Baby Name: Year

Happy New Year, everyone!

So here’s the question of the day: Have any babies ever been named after the New Year?

The answer is yes.

Notably, at least six people have been named Happy New Year:

• Happy New Year Boor (female), born on January 1, 1926, in Pennsylvania
• Happy New Year Dennis (female), born in 1920 in South Africa
• Happy New Year Grierson, born on January 1, 1896, in Oregon
• Happy New Year Kauakahi (female), born on January 1, 1907, in Hawaii
• Happy New Year Kapahu (male), born circa 1907 in Hawaii
• Happy Newyear Kerwenzee (female), born circa 1877 in Ontario

Several hundred others have simply been named New Year.

The earliest examples I’ve seen come from the 1600s:

• Newyear Dale (male), baptized on January 6, 1675, in Yorkshire, England
• Newyear Harrison (male), baptized on January 2, 1687, in Yorkshire, England
• New Year Carlile (female), baptized on January 12, 1690, in Cumberland, England
• New Years Mitchinson (male), baptized on December 31, 1691, in Cumberland, England
• New Year Ireland (male), baptized on February 5, 1694, in Yorkshire, England

Here are a few more from the 1700s:

• New Year Dowthwait (male), baptized on January 1, 1731 in Yorkshire, England
• New Year Prudget (male), baptized on January 15, 1737, in Suffolk, England
• Hannah New Year Chamberlain (female), baptized on January 7, 1759 in Northampton, England
• Newyear Laycock (male), baptized on January 13, 1779 in Yorkshire, England
• Charles Newyear Dunn (male), baptized on January 3, 1790, in Lincolnshire, England

And a few more from the 1800s:

• William New Year Sadler (male), baptized on January 2, 1819, in Norfolk, England
• Aaron New Years Enderby (male), baptized on January 9, 1831, in Lincolnshire, England
• Henry New Year Norris (male), born on January 1, 1845, in Illinois
• Frances New Year Tobin (female), born on December 31, 1872, in Minnesota
• Jesse New Years Harris (male), born on January 1, 1891, in Alabama

And, finally, a few more from the early 1900s:

• Columbus New Year Clanton (male), born on January 1, 1900, in Alabama
• Curtis New Year Cooper (male), born on January 1, 1905, in Texas
• New Years George Many Ribs (male), born on January 1, 1910, in North Dakota
• New Year Bell Baine (female), born on January 1, 1912, in Alabama
• New Year Day McAdoo (male), born on January 1, 1912, in Arkansas
  • He went by the nickname “Day.”

Sources: FamilySearch.org, Find a Grave

Top image: Adapted from Bellagio Christmas tree by Bert Kaufmann under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Dec. 2024]