How popular is the baby name Sky 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 Sky.

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Popularity of the baby name Sky


Posts that mention the name Sky

How did “The Edge of Night” influence baby names?

The characters Sara, Laurie Ann, and Mike Karr from the TV soap opera "The Edge of Night" (1956-1984).
Sara, Laurie Ann, and Mike Karr from “The Edge of Night“

The Edge of Night (1956-1984) was a television soap opera with heavy crime drama elements (e.g., courtroom scenes). It was based directly on the radio drama Perry Mason (1943-1955). In fact, the central character of EoN — a police officer/lawyer named Mike Karr — was played by actor John Larkin, who had been the voice of Perry during the last eight years of the radio show.

EoN was a popular soap, ranking anywhere from 2nd to 6th from its inception until the early 1970s. More importantly, though, several EoN characters/actors ended up influencing the U.S. baby name charts.

First we have Teal, which debuted in the data in 1957:

  • 1962: 24 baby girls named Teal
  • 1961: 35 baby girls named Teal
  • 1960: 28 baby girls named Teal
  • 1959: 21 baby girls named Teal
  • 1958: 28 baby girls named Teal
  • 1957: 14 baby girls named Teal [debut]
  • 1956: unlisted

Teal was inspired by actress Teal Ames, who played Mike’s girlfriend/wife Sara Karr on the show from 1956 to 1961. When Teal decided to quit show business, the character was killed off Edge of Night in a car crash. “CBS received so many anxious and hysterical calls after this episode that actress Teal Ames had to go on the air the following day to assure her fans that she was still very much alive.”

(That said, another potential influence on the name was Japanese-American jazz singer Teal Joy — real name Elsie Itashiki — who put out an album and started appearing on TV in late 1957.)

Next is Laurieann, which debuted in 1959. (And, a year later, the similar name Laurieanne popped up.)

  • 1964: 25 baby girls named Laurieann
  • 1963: 39 baby girls named Laurieann
  • 1962: 35 baby girls named Laurieann
  • 1961: 23 baby girls named Laurieann
  • 1960: 21 baby girls named Laurieann
  • 1959: 5 baby girls named Laurieann [debut]
  • 1958: unlisted

No doubt Laurieann and Laurieanne were given a nudge by Laurie, which was at peak popularity in the early ’60s (perhaps thanks to Piper Laurie). But the more direct influence was fictional Laurie Ann Karr, Mike and Sara’s only daughter, who was born in the storyline in September of 1959.

Ratings for EoN weren’t as good from the mid-1970s onward, but by then the show was becoming known for something entirely different: unusual character names. These included Taffy, Lobo, Morlock, Cookie, Gunther, Didi, Smiley, Raven, and Schuyler. (Raven and Sky were a couple, of course.) And several of these unusual names got a boost in real life, thanks to the show.

For instance, character Draper Scott was featured in the storyline from 1975 to 1981. The baby name Draper re-emerged in the SSA data in 1976 and saw peak usage in 1980:

  • 1981: 40 baby boys named Draper
  • 1980: 46 baby boys named Draper
  • 1979: 39 baby boys named Draper
  • 1978: 36 baby boys named Draper
  • 1977: 35 baby boys named Draper
  • 1976: 15 baby boys named Draper
  • 1975: unlisted

And female character Winter Austin, who was on the show from 1978 to 1979, pushed the baby name Winter into the top 1,000 for the first time in the late ’70s:

  • 1980: 140 baby girls named Winter
  • 1979: 241 baby girls named Winter [rank: 705th]
  • 1978: 137 baby girls named Winter [rank: 1,000th]
  • 1977: 29 baby girls named Winter

Were you a regular viewer of The Edge of Night? Did you have any opinions on the character names?

Sources:

Image: from TV Radio Mirror, July 1961

P.S. Here’s a post with a bunch more soap opera-inspired baby names.

Numerology: Baby names with a value of 1

Baby names with a numerological value of 1

If you’re on the hunt for baby names with a numerological value of 1, you’re in luck! Because today’s post features hundreds of 1-names.

Before we get to the names, though — how do we know that they’re “ones” in numerology?

Turning names into numbers

Here’s how to calculate the numerological value of a name.

First, for each letter, come up with a number to represent that letter’s position in the alphabet. (Letter A would be number 1, letter B would be number 2, and so forth.) Then, add all the numbers together. If the sum has two or more digits, add the digits together recursively until the result is a single digit. That single digit is the name’s numerological value.

