How popular is the baby name Thomas 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 Thomas.

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Popularity of the baby name Thomas


Posts that mention the name Thomas

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2023

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Northern Ireland — which was partitioned from the rest of Ireland more than a century ago — is a constituent country of the United Kingdom (along with England, Scotland, and Wales).

What were the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland last year? Isla and Noah.

Here are the Northern Ireland’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Isla, 147 baby girls – pronounced IE-la
  2. Fiadh, 138 – pronounced FEE-a
  3. Grace, 137
  4. Emily, 136
  5. Olivia, 126
  6. Lily, 108
  7. Ella, 97
  8. Aoife, 94 – pronounced EE-fa
  9. Amelia, 92
  10. Freya, 90
  11. Charlotte, 87
  12. Annie, 84 (tie)
  13. Sophie, 84 (tie)
  14. Anna, 83
  15. Eabha, 79 – pronounced EY-va
  16. Ellie, 77
  17. Sophia, 76
  18. Evie, 74
  19. Ava, 73
  20. Maisie, 70
  21. Clodagh, 66 – pronounced KLOH-da
  22. Mia, 63 (tie)
  23. Sadie, 63 (tie)
  24. Rosie, 62 (tie)
  25. Ruby, 62 (tie)
  26. Ivy, 60
  27. Molly, 59
  28. Cara, 57 (4-way tie)
  29. Elsie, 57 (4-way tie)
  30. Lottie, 57 (4-way tie)
  31. Meabh, 57 (4-way tie) – pronounced mayv
  32. Zara, 56
  33. Aria, 54
  34. Erin, 53
  35. Ada, 52
  36. Hannah, 51
  37. Saoirse, 50 – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha
  38. Bonnie, 48
  39. Cora, 47 (4-way tie)
  40. Isabella, 47 (4-way tie)
  41. Lucy, 47 (4-way tie)
  42. Phoebe, 47 (4-way tie)
  43. Katie, 46 (tie)
  44. Niamh, 46 (tie) – pronounced neev or NEE-iv
  45. Rhea, 45 (tie)
  46. Willow, 45 (tie)
  47. Rose, 44
  48. Sofia, 42
  49. Daisy, 41 (tie)
  50. Sienna, 41 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 152 baby boys
  2. Jack, 146
  3. James, 131
  4. Cillian, 128 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  5. Charlie, 123
  6. Leo, 119
  7. Oisin, 116 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  8. Oliver, 114
  9. Luca, 108 (tie)
  10. Theo, 108 (tie)
  11. Tommy, 105
  12. Thomas, 103
  13. Jude, 93
  14. Arthur, 91
  15. Alfie, 85
  16. Daniel, 84
  17. Daithi, 82 – pronounced DAH-hee
  18. Harry, 77
  19. Ethan, 74
  20. Caleb, 73
  21. Finn, 71
  22. Henry, 70
  23. Ezra, 67 (tie)
  24. Jacob, 67 (tie)
  25. George, 66 (tie)
  26. Oscar, 66 (tie)
  27. Archie, 64 (3-way tie)
  28. Isaac, 64 (3-way tie)
  29. Ollie, 64 (3-way tie)
  30. Ronan, 63
  31. Lorcan, 62
  32. Reuben, 61 (tie)
  33. Shea, 61 (tie)
  34. Fionn, 60 (tie)
  35. Rory, 60 (tie)
  36. Darragh, 59
  37. Rian, 57
  38. Conor, 55 (tie)
  39. Freddie, 55 (tie)
  40. Arlo, 53 (tie)
  41. Patrick, 53 (tie)
  42. Luke, 52 (tie)
  43. Tom, 52 (tie)
  44. Jonah, 51 (tie)
  45. Odhran, 51 (tie) – pronounced OH-rawn
  46. Joshua, 50
  47. Max, 49 (tie)
  48. Theodore, 49 (tie)
  49. Michael, 47
  50. Mason, 46 (tie)
  51. Teddy, 46 (tie)

The names that qualified as the “top climbers” of 2023 were…

  • Rebecca, Rhea, Aurora, and Raya (for girls), and
  • Leon, Donnacha, Albie, and Seth (for boys).

