Name Donald has hit record low popularity
Members of former-president’s family also saw their names lose popularity in 2020
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Your support makes all the difference."The" Donald appears to have made sure he will be the most prominent Donald for years to come, as new data shows that the former president's first name hit record low popularity in 2020.
A new report from the Social Security Administration included data on the most popular names for babies in 2020.
Though Donald was not exactly the most beloved name in recent years – it started 2019 as the 555th most popular name for boys – it toppled 55 places to 610th in 2020.
At no time since the name records began in the 1880s has the name Donald been less popular.
Only 444 newborns were given the name Donald in 2020, compared to 507 in 2019 and 602 in 2017.
The name Donald hit its peak in 1934. That year, there were 30,408 boys – and 110 girls – who were given the traditionally Celtic name.
After that peak, the name never really saw a notable resurgence in popularity, save for a slight bump in 2017, which was the year Mr Trump took office.
The bump was short lived, however, as the trend downward continued the following year.
While no one wants to be the reason why a name actively loses popularity, Donald Trump can take some solace in the fact that the names of presidents tend to decline in popularity while they are in office.
The Huffington Post reported that the names Ronald, Richard, Gerald and George all declined in popularity when their corresponding presidents were serving in office.
Much like Mr Trump, the name Lyndon shot up in popularity the year Lyndon Johnson took office, but – also like Mr Trump – a slump began shortly after.
Another president was likely the only reason one name even made it to the board.
Because the SSA data only tracks the names of infants if at least five are given the name in a given year, the name Barack did not even appear on the list until 2007, when then-Illinois senator Barack Obama’s star was rising in the Democratic Party. The name peaked in 2009, Mr Obama’s first year in office.
Much like his predecessors, his name also lost its lustre as his administration continued.
Where Mr Trump probably cannot take solace is in the fact that even his children and family members' names are tanking in popularity.
In 2017, Melania was one of the fastest rising baby names for girls. In 2018, 233 girls were given the name. In 2019, that fell to 208. Then in 2020 the name's popularity dropped again to 190.
The names Tiffany, Eric and Jared all dropped too. The only Trump clan members whose names seemed to have survived the popularity purge are Ivanka – whose popularity increased slightly from 2019 to 2020 – and Barron, the youngest of the Trumps.
In 2020, there were 134 babies named Barron, which was an increase from 2019, in which 107 were born. Both Barron and Ivanka's names’ popularity peaked in 2017 – the same year that "Donald" got its bump – with 165 girls named Ivanka and 136 boys taking the name Barron.
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