How popular is the baby name Wes 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 Wes.

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Popularity of the baby name Wes


Posts that mention the name Wes

Where did the baby name Labradford come from in 1987?

Basketball player LaBradford Smith
LaBradford Smith

The long name Labradford, which first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1987, saw its highest usage in the late ’80s and early ’90s:

  • 1993: unlisted
  • 1992: 7 baby boys named Labradford
  • 1991: 18 baby boys named Labradford
  • 1990: 17 baby boys named Labradford
  • 1989: 13 baby boys named Labradford
  • 1988: 14 baby boys named Labradford
    • 5 born in Kentucky specifically
  • 1987: 5 baby boys named Labradford [debut]
  • 1986: unlisted

Where did it come from?

College basketball player LaBradford Smith.

From 1987 to 1991, the Texas native attended the University of Louisville, where he “would make Louisville history as the only four-year player to start every game.” The 6-foot-3 guard finished his college career as Louisville’s all-time leader in assists, free-throw percentage, and three-pointers. He also ranked fifth on Louisville’s all-time scoring list.

He was selected in the 1st round of the 1991 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets (which was being coached by Wes Unseld at the time). His NBA career only lasted three seasons, though.

What are your thoughts on the name LaBradford?

P.S. Several of LaBradford’s five older siblings also had successful college basketball careers. His sisters Audrey and Annette, for instance, both played at the University of Texas on the 1985-86 national championship team (which was also the first women’s team in NCAA history to record a perfect season).

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of televised NBA game (Mar. 1993)

Popular and unique baby names in Scotland (UK), 2020

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

According to National Records of Scotland (NRS), the most popular baby names in the country in 2020 were Isla and Jack.

Here are Scotland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Isla, 347 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 334
  3. Emily, 300
  4. Freya, 284
  5. Ava, 276
  6. Sophie, 275
  7. Ella, 267
  8. Grace, 261
  9. Amelia, 254
  10. Lily, 208

Boy Names

  1. Jack, 354 baby boys
  2. Noah, 299
  3. James, 292
  4. Leo, 274 (2-way tie)
  5. Oliver, 274 (2-way tie)
  6. Harris, 268
  7. Rory, 258
  8. Alexander, 252
  9. Finlay, 247
  10. Archie, 244

In the girls’ top 10, Lily replaced Charlotte.

In the boys’ top 10, Alexander, Finlay and Archie replaced Charlie, Lewis and Alfie.

The fastest-rising names in the girls’ top 100 were Maeve and Ayda, and in the boys’ top 100 were Roman and Finley.

Here are some of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Scotland last year:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Antarleena, Binatari, Caoife, Dianka, Elswyth, Evrydiki, Fara, Fayne, Geneza, Honor-Norah, Icasia, Idelette, Jafleen, Kasatria, Lochie, Malmuira, Nashmia, Orlia, Phildah, Rileytilly, Rinrada, Skaiste, Tuscany, Uvika, Valfreya, Weeam, Xiaotong, Yorkubel, ZanzibarAulliver, Burn, Caedmon, Coagh, Dhruvanandan, Ertugrul, Fenwick, Guerau, Hanzal, Istari, Jelvin, Jettison, Kifl, Lhanium, Moncef, Nojus, Opei-Wes, Phalata, Riliklan, Rukudzo, Sawney, Torquhil, Tselot, Uendjipa, Vakaris, Wilsheldro, Xataan, Yigit, Zhaocheng

Istari seems to be taken from Tolkien. The Elves referred to the wizards of Middle-earth (such as Gandalf) as istari, a plural noun meaning “wise ones” in Quenya.

Finally, in 2019, the top names in Scotland were Olivia and Jack.

Sources: Isla topples Olivia as top girl’s name, Babies’ First Names

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Where did the baby name Unseld come from in 1971?

Basketball players Wes Unseld and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Wes Unseld & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The unusual baby name Unseld was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 1971:

  • 1973: unlisted
  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: 5 baby boys named Unseld [debut]
  • 1970: unlisted
  • 1969: unlisted

Why?

If you remember the image above — which was also in the post about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the other day — then you already know the answer: professional basketball player Westley “Wes” Unseld.

Unseld played in the NBA from 1968 to 1981, always for the same team: the Baltimore Bullets, which in 1973 became the the Capital Bullets, which in 1974 became the Washington Bullets. (Today they’re the Washington Wizards.)

Though Wes Unseld was clearly the influence behind the name, it’s hard to connect the appearance of “Unseld” in the data with a specific moment in his career. Wes was an All-Star in 1971, but that wasn’t the first time he was an All-Star. Likewise, 1971 was a couple of years after he won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award.

The surname Unseld can be traced back to the Middle High German word unsælde, which meant “misfortune.” It was a nickname for a sad or unlucky person.

Sources:

  • Wes Unseld – Wikipedia
  • Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

How did “The Real World” influence baby names?

Title of the TV series "The Real World" (1992-2019)
“This is the true story…of seven strangers…picked to live in a loft…and have their lives taped…”

Several months ago, the cast of the inaugural season of MTV’s The Real World held a 6-day reunion in the very same NYC loft they shared back in 1992. The reunion — which was filmed, of course — is now airing as a series on the Paramount+ platform. (Here’s the trailer.)

When I was a teenager, I loved watching The Real World. (And I appreciated that the names of the cast members were always prominently displayed in the opening credits!) So I think now would be a great time to go back and see if any Real World cast member names had an influence on U.S. baby names.

First, let’s start with a comprehensive list of all the cast member names from each of RW‘s 33 (!) seasons…

  1. The Real World: New York (1992): Andre, Becky, Eric, Heather, Julie, Kevin, Norman
  2. The Real World: California (1993): Aaron, Beth (x2), David, Dominic, Glen, Irene, Jon, Tami
  3. The Real World: San Francisco (1994): Cory, Jo, Judd, Mohammed, Pam, Pedro, Puck, Rachel
  4. The Real World: London (1995): Jacinda, Jay, Kat, Lars, Mike, Neil, Sharon
  5. The Real World: Miami (1996): Cynthia, Dan, Flora, Joe, Melissa, Mike, Sarah
  6. The Real World: Boston (1997): Elka, Genesis, Jason, Kameelah, Montana, Sean, Syrus
  7. The Real World: Seattle (1998): David, Irene, Janet, Lindsay, Nathan, Rebecca, Stephen
  8. The Real World: Hawaii (1999): Amaya, Colin, Justin, Kaia, Matt, Ruthie, Teck
  9. The Real World: New Orleans (2000): Danny, David, Jamie, Julie, Kelley, Matt, Melissa
  10. The Real World: Back to New York (2001): Coral, Kevin, Lori, Malik, Mike, Nicole, Rachel
  11. The Real World: Chicago (2002): Aneesa, Cara, Chris, Keri, Kyle, Theo, Tonya
  12. The Real World: Las Vegas (2002-2003): Alton, Arissa, Brynn, Frank, Irulan, Steven, Trishelle
  13. The Real World: Paris (2003): Ace, Adam, Chris, Christina, Leah, Mallory, Simon
  14. The Real World: San Diego (2004): Brad, Cameran, Charlie, Frankie, Jacquese, Jamie, Randy, Robin
  15. The Real World: Philadelphia (2004-2005): Karamo, Landon, Melanie, M.J., Sarah, Shavonda, Willie
  16. The Real World: Austin (2005): Danny, Johanna, Lacey, Melinda, Nehemiah, Rachel, Wes
  17. The Real World: Key West (2006): Janelle, John, Jose, Paula, Svetlana, Tyler, Zach
  18. The Real World: Denver (2006-2007): Alex, Brooke, Colie, Davis, Jenn, Stephen, Tyrie
  19. The Real World: Sydney (2007-2008): Ashli, Cohutta, Dunbar, Isaac, KellyAnne, Parisa, Shauvon, Trisha
  20. The Real World: Hollywood (2008): Brianna, Brittini, Dave, Greg, Joey, Kimberly, Nick, Sarah, Will
  21. The Real World: Brooklyn (2009): Baya, Chet, Devyn, J.D., Katelynn, Ryan, Sarah, Scott
  22. The Real World: Cancun (2009): Ayiiia, Bronne, CJ, Derek, Emilee, Jasmine, Joey, Jonna
  23. The Real World: D.C. (2009-2010): Andrew, Ashley, Callie, Emily, Erika, Josh, Mike, Ty
  24. The Real World: New Orleans (2010): Ashlee, Eric, Jemmye, McKenzie, Preston, Ryan (x2), Sahar
  25. The Real World: Las Vegas (2011): Adam, Dustin, Heather (x2), Leroy, Michael, Nany, Naomi
  26. The Real World: San Diego (2011): Alexandra, Ashley, Frank, Nate, Priscilla, Sam, Zach
  27. The Real World: St. Thomas (2012): Brandon (x2), LaToya, Laura, Marie, Robb, Trey
  28. The Real World: Portland (2013): Anastasia, Averey, Jessica, Johnny, Joi, Jordan, Marlon, Nia
  29. Real World: Ex-Plosion (2014): Arielle, Ashley (x2), Brian, Cory, Hailey, Jamie, Jay, Jenna, Jenny, Lauren, Thomas
  30. Real World: Skeletons (2014-2015): Bruno, Jason, Madison, Nicole, Sylvia, Tony, Violetta
  31. Real World: Go Big or Go Home (2016): CeeJai, Chris, Dean, Dione, Dylan, Jenna, Kailah, Sabrina
  32. Real World Seattle: Bad Blood (2016-2017): Anika, Anna, Jennifer, Jordan, Kassius, Katrina, Kimberly, Mike, Orlana, Peter, Robbie, Theo, Tyara, Will
  33. The Real World: Atlanta (2019): Arely, Clint, Dondre, Justin, Meagan, Tovah, Yasmin