For instance, the letters in the name Taylor correspond to the numbers 20, 1, 25, 12, 15, and 18. The sum of these numbers is 91. The digits of 91 added together equal 10, and the digits of 10 added together equal 1 — the numerological value of Taylor.

Baby names with a value of 1

Below you’ll find the most popular 1-names per gender, according to the latest U.S. baby name data. I’ve further sub-categorized them by total sums — just in case any of those larger numbers are significant to anyone.

1 via 10

The letters in the following baby names add up to 10, which reduces to one (1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 10)Boy name (1 via 10)
Eda, Dea, Ebba, Adda, AdeAde

1 via 19

The letters in the following baby names add up to 19, which reduces to one (1+9=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 19)Boy names (1 via 19)
Mae, Ema, Abbie, Alea, AelaAdam, Jace, Dan, Jed, Jah

1 via 28

The letters in the following baby names add up to 28, which reduces to one (2+8=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 28)Boy names (1 via 28)
Eva, Eden, Lana, Ari, Adalee, Dani, Andi, Nala, Vada, Aleia, Dina, Ira, Jael, Adalia, Ria, Ciana, FiadhAlan, Ari, Eden, Mack, Case, Ira, Ash, Jael, Deen, Adin, Cy, Om

1 via 37

The letters in the following baby names add up to 37, which reduces to one (3+7=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 37)Boy names (1 via 37)
Elena, Cora, Alina, Alani, Rebecca, Liana, Kate, Ariah, Faye, Amalia, Mina, India, Elsa, Leena, Kya, Elara, Isha, Aiza, Naila, Iman, Jaleah, Legaci, Nami, Anali, Shai, Alanah, Baker, Laina, Ilana, Ren, Jaya, Luca, Manha, Kobi, Adelaida, Aleen, Gabby, Aveah, BlimaLuca, Baker, Axl, Van, Coen, Shai, Jamal, Ren, Azai, Shia, Nick, Niam, Eiden, Amin, Ajay, Iman, Naim, Kobi, Brice, Enoc, Maceo, Alain, Buck, Abhay

1 via 46

The letters in the following baby names add up to 46, which reduces to one (4+6=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 46)Boy names (1 via 46)
Gianna, Zoe, Hannah, Maeve, Lucia, Reagan, Zara, Vera, Adaline, Daniela, Raegan, Aitana, Adelina, Azalea, Elisa, Ailani, Elaine, Imani, Edith, Dayana, Katie, Marie, Dior, Erin, Aileen, Sol, Iliana, Lacey, Salma, Araya, Etta, Aminah, Agnes, Colbie, Aarya, Noel, Ariela, Carina, Navi, Isela, Jamila, Cienna, Lenna, Lula, Melek, Arlo, Zena, Dove, Avalee, Sabina, Malena, Tate, Analiah, Ily, Lainee, Adleigh, Raelee, Azra, Kiya, Reva, Meira, Avni, Anvi, Orla, Randi, Cairo, FabiolaElias, Juan, Leon, Ivan, Arlo, Tate, Zane, Damien, Cairo, Erick, Cesar, Malik, Pablo, Noel, Blaze, Dior, Alfred, Damari, Mekhi, Decker, Bobby, Dereck, Link, Elon, Azaiah, Isael, Sol, Ender, Reagan, Isiah, Ammar, Jahir, Boyd, Jacobo, Sir, Ciaran, Lando, Hero, Demian, Devan, Asiel, Locke, Branch, Dandre, Jaheim, Neev, Pete, Ward, Emari, Jedediah, Deluca, Kayde, Imani, Navi, Esau, Rehan

1 via 55

The letters in the following baby names add up to 55, which reduces to one (5+5=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 55)Boy names (1 via 55)
Iris, Nevaeh, Hadley, Freya, Aspen, Camille, Joanna, Gabriela, Heaven, Mariam, Emerie, Leyla, Kyra, Sky, Monica, Zaria, Averi, Lexie, Kamilah, Neriah, Jewel, Zahara, Zoie, Zaira, Neveah, Azari, Asiya, Joey, Melania, Kapri, Linnea, Romi, Breanna, Lois, Aviva, Arlene, Maven, Samadhi, Marin, Cindy, Izabel, Maelani, Iylah, Lumi, Liora, Junia, Jayne, Miabella, Shira, Joella, Analaya, Grey, Kaiyah, Liyah, Nashla, LilliaJett, Edward, Jorge, Edwin, Grady, Conrad, Davis, Grey, Kellan, Joey, Vihaan, Imran, Aspen, Aizen, Danilo, Kody, Ralph, Malakhi, Krue, Kallen, Rogan, Ezio, Aariz, Sky, Azari, Holt, Miran, Armin, Edmond, Zaine, Maddix, Jaziah, Jaydan, Caelum, Mohamad, Josef, Namir, Haris, Jariel, Kadyn, Mikail, Blaize, Cloud, Kanon, Tafari, Amadou, Saleem