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just three babies each:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aizal, Blathnaid, Colleen, Dianaimh, Everly, Georgina, Helen, Ivie, Juniper, Keeley, Laney, Meabha, Neala, Orlagh, Paisley, Searlaith, Tillie, Vera, YasmineAngus, Barney, Connlan, Darren, Ewan, Finbarr, Gearoid, Hamish, Jameson, Kieran, Lughan, Milan, Ned, Orhan, Paraic, Ruaidhri, Scott, Tate, Zayn

What about middle names? The top picks for the middle spot were…

  • Rose, Grace, Mary, Elizabeth, and Marie (for girls), and
  • James, John, Patrick, William, and Thomas (for boys).

Finally, here are Northern Ireland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Source: Baby Names 2023 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Popular baby names in the Channel Islands, 2023

Flag of Jersey
Flag of Jersey

The Channel Islands, located in the English Channel, are divided into two territories: Jersey and Guernsey (both of which are British Crown Dependencies).

The territory of Jersey consists of the archipelago’s largest and most populous island, Jersey. The territory of Guernsey consists of the next-largest and next-most-populous island, Guernsey, along with several smaller islands.

Jersey

Last year, Jersey welcomed a total of 795 babies — 370 girls and 425 boys. Here are Jersey’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Olivia
  2. Isla
  3. Mia
  4. Emilia
  5. Emily
  6. Isabella
  7. Luna
  8. Florence
  9. Phoebe
  10. Amelia

Boy names

  1. Oliver
  2. Oscar
  3. Jack
  4. Leo
  5. Alfie
  6. Archie
  7. George
  8. Gabriel
  9. Lucas
  10. Luca

A year earlier, the top names in Jersey were Willow and Arthur.

Guernsey

Last year, Guernsey welcomed a total of 456 babies — 218 girls and 238 boys. Here are Guernsey’s top girl names and top boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Mia, 5 baby girls
  2. Millie, 4
  3. Ada, 3 (6-way tie)
  4. Charlotte, 3 (6-way tie)
  5. Florence, 3 (6-way tie)
  6. Isla, 3 (6-way tie)
  7. Sophia, 3 (6-way tie)
  8. Willow, 3 (6-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Harry, 7 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 6
  3. Finley, 5 (tie)
  4. Jack, 5 (tie)
  5. Hugo, 4 (5-way tie)
  6. Lando, 4 (5-way tie)
  7. Leo, 4 (5-way tie)
  8. Luca, 4 (5-way tie)
  9. Rupert, 4 (5-way tie)

Given the number of articles I see about British racecar driver Lando Norris on the Guernsey Press website, I have to assume that the usage of Lando was influenced by Norris. (Interestingly, Norris’ first name wasn’t inspired by the Star Wars character — it was simply a name that his mother, who comes from Belgium, happened to like.)

My source also noted that traditional names like James, George, Thomas, and David are commonly used as middle names (but rarely as first names) in Guernsey these days.

A year earlier, the top names in Guernsey were Ava and Freddie/Jack.

Finally, here’s a link to the Channel Islands’ 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Jersey (public domain)

West Virginia family with 17 children (16 consecutive sons!)

The Jones family of West Virginia (in 1942)
The Jones family (in 1942)

From the late 1910s to the mid-1940s, Grover Cleveland Jones and Annie Grace Jones (née Buckland) of Peterstown, West Virginia, welcomed 17 children — 16 boys in a row, followed by a single girl.

Here are the names of all 17 siblings, from oldest to youngest:

  1. William Pinkney (born in 1917)
  2. Robert D. (b. 1919)
  3. Richard Buckland (b. 1920)
  4. Thomas L. (b. 1921)
  5. John (b. 1923)
  6. Paul Leslie (b. 1924)
  7. Woodrow Wilson (b. 1925)
  8. Tad (b. 1928)
  9. Willard Wilson (b. 1929)
  10. Pete (b. 1930)
  11. Rufus B. (b. 1932)
  12. Grover Cleveland, Jr. (b. 1935)
  13. Buck (b. 1936)
  14. Franklin D. (b. 1938)
  15. Leslie H.
  16. Giles Monroe (b. 1942)
  17. Charlotte Ann (b. 1946)

The odds of having 16 babies of the same gender in a row are approximately 1 in 65,500.

