How popular is the baby name Sergio 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 Sergio.

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Popularity of the baby name Sergio


Posts that mention the name Sergio

Baby name story: Etruria

RMS Etruria
RMS Etruria

That recent post about Altruria reminded me of a similar-sounding name: Etruria.

In early January, 1907, the Cunard ocean liner RMS Etruria encountered rough seas while crossing the Atlantic. Two of the crewmembers were killed, several others were injured, and passengers were forced to wait out the storm below deck.

During that time, a baby girl was born in steerage to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Goldstein. Her name? Etruria Rachel Goldstein.

And records reveal that the ship had at least one other namesake: Thomas Etruria Walter, born at sea aboard the Etruria in November of 1887.

The ship was in service from 1885 to 1908. It was named after the ancient civilization that lived in what is today central Italy. The earliest inhabitants of Etruria (that we know of) spoke Etruscan — the presumed origin of a handful of modern baby names including Anthony/Antonio, Camille/Camilla, Horatio, Ignatius, Lavinia, Minerva, and Sergey/Sergio.

Source: “Seaman Killed as Waves Swept Decks of Ocean Liner.” Daily True American [Trenton, NJ] 7 Jan. 1907: 1.
Image from a cover of Scientific American (Dec. 21, 1889)

Popular baby names in Spain, 2013

Flag of Spain
Flag of Spain

What are the top baby names in Spain?

According to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, the most popular baby names last year were Lucia and Hugo.

Here are Spain’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2013:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Lucia
2. Maria
3. Paula
4. Daniela
5. Martina
6. Carla
7. Sara
8. Sofia
9. Valeria
10. Julia
11. Alba
12. Claudia
13. Noa
14. Marta
15. Irene
16. Emma
17. Carmen
18. Laura
19. Ana
20. Ainhoa		1. Hugo
2. Daniel
3. Pablo
4. Alejandro
5. Alvaro
6. Adrian
7. David
8. Mario
9. Diego
10. Javier
11. Lucas
12. Nicolas
13. Manuel
14. Marcos
15. Iker
16. Sergio
17. Izan
18. Jorge
19. Carlos
20. Martin

I found this list via Name News by Clare, who said:

So many names I’d never have guessed (and, in some cases, have never heard of) here, like Alvaro, Ainhoa, Aitana, Leire, Nerea, and Ainara.

I agree. I also didn’t expect to see the boy names Aitor (35th), Asier (58th) or Unai (60th). Or the girl name Africa, which was 68th — way more common in Spain than here.

(Aitana, Leire, Nerea, and Ainara ranked 26th, 28th, 31st and 29th for girls, respectively.)

I haven’t blogged about the top names in Spain before, but I did have a post about the top names in Catalonia last year. Weirdly, I looked up Unai for that post — it’s Basque and means “cowherd.”

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (via Name News, via Nomes e mais nomes)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Spain (public domain)

Where did the baby name Jordache come from in 1980?

Jordache commercial
Jordache commercial

Young people have been wearing jeans since the 1950s, thanks to the influence of jeans-wearing movie stars like Marlon Brando, James Dean and Paul Newman.

But designer jeans didn’t catch on until the late 1970s.

Designer jeans, made for the dance floor and the roller-disco rink, were tighter, sexier, and more sophisticated. Their hallmarks were instantly recognizable: a covetable name and logo on the back pocket, a high price, and a curve-hugging fit.

And what brand went on to become one of the most popular designer jean brands of the 1980s?

Jordache (pronounced JOR-dash).

Jordache Logo
Jordache Logo

The Jordache Jeans label was created in New York City in 1978 by Israeli brothers Josef (Joe), Raphael (Ralph) and Abraham (Avi) Nakash.

The word Jordache was created from the “Jo” of Joe, the “R” of Ralph, the “D” of David (Ralph’s eldest son), the “A” of Avi, and sh-sound of Nakash.

The brothers had built up a small chain of stores selling brand-name jeans at discounted prices during the ’70s, but during the New York City blackout of 1977, their largest store was looted and burned down. With the insurance settlement, they decided to start manufacturing their own jeans.

But designer jeans by Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt, Chic, Sergio Valente, Sasson, Zena, Bon Jour, and others were already on the market. To differentiate themselves, the bothers launched a controversial advertising campaign for Jordache Jeans in January of 1979.

