The rare name Yoenis has appeared in the U.S. baby name data just once so far, in 2015:
- 2017: unlisted
- 2016: unlisted
- 2015: 7 baby boys named Yoenis [debut]
- 2014: unlisted
- 2013: unlisted
What put it there?
Professional baseball player Yoenis Céspedes (pronounced yo-EHN-eess SES-peh-des).
Yoenis, an outfielder and power hitter, played on four different Major League Baseball teams from 2012 to 2020.
He saw the most success in the mid-2010s, when he was named an All-Star twice (in 2014 and 2016) and won both a Gold Glove Award (in 2015) and a Silver Slugger Award (in 2016).
Yoenis was born in Cuba in 1985, and is therefore part of Cuba’s Generación Y (i.e., one of the many Cubans who were given Y-names during the 1970s and ’80s). In fact, Yoenis was “[p]erhaps the best-known example” of this trend in the MLB, according to a New York Times article from mid-2016.
(The article also mentioned the high proportion of Y-names on the roster of Cuba’s national baseball team, which had played an exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Havana that spring. Of the 30 players, ten had Y-names: Yoandry, Yoanni, Yorbis, Yordan, Yordanis, Yosvani #1, Yosvani #2, Yunier, Yunior, and Yurisbel.)
What are your thoughts on the name Yoenis?
P.S. Céspedes’ younger half-brother, Yoelqui, currently plays in the minor leagues.
Sources:
- Yoenis Céspedes – Wikipedia
- Rosenberg, Eli. “Postales del Mundo: Yoenis, Yoani, Yúnior… cómo nombrar a un niño cubano.” New York Times en Español 10 Jun. 2016.
- “Cuba announces 30-man roster to match against MLB team.” Cuban News Agency 20 Mar. 2016.
- SSA
Image: Adapted from Yoenis Cespedes talks to reporters on WSMediaDay by Arturo Pardavila III under CC BY 2.0.
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