How popular is the baby name Zoe 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 Zoe.

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Popularity of the baby name Zoe


Posts that mention the name Zoe

Popular baby names in New Zealand, 2012

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

The most popular baby names in New Zealand were announced the other day.

According to the NZ Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand’s top names last year were Olivia and Jack.

Here are New Zealand’s top 25 girl names and top 25 boy names of 2012:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia
  2. Sophie
  3. Emily
  4. Charlotte
  5. Ruby
  6. Isabella
  7. Ella
  8. Amelia
  9. Sophia
  10. Ava
  11. Chloe
  12. Isla
  13. Emma
  14. Mia
  15. Lily
  16. Grace
  17. Zoe
  18. Lucy
  19. Eva
  20. Paige
  21. Hannah
  22. Georgia
  23. Jessica
  24. Mila
  25. Sienna

Boy Names

  1. Jack
  2. Oliver
  3. William
  4. Liam
  5. Mason
  6. Samuel
  7. Jacob
  8. Lucas
  9. Ethan
  10. Noah
  11. James
  12. Cooper
  13. Daniel
  14. Blake
  15. Benjamin
  16. Joshua
  17. Max
  18. Thomas
  19. Ryan
  20. Charlie
  21. Jayden
  22. Hunter
  23. Leo
  24. Tyler
  25. Alexander

The name Jack has followed an interesting path in the NZ rankings. It was #1 from 2005 until 2009, sank to 4th in 2010, to 10th in 2011, and is now back in first place.

Sources: Olivia, Jack top baby names, Most Popular Male and Female First Names

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)

Popular baby names in Arizona, 2012

Flag of Arizona
Flag of Arizona

The most popular baby names in Arizona were announced recently.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona’s top names are Jacob and Sophia — same as the top names in the nation right now.

Here are Arizona’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Mia
5. Olivia
6. Emily
7. Ava
8. Abigail
9. Madison
10. Sofia
11. Victoria
12. Camila
13. Natalie
14. Zoey
15. Elizabeth
16. Ella
17. Aaliyah
18. Zoe
19. Charlotte
20. Brooklyn		1. Jacob
2. Ethan
3. Daniel
4. Liam
5. Alexander
6. Anthony
7. Noah
8. Mason
9. Aiden
10. Michael
11. David
12. Jayden
13. Julian
14. Matthew
15. Andrew
16. Elijah
17. Isaac
18. William
19. Gabriel
20. Joshua

(For more, see the full list of Arizona’s top 100 baby names of 2012.)

To compare, here are Arizona’s top names of 1912:

Girl Names (1912)Boy Names (1912)
1. Mary
2. Maria
3. Helen
4. Dorothy
5. Margaret
6. Ruth
7. Mildred
8. Anna
9. Elizabeth
10. Frances		1. John
2. Jose
3. William
4. James
5. Robert
6. Joseph
7. George
8. Charles
9. Edward
10. Frank

José was the second most popular name in the state in 2002 and 2007 as well. It didn’t even make the top 20 in 2012, though.

Source: Arizona’s top baby names of 2012: Sophia, Isabella, Jacob, Ethan

Image: Adapted from Flag of Arizona (public domain)

Biggest changes in girl name popularity, 2010

For the last few years, the SSA has re-ordered the top 500 (or so) baby names according to rank change.

I decided to do the same sort of analysis, but change two things. First, I focused on the number of babies instead of on rankings. Second, I looked at the entire list, not just the top 500.

Needless to say, these lists and the SSA’s lists look pretty different. :)

The girl names that increased and decreased the most in terms of usage are below. The boy names will be in the next post.

Biggest Increases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Sophia, +3608 babies (rank change: 4th to 2nd)
  2. Khloe, +1926 (95th to 42nd)
  3. Zoey, +1183 (75th to 47th)
  4. Charlotte, +1143 (68th to 45th)
  5. Zoe, +1080 (47th to 31st)
  6. Maci, +892 (655th to 232nd)
  7. Stella, +856 (126th to 85th)
  8. Scarlett, +781 (170th to 114th)
  9. Amelia, +739 (55th to 41st)
  10. Harper, +703 (172nd to 119th)
  11. Layla, +668 (45th to 37th)
  12. Ellie, +662 (145th to 104th)
  13. Kinley, +660 (452nd to 231st)
  14. Quinn, +637 (487th to 253rd)
  15. Tenley, +609 (2985th to 458th)
  16. Sofia, +602 (36th to 26th)
  17. Annabelle, +572 (156th to 117th)
  18. Bella, +566 (58th to 48th)
  19. Camila, +555 (80th to 61st)
  20. Hadley, +544 (363rd to 216th)