Banned by all three major television networks at first, the 1979 30-second spot featured a topless model on horseback clad only in Jordache and accompanied by the jingle “You’ve got the look I want to know better.”

The ad may have been too lewd for the big networks, “but the independent New York stations carried it, and within weeks Jordache was a hit among teenage girls.”

And so, by the start of the 1980s, Jordache was huge.

How huge?

So huge that it became a baby name.

Jordache first popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 1980:

  • 1982: unlisted
  • 1981: 8 baby boys named Jordache
  • 1980: 12 baby boys named Jordache [debut]
  • 1979: unlisted
  • 1978: unlisted

But the baby name Jordache didn’t catch on. It made the list three more times during the ’80s, then dropped off, never to return.

I find it really interesting that Jordache, a fashion brand, was use more often as a boy name than as a girl name. (I have found a handful of females with the name, so they do exist.)

What do you think — does the name “Jordache” seem masculine or feminine to you?

Sources:

Top image: Screenshot of Jordache commercial

60 Unique male saint names: Ariston, Cassian, Conon, Fintan…

You’re looking for a cool, uncommon saint name…but you haven’t had much luck.

Augustine’s not up your alley. Francis is too old fashioned. And how many people are really going to get “Aloysius” right on the first try?

I scoured the Roman Martyrology for 60 male saint names that might appeal to modern parents.

Because nearly all of the names refer to multiple saints, I didn’t bother with extra details like feast days. I did throw in a few nickname ideas, though.

  1. St. Alban.
  2. St. Amand, also known as Amandus.
  3. St. Ammon.
  4. St. Ananias.
  5. St. Ariston. Riston, Aris, Ari.
  6. St. Attalus.
  7. St. Audax, which means “daring, bold” in Latin. Dax, Audy.
  8. St. Azarias.
  9. St. Bretannio. Bret, Bretan.
  10. St. Cassian. Cash.
  11. St. Colman. Cole.
  12. St. Columban.
  13. St. Conon
  14. St. Corebus. Cory.
  15. St. Cyrion.
  16. St. Damasus.
  17. St. Davinus. Dave, Davy, Davin.
  18. St. Domitian. Dom.
  19. St. Emilian. Emil.
  20. St. Fintan. Fin.
  21. St. Galdinus, or the Italian form Galdino.
  22. St. Gavinus. Gavin.
  23. St. Gereon. Gerry.
  24. St. Gerinus. Gerry, Gerin.
  25. St. Gordian. Gordy.
  26. St. Hadrian…nope, not the Roman Emperor. Different guy.
  27. St. Ignatius. Nate, Iggy.
  28. St. Kilian, also spelled Killian.
  29. St. Leander. Andy, Lee.
  30. St. Leontius. Leon, Leo.
  31. St. Macarius. Mac.
  32. St. Magnus.
  33. St. Malchus. Mal.
  34. St. Marcellin. Marcel, Marce.
  35. St. Marcellus. Marcel, Marce.
  36. St. Maxentius. Max.
  37. St. Maximian. Max.
  38. St. Mellitus. Mel.
  39. St. Nazarius. Naz.
  40. St. Nicander. Nic, Andy.
  41. St. Nicanor. Nic.
  42. St. Nilus.
  43. St. Octavian. Tavian, Tave, Tavy.
  44. St. Remigius, or the French form Rémy. Remi.
  45. St. Romulus, or the Italian form Romolo. Rom, Romy.
  46. St. Sabbas, also spelled Sabas.
  47. St. Sennen.
  48. St. Sergius, or the more familiar form Sergio. Serge.
  49. St. Severin. Sev.
  50. St. Straton.
  51. St. Swithin.
  52. St. Theonas. Theo.
  53. St. Thrason.
  54. St. Thyrsus.
  55. St. Timon. Tim, Timmy.
  56. St. Tryphon.
  57. St. Tychon.
  58. St. Valens. Val.
  59. St. Verian.
  60. St. Zenas. Zen.

Killian is the only saint name on the list that has ranked among the top 1,000 baby names in the nation within the last 100 years. (The single-L version has never ranked, though.)

Did you see any names you liked?

And, do you know of any good ones that I missed?

Update, June 2014: Just posted about another unique male saint name, Cono.