After boy #15, the family became relatively famous. They were invited to the White House, for instance, and had lunch with Eleanor Roosevelt (“because President Roosevelt was at a war meeting”).

Surprisingly, though, this wasn’t the only thing the Jones family was known for.

In 1928, dad Grover and oldest son William (whose nickname was “Punch”) were pitching horseshoes in the yard when they came across an unusual diamond-like stone. They put it in a cigar box in the tool shed, where it stayed for the next 14 years — right through the Great Depression.

At the start of World War II, Punch got a job at a nearby army ammunition plant. Working with carbon (one of the components of gunpowder), he was reminded of the diamond-like stone (as diamonds are a crystalline form of carbon) and decided to send the stone to a geology professor at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute for analysis.

The professor concluded that the stone was indeed a diamond — a 34.46-carat blue-white diamond that happened to be the largest alluvial diamond ever discovered in North America.

In 1944, Punch sent the diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where it was put on display near the Hope Diamond.

Sadly, Punch was killed in action in Germany the very next year.

The diamond was returned to Jones family in 1968. It was stored in a safe deposit box until 1984, when it was sold at auction for an undisclosed amount.

P.S. Thank you to Destiny for letting me know about the Jones family a few months ago! (Destiny also gave us an update on the Schwandt family of Michigan, which currently consists of 14 consecutive boys followed by a single girl.)

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Detroit Times (27 Sept. 1942)

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2022

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

The 2022 rankings for England and Wales are finally here!

Two years ago, England and Wales welcomed over to 605,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.

Here are England and Wales’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 3,289 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 2,884
  3. Isla, 2,613
  4. Ava, 2,293
  5. Lily, 2,281
  6. Ivy, 2,195
  7. Freya, 2,162
  8. Florence, 1,971
  9. Isabella, 1,927
  10. Mia, 1,868
  11. Willow, 1,867
  12. Sienna, 1,859
  13. Poppy, 1,848
  14. Sophia, 1,813
  15. Elsie, 1,763
  16. Rosie, 1,686
  17. Grace, 1,675
  18. Millie, 1,670
  19. Emily, 1,609
  20. Sofia, 1,576
  21. Daisy, 1,563
  22. Evelyn, 1,560
  23. Evie, 1,534
  24. Phoebe, 1,531
  25. Ella, 1,522
  26. Charlotte, 1,496
  27. Harper, 1,449
  28. Maya, 1,406
  29. Matilda, 1,363
  30. Ruby, 1,271
  31. Aria, 1,229
  32. Penelope, 1,206
  33. Hallie, 1,202
  34. Luna, 1,174
  35. Bonnie, 1,148
  36. Ada, 1,138
  37. Emilia, 1,128
  38. Alice, 1,119
  39. Sophie, 1,115
  40. Esme, 1,101
  41. Isabelle, 1,089
  42. Maisie, 1,072
  43. Violet, 1,057
  44. Delilah, 1,054
  45. Mila, 1,042
  46. Eva, 1,029
  47. Arabella, 1,019
  48. Maeve, 990
  49. Aurora, 972
  50. Mabel, 964

