How popular is the baby name Vedder 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 Vedder.

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Popularity of the baby name Vedder


Posts that mention the name Vedder

Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2011

Flag of Alberta
Flag of Alberta

I saw lots of news last week about baby names in Alberta, Canada. The media didn’t focus on the Alberta’s most popular names of 2011, which happen to be these:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia
  2. Sophia
  3. Emma
  4. Emily
  5. Ava
  6. Chloe
  7. Abigail
  8. Lily
  9. Brooklyn
  10. Sophie

Boy Names

  1. Liam
  2. Ethan
  3. Mason
  4. Lucas
  5. Jacob
  6. Benjamin
  7. Alexander
  8. Noah
  9. William
  10. Logan

Instead, the media focused on Alberta’s unique names, which is something that I’ve been writing about for years (literally: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).

The official list of Albertan baby names isn’t ready yet, but preliminary data is available via the Edmonton Journal. Here are some oddball names I spotted on the Journal’s list:

Boy NamesGirl Names
Crevance, Dawnwalker, Dybry, Flourish, Goliath, Jheizzller, Knowledge-Tree*, Lefarius, Llord-Xedric, Madrid, Matt-Dainon, Moo, Moxon, Nzoputa, Princelife, Pure, Spyder, Mskr, Tata-peh, Wanderingspirit, Wisherlee, VedderApril-May, Chaz-a-rae, Cupid, Dayleigh, Dazzelyn, Duffni, Eirachloe, Evolet, Glennizelle, Gobza, Laker-Lynn, Mississippi, Nomalisa, Phetlunda, Psanatcsakor, Q’Tyyr’N, Rainejewelle, Sheamus, Starr-shine, Thespina, Thipphaphone, Vylet, Xyza, Zxyvian

*I’m guessing at the last letter; I think it was cut off.

Many of the news articles also claimed that baby names in Alberta had been inspired by royals William and Kate, who visited Canada last July. This could be true — there were a few more Princes and Dukes than usual in 2011:

  • 2011: 199 Williams, 50 Kates, 8 Princes, 6 Princesses, 9 Dukes, 0 Duchesses
  • 2010: 184 Williams, 44 Kates, 5 Princes, 5 Princesses, 0 Dukes, 0 Duchesses
  • 2009: 198 Williams, 67 Kates, 5 Princes, 2 Princesses, 2 Dukes, 0 Duchesses
  • 2008: 178 Williams, 68 Kates, 4 Princes, 0 Princesses, 3 Dukes, 0 Duchesses
  • 2007: 185 Williams, 67 Kates, 5 Princes, 1 Princess, 3 Dukes, 0 Duchesses

The names Kate and William didn’t move too much, though.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)

Alternative rock baby names of the 1990s

rock concert

Pearl Jam held a festival over Labor Day weekend to mark the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut album, Ten.

The news reminded me that I’ve seen the name Vedder (the surname of Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder) in the U.S. baby name data.

But I didn’t see it in the SSA data of the early ’90s, which was when grunge band Pearl Jam was at the height of its fame. Nope — Vedder didn’t start popping up until more than a decade later, surprisingly:

  • 2010: 7 baby boys named Vedder
  • 2009: 6 baby boys named Vedder
  • 2008: not listed
  • 2007: 6 baby boys named Vedder
  • 2006: not listed
  • 2005: 5 baby boys named Vedder [debut]
  • 2004: not listed
  • 2003: not listed

The same thing happened to Cobain, surname of Nirvana vocalist Kurt Cobain:

  • 2010: 8 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2009: 5 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2008: 7 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2007: 5 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2006: not listed
  • 2005: 6 baby boys named Cobain
  • 2004: 5 baby boys named Cobain [debut]
  • 2003: not listed

And to Reznor, surname of Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails:

  • 2010: 6 baby boys named Reznor
  • 2009: 9 baby boys named Reznor
  • 2008: 8 baby boys named Reznor
  • 2007: not listed
  • 2006: 6 baby boys named Reznor
  • 2005: not listed
  • 2004: 5 baby boys named Reznor [debut]
  • 2003: not listed

Interesting, isn’t it? These names didn’t become trendy while the associated alt-rock acts were big, but they’ve begun trickling in years after the fact. As if the teens of the ’90s needed a few years to grow up and start having their own kids first.

Contrast this with names like Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye, and Shania. These names became popular on a much larger scale while the corresponding pop stars were hitting it big. Quite a difference.

Sources: Pearl Jam Fest Wows With Chris Cornell/Temple of The Dog, Multiple Guests – Billboard, SSA

Image by Francisco Moreno from Unsplash