nestor, Norman, Sammy
  • 156: Corban, Drayden, Ely, Mariano, Shamar, Tavion
  • 155: Arlo, Garret, Jamil, Keven, Shea, Vladimir, Zaden
  • 154: Elvin, Gannon, Guadalupe, Kavion, Kayleb, Kylen
  • 153: Camdyn, Devonte, Jael, Karim, Koby, Mayson, Nixon, Trenten
  • 152: Deshaun, Kenton, Milan, Siddharth
  • 151: Alexavier, Arman, Kannon, Lachlan, Zeke
  • 150: Abner, Arian, Efren, Jariel, Javian, Jordin
  • 149: Alexandro, Dandre, Francesco, Izaac, Kalvin, Stephon
  • 148: Amarion, Bayron, Caeden, Dewayne, Kennedy, Mordechai
  • 147: Alton, Bilal, Geoffrey, Jermiah, Kye, Lucien, Neel, Om, Tavin
  • 146: Barry, Beck, Blayne, Campbell, Ever, Gino, Haven, Ishan
  • 145: Benny, Brad, Emil
  • 144: Austen, Austyn, Briggs, Canaan, Crew, Dev, Emmitt, Guy, Jakub, Jarvis, Shannon, Trevion
  • 143: Clifford, Keller, Travon
  • 142: Kyree, Markel, Merrick
  • 141: Aarush, Ajay, Denis
  • 140: Aubrey, Daveon, Harlan, Sami, Sebastien
  • 139: Bryton, Clyde, Kelly, Khalid, Landan, Shlomo
  • 138: Bodhi, Briar, Fredy, Irving, Kalen, Rylen, Sabastian, Taven
  • 137: Baylor, Brantley, Chayse, Courtney, Cristiano, Dallin, Earl, Fidel, Jeshua, Judson, Korey, Lonnie, Marek, Oakley, Trae
  • 136: Anders, Coy
  • 135: Chevy, Cian, Don, Ewan, Jordy, Nery, Oskar, Ridge, Tatum, Vince
  • 134: Avi, Dezmond, Masen, Princeton, Syed, Tahj, Tristyn, Tylan
  • 133: Daryl, Johnpaul, Karsen, Kurt, Wilmer, Xavion
  • 132: Britton, Grayden, Rowdy, Tevin, Yahya
  • 131: Brandt, Clifton, Evin, Finnian, Gian, Kaidyn
  • 130: Coleton, Denver, Freddie, Gianluca, Jaren, Korbyn, Phineas, Yash
  • 129: Alexandre, Grey, Haden, Jakari, Leeland, Lloyd, Titan
  • 128: Alek, Aven, Ayan, Terence
  • 127: Bowen, Desean, Jeff, Jonatan, Kevon, Kollin, Lucius, Malakhi
  • 126: Demetri, Gerard, Hagen, Jaedon, Jaheim, Jeremias, Raymundo
  • 125: Avraham, Heriberto, Ira, Lester, Stetson, Tye
  • 124: Abdul, Arnold, Bodie, Broden, Canyon, Edmund, Gus, Keandre, Latrell, Rico, Shmuel
  • 123: Amar, Azariah, Braulio, Ervin, Otis
  • 122: Ayush, Brighton, Dyllan, Kent, Magnus, Myron, Nate, Nevin, Ramses, Torin
  • 121: Brysen, Daquan, Donnie, Jakai, Josef, Keyshawn, Mauro, Morris, Raheem, Rian, Rickey, Royal, Thatcher, Yaakov
  • 120: Benicio, Bryden, Colson, Emir, Fred, Izaak, Kurtis, Osmar, Sutton
  • 119: Harris, Jet, Juancarlos, Omarion, Rashawn, Treyson, Zahir
  • 118: Abhinav, Benito, Brooklyn, Leyton, Mikhail, Viktor
  • 117: Anakin, Darey, Duane, Johnnie, Kegan, Mikael, Osman, Pierson, Talen
  • 116: Azael, Dashiell, Devlin, Diesel, Dylon, Giovany, Jameer, Javien, Jaylyn, Kiran, Marion, Massimo, Obed
  • 115: Amauri, Deion, Gerson, Ishmael, Jarell, Nikita, Xavi
  • 114: Dan, Foster, Glen, Kaysen, Kyran, Rayyan, Tariq, Tiago, Tzvi
  • 113: Arya, Isidro, Kaison, Musa, Syncere, Uziel, Vihaan, Yariel
  • 112: Amani, Andrei, Carlton, Dameon, Demari, Deonte, Joseluis, Justyn, Karon, Manny, Neal, Patricio, Sahil, Shaan, Shayne, Stuart, Tobin, Vernon
  • 111: Damarcus, Darrin, Daylon, Hussein, Isac, Lazaro, Tyron, Zev
  • 110: Aayan, Angus, Benton, Brayson, Darrion, Jacorey, Kirk, Lyndon, Yurem
  • 109: Dashaun, Dayne, Jaysen, Jayven, Josias, Kaedyn, Linus, Maddix, Zephaniah
  • 108: Ahmir, Antwon, Deondre, Hans, Jahir, Khristian, Nolen, Rogan, Shia, Teegan
  • 107: Braydin, Clint, Daron, Gabe, Graysen, Jacari, Kain, Kayne, Khamari, Louie, Tavian, Trever, Westley, Zakaria
  • 106: Daylin, Eliel, Filip, Jahmir, Javonte, Kamdyn, Koda, Mykel, Rick, Zayd
  • 105: Canon, Darin, Gregorio, Kaine
  • 104: Adyn, Cadence, Chayce, Demarco, Eliyahu, Javin, Jimmie, Karsten, Ken, Travion, Xavior
  • 103: Atreyu, Ismail, Jackie, Kahlil, Marko, Paolo
  • 102: Athan, Christofer, Eleazar, Floyd, Henrik, Hyrum, Idris, Isael, Jamaal, Jelani, Kentrell, Maison
  • 101: Ashtyn, Emmet, Izak, Jaelyn, Jakobi, Jayshawn, Keshaun
  • 100: Achilles, Avrohom, Brant, Corbyn, Cormac, Imran, Javan, Kris, Osiel, Yaseen

