How popular is the baby name Silvia 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 Silvia.

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Popularity of the baby name Silvia


Posts that mention the name Silvia

Baby names of Antarctica: Solveig, Emilio, Juan, Gisella

Only a handful of babies have been born on Antarctica. Ever wonder what their names are?

Me too. So I looked them up.

First I should mention Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen, a Norwegian baby girl who was born on South Georgia Island on October 8, 1913. She wasn’t the first baby born on Antarctica itself, but she was the first baby born in the southern polar region.

The first true Antarctican baby was Emilio Marcos de Palma, born at Argentine research station Esperanza Base in Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula, Antarctica, on January 7, 1978.

Silvia Morella de Palma, the wife of Esperanza’s station leader, was flown in when she was seven months pregnant. The idea was to claim sovereignty by giving birth to the first native-born Antarctican.

Over the next five years, seven more babies were born at Esperanza Base, but I haven’t had any luck tracking down their names.

But — given the “historical rivalry between Chile and Argentina” — you can bet that Chile wasn’t going to be far behind on this. The only other civilian settlement in Antarctica, Villa Las Estrellas, located on a Chilean military base on King George Island, welcomed its first baby, Juan Pablo Camacho, in 1984.

Nicknaming him “the penguin,” [military officials in General Pinochet’s government] contended that he was the first baby conceived and born in Antarctica, drawing a contrast to Argentines born to mothers who might have given birth in Antarctica but became pregnant elsewhere.

Two more babies (one named Gisella) have since been born at Villa Las Estrellas.

If you happen to know the names/nationalities of any of the other Antarctican babies, please leave a comment!

P.S. Babies born on the other side of the world — in the Arctic — include Charlie Polaris, Marie Ahnighito, and Karina.

Sources:

Image: Argentinian station Esperanza by Samuel Blanc under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Environmental baby names: Forrest, Rain, River, Sky

Today on Blog Action Day, thousands of bloggers from all over the world will be writing about environmental issues.

You may be wondering: How can baby names be linked to the environment?

Well, people name their children after family members (e.g. Uncle Joe), religious figures (St. Patrick), places (London), concepts (Hope)… things that matter to them, things they deem important enough to honor.

If you feel strongly about a certain environmental issue, why not do the same thing? There’s surely a baby name out there with a connection to that issue.

For instance, here are two environmental issues I’m personally concerned about and some baby names that remind me of them:

  • The sea ice that polar bears depend on is melting due to global climate change. Because of this habitat loss, polar bears may soon soon be considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Baby names that have to do with bears or ice include Bernard, Bjorn, Crystal, Dov, Orson, Osborn and Ursula.
  • Deforestation is occurring globally at an unprecedented rate. The loss of forests adversely affects biodiversity, wildlife, geography and climate. Baby names that have to do with forests or trees include Aspen, Forrest, Holly, Laurel, Linden, Silvester, Silvia, Tamar and Willow.

If you’re worried about the impact that dams have on the environment, you could think about River or Rio. If you feel it’s imperative that we protect the Great Barrier Reef, you could consider Coral or Coralie. If your pet cause is ozone depletion, try Sky; if it’s overfishing, maybe Ocean.

What issues mean the most to you? Leave me a comment and I’ll come up with a few related baby names…