How popular is the baby name Walter 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 Walter.

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Popularity of the baby name Walter


Posts that mention the name Walter

15 Brazilian siblings named Walter

Walter and Erotides Brandao, a couple from Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil, decided to name all 15 of their children — 9 daughters and 6 sons — after their father.

Here are all 15 Walter-names:

  1. Walterlucia
  2. Walterlivia
  3. Walterlenia
  4. Walterlonia
  5. Walterlacia
  6. Walterluzia
  7. Walterluana
  8. Walterangelina
  9. Waltersilviana
  10. Waltermanuel
  11. Walterluis
  12. Walteroliver
  13. Waltermarcelo
  14. Walterlicinio
  15. Walterfernando

Walter passed away a few years go, but Erotides, 88, is still alive and now has 33 grandchildren “who are also called after their grandfather, after it was decided to continue the unusual tradition.”

Source: Brazilian Mother Names All 15 of Her Children ‘Walter’

Names popular during the Elizabethan era

Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England

What were the top names of the Elizabethan era?

Elea of British Baby Names recently published a great list of names popular during the Elizabethan era (late 16th century) in the Norfolk region. Here are the top 10 names for each gender:

Male names (16th cen.)Female names (16th cen.)
1. John
2. Thomas
3. William
4. Robert
5. Richard
6. Edward
7. Henry
8. Edmund
9. Nicholas
10. James		1. Elizabeth
2. Margaret
3. Mary
4. Ann
5. Agnes
6. Alice
7. Dorothy
8. Joan
9. Katherine
10. Bridget

I thought it would be fun to compare this list to a couple of earlier historical name lists from England, so here are the most common names from King Henry III’s fine rolls (13th century):

Male names (13th cen.)Female names (13th cen.)
1. William
2. John
3. Richard
4. Robert
5. Henry
6. Ralph
7. Thomas
8. Walter
9. Roger
10. Hugh		1. Alice
2. Matilda
3. Agnes
4. Margaret
5. Joan
6. Isabella
7. Emma
8. Beatrice
9. Mabel
10. Cecilia

And, even further back, here are the most-mentioned male names and female names in the Domesday book (11th century):

Male names (11th cen.)Female names (11th cen.)
1. William
2. Robert
3. Ralph
4. Aelfric
5. Alwin
5. Hugh
7. Roger
8. Godwin
9. Walter
10. Godric		1. Aldgyth
2. Aelfeva
2. Leofeva
2. Wulfeva
5. Bricteva
5. Edeva
7. Emma
7. Godiva
9. Goda
10. Edith

The last two lists may not represent the top given names of their time periods very accurately, but they do give you a sense of how given names in England have changed over time.

Image: Adapted from Elizabeth I of England (public domain)

Top girl-name debuts of all time in the U.S. baby name data (41-50)

lotus bud

For years now I’ve been talking about baby name debuts. But one thing I keep forgetting to blog about is the biggest baby name debuts of all time.

So this week I’m going to fix that oversight.

Well, half of it.

I’ll be counting down the 50 most popular girl name debuts in five posts, from today until Friday. (The boys’ list I’ll do another week.)

You’d think this would be 50 names, right? But I decided not to break ties, so the list actually contains 67 names.

I came up with explanations for as many names as I could, though a number of them are still mysteries to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these.

So here’s 50 to 41:

Yatzari, #50

  • Yatzari debuted with 65 baby girls in 2000.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.

Brieanna, Fanta & Kherington, 3-way tie for #49

  • Brieanna debuted with 66 baby girls in 1979.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Fanta debuted with 66 baby girls in 1977.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Fanta, a character on the TV miniseries Roots.
  • Kherington debuted with 66 baby girls in 2008.
    Inspired by Kherington Payne, a contestant on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance.

Chantay, Charde & Laryssa, 3-way tie for #48

  • Chantay debuted with 67 baby girls in 1960.
    Inspired by Chantay, a character on the TV western Lawman.
  • Charde debuted with 67 baby girls in 1985.
    Inspired by singer Sade [shah-DAY].
  • Laryssa debuted with 67 baby girls in 1968.
    Inspired by Laryssa Lauret, an actress on the soap opera The Doctors.

Jennavecia & Laquita, 2-way tie for #47

  • Jennavecia debuted with 68 baby girls in 2008.
    Inspired by Jennavecia Russo, a cast member on the reality TV show The Bad Girls Club.
  • Laquita debuted with 68 baby girls in 1930.
    Inspired by…I’m not sure what.

Zhane, #46

  • Zhane debuted with 69 baby girls in 1993.
    Inspired by the R&B duo Zhané.

Kaydence, Phaedra & Shalawn, 3-way tie for #45

  • Kaydence debuted with 70 baby girls in 2002.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Cadence, a character from the movie Shallow Hal. (Thank you Angela!)
  • Phaedra debuted with 70 baby girls in 1963.
    Inspired by Phaedra, a character in the movie Phaedra.
  • Shalawn debuted with 70 baby girls in 1974.
    Inspired by Shalawn (b. 1974), baby of O’Jays singer Walter Williams.

Tyechia, #44

  • Tyechia debuted with 71 baby girls in 1982.
    Inspired by orphaned toddler named Tyechia who had been in the news.