The names in boldface line up with a discernible increase in baby name usage. (Other Real World names may have affected baby names as well, but it can be hard to tell when, say, a name is already common, or already on the rise.)

Here are details on all the boldfaced names, plus two more influential RW names (from seasons 6 and 18) that didn’t even belong to primary cast members.

  • The name Jacinda (from season 4; 1995) saw peak usage in 1996.
  • The name Flora (5; 1996) saw increased usage in 1997.
  • The name Kameelah (6; 1997) saw increased usage in 1998.
  • The name Syrus (6; 1997) saw increased usage in 1997.
  • The name Jason (6; 1997) was probably not affected, but the name of Jason’s girlfriend, Timber, saw increased usage in 1998.
  • The name Amaya (8; 1999) saw sharply increased usage in 1999 and 2000.
  • The name Kaia (8; 1999) saw increased usage in 1999.
  • The name Ruthie (8; 1999) saw increased usage in 1999.
  • The name Aneesa (11; 2002) saw peak usage in 2002.
  • The name Arissa (12; 2002-3) saw peak usage in 2003.
  • The name Brynn (12; 2002-3) saw sharply increased usage in 2003.
  • The name Irulan (12; 2002-3) debuted in the data in 2003.
    • It looks like she was named after the fictional character Princess Irulan from Frank Herbert’s Dune books…?
  • The name Trishelle (12; 2002-3) saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Mallory (13; 2003) saw increased usage in 2003 and 2004.
  • The name Cameran (14; 2004) saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Jacquese (14; 2004) both returned to the data and saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Johanna (16; 2005) saw increased usage in 2005.
  • The name Nehemiah (16; 2005) saw increased usage in 2005 and 2006.
  • The name Janelle (17; 2006) saw increased usage in 2006.
  • The name Svetlana (17; 2006) saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name Colie (18; 2006-7) both returned to the data and saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name Tyrie (18; 2006-7) saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name of Tyrie’s girlfriend, Jazalle, debuted in 2007 and is a one-hit wonder so far.
  • The name Kellyanne (19; 2007-8) returned to the data in 2008.
  • The name Baya (21; 2009) saw sharply increased usage in 2009. In fact, Baya was one of the fastest-rising baby names of 2009.
  • The name Averey (28; 2013) saw peak usage in 2013.
  • The name Kassius (32; 2016-17) saw increased usage in 2017.

Of all the names above, which one(s) do you like most?

And, for all the Real World fans out there: which season(s) do you like most? :)

Source: The Real World (TV series) – Wikipedia