How popular is the baby name Taj 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 Taj.
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The Abdulsamad brothers — Khiry (b. 1973), Tajh (b. 1976), Hakim (b. 1975), and Bilal (b. 1978) — started performing together in the mid-1980s, “dancing and lip-synching to New Edition records at Venice Beach for donations.”
They were so successful at busking that they “[set] their sights on a show-biz career.”
The brothers formed an R&B vocal quartet called The Boys and, a few years later, signed a record deal with Motown.
The Boys’ songs are well-produced and propelled by strong, danceable rhythms, offering simple, romantic messages that apparently set young girls swooning.
Three of their songs climbed to #1 on Billboard‘s Hot Black Singles chart, and two of the three also reached Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart:
“Dial My Heart,” which peaked at #13 in February of 1989, and
“Crazy,” which peaked at #29 in October of 1990.
So, how did The Boys influence U.S. baby names?
Khiry
The name Khiry debuted impressively in the data in 1989 and reached peak usage in 1990:
1991: 132 baby boys named Khiry [rank: 916th]
1990: 244 baby boys named Khiry [rank: 649th] (peak usage)
1989: 159 baby boys named Khiry [rank: 788th] (debut)
The similar name Kyree also saw higher usage 1989. Other names that debuted in the data that year and the next include Khiree, Kiry, Kiree, Khiri, Khayri, and Khirey.
The name Khiry — which the eldest Abdulsamad brother pronounced kie-ree — is likely based on the Arabic name Khayri, meaning “charitable.”
“Hakeem” (Hakim)
Hakim’s name is spelled “Hakim” in the California Birth Index, at various music websites (e.g. AllMusic, Genius), and in this 2017 Instagram post written by Tajh.
Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, however, it was regularly spelled “Hakeem.”
I assumed this was a typo when I first encountered it in Jet and Ebony, because I’ve seen name-related typos in those magazines before. But then I spotted it in several major newspapers. And finally I noticed it on-screen in the “Dial My Heart” music video, and printed on the single for “Crazy” — suggesting that the spelling was, in fact, intentional.
Hakim’s name spelled “Hakeem” in a music video
I can’t account for the Hakim/Hakeem spelling discrepancy, but I can show you the result: the baby name Hakeem shot to peak usage (and entered the boys’ top 1,000 for the first time) in 1989, while baby name Hakim saw no movement at all the same year.
The spelling Belal also got a boost that year, and both Billal and Bilaal debuted in the data.
Bilal — which the youngest Abdulsamad brother pronounced bih-LAL (like the name Bill with the end-sound of “canal” or “morale”) — is an Arabic name meaning “moistening.”
Which of The Boys’ names – Khiry, Tajh, Hakim, or Bilal – do you like best?
The Jackson 5, whose “bubblegum soul” sound made them remarkably successful in the early 1970s, consisted of five musically gifted brothers out of Gary, Indiana. Their names were:
Sigmund Esco “Jackie” Jackson, b. 1951
Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson, b. 1953
Records suggest that Tito’s first name was actually “Tariano,” but the press typically spelled it “Toriano.”
Jermaine LaJuane Jackson, b. 1954
Marlon David Jackson, b. 1957
Michael Joe Jackson, b. 1958
The brothers began performing together in the mid-1960s, but Jacksonmania didn’t hit until 1970, with the success of songs like “I Want You Back” (1969), “ABC” (1970), “The Love You Save” (1970), and “I’ll Be There” (1970) — all four of which hit #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.
At the height of their fame, the boys even had a Saturday morning cartoon show called The Jackson 5ive (1971-72).
“The Jackson 5ive”
So how did the Jacksons’ celebrity affect U.S. baby names in the early 1970s? Let’s go brother by brother…
Jackie
Jackie Jackson couldn’t stop the name Jackie from trending downward, and he didn’t do much for the unusual name Esco, but the name Sigmund did see a distinct uptick in usage in 1971.
Fun fact: Jackie dated Debraca Foxx during the early ’70s.
