Blog

Where did the baby name Cataleya come from in 2011?

The character Cataleya from the movie "Colombiana" (2011)
Cataleya from “Colombiana“

The curious name Cataleya first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 2011:

  • 2014: 695 baby girls were named Cataleya [rank: 460th]
  • 2013: 687 baby girls were named Cataleya [rank: 448th]
  • 2012: 639 baby girls were named Cataleya [rank: 480th]
  • 2011: 29 baby girls were named Cataleya [debut]
  • 2010: unlisted
  • 2009: unlisted

The next year, it jumped straight into the girls’ top 500. The jump was so big that it qualified Cataleya as the fastest-rising baby name of 2012.

Here’s the graph:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Cataleya in the U.S. since 1880.
Usage of the baby name Cataleya

The sudden trendiness of Cataleya inspired parents to create dozens of variant spellings, such as…

2010201120122013
Cataleya.29*639
[rank: 480th]		687
[rank: 448th]
Kataleya.10*197240
Cattleya.8*123124
Catalaya..51*57
Cattaleya..46*46
Catalia..35*29
Katalaya..32*37
Katalia..26*25
Kattleya..26*29
Catalea..20*9
Kataleah..17*10
Kattaleya..17*23
Katalea..16*19
Katalayah..12*.
Kathaleya..12*6
Cataleyah..11*22
Cateleya..11*8
Kataleyah..10*18
Kathalia..9*.
Cataleah..8*15
Kataleia..8*10
Kataliyah..8*8
Kataliya..7*8
Katilaya..7*11
Cataleia..6*5
Cataliyah..5*5
Catilaya..5*.
Catileya..5*.
Cathaleya...8*
Catalya...6*
Catelaya...6*
Kataleiya...6*
Cattalaya...5*
Kateleya...5*
*Debut

(Catalaya and Cattaleya were the second- and third-highest girl-name debuts of 2012, incidentally.)

So where did the name Cataleya come from?

The action thriller movie Colombiana, which was released in the summer of 2011.

The main character, Cataleya Restrepo (played by Zoë Saldaña), had witnessed her parents being murdered when she was a child in Bogotá. Fifteen years later, after being raised by an uncle in Chicago, she was working as a contract killer and seeking vengeance on the men who killed her family.

The character Cataleya from the movie "Colombiana" (2011)
Cataleya wearing her Cattleya necklace

The character was named after the orchid genus Cattleya (pronounced KAT-lee-uh). She wears a Cattleya necklace that had belonged to her mother, and leaves a lipstick drawing of a Cattleya on each of her victims as a calling card.

The genus Cattleya, native to the tropical rainforests of South America, was named in honor of British horticulturalist William Cattley. His surname, a variant of Catley, can refer to any of several places in England called Catley.

What are your thoughts on the name Cataleya? (How would you spell it?)

P.S. Zoë Saldaña also plays Neytiri in the Avatar films.

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of Colombiana

Popular baby names in the Philippines, 2021

Flag of the Philippines
Flag of the Philippines

The Philippines — the 13th most populous country in the world — is an archipelago of thousands of islands located in the western Pacific Ocean.

In 2021, the Philippines welcomed 1,364,739 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Althea and Jacob.

Here are the Philippines’ top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2021:

Girl names

  1. Althea, 1,875 baby girls
  2. Angel, 1,301
  3. Samantha, 1,280
  4. Sophia, 989
  5. Sofia, 988
  6. Andrea, 969
  7. Nathalie, 964
  8. Princess, 959
  9. Angela, 929
  10. Chloe, 907

Boy names

  1. Jacob, 1,972 baby boys
  2. Nathaniel, 1,845
  3. Gabriel, 1,679
  4. Ezekiel, 1,455
  5. Nathan, 1,429
  6. Ethan, 1,289
  7. Angelo, 1,135
  8. James, 1,122
  9. Matthew, 998
  10. Zion, 986

In the girls’ top 10, Chloe replaced Jasmine.

In the boy’s top 10, Matthew and Zion replaced Joshua and Kyle.

Althea has been the top girl name for six years in a row now.

Jacob ranked #1 in 2020, but was third in 2018. (I haven’t found the data for 2019 yet.)

Sources: Most Common Baby Names of 2021 – Philippine Statistics Authority (PDF), Registered Live Births in the Philippines, 2021 – Philippine Statistics Authority, Philippines – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of the Philippines (public domain)

What gave the baby name Jana a boost in 1979?

The title character from the animated series "Jana of the Jungle" (1978).
Jana from “Jana of the Jungle“

The name Jana saw a sudden increase in usage in 1979, according to the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1981: 939 baby girls named Jana [rank: 267th]
  • 1980: 1,046 baby girls named Jana [rank: 247th]
  • 1979: 1,161 baby girls named Jana [rank: 226th]
  • 1978: 959 baby girls named Jana [rank: 248th]
  • 1977: 949 baby girls named Jana [rank: 261st]

Why?

Because of the short-lived cartoon Jana of the Jungle, which consisted of 13 episodes that aired during the last months of 1978 (September to December).

The Tarzan-inspired main character Jana (pronounced JA-nuh; rhymes with Hannah and Vanna) lived in the rain forest of South America along with her animal friends and several other humans. She defended the jungle with the help of her necklace, which doubled as a throwing weapon (similar to a chakram).

Interestingly, the name topped out at 226th (rankings-wise) in both 1961 and 1979 — despite the fact that about 300 fewer babies were named Jana in 1979 than in 1961.

Sources: Jana of the Jungle – Wikipedia, SSA

What gave the baby name Eris a boost in 1923?

The book "Eris" (1922) by Robert W. Chambers
“Eris”

According to the U.S. baby name data, the Iris-like name Eris saw its highest-ever usage in 1923:

  • 1925: 53 baby girls named Eris
  • 1924: 103 baby girls named Eris [rank: 728th]
  • 1923: 226 baby girls named Eris [rank: 457th]
  • 1922: 16 baby girls named Eris
  • 1921: 15 baby girls named Eris

It was the fastest-rising girl name of the year, in fact, and it managed to reach the girls’ top 1,000 twice.

Graph of the usage of the baby name Eris in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Eris

What caused this sudden interest in the name?

A story called Eris by Robert W. Chambers. It was published as a book in 1922, but, more importantly, it was serialized in McCall’s magazine in 1923 (from February to August).

The main character was a young woman named Eris Odell, who, after growing up on a farm, ran away to New York City to try her luck in motion pictures.

Just like the story of Athalie, which was also written by Chambers, the story of Eris started with the character’s birth (in the year 1900) and an explanation of her name:

His wife said to the doctor, in her painfully distinct voice: “I want she should have a name that no other baby’s got, because — that’s all I can giver her… Something no other baby’s got… Write it, Doctor.”

Dr. Ward wrote “Eris” on the birth certificate. His expression became slightly ironical.

“Eris,” he repeated. “Do you approve this name?”

Odell shrugged assent.

“Yes,” said the woman. “She’s mine. All I can give her is this name. I give it.”

“Eris was the name of a Greek Goddess,” remarked the doctor. He did not explain that Eris was the Goddess of Discord. “I’m very sure,” he added, “that no other baby is named Eris, though plenty of ’em ought to be… “

“Eris” — described as a “lovely, ominous name” about halfway through in the book — was indeed the name of the Greek goddess of strife and discord. The Roman name for this goddess was Discordia.

Fun fact: Eris was the goddess whose golden apple — inscribed: “to the fairest” — sparked the rivalry between Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena (Juno, Venus, and Minerva) that precipitated the Trojan War.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Eris?

Sources: