How popular is the baby name Tommy 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 Tommy.

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Popularity of the baby name Tommy


Posts that mention the name Tommy

Popular baby names in Ireland, 2024

Flag of Ireland
Flag of Ireland

The top baby names in the Republic of Ireland last year were Sophie and Jack.

Here are Ireland’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Sophie, 294 baby girls
  2. Éabha, 293
  3. Grace, 291
  4. Emily, 290
  5. Fiadh, 286
  6. Lily, 253
  7. Olivia, 246
  8. Amelia, 220
  9. Sadie, 216
  10. Mia, 213
  11. Lucy, 204
  12. Freya, 196
  13. Isla, 193
  14. Ella, 192
  15. Ellie, 190
  16. Croía, 188
  17. Emma, 187 (tie)
  18. Maya, 187 (tie)
  19. Sophia, 180
  20. Chloe, 179 (tie)
  21. Hannah, 179 (tie)
  22. Molly, 171
  23. Evie, 167
  24. Saoirse, 164
  25. Sofia, 154
  26. Ava, 152
  27. Robyn, 148
  28. Millie, 145
  29. Anna, 140
  30. Ruby, 134
  31. Caoimhe, 131 (tie)
  32. Rosie, 131 (tie)
  33. Róisín, 126
  34. Bonnie, 123
  35. Erin, 120 (tie)
  36. Isabelle, 120 (tie)
  37. Cara, 118
  38. Sadhbh, 117
  39. Holly, 115
  40. Éala, 114
  41. Annie, 112
  42. Clodagh, 109 (tie)
  43. Daisy, 109 (tie)
  44. Hazel, 108
  45. Aoife, 107 (tie)
  46. Katie, 107 (tie)
  47. Kate, 106 (tie)
  48. Willow, 106 (tie)
  49. Maisie, 105
  50. Ada, 104 (tie)
  51. Méabh, 104 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Jack, 490 baby boys
  2. Noah, 486
  3. Rían, 432
  4. Cillian, 352
  5. James, 336
  6. Tadhg, 318
  7. Fionn, 304
  8. Liam, 303
  9. Oisín, 286
  10. Charlie, 258
  11. Daniel, 257
  12. Finn, 255
  13. Theo, 252
  14. Thomas, 226
  15. Seán, 222
  16. Patrick, 220
  17. Michael, 218
  18. Luke, 217
  19. Conor, 210
  20. Harry, 209
  21. Tommy, 202
  22. Leo, 201 (tie)
  23. Páidí, 201 (tie)
  24. Luca, 197
  25. Adam, 188
  26. Darragh, 184
  27. Oliver, 181
  28. Bobby, 179
  29. John, 168
  30. Jamie, 162 (tie)
  31. Kai, 162 (tie)
  32. Oscar, 159
  33. Cian, 158 (tie)
  34. Max, 158 (tie)
  35. Ollie, 157
  36. Alex, 155
  37. Callum, 154
  38. Sonny, 147
  39. Dylan, 141
  40. David, 134
  41. Ben, 132
  42. Matthew, 131
  43. Caelan, 128
  44. Alexander, 127
  45. Muhammad, 126
  46. Ryan, 124
  47. Arthur, 119
  48. Arlo, 118
  49. Alfie, 117
  50. Shay, 107

The trendy name Croía (pronounced KREE-a) rose from 95th in 2020, to 52nd in 2021, to 38th in 2022, to 24th in 2023, to 16th last year. Do you think it will reach the top 10 in 2025?

Speaking of names on the upswing, the fastest-rising girl names in the top 100 were Maya (in terms of number of babies) and Rhea (in terms of rank). Likewise, the fastest-rising boy names in the top 100 were Rían (in terms of number of babies) and Caleb (in terms of rank).

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the names given to just 3 babies each in Ireland last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Annalivia, Brídín, Ceoladh, Dolcie, Elira, Fearne, Goldie, Heather, Iveagh, Jessa, Kenza, Líobhan, Morrigan, Nollaig, Oonagh, Peach, Réalta, Saffi, Tiffany, Vega, Willa, ZariaAhan, Bento, Chulainn, Daróg, Enda, Fearghal, Gene, Hughie, Íarlaith, Jameson, Keelin, Laith, Mick, Naomhán, Oilibhéar, Pat, Ralphie, Séadh, Téidí, Vlad, Willie, Zeke

The Irish word réalta means “star.”