Tito
Tito Jackson popularized his nickname, Tito, and boosted his legal names, Toriano and Adaryll, into the data for the first time:
Tito
Toriano
Adaryll
1974
99†
61
.
1973
62
80
7
1972
76
135†
9*†
1971
54
77
.
1970
39
62*
.
1969
33
.
.
*Debut, †Peak
Toriano was the top debut name of 1970. In fact, it currently ranks as one of the top boy-name debuts ever. And its trendiness gave rise to variant spellings like Torriano and Torianno.
Tito Jackons’s influence doesn’t stop there: His first son, Tariano Adaryll “Taj” Jackson, Jr. (b. 1973) — whose nickname was derived from his initials — gave the name Taj a boost. His second son, Taryll (b. 1975), caused the debut of the name Taryll.
Jermaine
Jermaine Jackson, the co-lead vocalist of the group (with Michael), brought so much attention to the name Jermaine that it not only entered the top 1,000, but nearly cracked the top 100:
1974: 1,628 baby boys named Jermaine [rank: 151st]
1973: 2,039 baby boys named Jermaine [rank: 127th]
1972: 1,966 baby boys named Jermaine [rank: 135th]
1971: 1,015 baby boys named Jermaine [rank: 233rd]
On the heels of Jermaine’s rise, a number of variant spellings of the name either saw similarly increased usage or appeared for the first time in the boys’ data:
Jermaine’s middle name, LaJuane, also debuted (in 1971).
Jermaine had a total of nine children, one of whom was (rather infamously) named Jermajesty.
Marlon
Marlon Jackson was the main reason that the name Marlon saw peak usage in 1972. (But he had some help from Marlon Brando, whose movie The Godfather came out the same year.)
Michael
Michael Jackson — who was still a decade away from releasing his massively popular solo album Thriller — couldn’t ultimately reverse the decline of the name Michael. But the combined influence of Michael Jackson and other famous Michaels (like basketball star Michael Jordan, and TV star Michael Landon) did help the name’s usage level out somewhat during the 1970s and ’80s.
Usage of the baby name Michael
Which Jackson 5 name is your favorite? (And, if you were around during Jacksonmania: Which group member was your favorite?)
While you ponder these questions, check out the group’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in December of 1969:
If you’re on the hunt for baby names with a numerological value of 4, you’re in luck! Because today’s post features hundreds of 4-names.
Before we get to the names, though — how do we know that they’re “fours” 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 Willow correspond to the numbers 23, 9, 12, 12, 15, and 23. The sum of these numbers is 94. The digits of 94 added together equal 13, and the digits of 13 added together equal 4 — the numerological value of Willow.
Baby names with a value of 4
Below you’ll find the most popular 4-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.
4 via 13
The letters in the following baby names add up to 13, which reduces to four (1+3=4).
Girl names (4 via 13)
Boy names (4 via 13)
Cai, Eh, Cia, Gea, Aabha
Cade, Cai, Cj, Eh, Jc
4 via 22
The letters in the following baby names add up to 22, which reduces to four (2+2=4).
Girl names (4 via 22)
Boy names (4 via 22)
Kaia, Lia, Ila, Giada, Ali, Aicha
Ali, Lee, Dale, Akai, Hadi, Mace, Dael, Bane
4 via 31
The letters in the following baby names add up to 31, which reduces to four (3+1=4).
Morrison, Courtney, Kristofer, Christofer, Quintus
Number 4: Significance and associations
What does the number four mean in numerology?
There’s no definitive answer, unfortunately, because various numerological systems exist, and each one has its own interpretation of the number four. That said, if we look at a couple of modern numerology/astrology websites, we see 4 being described as “hardworking,” “practical,” “stable,” “trustworthy,” and “detail-oriented.”
We can also look at associations, which are a bit more concrete. Here are some things that are associated with the number 4:
Seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter)
Cardinal directions (north, south, east, west)
States of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma)
Original Greek classical elements (water, earth, air, fire)
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