How popular is the baby name Stardust 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 Stardust.

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Popularity of the baby name Stardust


Posts that mention the name Stardust

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

  • (none yet)

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Dec. 2023]

Where did the baby name Yvaine come from in 2008?

The character Yvaine from the movie "Stardust" (2007).
Yvaine from “Stardust

The name Yvaine first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 2008:

  • 2010: 9 baby girls named Yvaine
  • 2009: 13 baby girls named Yvaine
  • 2008: 8 baby girls named Yvaine [debut]
  • 2007: unlisted
  • 2006: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The fantasy/adventure film Stardust, which was released in mid-2007 (several days after I wrote the original version of this post, in fact!).

The movie, based on a book by Neil Gaiman, starred actress Claire Danes as, well, a literal star — the personification of a star that had fallen to Earth. She was “in great danger, for the king’s sons need her powers to secure the throne, and an evil witch…wants to use her to achieve eternal youth and beauty.”

The characters Yvaine and Tristan Thorn from the movie "Stardust" (2007).
Yvaine and Tristan from “Stardust

Luckily she had the assistance of a young man named Tristan, who finally learned (partway through the story) that the star’s name was Yvaine (pronounced eh-VAYN):

My sisters called me Yvaine. For I was an evening star.

Gaiman seems to have chosen the name based on its similarity to the word “evening,” but that’s not what the name means. Instead, it may have been based on Yvain, the name of one of the Knights of the Round Table. (The knight was also known as Owain.)

What are your thoughts on the name Yvaine?

Sources: Stardust – Rotten Tomatoes, Stardust Script – BBC

P.S. The baby name Stardust, which was a one-hit wonder back in 1977, didn’t resurface in the data following the release of the movie…

[Latest update: 4/2022]