How popular is the baby name Usnavi 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 Usnavi.

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Popularity of the baby name Usnavi


Posts that mention the name Usnavi

Inventive baby names in Cuba

Havana, Cuba

Here are some of the inventive baby names that have been bestowed in Cuba over the last few decades:

  • Adianez (Zenaida backwards)
  • Ailed (Delia backwards)
  • Boris
  • Aledmys
  • Danyer (from the English word “danger“)
  • Dayesi
  • Dianisleysis (in honor of Princess Diana)
  • Disami
  • Geyne (combination of Geronimo and Nelly)
  • Hanoi (from the name of the capital of Vietnam)
  • Juliabe
  • Katia
  • Leydi (from the English word “lady”)
  • Maivi (from the English word “maybe”)
  • Mayren (combination of Mayra and Rene)
  • Migdisray (combination of Migdalia and Raymundo)
  • Milaidys (from the English phrase “my lady”)
  • Odlanier (Reinaldo backwards)
  • Olnavy (from “Old Navy”)
  • Orazal (Lazaro backwards)
  • Robelkis (combination of Roberto and Belkis)
  • Tatiana
  • Usarmy (from “U.S. Army”)
  • Usmail (from “U.S. Mail”)
  • Usnavi (from “U.S. Navy”)
  • Widayesi
  • Yadel
  • Yakarta (based on Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia)
  • Yamisel
  • Yander
  • Yaneymi (combination of Yanet and Mijail)
  • Yanisey
  • Yasnaya (possibly based on Yasnaya Polyana, the name of several locations in Russia)
  • Yirmara
  • Yoanni
  • Yoelkis
  • Yohendry
  • Yolaide
  • Yordanka
  • Yosbel
  • Yotuel (from the Spanish words yo, tu, el, meaning “I, you, he”)
  • Yovel
  • Yulieski
  • Yumara
  • Yumilsis
  • Yunier
  • Yuri
  • Yuset

Why all the Y-names? It has to do with the Soviet Union’s influence in Cuba, which made Russian-sounding names (often ones that start with Y) fashionable on the island for a number of years. In fact, Cubans born during the ’70s and ’80s have been referred to as Generación Y.

Lillian Guerra, a professor of Cuban history at the University of Florida, says that names like Usmail and Usarmy began popping up in the 1990s, when Cubans started coming into contact with American travelers and culture.

Aurora Camacho, a member of the Cuban Institute for Literature and Linguistics, notes that more traditional names like Maria and Pedro are still being used in Cuba, but “certainly with less frequency.”

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Oldtimers on Paseo de Marti, Havana, Cuba by kuhnmi under CC BY 2.0.

Yesaidu, Yorkeisy: Unique Latin American names explained

Did you know that Latin American parents have created baby names out of English-language phrases and terms?

Here are some examples:

  • Yoanidis comes from “you and this”
  • Yorkeisy comes from “you are crazy”
  • Yesaidu comes from “yes I do”
  • Yesyuar comes from “yes you are”
  • Usanavy comes from “U.S. Navy”
  • Mileidi comes from “my lady”
  • Madeinusa comes from “made in U.S.A.”
  • Dalaionkin comes from “The Lion King”
  • Britnishakira is a combination of “Britney” and “Shakira”
  • Gualdisnia comes from “Walt Disney”

I found these in a News-Press article by Peruvian writer Alessia Leathers. (Unfortunately, the article — and her full list of names — is no longer online.)

No doubt names like these are spelled many different ways. I know I’ve seen several versions of “Usanavy.” For instance, in a book about Cuba (specifically, in a passage describing the influence of the United States on Cuban personal names in the mid-20th century), I spotted this sentence:

In the zones around the Guantanamo Naval Station it was not uncommon to find children named Usnavy (or Usnavito/Usnavita) after the markings of “US Navy.”

There’s also a Dominican-American character named Usnavi (pronounced oos-NAH-vee) in the musical In the Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Source: Perez, Louis A. On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999.

[Latest update: Jun. 2024]