How popular is the baby name Steven 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 Steven.

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Popularity of the baby name Steven


Posts that mention the name Steven

Baby born in England, named after entire soccer team (2011)

soccer game

Amanda and Stephen Preston of Lancashire, England, welcomed a son in late January, 2011. He was named Jensen after Brian Jensen, goalkeeper of the Burnley Football Club.

But that’s not all! He was named after each of the other players on the team as well.

Stephen said, “We had already decided to call him Jensen as he is Amanda’s favourite player, but we couldn’t decide on a middle name so we thought why not go for the whole team.”

Here are all of the baby’s given names, and the corresponding Burnley players:

NamePlayer
Jensen
Jay
Alexander
Bikey
Carlisle
Duff
Elliot [sic]
Fox
Iwelumo
Marney
Mears
Paterson
Thompson
Wallace		Brian Jensen
Jay Rodriguez
Graham Alexander
Andre Bikey
Clarke Carlisle
Michael Duff
Wade Elliott
Danny Fox
Chris Iwelumo
Dean Marney
Tyrone Mears
Martin Paterson
Steven Thompson
Ross Wallace

If the baby had been a girl, the only difference would have been Briany instead of Jensen for the first name.

(My source article also mentioned a baby boy born in 2009 and named Robbie-Blake Moore, “after Robbie Blake’s winning goal against Manchester United in the Premier League.”)

Source: Preston: The baby named after all FOURTEEN members of football team

Image: Adapted from Portugal 2-3 Denmark, Football by José Goulão under CC BY-SA 2.0.

How did “Family Ties” influence baby names in the 1980s?

The Keaton family from the TV show "Family Ties" (1982-1989)
The Keatons of “Family Ties“

The popular ’80s sitcom Family Ties (1982-1989) featured the fictional Keaton family: parents Steven and Elyse, and children Alex, Mallory, and Jennifer. (In later seasons, a baby brother named Andy was added.)

Family Ties was one of the top five TV shows in the nation from 1984 to 1987, and it also had a big impact on U.S. baby names…

Alex

Alex P. Keaton (played by Michael J. Fox) was the oldest child in the family and, for the first half of the series, the only son. He was a preppy, precocious, and proudly conservative — often clashing with his ex-hippie liberal parents over politics. For his memorable portrayal of Alex, Michael J. Fox won three Emmy Awards (in 1986, 1987, and 1988) and was nominated for two more.

The character Alex P. Keaton from the TV series "Family Ties" (1982-1989)
Alex from “Family Ties“

Usage of the name Alex was already on the rise in the early ’80s, but the sitcom gave the name a big boost:

  • 1990: 6,945 baby boys named Alex [rank: 59th]
  • 1989: 6,540 baby boys named Alex [rank: 60th]
  • 1988: 6,406 baby boys named Alex [rank: 58th]
  • 1987: 6,043 baby boys named Alex [rank: 60th]
  • 1986: 5,110 baby boys named Alex [rank: 64th]
  • 1985: 3,907 baby boys named Alex [rank: 80th]
  • 1984: 3,027 baby boys named Alex [rank: 93rd]
  • 1983: 2,163 baby boys named Alex [rank: 123rd]
  • 1982: 1,965 baby boys named Alex [rank: 143rd]
  • 1981: 1,873 baby boys named Alex [rank: 148th]

“Alex” may have been on the way to the top 100 already, but the show put it there a lot faster — in 1984. It was a fixture in the top 100 all the way until 2012.

Usage of name also increased slightly for baby girls:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Alex in the U.S. in 1880
Usage of the baby name Alex

Mallory

Mallory Keaton (played by Justine Bateman) was the middle child and the oldest daughter. She loved fashion and shopping, but wasn’t as interested in school. For her portrayal of Mallory, Justine Bateman was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

The character Mallory Keaton from the TV series "Family Ties" (1982-1989)
Mallory from “Family Ties“

Usage of the rare name Mallory — which had been used primarily for boys during most of the 20th century — skyrocketed for baby girls during the 1980s:

  • 1990: 1,782 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 162nd]
  • 1989: 1,971 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 147th]
  • 1988: 2,365 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 120th]
  • 1987: 3,140 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 91st]
  • 1986: 3,323 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 83rd]
  • 1985: 2,039 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 144th]
  • 1984: 1,470 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 186th]
  • 1983: 689 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 334th]
  • 1982: 45 baby girls named Mallory
  • 1981: 27 baby girls named Mallory

The name Mallory entered the girls’ top 1,000 in 1983, and the girls’ top 100 in 1986 (though it only managed to remain a top-100 name for one more year before dropping back down).

The usage of spelling variants also increased dramatically. Mallorie, Malorie and Malarie got a boost on the charts, while Mallory-inspired debuts throughout the ’80s included…

Elyse

Elyse Keaton (played by Meredith Baxter-Birney) was not just the mother of Keaton clan, but also a successful freelance architect.

The baby name Elyse, which had dropped out of the top 1,000 in the mid-1950s, was boosted back into the top 1,000 by Family Ties in 1983:

  • 1990: 449 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 527th]
  • 1989: 612 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 406th]
  • 1988: 790 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 315th]
  • 1987: 803 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 305th] – peak usage
  • 1986: 700 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 343rd]
  • 1985: 639 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 365th]
  • 1984: 426 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 479th]
  • 1983: 244 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 699th]
  • 1982: 80 baby girls named Elyse
  • 1981: 78 baby girls named Elyse

The name even reached the top 500 for a stretch (1985-1989). Usage of the spellings Elise, Alyse, and Alise also increased during this period.

