How popular is the baby name Wanda 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 Wanda.

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Popularity of the baby name Wanda


Posts that mention the name Wanda

Popular and unique baby names in Zurich, 2023

Flag of Switzerland
Flag of Switzerland

Last year, the Swiss city of Zurich welcomed 4,475 babies — 2,202 girls and 2,273 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Sofia and Leo.

Here are Zurich’s top 50+ girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Sofia, 26 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 21
  3. Ella, 20
  4. Emma, 17 (tie)
  5. Mila, 17 (tie)
  6. Sophia, 16
  7. Elena, 15 (tie)
  8. Mia, 15 (tie)
  9. Lea, 14 (tie)
  10. Lia, 14 (tie)
  11. Clara, 13 (3-way tie)
  12. Emilia, 13 (3-way tie)
  13. Leonie, 13 (3-way tie)
  14. Hanna, 12 (6-way tie)
  15. Lou, 12 (6-way tie)
  16. Nina, 12 (6-way tie)
  17. Nora, 12 (6-way tie)
  18. Sophie, 12 (6-way tie)
  19. Valentina, 12 (6-way tie)
  20. Ida, 11
  21. Anna, 10 (6-way tie)
  22. Emily, 10 (6-way tie)
  23. Lara, 10 (6-way tie)
  24. Laura, 10 (6-way tie)
  25. Lina, 10 (6-way tie)
  26. Zoe, 10 (6-way tie)
  27. Amélie, 9 (8-way tie)
  28. Ava, 9 (8-way tie)
  29. Malea, 9 (8-way tie)
  30. Maria, 9 (8-way tie)
  31. Maya, 9 (8-way tie)
  32. Mira, 9 (8-way tie)
  33. Romy, 9 (8-way tie)
  34. Yuna, 9 (8-way tie)
  35. Alice, 8 (9-way tie)
  36. Elea, 8 (9-way tie)
  37. Isabella, 8 (9-way tie)
  38. Lily, 8 (9-way tie)
  39. Louise, 8 (9-way tie)
  40. Luana, 8 (9-way tie)
  41. Luna, 8 (9-way tie)
  42. Sara, 8 (9-way tie)
  43. Zoé, 8 (9-way tie)
  44. Ada, 7 (12-way tie)
  45. Alma, 7 (12-way tie)
  46. Carla, 7 (12-way tie)
  47. Eliana, 7 (12-way tie)
  48. Elin, 7 (12-way tie)
  49. Elina, 7 (12-way tie)
  50. Giulia, 7 (12-way tie)
  51. Isabel, 7 (12-way tie)
  52. Julia, 7 (12-way tie)
  53. Mara, 7 (12-way tie)
  54. Paula, 7 (12-way tie)
  55. Stella, 7 (12-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Leo, 28 baby boys
  2. Louis, 19
  3. Emil, 16 (3-way tie)
  4. Leonardo, 16 (3-way tie)
  5. Theo, 16 (3-way tie)
  6. Gabriel, 15
  7. Leon, 14
  8. Julian, 13 (7-way tie)
  9. Luca, 13 (7-way tie)
  10. Luka, 13 (7-way tie)
  11. Matteo, 13 (7-way tie)
  12. Max, 13 (7-way tie)
  13. Noah, 13 (7-way tie)
  14. Oliver, 13 (7-way tie)
  15. Alexander, 12 (6-way tie)
  16. Daniel, 12 (6-way tie)
  17. Felix, 12 (6-way tie)
  18. Jakob, 12 (6-way tie)
  19. Levi, 12 (6-way tie)
  20. Nicolas, 12 (6-way tie)
  21. Arthur, 11 (3-way tie)
  22. Henry, 11 (3-way tie)
  23. Maximilian, 11 (3-way tie)
  24. Elio, 10 (4-way tie)
  25. Mael, 10 (4-way tie)
  26. Milo, 10 (4-way tie)
  27. Vincent, 10 (4-way tie)
  28. Benjamin, 9 (8-way tie)
  29. Elia, 9 (8-way tie)
  30. Kian, 9 (8-way tie)
  31. Laurin, 9 (8-way tie)
  32. Leano, 9 (8-way tie)
  33. Malik, 9 (8-way tie)
  34. Noé, 9 (8-way tie)
  35. Oskar, 9 (8-way tie)
  36. Aaron, 8 (11-way tie)
  37. Anton, 8 (11-way tie)
  38. David, 8 (11-way tie)
  39. Diego, 8 (11-way tie)
  40. Elias, 8 (11-way tie)
  41. Luan, 8 (11-way tie)
  42. Mateo, 8 (11-way tie)
  43. Oscar, 8 (11-way tie)
  44. Paul, 8 (11-way tie)
  45. Samuel, 8 (11-way tie)
  46. Valentin, 8 (11-way tie)
  47. Adam, 7 (11-way tie)
  48. Adrian, 7 (11-way tie)
  49. Dario, 7 (11-way tie)
  50. Emilio, 7 (11-way tie)
  51. Henri, 7 (11-way tie)
  52. Hugo, 7 (11-way tie)
  53. Jonathan, 7 (11-way tie)
  54. Karl, 7 (11-way tie)
  55. Liam, 7 (11-way tie)
  56. Mattia 7 (11-way tie)
  57. Vito, 7 (11-way tie)