1 via 64

The letters in the following baby names add up to 64, which reduces to one (6+4=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 64)Boy names (1 via 64)
Emily, Piper, Tessa, Makayla, Sabrina, Frankie, Azariah, Arleth, Mavis, Miley, Mercy, Natasha, Emiliana, Zyla, True, Jubilee, Campbell, Moriah, Emmarie, Iyanna, Zion, Cirilla, Abrielle, Angely, Evalina, Lucinda, Lindy, Marbella, Carley, Loren, Chosen, Posie, Marlena, Cailyn, Yohana, Catalaya, Israel, MayteJaxon, Zion, Knox, Brody, Peter, Israel, Lukas, Ronald, Arjun, Roland, Azariah, Kyree, Yehuda, Avyaan, Titan, Chosen, Campbell, Frankie, Lucien, True, Avraham, Draven, Oskar, Anton, Barry, Arnold, Evren, Kaidyn, Levy, Zohan, Jaquan, Klaus, Vander, Arvin, Camron, Ryu, Kyair, Amadeus, Bryar, Lavon, Marcell, Safwan, Loren, Riggin, Jakoby, Nikita, Amenadiel, Bradyn, Bruin, Ayoub, Deontae, Kendric, Milano, Keyden

1 via 73

The letters in the following baby names add up to 73, which reduces to one (7+3=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 73)Boy names (1 via 73)
Kaylani, Brynn, Carolina, Calliope, Jazmin, Marleigh, Elliot, Baylor, Karter, Bexley, Egypt, Nataly, Kailany, Patience, Lesly, Yuri, Zinnia, Serafina, Elinor, Jurnee, Kayleen, Dottie, Rhylee, Devorah, Ridley, Lynlee, Roxana, Susie, Kyomi, Mirabella, Stacey, ZaylahJackson, Joseph, Ezekiel, Elliot, Nicolas, Karter, Sergio, Baylor, Colter, Sincere, Jayceon, Hezekiah, Alberto, Ambrose, Jiraiya, Kelvin, Gordon, Stone, Marlon, Dhruv, Josias, Bronx, Vaughn, Harris, Giannis, Gilbert, Clifford, Kyren, Tyree, Kymani, Uziel, Lazaro, Zavian, Yuri, Egypt, Ridley, Kairos, Xayden, Jaxsen, Devansh, Antwan, Antoni, Eythan, Cruze, Dmitri, Zuko, Saxon, Ripken, Vedansh, Astro, Kingdom, Tidus, Weldon

1 via 82

The letters in the following baby names add up to 82, which reduces to one (8+2=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 82)Boy names (1 via 82)
Allison, Julianna, Kamryn, Meredith, Wrenlee, Zhuri, Kaisley, Clarissa, Lizbeth, Arisbeth, Addyson, Kiyomi, Jersey, Kaelynn, Letty, Sunnie, Marlow, Blakelyn, Lillith, Perry, Kinzlee, Maverick, Arianny, Eowyn, Yasmeen, Charlize, Yasmina, Minerva, Harlowe, Karmyn, Zaliyah, Rosanna, Hendrix, Kynnedi, Maddilyn, Sonora, ReverieMaverick, Zachary, Hendrix, Phillip, Thaddeus, Mitchell, Kartier, Alfonso, Kamryn, Crosby, Dimitri, Kross, Shlomo, Perry, Kamarion, Quest, Jersey, Zenith, Jayvian, Marlow, Sholom, Yannis