Source: Irish Babies’ Names – CSO (Irish Babies’ Names 2024)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)

What gave the baby name Sherry a boost in 1962?

The Four Seasons album "Sherry & 11 Others" (1962)
Four Seasons album

The baby name Sherry, already popular in the early 1960s, reached peak usage in 1962 specifically:

  • 1964: 8,495 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 50th]
  • 1963: 9,065 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 49th]
  • 1962: 9,226 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 48th]
  • 1961: 8,358 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 53rd]
  • 1960: 8,314 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 54th]

What accounts for that sudden jump into the girls’ top 50?

The song “Sherry” by The Four Seasons, a vocal quartet led by Frankie Valli (and his distinctive falsetto).

“Sherry,” the group’s second single, was released in July of 1962. In mid-September it reached #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart (dethroning “Sheila” by Tommy Roe). It remained in the top spot for five weeks straight.

Here’s what “Sherry” sounds like:

Originally entitled “Terry,” the song was written (in about fifteen minutes) by Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio. When Bob shared it with the rest of the group, the reaction was mixed: “[S]ome of the guys liked it and some didn’t.”

Unable to come to a consensus, they played it for their producer, Bob Crewe, over the phone. Crewe loved the song, but not the name. He considered replacing it with Jackie (after First Lady Jackie Kennedy) and Peri (the name of one of his record labels) before settling upon Sherry — a respelling of Cheri, the name of the daughter of one of his good friends, New York disc jockey Jack Spector.

What are your thoughts on the name Sherry? (Do you like it more or less than Sheila?)

P.S. The name’s steep rise in 1946 may be largely attributable to the baby boom, but I think a second influence was the 1946 western Abilene Town, which featured a character named Sherry (played by actress Rhonda Fleming).

Sources:

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2023

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, the countries of England and Wales together welcomed 591,072 babies.

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

Here are England and Wales’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 2,906 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 2,663
  3. Isla, 2,337
  4. Lily, 2,290
  5. Freya, 2,086
  6. Ava, 2,050
  7. Ivy, 1,997
  8. Florence, 1,899
  9. Willow, 1,833
  10. Isabella, 1,795
  11. Poppy, 1,755
    • Poppy ranked third among baby girls born in November specifically, no doubt because of the association between poppies and Remembrance Day (Nov. 11).
  12. Sophia, 1,679
  13. Evelyn, 1,673
  14. Elsie, 1,662
  15. Sienna, 1,657
  16. Mia, 1,640
  17. Daisy, 1,585
  18. Grace, 1,541
  19. Sofia, 1,514
  20. Phoebe, 1,510
  21. Rosie, 1,508
  22. Harper, 1,466
  23. Charlotte, 1,373
  24. Evie, 1,350
  25. Millie, 1,349
  26. Bonnie, 1,346
  27. Ella, 1,307
  28. Emily, 1,280
  29. Maya, 1,255
  30. Matilda, 1,212
  31. Aria, 1,198
  32. Delilah, 1,194
  33. Penelope, 1,156
  34. Hallie, 1,154
  35. Mila, 1,127
  36. Maeve, 1,114
  37. Ada, 1,089
  38. Luna, 1,063
  39. Ruby, 1,059
  40. Mabel, 1,051
  41. Maisie, 1,039
  42. Violet, 1,034
  43. Arabella, 1,029
  44. Margot, 1,025
  45. Emilia, 1,017
  46. Isabelle, 984
  47. Esme, 982
  48. Lottie, 980
  49. Aurora, 964
  50. Alice, 955

Boy names

  1. Muhammad, 4,661 baby boys
  2. Noah, 4,382
  3. Oliver, 3,556
  4. George, 3,494
  5. Leo, 3,416
  6. Arthur, 3,387
  7. Luca, 3,195
  8. Theodore, 2,666
  9. Oscar, 2,632
  10. Henry, 2,490
  11. Theo, 2,489
  12. Freddie, 2,481
  13. Archie, 2,400
  14. Arlo, 2,253
  15. Jude, 2,177
  16. Alfie, 2,111
  17. Charlie, 2,010
  18. Jack, 1,953
  19. Thomas, 1,855
  20. Finley, 1,844
  21. Harry, 1,799
  22. Albie, 1,756
  23. Teddy, 1,687
  24. Jacob, 1,655
  25. Lucas, 1,644
  26. Tommy, 1,629
  27. Isaac, 1,611
  28. Mohammed, 1,601
  29. William, 1,544
  30. Edward, 1,501
  31. Elijah, 1,482
  32. Roman, 1,481
  33. Rory, 1,468
  34. Alexander, 1,456
  35. James, 1,430
  36. Louie, 1,421
  37. Reuben, 1,356
  38. Ezra, 1,345
  39. Oakley, 1,343
  40. Joshua, 1,339
  41. Adam, 1,326
  42. Sebastian, 1,313
  43. Hudson, 1,291
  44. Max, 1,274
  45. Louis, 1,236
  46. Ronnie, 1,222
  47. Ethan, 1,198
  48. Hugo, 1,174
  49. Harrison, 1,151
  50. Mason, 1,118