Biggest Decreases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Madison, -2111 babies (rank change: 7th to 8th)
  2. Alexis, -1712 (13th to 16th)
  3. Taylor, -1700 (22nd to 36th)
  4. Ashley, -1517 (20th to 27th)
  5. Sarah, -1502 (21st to 30th)
  6. Samantha, -1282 (15th to 15th)
  7. Kaylee, -1145 (26th to 35th)
  8. Emily, -1123 (6th to 6th)
  9. Brooke, -1106 (54th to 72nd)
  10. Brianna, -1101 (24th to 29th)
  11. Alyssa, -1001 (19th to 20th)
  12. Valeria, -977 (72nd to 94th)
  13. Kaitlyn, -926 (67th to 90th)
  14. Madelyn, -898 (59th to 76th)
  15. Destiny, -885 (57th to 71st)
  16. Mia, -841 (10th to 10th)
  17. Elizabeth, -834 (11th to 12th)
  18. Marley, -830 (149th to 234th)
  19. Kayla, -795 (35th to 43rd)
  20. Lauren, -755 (46th to 58th)

Did you notice that a few of the above (Samantha, Emily, Mia) were big winners/losers according to the numbers, and yet their rankings stayed the same? Tricky.

Baby girl gets 139 names: Tracy Mariclaire Lisa…

John and Margaret Nelson of Chesterfield, England, welcomed a baby girl at the very end of 1985. They named their daughter Tracy, but that’s not all they named her. This is Tracy’s full name:

Tracy Mariclaire Lisa Tammy Samantha Christine Alexandra Candy Bonnie Ursala Zoe Nichola Patricia Lynda Kate Jean Sandra Karren Julie Jane Elizabeth Felicity Gabriella Jackie Corina Constance Arabella Clara Honor Geraldine Fiona Erika Fillippa Anabel Elsie Amanda Cheryl Alanna Louisa Angie Beth Crystal Dawn Debbie Eileen Grace Susan Rebecca Valerie Kay Lena Margaret Anna Amy Carol Bella Avril Ava Audry Andrea Daphne Donna Cynthia Cassie Christabel Vivien Wendy Moira Jennifer Abbie Adelaide Carrissa Carla Anne Astrid Barbara Charissa Catalina Bonny Dee Hazel Iris Anthea Clarinda Bernadette Cara Alison Carrie Angela Beryl Caroline Emma Dana Vanessa Zara Violet Lynn Maggie Pamela Rosemary Ruth Cathlene Alexandrina Annette Hilary Diana Angelina Carrinna Victoria Sara Mandy Annabella Beverly Bridget Cecilia Catherine Brenda Jessica Isbella Delilah Camila Candace Helen Connie Charmaine Dorothy Melinda Nancy Mariam Vicki Selina Miriam Norma Pauline Toni Penny Shari Zsa-zsa Queenie Nelson

That’s 139 given names and 1 surname.

Why did John and Margaret do this to their daughter? According to John, “We just wanted to give her something for when she grows up.”

A reason that makes complete sense, of course.

Speaking of things that make sense, let’s pick out some of the needless repetition:

  • Alexandra (#7) and Alexandrina (#103)
  • Amanda (#36) and Mandy (#111)
  • Angela (#89), Angie (#40) and Angelina (#107)
  • Anna (#33), Anne (#74) and Annette (#104)
  • Bella (#56), Annabella (#112), Arabella (#27) and Isbella (#119)
  • Bonnie (#9) and Bonny (#79)
  • Candace (#122) and Candy (#8)
  • Carrissa (#72) and Charissa (#77)
  • Clara (#28) and Clarinda (#84)
  • Constance (#26) and Connie (#124)
  • Corina (#25) and Carrinna (#108)
  • Elizabeth (#21) and Beth (#41)
  • Margaret (#52) and Maggie (#98)
  • Mariam (#129) and Miriam (#131)
  • Victoria (#109) and Vicki (#130)
  • Zara (#95) and Sara (#110)

If you could go back in time and rename this baby, which two names (out of the 139) would you choose as her first and middle names?

Source: “Tracy for short.” Reading Eagle 24 Jan 1986: 1.