1 via 91

The letters in the following baby names add up to 91, which reduces to one (9+1=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 91)Boy names (1 via 91)
Everleigh, Katherine, Taylor, Sawyer, Payton, Phoenix, Braelynn, Kensley, Liberty, Loretta, Angelique, Scottie, Lauryn, Julissa, Seraphina, Xochitl, Roxanne, Zeynep, Kynslee, Daenerys, Madyson, Yehudis, Taelynn, Mariajose, Lovely, Olympia, Kynleigh, Brexley, HudsynGiovanni, Sawyer, Phoenix, Matthias, Johnathan, Cassius, Taylor, Yousef, Agustin, Zymir, Payton, Uzziah, Hussain, Hudsyn, Rivers, Nestor, Zuriel, Kaiyzen, Leyton, Patricio, Siddharth, Witten, Llewyn, Scottie, Zyheir, Chozyn

1 via 100

The letters in the following baby names add up to 100, which reduces to one (1+0+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 100)Boy names (1 via 100)
Presley, Vivienne, Clementine, Brynleigh, Taytum, Austyn, Yaritza, Joselyn, Paulette, Jordynn, Temperance, Wednesday, Collyns, Henrietta, LillyannaMaximus, Ezequiel, Quentin, Presley, Zaxton, Everette, Shivansh, Yunus, Quinten, Ignatius, Austyn, Avyukt, Taytum, Heriberto

1 via 109

The letters in the following baby names add up to 109, which reduces to one (1+0+9=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 109)Boy names (1 via 109)
Sutton, Brittany, Raylynn, Zipporah, Sunshine, Hennessy, JoslynnKingston, Sutton, Westley, Rigoberto, Khristian, Tristin, Rayshawn

1 via 118

The letters in the following baby names add up to 118, which reduces to one (1+1+8=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 118)Boy names (1 via 118)
Rosalynn, Shaylynn, Westlyn, Sharlotte, KynzleyDemitrius, Anastasios, Barrington, Jatavious, Quinntin

1 via 127

The letters in the following baby names add up to 127, which reduces to one (1+2+7=10; 1+0=1).

Girl names (1 via 127)Boy names (1 via 127)
Quetzaly, Karrington, Lillyrose, Rosselyn, RoselynneStratton, Odysseus, Maksymilian, Muhammadumar, Chukwuebuka

Number 1: Significance and associations

What does the number one mean in numerology?

There’s no definitive answer, unfortunately, because various numerological systems exist, and each one has its own interpretation of the number one. That said, if we look at a couple of modern numerology/astrology websites, we see 1 being described as “leader,” “independent,” “determined,” “creative,” and “self-assured.”

We can also look at associations, which are a bit more concrete. Here are a few things that are associated with the number 1:

  • Unity
  • Uniqueness
  • First place (as in sports)
  • Unicorn
  • Monolith

I kept the list short because you can associate the number 1 with just about anything. It’s universal, you might say. (See what I did there?)

What does the number 1 mean to you? What are your strongest associations with the number?

P.S. To see names with other numerological values, check out the posts for the numbers two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine.

Sources: SSA, Numerology – Cafe Astrology, The meaning of the numbers 1 – 9 – World Numerology, 1 – Wikipedia

[Latest update: Jan. 2024]

111 Minimalist baby names

boat, water

Are you a baby name minimalist?

If so, here’s a long list of baby names that fall somewhere between short/simple and modern/stylish.

All 111 of these names have made gains recently — Hank and Linus included!

For details on usage, click through to see the popularity graphs.

  1. Ace
  2. Amal
  3. Amna
  4. Amos
  5. Ander
  6. Ansel
  7. Ari
  8. Arlo
  9. Asa
  10. Asher
  11. Aspen
  12. Atlas
  13. Avi
  14. Aziz
  15. Azra
  16. Beck
  17. Clio
  18. Colt
  19. Cora
  20. Dash
  21. Dax
  22. Dean
  23. Demi
  24. Eden
  25. Elon
  26. Ember
  27. Ender
  28. Enzo
  29. Esme
  30. Ever
  31. Ezra
  32. Felix
  33. Ford
  34. Fox
  35. Gaia
  36. Halo
  37. Hank
  38. Haven
  39. Hawk
  40. Honor
  41. Huck
  42. Hugo
  43. Idris
  44. Io
  45. Juno
  46. Kai
  47. King
  48. Koa
  49. Lane
  50. Lark
  51. Leo
  52. Lev
  53. Levi
  54. Linus
  55. Liv
  56. Loki
  57. Lola
  58. Lotus
  59. Luca
  60. Luna
  61. Lux
  62. Mia
  63. Milo
  64. Mina
  65. Mira
  66. Nala
  67. Nara
  68. Nash
  69. Neo
  70. Nico
  71. Nola
  72. Noor
  73. Nora
  74. Nova
  75. Ori
  76. Orla
  77. Orli
  78. Pax
  79. Reem
  80. Remy
  81. Rex
  82. Rio
  83. Riva
  84. Ronan
  85. Rory
  86. Rush
  87. Sage
  88. Sia
  89. Silas
  90. Sky
  91. Sol
  92. Soren
  93. Taj
  94. Tesla
  95. Thea
  96. Theo
  97. Thor
  98. Titan
  99. Titus
  100. Valor
  101. Vida
  102. West
  103. Zane
  104. Zelda
  105. Zen
  106. Zia
  107. Zion
  108. Ziv
  109. Ziva
  110. Zola
  111. Zora