In the girls’ top 10, Willow replaced Mia.

In the boys’ top 10, Luca and Henry replaced Theo and Freddie.

New to the girls’ top 100 were Hazel, Lilah, Autumn, Nevaeh, and Raya.

New to the boys’ top 100 were Jax, Enzo, and Bodhi.

The number of hyphenated girl names increased significantly (from 12,332 to 19,143), while the number of hyphenated boy names decreased slightly (from 3,140 to 2,807).

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just three babies each in England and Wales (combined) in 2023:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Alfia, Bluebella, Buddug, Coni, Dolcy, Ephelia, Fen, Glesni, Harasees, Indica, Jodh, Khulood, Larnie, Myrto, Nectaria, Omuwa, Pip, Qiraat, Reevie, Sorrel, Tegwen, Udaina, Vani, Waverly, Xanthea, Yvaine, ZoellaApollon, Banksy, Blaidd, Catalin, Dishan, Eifion, Fayzan, Gurvir, Haaland, Iverson, Jibriel, Kirtan, Lucho, Monaco, Nalan, Orwell, Prevail, Qusay, Ranbir, Sebbie, Tassilo, Ulrich, Vedh, Wildan, Xavian, Yamac, Zuko

Possible explanations/associations for several of the above:

  • Blaidd means “wolf” in Welsh. (It’s also the name of a half-wolf character in the 2022 video game Elden Ring.)
  • Buddug is based on the Welsh word budd, which means “benefit, profit.” It’s the Welsh equivalent of Boudicca (the name of the ancient British queen who led a revolt against the Romans).
  • Fen might refer to the type of wetland.
  • Glesni means “blueness” or “greenness” in Welsh.
  • Haaland is the surname of Norwegian soccer player Erling Haaland (who currently plays for Manchester City F.C.).

Here are the 2023 rankings for Scotland and Northern Ireland — the other two countries in the United Kingdom — and the 2022 rankings for England and Wales, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

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

North Carolina triplets with rhyming names: Dessie, Bessie, Essie

Triplets Dessie, Bessie and Essie Justice (plus a younger sibling)
Dessie, Bessie, and Essie Justice

During the early decades of the the 20th century, Thomas Edward “Tommy” Justice and Laura Effie Justice (née Searcy) of Henderson County, North Carolina, welcomed 14 children — including a set of triplets.

Here are the names of all 14 siblings:

  1. Curtis Edward (born in 1900)
  2. Sidney Thomas (b. 1902)
  3. Dessie M. (b. 1904)
  4. Bessie Martha (b. 1904)
  5. Essie Margaret (b. 1904)
  6. Lula Belle (b. 1906)
  7. unnamed son (b. 1908)
  8. William Leonard (b. 1909)
  9. James Arthur (b. 1911)
  10. Anna May (b. 1914)
  11. Fred (b. 1917)
  12. Mary Sue (b. 1919)
  13. Laura Lee (b. 1921)
  14. George Washington (b. 1924)

Dessie, Bessie, and Essie were born in the family’s log cabin on March 16, 1904.

As children, Dessie and Bessie looked a lot alike, but Essie stood out because she “was the runt,” according to Dessie.

Dessie also noted that all three of them were “bashful” as youngsters:

We were entered in baby shows and attracted a lot of attention since we were triplets, but we didn’t like it. We would run and hide under the bed when people came to take our pictures. They would have to drag us to the shows and feed us ice cream behind the curtain to keep us at the show.

Speaking of Dessie…I wasn’t able to track down her middle name. What do you think Dessie’s middle initial, “M.,” might have stood for?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from Spirit of Missions magazine (Sept. 1911)