Boy names

  1. Noah, 4,586 baby boys
  2. Muhammad, 4,177
  3. George, 3,699
  4. Oliver, 3,691
  5. Leo, 3,610
  6. Arthur, 3,603
  7. Oscar, 2,883
  8. Theodore, 2,835
  9. Theo, 2,808
  10. Freddie, 2,760
  11. Archie, 2,684
  12. Luca, 2,625
  13. Henry, 2,624
  14. Jack, 2,431
  15. Harry, 2,403
  16. Charlie, 2,391
  17. Alfie, 2,304
  18. Arlo, 2,176
  19. Thomas, 2,101
  20. Teddy, 2,030
  21. Finley, 2,025
  22. Jacob, 1,892
  23. Tommy, 1,824
  24. William, 1,806
  25. Lucas, 1,771
  26. Isaac, 1,733
  27. Mohammed, 1,694
  28. Alexander, 1,651
  29. Albie, 1,641
  30. Roman, 1,640
  31. Edward, 1,612
  32. Jude, 1,601
  33. Elijah, 1,549
  34. James, 1,534
  35. Joshua, 1,478
  36. Reuben, 1,475
  37. Max, 1,459
  38. Rory, 1,435
  39. Sebastian, 1,409
  40. Louie, 1,396
  41. Adam, 1,374
  42. Mason, 1,369
  43. Ethan, 1,268 (tie)
  44. Hudson, 1,268 (tie)
  45. Harrison, 1,236
  46. Ezra, 1,217
  47. Hugo, 1,193
  48. Louis, 1,184
  49. Reggie, 1,159
  50. Joseph, 1,158

According to the press release from the Office of National Statistics…

  • In the girls’ top 10, Isabella replaced Willow.
  • In the boys’ top 10, Theodore, Theo, and Freddie replaced Harry, Henry, and Archie.
  • In the girls’ top 100, Ophelia, Ottilie, Eloise, Nova, and Fatima replaced Holly, Heidi, Anna, Amber, and Beatrice.
  • In the boys’ top 100, Leon, Elias, Musa, Axel, and Ibrahim replaced Charles, Harvey, Ollie, and Nathan.

England and Wales are two separate countries within the United Kingdom. (The rest of the UK is made up of Scotland and Northern Ireland.) In terms of population, England has about 56.5 million residents, whereas Wales has around 3.1 million.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names in each of the two countries individually:

EnglandWales
Top girl names1. Olivia, 3,144 baby girls
2. Amelia, 2,755
3. Isla, 2,476
4. Ava, 2,179
5. Lily, 2,158
6. Ivy, 2,081
7. Freya, 2,051
8. Florence, 1,878
9. Isabella, 1,847
10. Sienna, 1,788		1. Olivia, 145 baby girls
2. Isla, 137
3. Amelia 129
4. Lily, 122
5. Elsie, 120
6. Ava, 114 (tie)
7. Ivy, 114 (tie)
8. Millie, 111
9. Freya, 110
10. Ella, 104
Top boy names1. Noah, 4,320 baby boys
2. Muhammad, 4,136
3. George, 3,548
4. Oliver, 3,502
5. Leo, 3,470
6. Arthur, 3,423
7. Oscar, 2,729
8. Theodore, 2,720
9. Freddie, 2,620
10. Theo, 2,611		1. Noah, 264 baby boys
2. Theo, 196
3. Oliver, 188
4. Arthur, 180
5. Luca, 166
6. Oscar, 154
7. George, 149
8. Archie, 144
9. Freddie, 140
10. Leo, 139

And now let’s check out a selection of names from the other end of the spectrum.

Each of the rare names below was given to just 3 babies in England and Wales (combined) in 2022:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Accalia, Briseis, Casiana, Diellza, Ettalie, Farishta, Gwenna, Hestia, Irida, Iseult, Jun, Kanika, Larsa, Myfanwy, Nehizena, Ovelia, Prunella, Quinne, Renaelia, Siella, Tamima, Urte, Varnika, Wafaa, Xiana, Yuet, ZartashaAurion, Boyan, Cary, Daxson, Eifion, Flavian, Granth, Henrick, Ilai, Jasser, Klaidi, Llyr, Mordy, Naoise, Oax, Petrit, Quillon, Ransford, Sanchez, Torrin, Usaid, Volodymyr, Wolfy, Xand, Yudhveer, Zaamin

Renaelia’s usage was no doubt inspired by British influencer Imogen Horton, who welcomed a baby girl named Renaelia in September of 2022. Several weeks after the birth, Imogen posted a video in which she and her husband Spencer revealed the baby’s name and explained how it was coined.

Volodymyr’s usage may have been influenced by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Finally, here’s a link to England and Wales’ 2021 rankings, if you’d like to check them out.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)