Several days ago, Senator Barack Obama defeated Senator John McCain in the U.S. presidential election.
So far, several U.S. babies have been named in honor of Obama:
- Jordan Barack Treasure (born on November 3 in New York)
- Benjamin Barack Kimbrough (born on November 4 in Arkansas)
- His father, Walter Kimbrough, is the president of Philander Smith College.
- Pierre Obama Adell Willis (born on November 4 in Georgia)
- His nickname is “The Little President.”
- Sanjae Obama Fisher (born on November 4 in Florida)
- Te’Jean Barack Bowen (born on November 4 in California)
- Sasha Malia Ann Taylor (born on November 5 in Maryland)
- Barack Jeilah (born on November 5 in Arizona)
Barack Obama’s first name is based on an Arabic word meaning “blessing.” His last name comes from a word meaning “bent over” or “limping” in the Luo language.
Have you spotted any other Barack Obama namesakes in your area? Let me know and I’ll add them to the post.
P.S. Babies are also being named for Obama in Kenya.
Update, Aug. 2024: So how did the election of Barack Obama in late 2008 influence U.S. baby names overall?
According to the U.S. baby name data, Barack was the fastest-rising baby name of 2008, and both Barack and Obama reached peak popularity in 2009.
| Boys named Barack | Boys named Obama | |
| 2011 | 15 | . |
| 2010 | 28 | . |
| 2009 | 72† | 16† |
| 2008 | 52 | 14* |
| 2007 | 5* | . |
The name of Obama’s older daughter, Malia (pronounced mah-LEE-ah), also reached peak popularity in 2009. The name of his younger daughter, Sasha, saw a spike in usage the same year.
| Girls named Malia | Girls named Sasha | |
| 2011 | 1,011 [rank: 313th] | 858 [rank: 374th] |
| 2010 | 1,075 [rank: 301st] | 944 [rank: 341st] |
| 2009 | 1,700† [rank: 192nd] | 1,251 [rank: 262nd] |
| 2008 | 967 [rank: 345th] | 916 [rank: 361st] |
| 2007 | 817 [rank: 400th] | 926 [rank: 350th] |
The name of Obama’s wife, Michelle, did not see a discernible increase in usage — likely because the name Michelle has been in decline since the early ’70s (when it was one of the top girl names in the country).
Sources:
- “Obamas inspire baby names across nation.” USA Today 6 Nov. 2008.
- Lee, Jennifer 8. “Barack a hot name for new babies.” New York Times 10 Nov. 2008.
- “Queens mom joins wave of folks naming boys after Barack Obama.” New York Daily News 6 Nov. 2008.
- Gumbrecht, Jamie. “Atlanta mom names baby after Obama.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution 8 Nov. 2008.
- “The fascinating tribal tradition that gave Obama his last name.” Washington Post 19 Jun. 2016.
- SSA
Image: P090109-0127 by the U.S. government (via Flickr)