Adilene, #43

  • Adilene debuted with 72 baby girls in 1987.
    Inspired by the song “Adilene” by Los Yonics.

Leshia & Riann, 2-way tie for #42

  • Leshia debuted with 76 baby girls in 1960.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Lisha Steele, a character on the soap opera Young Doctor Malone. (Thank you m4yb3_daijirou!)
  • Riann debuted with 76 baby girls in 1977.
    Inspired by the song “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac.

Jalesa, #41

  • Jalesa debuted with 77 baby girls in 1988.
    Inspired by Jaleesa Vinson, a character on the TV sitcom A Different World.

Do you have any ideas about where Kaydence, Fanta, Brieanna, or Yatzari might have come from?

More of the top 50 baby name debuts for girls: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

[Latest update: 7/2021]

Babies named for the Klondike Gold Rush

Klondikers ascending to the summit of Chilkoot Pass in Alaska in 1898.
Klondikers on Chilkoot Pass

Did you know that many dozens of U.S. babies were given names inspired by the Klondike Gold Rush (1896-1899)?

Though the baby name Klondike has never appeared in the U.S. baby name data, it certainly would have (in both 1897 and 1898) had complete sets of data been collected during those years.

Here’s a list of many of the Klondikes (and Klondykes) I was able to find in the records. Most of the below were born in the U.S., but I threw in a couple of Canadians as well. :)

  • Klondyke A. Applegate, b. 1897 in Kansas
  • Klondike D. Ator, b. 1898 in Texas
  • Lorenson Klondike Bandy, b. 1898 in Illinois
  • Walter Klondike Boehm, b. 1897 in Missouri
  • Klondike Earl Bogardeus, b. 1897 in Ohio
  • Klondyke Gold Brown, b. 1897 in Ontario
  • Klondyke Buckles, b. 1897 in Oklahoma
  • Walter Klondike Carter, b. 1897 in Maine
  • Goda Klondike Clark, b. 1897 in Missouri
  • Clyde Klondike Counsell, b. 1897 in Utah
  • Klondike T. Crowley, b. 1897 in Yukon
  • Joseph Klondike Dawson, b. 1898 in Tennessee
  • Rufus Klondyke Derry, b. 1897 in Iowa
  • Klondike J. Dodd, b. 1898 in Texas
  • Mabel Klondike Elkins, b. 1897 in West Virginia
  • Goldy Klondike Fletcher, b. 1897 in Nebraska
  • Klondike P. Flint, b. 1897 in Ohio
  • Klondike Gray, b. 1896 in North Carolina
  • John Klondike Griffith, b. 1898 in Massachusetts
  • Klondyke Hardin, b. 1897 in Ohio
  • Harold Klondike Hathaway, b. 1897 in Massachusetts
  • Harry Klondike Hayes, b. 1897 in Washington
  • Kittie Klondike Hughes, b. 1898 in Texas
  • Klondike Goldy Kelly, b. 1897 in Ohio
  • Earl Klondike Kinahan, b. 1898 in Illinois
  • Klondyke Kirkendall, b. 1898 in West Virginia
  • Pearl Klondike Lincoln, b. 1897 in Pennsylvania
  • Chester Klondike Lindsay, b. 1897 in Missouri
  • Dewey Klondike Livingston, b. 1898 in Oklahoma
  • George Klondike Lynch, b. 1897 in Texas
  • Klondyke Moore, b. 1897 in California
  • Loren Klondike Philleo, b. 1898 in Washington
  • Klondike Schneider, b. 1897 in Illinois
  • Klondike Dewey Sengelmann, b. 1898 in Texas
  • Jack Klondyke Shriver, b. 1897 in Kansas
  • Klondyke Alaska Slaughter, b. 1897 in Kentucky
  • Klondike McKinley Smith, b. 1897 in Oregon
  • Vannie Klondyke Smith, b. 1898 in West Virginia
  • Roy Klondike Temple, b. 1898 in Oregon
  • Klondike McKinley Thomas, b. 1897 in Vermont
  • Klondike DeMoss Tucker, b. 1897 in Indiana
  • Klondike Van Horn, b. 1897 in Arkansas
  • Klondike B. Winter, b. 1897 in Michigan
  • Klondike Wymore, b. 1897 in Nebraska

I love how some parents took the theme even further with additional given names like “Goldy” and “Alaska.” Others decided to commemorate war hero George Dewey or U.S. President William McKinley.

The alternative spelling, Klondyke, was almost as prevalent in the records as the standard spelling. No doubt the newspapers — which regularly spelled the word with a “y” for some reason — were an influence here.

"Klondyke" headlines from the San Francisco Call (Aug. 1897) and the Los Angeles Herald (Jul. 1898).
Pair of “Klondyke” newspaper headlines (late 1890s)

So, how did the Klondike River — after which Klondike Gold Rush is named — come to be called “Klondike”?

The word is derived from the river’s original name: Tr’ondëk in the Hän language. Tr’ondëk means “hammerstone,” which refers to the large stones used to hammer stakes into the riverbed to create fishing weirs (which trapped fish such as salmon).

What are your thoughts on the name Klondike?

Sources: The Dawson City Museum – South Gallery, SSA, FamilySearch.org

Image: Klondikers ascending to the summit of Chilkoot Pass, Alaska, 1898 (public domain) by Eric A. Hegg