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Zurich last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Audelia, Barla, Colombine, Dora, Emmeline, Franka, Georgia, Hera, Inga, Janna, Karlotta, Lielle, Malva, Nele, Ornella, Pelin, Ronela, Soline, Thekla, Urmi, Viktoria, Wanda, Xiomara, Yuliana, ZoriAlain, Benedikt, Corsin, Duri, Egon, Fiete, Golden, Hendrik, Ilya, Jannik, Klaus, Lars, Markus, Nayan, Ognjen, Piem, Rentaro, Simeon, Taavi, Ulysse, Vidan, Wilhelm, Xhonson, Yaris, Ziko

Barla and Corsin are both Romansh names, interestingly.

I didn’t post about Zurich’s top baby names of 2022, but here are Zurich’s 2021 rankings, as well as Switzerland’s 2022 rankings.

Sources: Vornamen in der Stadt Zürich – Stadt Zürich, Stadt Zürich 2023: Zunahme der Bevölkerungszahl, Rückgang der Geburten, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Switzerland (public domain)

What gave the baby name Dorinda a boost in 1944?

The character Dorinda from the movie "A Guy Named Joe" (1943)
Dorinda from “A Guy Named Joe“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Dorinda saw a sharp spike in usage in the mid-1940s:

  • 1946: 72 baby girls named Dorinda [rank: 989th]
  • 1945: 81 baby girls named Dorinda [rank: 841st]
  • 1944: 147 baby girls named Dorinda [rank: 607th]
  • 1943: 22 baby girls named Dorinda
  • 1942: 24 baby girls named Dorinda

It was the fastest-rising baby name of 1944, in fact.

Several Dorinda-like names got a boost around that time as well:

194319441945
Drenda.50†37
Drinda.22*20
Dorenda.11*5
Darenda.9*.
Derinda.7*6
Dirinda.7*.
Durinda.7*6
Derenda.7*6
Darinda..6*
*Debut, †Peak usage

(Dirinda was a one-hit wonder.)

The name Dorinda would have sounded fashionable in the 1940s — a decade during which names like Linda, Brenda, Glenda, and Wanda ranked inside the girls’ top 100. But its sudden trendiness can be traced back to a specific influence: a movie character.

The romance/fantasy film A Guy Named Joe (which did not feature any characters named Joe, incidentally) was released in March of 1944. It went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year.

The main character was WWII bomber pilot Pete Sandridge (played by Spencer Tracy). After being killed in action — and leaving behind his girlfriend Dorinda (played by Irene Dunne) — he found himself in the afterlife, where he was told to return to Earth as a guardian angel. His first assignment was a young military pilot named Ted (played by Van Johnson). Eventually, Ted happened to meet, and fall for, a grieving Dorinda — which made things complicated for Pete.

What are your thoughts on the name Dorinda? Would you use it?

Sources: A Guy Named Joe – Wikipedia, A Guy Named Joe (1944) – Turner Classic Movies, 1944 in film – Wikipedia, SSA

Image: Screenshot of A Guy Named Joe

Pop culture baby name game results, 2021

Baby name game results, 2021

Which of the names in the 2021 pop culture baby name game saw higher usage last year?

The following names increased in usage from 2020 to 2021. They’re ordered by relative size of increase.

NameActionIncrease (%)’20 to ’21 usage
Lilibet*re-emerged200%, at least? to 12 baby girls
Caelebincreased200%5 to 15 baby boys
Rayaincreased130%274 to 631 baby girls
Icedebuted125%, at least? to 9 baby boys
Wandaincreased112%17 to 36 baby girls
Jovitaincreased60%5 to 8 baby girls
Suniincreased60%5 to 8 baby girls
Kananincreased59%102 to 162 baby boys
Mykaylaincreased59%17 to 27 baby girls
Letoincreased50%6 to 9 baby boys
Sterlingincreased49%122 to 182 baby girls
Sylvie*increased46%351 to 514 baby girls
Daphne*increased46%749 to 1,097 baby girls
Divinity*increased33%43 to 57 baby girls
Sylvesterincreased31%52 to 68 baby boys
Augustincreased29%2,423 to 3,133 baby boys
Renniere-emerged25%, at least? to 5 baby boys
Enderincreased22%103 to 126 baby boys
Ridleyincreased16%79 to 92 baby boys
Jupiterincreased8%119 to 129 baby girls
Phineasincreased7%121 to 129 baby boys
Khaiincreased5%21 to 22 baby girls
Simon*increased1%1,404 to 1,423 baby boys

*Suggestions made by elbowin, k8eshore, and KM

Chapel and La’akea were near-misses — both made gains, but for the wrong genders.

The following names did not increase in usage from 2020 to 2021. These names saw equal usage, less usage, or weren’t in the data at all.

Amanda, Ariarne, Atreides, Chani, Cruella, Dolph, Hidilyn, Ikaris, Janja, Javicia, Jeh, Kenna, Kizzmekia, Lalisa, Makkari, Mare, Mauz, Mecole, Nakano, Nevin, Ozuna, Rauw, Robinette, Sersi, Shacarri, Shein, Swavy, Tessica, Tianwen, Warrior

And here are the late bloomers — names that were part of the 2020 game, but didn’t rise/debut until 2021.

  • Win re-emerged with 14 baby boys.
  • Kaori increased by 106%
  • Gervonta debuted with 8 baby boys
  • Theodosia increased by 75%
  • Anaia increased by 71%
  • Wednesday increased by 47%
  • Hamilton increased by 30%
  • Lenin increased by 19%
  • Liberty increased by 8%
  • Zaya increased by 7%

What are your thoughts on these results? Which name surprised you the most?

[Disclaimer: Some of the names above were already moving in the direction indicated. Others were influenced by more than a single pop culture person/event. In all cases, I leave it up to you to judge the degree/nature of pop culture influence.]

Pop culture baby name game, 2021

Happy birthday, Elvis!

Tomorrow would have been Elvis Presley’s 86th birthday. (Happy birthday, Elvis!)

You guys know what that means…time for the annual Pop Culture Baby Name Game!

Think back to the pop culture of 2021 — movies, music, TV shows, online shows, social media, video games, sports, news, cultural events, politics, products, brands, etc.

Which of these things had an influence on U.S. baby names, do you think?

More specifically, which baby names will see higher usage (or appear for the very first time) in the 2021 U.S. baby name data thanks to 2021 pop culture?

Here are some initial ideas…

Plus…

  • Names from the movie Eternals (like Sersi, Ikaris, Makkari)
  • Names from the movie Dune (like Chani, Atreides, Leto)
  • Turkish names from any of the Turkish dramas being aired in Spanish on Univision/Telemundo
  • Names from any new sci-fi/fantasy series (like Shadow and Bone, The Nevers, The Wheel of Time)

Some of the names mentioned in the 2020 game might be see increases in 2021 as well.

What other names should we add to the list? Let me know by leaving a comment!

I’ll post the game results after the SSA releases the 2021 baby name data (in May of 2022).