What are your thoughts on minimalist-style baby names? Will you be using one? (Have you used one already?)

Image: Adapted from La pirogue à balancier by Brigitte Bourger under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2016

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

I love that the Social Security Administration releases so much baby name data to the public. But I’ve always had mixed feelings about that 5-baby threshold for inclusion. (Due to privacy concerns, the government doesn’t release names given to fewer than 5 babies per gender, per year.)

Part of me appreciates the threshold. For instance, I like that it adds significance to the pop culture-inspired debut names I’m always posting about, as these names had to hit a certain minimum level of usage in order to register in the data.

But the other part of me? The other part just really, really wants to see those rare/crazy names at the bottom of the list.

So I get excited when I find U.S. data from an official source that does go down to single-instance usage. Up until recently, I only knew about Sonoma County and Los Angeles County, but recently I discovered that Iowa (an entire state!) also releases down-to-1 baby name data. Yay!

But before we get to the rare names, let’s look at the state of Iowa’s top baby names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Olivia, 203 baby girls
2. Emma, 181
3. Charlotte, 158
4. Harper, 156
5. Ava & Evelyn, 148 each (2-way tie)
6. Amelia, 125
7. Nora, 123
8. Sophia, 112
9. Addison, 101
10. Grace, 96

Boy Names
1. Oliver, 197 baby boys
2. Owen, 178
3. William, 174
4. Wyatt, 170
5. Henry, 165
6. Liam, 159
7. Noah, 149
8. Benjamin, 148
9. Jackson, 144
10. Lincoln, 123

  • In the girls’ top 10, Addison and Grace replaced Avery.
  • In the boys’ top 10, Benjamin and Lincoln replaced Mason and Elijah.
  • In 2015, the top two names were Emma and Liam.

(The SSA rankings for Iowa are similar, but not exactly the same. One notable difference on is that the SSA ranks Grayson 10th on the boys list, and puts Lincoln down in 13th.)

And now for the rarities!

Iowa’s website offers interactive baby name usage graphs that include all names bestowed at least once from 2000 to 2016. Here’s a sampling of rare baby names in Iowa (2000-2016 usage):

Girl NamesBoy Names
Arabia (1)
Bishop (1)
Currency (1)
Dream (3)
Eros (1)
Fairy (1)
Gatsby (1)
Heritage (1)
Irish (5)
Jasper (1)
KeyEssence (1)
Lisbon (1)
Michigan (1)
Nirvana (3)
Orchid (1)
PairoDice (1)
Qy (1)
Reminisce (1)
Scully (1)
Tear (1)
Unity (4)
Veruca (1)
Windy (2)
Xanadu (1)
Yawh (1)
Zinnia (1)		Arcade (1)
Banksy (1)
Cactus (1)
Denali (2)
Elvis (18)
Fonzy (1)
Galaxy (1)
Helium (1)
Indigo (2)
Jeep (3)
Kal-El (3)
Lightning (1)
Mowgli (1)
Notorious (1)
Opttimus (1)
Player (1)
Quest (3)
Racer (3)
Sanctify (1)
Tavern (1)
Universe (1)
Vegas (1)
Winner (4)
Xyn (1)
Young-Sky (1)
Zealand (1)

If you decide to dig through the data, leave a comment and let me know what you spot!

And if you’re friends with any expectant parents in Iowa, tell those lucky ducks that they have access to full sets of baby name rankings for their state. Either send them a link to this post or to one of the pages below…

Sources: Top Baby Names – Iowa Department of Public Health, Baby Names Popularity Over Time – Iowa Department of Public Health

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)