Name News

About Names: Dr. Evans on the Top Baby Names of 2022

Photo of a newborn (Photo by Kimberly Vardeman, CC-BY-2.0)

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his May 21st column, he discusses the top baby names of 2022.

On May 12, the Social Security Administration released the United States’ top baby names of 2022.

On SSA’s lists, Liam and Olivia were first, as they have since 2019.

SSA counts every spelling separately. I add together spellings pronounced the same, creating lists I believe more accurately show popularity.

When alternative spellings like Jaxon were added, Jackson was first from 2013 through 2020. In 2021, Liam beat Jackson for No. 1 for the first time. In 2022, Jackson declined again, allowing Noah to take second spot.

Liam and Noah are international baby name stars. Both rank in the top 10 in Switzerland, Sweden, Quebec, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and Argentina. Noah’s also No. 1 in both England and Germany.

After Jackson, the rest of my 2022 male top 10 were Oliver, Elijah, Mateo, Lucas, Aiden, James and Luca. Mateo and Luca knocked Grayson and William back to 11th and 12th.

Mateo, the Spanish form of Matthew, rose 8.3%, jumping to sixth from 12th. Mateo got a boost back in 2015 when it was given to the baby on “Jane the Virgin.” Its rise shows the influence of Latin American culture on baby names in the United States. Mateo’s now No. 1 in Chile and Argentina, and No. 2 in Mexico.

Last year Santiago was No. 1 in Mexico. Santiago increased 19.8% here last year, third quickest rise among the top 100.

Luca rose 9.1% to reach the top 10, after soaring 37% in 2021. Luca’s the Italian and Romanian form of Luke, with Luka the same in Balkan Slavic languages.

Want to learn more? Read on to learn more about the top baby names of 2022!

About Names: Dr. Evans on “Sandra”

Sandra Day O’Connor (Image: Public Domain)

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his March 26th column, he discusses the name “Sandra”.

Are you observing Women’s History Month? If so, you should celebrate today as Sandra Day O’Connor’s 93rd birthday.

O’Connor became the first woman Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States Sept. 25, 1981. She left the court Jan. 31, 2006.

Sandra is originally a short form of other names. Most name dictionaries state it was introduced to English speakers by George Meredith’s 1887 novel “Sandra Belloni.” The full name of the heroine is Emilia Alessandra Belloni. Alessandra is the Italian form of Alexandra, Greek “defending men.”

Sandra’s history is actually more complicated. In 1860, the first two Sandras in the United States census, 28-year-old Sandra Nason of Massachusetts and 32-year-old Sandra Adams of Ohio, were both “Cassandra” (Greek “shining upon men”) in other records found on Ancestry.com.

Italians weren’t the only ones to shorten Alexandra. Sandra was also used where it was spelled Aleksandra, including most of eastern Europe. In 1900, 46 of the 211 Sandras in the census were born in Finland. Another 10 were from Sweden or Norway. Only two were born in Italy.

Meredith’s novel was first published in 1864 as “Emilia in England.” The heroine, a professional singer deciding between two suitors, is called “Sandra” by her father. Everyone else calls her “Emilia.” “Sandra” only occurs 22 times in the story, while there are 880 examples of “Emilia.”

Publishers in 1887 probably thought the novel would sell better if the then more exotic name became the title. They were right; “Sandra Belloni” stayed in print for decades. However, the use of Sandra as an American name owes as much to Cassandra and Finnish immigrants as it does to Meredith’s Italian heroine.

Sandra first was a top thousand baby name in 1913. It got a boost in 1924 from the film “Sandra.” Sandra, who has a dual personality, abandons her husband for adventurous affairs in Europe, returning home to be redeemed by his forgiveness. Barbara LaMarr, called “The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful” by fan magazines, played Sandra.

When Sandra Day O’Connor was born in 1930, Sandra ranked 392nd. Sandra’s stock soared during the Great Depression. It 1939 it ranked 13th. It fit in with other booming fashions like Linda, Barbara, Nancy and Sharon. Sandra peaked at 5th in 1947.

Want to learn more? Read on to learn more about the name “Sandra”!

About Names: Dr. Evans on “Brendan”

Brendan Fraser (Photo by Montclair Film, CC-BY-2.0)

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his March 12th column, he discusses the name “Brendan”.

Will Brendan win an Oscar tonight?

Brendan Fraser (born 1968) is nominated for Best Actor for portraying a morbidly obese man in “The Whale.” He’s already won top prizes from the Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice Awards.

Irish actor Brendan Gleeson (born 1955) is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” where his character cuts off the fingers of his left hand to spite his former best friend.

The Welsh word breenhin, meaning “prince,” was turned into the name Brénainn in ancient Ireland. Monks writing in Latin made this “Brendanus.” That led to the modern Irish Gaelic Breandán and English Brendan.

Seventeen medieval Irish saints were called Brénainn. The most famous, St. Brendan of Clonfert (484-577), is called “Brendan the Navigator.” Three centuries after his death, “The Voyage of St. Brendan the Abbot” appeared, claiming Brendan and 16 monks discovered a blessed forested island full of songbirds where the sun never set.

If St. Brendan’s Isle wasn’t completely imaginary, it was probably based on sightings of Atlantic islands like Madeira. However, since 1900, the theory that Brendan reached the Americas centuries before Columbus has been popular. Many songs, poems and novels are based on that speculation.

Despite that, Brendan vanished as a given name when Ireland’s British overlords prohibited most Gaelic names in official records. It was revived by Irish nationalists in the late 19th century.

The first Brendan in the United States census was an Irish-born monk at Indiana’s University of Notre Dame in 1870. He probably adopted the name after taking vows.

The oldest Brendan in the 1880 census, 36-year-old Canadian-born Brendan Letourneau of West Waterville, Maine, was probably an example of the 19th-century French Canadian fashion of searching the saints’ calendar for obscure baby names.

The first American-born example, 9-year-old Brendan Merrigan, lived with Irish immigrant parents Patrick and Mary in New York City in 1880.

Want to learn more? Read on to learn more about the name “Brendan”!