How popular is the baby name Wellesley 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 Wellesley.

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Popularity of the baby name Wellesley


Posts that mention the name Wellesley

Babies named for Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

British politician Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852)
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

British soldier and politician Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, is best remembered for being the commander of the Anglo-allied army that (with the assistance of the Prussian Army) achieved victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Alexander I, the Czar of Russia, was to call him ‘Le vainqueur du vainqueur du monde‘, the conqueror of the world’s conqueror, and the world’s conqueror was, of course, Napoleon.

But, even before that, Wellesley had gained fame for his victories during the Peninsular War. And, afterward, he served as British Prime Minister (primarily from 1828 to 1830, but also for a few extra weeks in 1834).

Thousands of baby boys across the United Kingdom (and beyond) were named in his honor starting in the early 1810s. Some examples..

Interestingly, Wellesley wasn’t born with the surname Wellesley. He was originally a Wesley. Sometime in the late 1790s, “the Wesley family reverted to the old Anglo-Norman spelling of Wellesley.” Arthur first signed his name “Arthur Wellesley” in May of 1798 (while he was stationed in India).

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Babies named for the Battle of Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815)
Battle of Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo — which marked the final defeat of Napoleon and the end of the Napoleonic Wars — took place on June 18, 1815, near the village of Waterloo (located south of Brussels).

Fighting against Napoleon were two forces: a British-led coalition that included Germans, Belgians, and Dutch (all under the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley) and an army from Prussia (under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher).

Hundreds of babies were given the name “Waterloo” — typically as a middle — during the second half of the 1810s. Most of them were baby boys born in England, but some were girls, and some were born elsewhere in the British Empire (and beyond).

  • William Wellington Waterloo Humbley,* b. 1815, in England
  • Isabella Fleura Waterloo Deacon,† b. 1815, Belgium
  • John Waterloo Todd, b. 1815, England
  • Fredrick Waterloo Collins, b. 1815, Wales
  • Jubilee Waterloo Reeves (née Davis), b. 1815, England
  • Dent Waterloo Ditchburn, b. 1815, England
  • Joseph Waterloo Hart, b. 1815, England
  • Henry Waterloo Nickels, b. 1815, England
  • Sophia Waterloo Mills, b. 1815, England
  • Henry Waterloo Prescott, b. 1815, England
  • Richard Waterloo Renny, b. 1815, England
  • John Waterloo Posthumous Brittany, b. circa 1815, England
  • Charlotte Waterloo Grapes, b. circa 1815, England
  • Louisa Waterloo France, b. circa 1815, Belgium
  • James Waterloo Clark, b. 1816, England
  • Henry Waterloo Johnson, b. 1816, England
  • George Waterloo Holland, b. 1816, England
  • Charles Waterloo Wallett, b. 1816, England
  • John Waterloo Wilson, b. circa 1816, Belgium
  • Frederick Waterloo Jennings, b. 1817, England
  • William Waterloo Horford, b. 1817, England
  • George Mark Waterloo Smith, b. 1817, England
  • Edward Waterloo Lane, b. 1817, England
  • Robert Waterloo Cook, b. 1817, England
  • Eleanor Waterloo Whiteman, b. 1817, England
  • Ann Waterloo Barlow, b. 1818, England
  • Wellington Waterloo Teanby, b. circa 1818, England
  • William Wellington Waterloo Jackson, b. circa 1819, England

Interestingly, babies were still being named Waterloo long after the battle was over. Many more Waterloos were born from the 1820s onward:

The place-name Waterloo is made up of a pair of Middle Dutch words that, together, mean “watery meadow.” Since the battle, though, the word Waterloo has also been used to refer to “a decisive or final defeat or setback.” (It’s used this way in the 1974 Abba song “Waterloo” [vid], for instance.)

The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) followed the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-c.1802), which followed the French Revolution (1789-1799), which gave rise to a number of revolutionary baby names in France.

*William Wellington Waterloo Humbley was born on the day of the battle (while his father, an army officer, was abroad taking part). He was baptized the following summer, and the Duke of Wellington himself stood godfather. Several years after that, in 1819, his parents welcomed daughter Vimiera Violetta Vittoria Humbley — named after the battles of Vimeiro (1808) and Vitoria (1813).

†Isabella Fleura Waterloo Deacon’s father, Thomas, had been wounded in the previous battle (Quatre Bras, on the 16th). Her mother, Martha — who was traveling with the army — searched the battlefield for him all night. Eventually she discovered that he’d been transported to Brussels, some 20 miles away, so she walked there with her three young children. (Through a 10-hour thunderstorm, no less.) She reached Brussels on the morning of the 18th, located her husband, and gave birth to Isabella on the 19th.

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The top girl-name debuts of 2015

lotus bud

The music-inspired name Kehlani was the top debut name for baby girls in 2015.

In order for a rare baby name to debut on the Social Security Administration’s annual baby name list, it has to be given to at least 5 U.S. babies of either one gender or the other within a given year.

Of all the girl names that debuted in 2015, the following were the most popular:

1. Kehlani, 48 baby girls
2. Dayelin, 34
3. Abrish, 29
4. Alahia, 22
5. Hazelgrace, 22
6. Brave, 17
7. Nadyalee, 17
8. Hoorain, 15
9. Aitanna, 14
10. Aithana, 14
11. Aytana, 14
12. Brexley, 14
13. Jeshia, 14
14. Averyrose, 13
15. Absalat, 12
16. Kassiani, 12
17. Ovi, 12
18. Viyona, 12
19. Charlestyn, 11
20. Ditya, 11
21. Kylierae, 11
22. Mansirat, 11

And a handful from the 10-and-under group: Tanvika, Espn (it arrives for girls, finally!), Heavenlyjoy, Wylder, Yemariam, Carver, Edelweiss, Gloricely, Darasimi, Elshaddai, Ezoza, Maggiemae, Zeppelyn, Amitis, Anthem, Moxley, Wellesley, Witten, Gatsby, Skyland, Adorable, Brizleth, Lameese, Ludovica, Maleficent (Maleficent!), Maori, Stellaluna, Vaiga, Vydia.

Where do the names above come from? Here are a few explanations:

  • Kehlani – from Kehlani Parrish (stage name Kehlani), American R&B singer.
  • Hazelgrace – from Hazel Grace Lancaster, a character from The Fault in Our Stars (2014).
  • Nadyalee – from Nadyalee Torres, Puerto Rican model, finalist on Nuestra Belleza Latina 2015.
  • Hoorain – from celebrity baby Hoorain, born in July of 2015 to Pakistani actors Ayeza Khan and Danish Taimoor.
  • Aitanna, Aithana, and Aytana – from celebrity baby Aitana, born in August of 2014 to Mexican actors Alessandra Rosaldo and Eugenio Derbez.

Can you come up with explanations for any of the others?

Here are the boy name debuts, and here are the top girl name debuts of 2014.

Source: SSA

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