Tag: occupational

American Names

April Name Sightings

Elizabeth1 Comment

Time for another rare-name round-up!  Every month, I publish a list of unusual names I spotted in and around my community over the past 30 days or so.  Usually I do this on the last night of the month, but yesterday was busy.  Errands, another blog post I needed to finish, Avengers: Infinity War…you get the picture.  By the way, happy May!

Here are the most interesting local names I spotted in April:

  • Firm
  • Draper – an uncommon occupational name that was briefly trendy in the late 1970s and peaked in 1980.  13 boys were named Draper in 2016, the most since 1982.
  • Roby (m, deceased) – 5 boys in 2016.  Roby is a surname that can also be a nickname for Robert.
  • Nielson (m) – Nielson doesn’t appear in SSA birth data, but Nielsen did once (in 1991).  Nielsen is a surname that means “son of Niels,” Niels being a Danish form of Nicholas.
  • Legend (m) – what makes this so interesting to me is that this person is likely an adult.  Legend is a popular, very trendy baby name that ranked #311 in 2016 (impressive, since it only entered the top 1000 in 2010).  It first appeared in Social Security Administration birth data in 1993.
  • Veronique – French form of Veronica.  8 girls were named Veronique in 2016, while Veronica ranked #413 out of 1000.
  • Judge – a curious occupational name which hasn’t been in the top 1000 since the 1930s, but has appeared in SSA birth data for every year since 1880.  The most famous bearer is probably actor Judge Reinhold, though in his case it’s just a nickname.  30 boys were named Judge in 2016, the most since 1954.  I think with the popularity of Justice, Judge could make a comeback.
  • Reeves (m, toddler) – another rare surname baby name that’s slowly becoming more common.  25 boys were named Reeves in 2016.
  • Sterett (m, preteen)
  • Avila – Avila probably refers to St. Teresa of Ávila.  37 girls were named Avila in 2016.
  • Haywood (m) – 10 boys in 2016.
  • Dulaney (m) – Dulaney has only appeared in SSA birth data as a girls’ name, probably as an alternative to Delaney. 
  • Burkley (m, deceased) – Burkley, a variant of Berkeley, first appeared in SSA birth data in 2001, and has been given to both boys and girls since then.  This Burkley was much older, though.
  • Rosebud – potentially born after Citizen Kane, but likely beforehand.  Rosebud was most popular in the 20s.
  • Meriwether (f, young adult) – Meriwether first appeared in SSA data in 2009 as a girls’ name, but anyone who remembers their U.S. history lessons will recall that the Lewis of Lewis and Clark was named Meriwether.  6 girls were named Meriwether in 2016.

What do you think of these names?  Have you spotted any interesting names in your community over the last month?  Let me know!

Earlier rare name round-ups in 2018: