President(ial) Names: Arthur, Carter and Clinton

By Kelli Brady, at Name Freak!

In honor of President’s Day, I did some research on the popularity of U.S. Presidents’ names. Not their first names (sorry… no Chester, Grover or Barack in this article), but their last names. Here is a list of the ones currently ranked, whether or not the name is up or down from 2011, when it peaked, and information to show the possible correlation between peak of name and presidential term.  Ranks are listed for boys unless otherwise stated. Keep in mind that SSA rankings began in 1880.

Arthur (#355; down) – peaked at #14 in the 1880s and 1890s, Arthur was president from 1881-1885Carter (#36; up) – currently at the highest ranking at #36 in 2012 (Karter is currently ranked at #347; up), Carter was president from 1977-1981Clinton (#906; up) – peaked at #124 in 1981, Clinton was president from 1994-2001Grant (#163; down) – peaked at #114 in 1997, Grant was president from 1869-1877Harrison (#181; up) – peaked at #52 in 1888, Harrison was president from 1889-1893Hayes (#689; up) – peaked at #513 in 1905, Hayes was president from 1877-1881Jackson (#22; up) – currently at the highest ranking at #22 in 2012 (Jaxen is currently ranked at #568, Jaxon is #66, Jaxson is #106; all up), Jackson was president from 1829-1837Jefferson (#615; up) – peaked at #255 in 1880, Jefferson was president from 1801-1809Kennedy (girls – #83; up) – peaked at #516 in 1964 for boys and currently at the highest ranking at #83 in 2012 for girls (Kennedi is currently ranked at #508; down), Kennedy was president from 1961-1963Lincoln (#132; up) – currently at the highest ranking at #132 in 2012, Lincoln was president from 1861-1865Madison (girls – #9; down) – peaked at #312 in 1881 for boys and #2 in 2001 and 2002 for girls (Maddison is currently ranked at #350, Madisyn at #405 and Madyson at #598; down, up, and down; all for girls), Madison was president from 1809-1817McKinley (girls – #457; down) – peaked at #137 in 1896 for boys and peaked at #451 in 2011 for girls, McKinley was president from 1897-1901Monroe (girls – #949; up) – peaked at #179 in 1882 for boys and currently at the highest ranking at #949 in 2012 for girls, Monroe was president from 1817-1825Nixon (#653) – currently at the highest ranking at #653 in 2012, Nixon was president from 1969-1974Pierce (#479; down) – peaked at #394 in 1886, Pierce was president from 1853-1857Reagan (boys – #893; down and girls – #97; up) – peaked at #596 in 2004 for boys and currently at the highest ranking at #97 in 2012 for girls (Raegan is currently ranked at #294 and Regan at #828; both up; both for girls), Reagan was president from 1981-1989Taylor (boys – #346; down and girls – #46; down) – peaked at #51 in 1993 for boys and #6 in 1994, 1995 and 1996 for girls, Taylor was president from 1849-1850Truman (#929; up) – peaked at #341 in 1913, Truman was president from 1945-1953Tyler (#50; down) – peaked at #5 in 1993 and 1994 for boys and at #238 in 1993 for girls, Tyler was president from 1841-1845Wilson (#599; up) – peaked at #122 in 1913, Wilson was president from 1913-1921

Almost all of the President’s names have been in the top 1000 at one time or another. Here is a list of the name and the years it was on the list (and if it corresponds to the presidential term, I included that as well):Adams 1898Bush 1889Cleveland 1880-1989 (Cleveland was president from 1885-1889 and 1893-1897 and the name peaked at #92 in 1884)Coolidge 1924-1925 (Coolidge was president from 1923-1929)Ford 1880-1951 (off and on)Garfield 1880-1953 (Garfield was president in 1881 and the name peaked at #88)Harding 1920-1923 (Harding was president from 1921-1923)Hoover 1928-1932 (Hoover was president from 1929-1933)Johnson 1880-1948, and then sporadically between 1982 and 1987Polk 1890Roosevelt 1895-1993 (Teddy Roosevelt was president from 1901-1909 and the name peaked at #91 in 1905)Taft 1907-1912 (Taft was president from 1909-1913 and the name peaked in 1908)Washington 1880-1921

Only Buchanan, Eisenhower, Fillmore, Obama, and Van Buren have never cracked the top 1000.

Some interesting tidbits of info from my research on the names currently being used:

-In 1978 and 1979, Carter was not ranked in the top 1000. Prior to 1978, it was a steady name in lower half of the top 1000. Starting in 1979, it re-entered the top 1000 and has increased in popularity ever since.

–Clinton was ranked #211 and higher from the beginning of record-keeping until 1993. Since then it has steadily fallen and is now into the 900s.

–Hayes re-entered the top 1000 in 2009 after being absent since 1931 (before which it was ranked pretty sporadically). It jumped from #955 in 2009 to #689 in 2012.

–Kennedy entered the top 1000 for boys at #723 in 1960. It jumped to #592 in 1961, was #828 in 1962, #624 in 1963, and #516 in 1964. After 1964, it went back down into the 600s-900s until it fell out of the top 1000 in 1969. It re-entered the top 1000 in 1994, but fell back out after 2005. For girls, Kennedy entered the top 1000 in 1994 and has increased in popularity ever since.

–Madison entered the top 1000 for girls in 1985 and became extremely popular starting in 1993. It has been in the top 1000 for boys since the beginning of record-keeping, except for a big gap of time between 1953 and 1986 when it re-entered the top 1000 only to fall back out in 2000. In 2004, it temporarily came back at #857.

–McKinley as a boy’s name was in the top 1000 from 1890 until 1966. McKinley as a girl’s name has been in the top 1000 since 2006 and has jumped 500 spots in 6 years.

–Monroe was in the Top 1000 for boys from 1880 through 1971. It has since re-entered the Top 1000 in 2012, but as a girl’s name.

–Nixon made its first Top 1000 appearance in 2011. Parents are now in the generation born after the stigma of his presidency and realize the great potential of this name. It increased from #901 in 2011 to #653 in 2012.

–Reagan as a boy’s name has only been in the top 1000 since 1996. Reagan as a girl’s name was a part of the top 1000 between 1975 and 1981. It didn’t re-enter the top 1000 until 1993 and since then has become increasingly more popular.

–Taylor as a boy’s name has been in the top 1000 since record-keeping began. Taylor as a girl’s name didn’t enter the top 1000 until 1979.

–Truman was in the Top 1000 pretty steadily until 1972, and has been a sporadic presence lately, appearing in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012.

–Tyler didn’t really enter the top 1000 until 1946 for boys and 1984 for girls. Tyler reached its peak for both genders in the same year of 1993, but dropped off of the girls list after 2007.

Originally posted at NameFreak! and revised for Nameberry.