Girl names coming soon!

Update: Here are the girl names.

Image: Adapted from Scattered stars in Sagittarius by ESA/Hubble under CC BY 4.0.

What gave the baby name Vidalia a boost in 1997?

The rare name Vidalia returned to the U.S. baby name data in 1996, then saw a spike in usage the very next year:

  • 1999: 6 baby girls named Vidalia
  • 1998: 13 baby girls named Vidalia
  • 1997: 17 baby girls named Vidalia
  • 1996: 11 baby girls named Vidalia
  • 1995: unlisted
  • 1994: unlisted

That 1997 high-point remained Vidalia’s peak usage for over two decades.

What inspired this sudden interest in the name Vidalia?

The country song “Vidalia” (pronounced vie-DAYL-ya) by Sammy Kershaw. The song was released in mid-1996 and, later the same year, reached #10 on Billboard‘s “Hot Country Songs” chart.

The song is about a girl named Vidalia whose parents combined their own names (“Your dear mama Violet/And your proud daddy Dale”) to come up with a name that happened to be the name of an onion — an unusually sweet onion, but an onion nonetheless (“Sweet Vidalia/You always gotta make me cry”).

The Vidalia onion — Georgia’s official state vegetable — was first discovered/grown near Vidalia, Georgia, in the early 1930s. (In fact, an old Atlanta Journal-Constitution article reveals that 5 of the baby Vidalias born between 1990 and 2008 were born in Georgia specifically.)

The town of Vidalia may have been named in honor of Spanish aristocrat Don José Vidal, or after Vidalia, Louisiana (which itself was named for Vidal).

The surname Vidal can be traced back to the Latin personal name Vitalis, which comes from the Latin word vita, meaning “life.”

What are your thoughts on the baby name Vidalia?

Sources:

(h/t to Jack in the comments for letting me know about the song!)

[Latest Update: Aug. 2021]

Where did the baby name Decca come from in 1956?

Decca advert from the of 1955.

In the mid-1950s, the name Decca was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: unlisted
  • 1956: 5 baby girls named Decca [debut]
  • 1955: unlisted
  • 1954: unlisted

The reason?

My guess is the famous record company Decca. I don’t have a specific reason why it would have emerged in the data in that particular year, but around that time they were putting out popular artists like Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Darin, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Tex Williams, Buddy Holly, and Bill Haley (of “Rock Around the Clock” fame).

The American branch of the British record company Decca was launched in 1934. The British company was created in 1929, but not from scratch — it began as a piece of a much older music company that had been sold off.

The older company was called Barnett Samuel and Sons (est. 1832). It was a family business that originally made musical instruments like banjos and pianos. Only in 1914 did the company begin making portable gramophones under the trade name “Decca,” which one of the Samuels had coined by taking the easy-to-pronounce word Mecca and changing it to Decca, using the “D” from Dulcephone (another of the company’s disk-playing products).

The Decca label is still around today — it’s part of Universal Music Group — but it’s nowhere near as prevalent as it used to be.

What do you think of “Decca” as a baby name?

Sources: Decca Records – Wikipedia, Barnett Samuel and Sons – Grace’s Guide, Explanation of the Word “Decca” – G&S Discography
Image from the Dec. 31, 1955, issue of Billboard.