Keaton

The family surname Keaton also started seeing heavier usage as a baby name — particularly as a boy name — while Family Ties was on the air:

  • 1990: 283 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 592nd]
  • 1989: 225 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 667th]
  • 1988: 163 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 741st]
  • 1987: 135 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 799th]
  • 1986: 131 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 793rd]
  • 1985: 109 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 869th]
  • 1984: 69 baby boys named Keaton
  • 1983: 47 baby boys named Keaton
  • 1982: 23 baby boys named Keaton
  • 1981: 15 baby boys named Keaton

The name Keaton entered the boys’ top 1,000 for the first time in 1985. It continued to rise for both genders until the early 2000s. (The continued rise might have been helped along by actor Michael Keaton.)

P.S. Michael J. Fox met his future wife, actress Tracy Pollan, on the set of Family Ties when she was cast as Alex’s girlfriend Ellen.

Sources: Family Ties – Wikipedia, Michael J. Fox – Television Academy, Justine Bateman – Television Academy

[Latest update: March 2022]

How many babies got -Amari names in 2009?

As I was looking up -ayden names a few weeks ago, I saw something that intrigued me: dozens of -amari names.

The -amaris looked a lot like the -aydens. They shared a common ending, they started with a variety of first letters, and they were given to both boys and girls. Same trendy sound, same personalized feel (i.e. pick your favorite first letter), same unisex usage.

But the -amaris weren’t as popular as the -aydens in 2009, especially for boys.

Boy Names

  • -amari [2904]
    • Amari, 1075
    • Jamari, 720
    • Kamari, 498
    • Damari 221
    • Khamari, 107
    • Camari, 78
    • Zamari, 53
    • Lamari, 33
    • Shamari, 33
    • Samari, 32
    • Tamari, 16
    • Jhamari, 12
    • Aamari, 8
    • Namari, 6
    • Quamari, 6
    • Ramari, 6
  • -amauri [346]
    • Amauri, 115
    • Kamauri, 88
    • Jamauri, 71
    • Damauri, 26
    • Camauri, 17
    • Zamauri, 12
    • Khamauri, 7
    • Samauri, 5
    • Tamauri, 5
  • -ahmari [144]
    • Jahmari, 59
    • Ahmari, 55
    • Kahmari, 24
    • Zahmari, 6
  • -amaree [138]
    • Amaree, 61
    • Jamaree, 46
    • Kamaree, 25
    • Damaree, 6
  • -amarie [99]
    • Jamarie, 50
    • Amarie, 27
    • Kamarie, 16
    • Damarie, 6
  • -amarri [81]
    • Jamarri, 43
    • Kamarri, 18
    • Amarri, 15
    • Damarri, 5
  • -amarii [65]
    • Amarii, 43
    • Kamarii, 13
    • Jamarii, 9
  • -amahri [9]
    • Jamahri, 9
  • -amaari [6]
    • Jamaari, 6

Girl Names

  • -amari [1252]
    • Amari, 627
    • Kamari, 284
    • Samari, 76
    • Camari, 45
    • Khamari, 45
    • Jamari, 38
    • Shamari, 31
    • Zamari, 27
    • Tamari, 24
    • Damari, 23
    • Yamari, 14
    • Lamari, 12
    • Chamari, 6
  • -amarie [196]
    • Amarie, 110
    • Kamarie, 30
    • Camarie, 10
    • Tamarie, 10
    • Samarie, 9
    • Damarie, 8
    • Zamarie, 8
    • Shamarie, 6
    • Yamarie, 5
  • -amauri [90]
    • Amauri, 37
    • Kamauri, 28
    • Samauri, 12
    • Camauri, 7
    • Zamauri, 6
  • -amaree [53]
    • Amaree, 34
    • Kamaree, 14
    • Samaree, 5
  • -amarii [30]
    • Amarii, 20
    • Kamarii, 10
  • -amarri [25]
    • Amarri, 10
    • Kamarri, 10
    • Samarri, 5
  • -ahmari [24]
    • Ahmari, 16
    • Kahmari, 8

I spotted just 3,792 baby boys and 1,670 baby girls with -amari names. Compare that to over 100,000 baby boys and over 10,000 baby girls with -ayden names.

The boy -amaris accounted for just 0.18% of all boys born in 2009, and all variants combined would theoretically rank 106th for boys (between Antonio and Steven). The girl -amaris accounted for just 0.08% of all girls. Combined they would rank 193rd (tied with Eliana).

The -amaris aren’t as fashionable as the -aydens, but you never know–they could catch on, just like the -aydens did. They certainly follow a familiar pattern.

Have you encountered any babies or children with an -amari name lately?

[Disclaimer: I’m assuming all of the variants above rhyme with Amari, but I can’t make any guarantees. Also, I didn’t count variants with four syllables or variants that looked too different from -amari, such as -amori and -emari.]

Baby born to University of Alabama fans, named Crimson Tide

football field

It may be April Fools’ Day, but this name isn’t a joke.

J.L. and Jackie Redd of Tallassee, Alabama, have named their baby boy Crimson Tide Redd in honor of the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team.

The young couple made an agreement before their son’s birth that J.L. could be in charge of naming the baby, wanting to use his last name, Redd, as inspiration.

J.L.’s family was “extremely excited” about the name. Jackie’s family, however, “couldn’t understand why we’d name our child after a football team.”

Crimson Tide will go by the nickname Ty.

Update, Jan. 2014: We have two more!

First, there’s Krimson Tyde Steele, born in December of 2013 to parents Summer and Steven Steele of Andalusia, Alabama.

Second, there’s 2-year-old Crimson Tide Broadhurst, son of Shane and Emily Broadhurst of Phenix City, Alabama. (They also have a 5-month-old daughter named Alliegh Bama.)

P.S. Here’s a list of names associated with the color red, just in case you’re interested. :)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from New Meadowlands Stadium: Mezz Corner (cropped) by section215 under CC BY 2.0.