Today, March 20th, is the vernal equinox. A happy first day of spring to those of you in the northern hemisphere, and a happy first day of autumn to those of you in the southern hemisphere!
Have you ever wondered if any of the seasons are also baby names? They’re more common than you might think. Currently, 3 out of 4 seasons fall within the American top 1000 (pun unintended).
While only 21 girls were named Spring in 2015, she was briefly popular between 1975 and 1979. Spring peaked in 1976 with a rank of #624.
Summer has been a top 1000 baby name since 1971. 1671 girls and 8 boys were named Summer in 2015. Summer‘s popularity has also allowed a few compound names to pop up, including Summerrose (Summer-Rose; 7 uses) and Summerrain (Summer-Rain; 6 uses). Summer currently ranks #194 in the U.S. and #66 in England and Wales.
Nobody uses Fall as a baby name, but Autumn is the most popular seasonal name! In the top 1000 since 1969, she currently ranks #67 in the U.S. and #148 in England and Wales.
Winter was briefly popular in the late 1970s, but left in 1980 and didn’t return until 2012. Current U.S. rank: #548
Extra tidbits:
- All seasons were concurrently popular baby names in the late 70s.
- Winterrose, Summerrose, and Autumnrose are all currently entries in the data, but if Springrose exists as a baby name there have never been enough to make an appearance.
- Season itself is an extant baby name. 7 girls were named Season in 2015, though her peak was – you guessed it – in the 1970s. I wonder if any of them were named following the Terry Jacks rendition of “Seasons in the Sun,” considering that both the name and the song came out in ’73.
- When Summer was first popular in the 70s, the German word for the season also became popular. Sommer was a top 1000 baby name between 1976 and 1982, and also in 1984 and 1995. In 2015, only 35 baby girls were given this variant.
- Summer is the only season name that lost popularity between 2014 and 2015. All the others gained.
What’s your favorite season name? Let me know in the comments!
The Well-Informed Namer 
I love Winter as a middle name. It seems to work well with many of my favourite first name options. I love Autumn as well. There is something very calming to the sound of the name. Great post! Interesting about the late 70s. Must have been the hippies!
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I think you’re right about Autumn!
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