How popular is the baby name Encyclopedia in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Encyclopedia and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Encyclopedia.


Popularity of the Baby Name Encyclopedia

Number of Babies Named Encyclopedia

Born in the U.S. Since 1880

Posts that Mention the Name Encyclopedia

Do Americans Have an Obsession with Nicknames?

A couple of weeks ago, Judith left the following comment on a Five-Name Friday post.


Such an interesting question!

There’s certainly a difference between Americans and Europeans when it comes up nickname usage. You can see it comparing the top names in the U.S. with the top names in England — boy names especially. The English top 20 includes many more informal names (Jack, Harry, Charlie, Alfie, Freddie, Archie) than the U.S. top 20.

Seems to me that both regions are concerned with nicknames, but handle them in very different ways. Europeans are reasonably comfortable putting nicknames on birth certificates, while Americans are not as comfortable turning nicknames into legal names.

So what’s behind these diverging trends? I’m not sure that there’s a single answer, but here are a few theories. (Please excuse me ahead of time for making sweeping generalizations about Americans and Europeans.)

Formality differences
Europeans tend to be more relaxed than Americans, both in terms of daily life/habits and in terms of viewpoints. Maybe this informality leads them to prefer the informal names. (Or at least doesn’t make them feel obligated to use formal names.)

Work attitude differences
Americans tend to be more career-focused than Europeans. Perhaps this outlook makes them feel that it’s smart to have a formal name to fall back on for future professional use — that having a nickname-only name could be limiting.

Class differences
This theory, which is somewhat like the work attitude theory, comes from an Encyclopedia Britannica* blogger and concerns the U.S. and the UK specifically:


Gender-switch differences (pertains to boy names only)
In America, many formerly male/unisex names with “-ee” endings (e.g., Ashley, Avery, Bailey, Ellery, Riley) have turned into girl names. This might make Americans more hesitant to permanently attach diminutives with similar endings to baby boys.

Which (if any) of these theories do you think makes the most sense? What others can you think of?

Source: How to Tell a British Baby from an American: Differences in Naming Trends, Judith’s comment

*Did you know about the New York woman named Encyclopedia Britannica?

A Baby Named Encyclopedia Britannica?

Yup. A baby girl born in New York in 1814 was named Encyclopedia Britannica Dewey.

a baby named encyclopedia britannica?

Her father was a minister named Timothy Dewey. With his first wife, Anne, he had a baby boy who got a traditional name (George Robert Dewey). But with his second wife, Beulah, he had at least 10 kids, all of whom got more distinctive names:

  1. Anna Diadama Dewey, b. 1802
  2. Philander Seabury Dewey, b. 1803
  3. Franklin Jefferson Dewey, b. 1804
  4. Armenius Philadelphus Dewey, b. 1805
  5. Almira Melphomenia Dewey, b. 1807
  6. Marcus Bonaparte Dewey, b. 1808
  7. Pleiades Arastarcus Dewey, b. 1810
  8. Victor Millenius Dewey, b. 1811
  9. Octavia Ammonia Dewey, b. 1812
  10. Encyclopedia Britannica Dewey, b. 1814

The most notable name of the bunch is certainly Encyclopedia Britannica. Like Prockie, she didn’t use her full name in everyday life but went by a modified form of her middle name: Britannia.

Would you consider giving any of these names to a child nowadays? If so, which one(s)?

Source: Rev Timothy Dewey (1771 – 1850) – Find A Grave Memorial
Image: Old school knowledge by Joi Ito under CC BY 2.0.

Unusual Name Combinations

Here are some unusual name combinations I’ve come across recently.

First Name + Middle Name

Gold and Silver

Above Hope Demmell
(female, married in 1619 in England)

Alma Mater Hughes
(female, born in 1887 in Texas)

American Queen Ingrain
(female, born circa 1894 in Alabama)

Americus Discoverer Le Ballister
(male, born in 1838 in Maine)

Apple Pie Bell
(male, born in 1886 in Georgia)

Apple Seed Powell
(female, gave birth in 1954 in Texas)

Atom Nucleus Blackwell
(male, born in 1983 in California)

Bacchus Naughty Orgill
(male, had a baby in 1841 in Jamaica)

Birds Eye Conrad
(male, born in 1871 in Indiana)

Biscuit Foot Cobbin
(female, born circa 1939 in Texas)

Bitter Jam McClellan
(female, born circa 1925 in Oklahoma)

Black Eye Wesley
(female, born in 1892 in Georgia)

Burger King Austin
(male, born circa 1856 in California)

Catfish Hunter Kay
(male, born in 1997 in Texas)

Cloudy Day Canaan
(male, born in 1885 in Pennsylvania)

Confederate American Kenner
(female, born in 1863 in Utah)

Country Dream Patterson
(female, born in 1987 in Texas)

Easter Daybreak Mullarkey
(female, born in 1891 in Scotland)

Egyptian Pyramid Wade
(male, born in 1993 in Texas)

Electric Music Sparks
(male, born circa 1896 in West Virginia)

Emancipator Lincoln Quinn
(male, born in 1889 in Mississippi)

Equal Rights Gotcher
(male, born circa 1865 in Arkansas)

Evening Star Babcock
(female, born in 1979 in California)

Gold and Silver Gadbury
(female, gave birth in 1909 in Texas)

Gold Dollar Davis
(female, born in 1893 in Virginia)

Gold Dust Fauntlery
(female, born circa 1903 in Arkansas)

Holly Berry Pharo
(female, born in 1880 in England)

Hush Vocal Bryant
(female, born circa 1914 in Oklahoma)

Ice Cream Goldsmith
(female, born circa 1871 in Alabama)

Ice Snow Franklin
(female, born in 1899 in Georgia)

Jelly Bean Carlton
(female, born in 1931 in Texas)

Jesus Mosquito Mansul

Joy In Sorrow Godman
(female, married in 1614 in England)

Lemon Lime Clay
(male, divorced in 1992 in Florida)

Lucky Boy Turipa
(born in 1948 in New Mexico)

Magic Brilliance Carter
(born in 1987 in North Carolina)

Magic Enchantress Creamer
(born in 1974 in California)

Mint Julip Wilson
(male, born circa 1921 in Illinois)

Northern Pacific White
(male, born in Minnesota in 1872)

Nucleus Demon Johnson
(male, born in 1987 in Texas)

Obey The Lord Jenkins
(female, born circa 1904 Georgia – sister of Prase)

Ocean Wave Hamilton
(male, born in 1888 in Texas)

Orange Lemon Thomas
(male, born in 1859 in Ohio)

Panama Canal Caldwell
(female, born in 1912 in North Carolina)

Pearl Shell Adams
(female, born circa 1901 in Tennessee)

Penny Nickel Sutherland
(female, married in 1987 in Florida)

Prase The Lord Jenkins

Quiet Glow Kellough
(male, born in 1881 in Ohio)

Rasp Berry Nelson
(male, had a baby in 1954 in North Carolina)

Red Apple Thomas
(female, born circa 1885 in Iowa)

Remember Death Comper
(male, born in the late 1500s in England)

Rocky Mountain Kennedy
(male, born in 1884 in Arizona)

Rose Of The Sea McKay

Salary Grab Hamrick

Sanspariel Audacious Thomas Philpott
(male, born in 1892 in England)

Somebody Nobody Lord*
(male, married in 1992 in Nevada)

South Pole Mitchell
(male, born circa 1908 in Georgia)

Star Spangled Banner Osborne
(male, born circa 1860 in Illinois)

Sterling Silver Slayden
(male, born in 1966 in Texas)

Summer Solstice Walker
(female, born in 2001 in Minnesota)

Superior Inches Brown
(male, born circa 1858 in Wisconsin)

Supreme Intelligence Thomas
(born in 1983 in New York)

Treasure Trove Kittenger
(female, born circa 1895 in West Virginia)

United States America Cook
(female, born in 1896 in Ohio)

Vernal Equinox Richardson
(female, born in 1898 in Texas)

Vice President Evans
(male, born circa 1918 in South Carolina)

Vocal Refrain Rose
(female, married in 1951 in West Virginia)

Washington Territory Stockand
(male, born circa 1869 in Washington Territory)

Yankee Doodle Norris
(male, born in 1910 in Tennessee)


First Name + Last Name

Superb Bullocks

American Born*
(female, born circa 1854 in Georgia)

American Crook*
(female, born in 1836 in Tennessee)
*Another married name.

Bitter Apple
(female, born in 1874 in Tennessee)

Bitter Berry
(female, born in 1845 in Alabama)

Black Berry
(female, born circa 1925 in Washington)

Bum Dials
(male, born circa 1934 in Kentucky)

Cashmere Obedience
(male, born in 1907 in the Philippines)

Cheese Bologna
(male, born circa 1879 in Austria)

Continent Walker
(female, born in 1594 in England)

Copious Midgett
(male, born circa 1894 in North Carolina)

Cucumber Pickle
(male, born circa 1850 in Michigan)

Danger Dangervil
(born in 1943 in Florida)

Death Bugg
(male, born in 1746 in England)

Death Knox
(female, born circa 1927 in Mississippi)

Delicious Bacon
(female, born in 1895 in Georgia)

Dewdrop Trulove
(female, born circa 1933 in Mississippi)

Elder Berry
(male, born circa 1901 in Minnesota)

Every Evelyn
(female, born circa 1917 in Alabama)

Gold Mine
(male, born circa 1901 in Alabama)

Green Land
(male, born in 1886 in Tennessee)

Honorable Charming
(male, born circa 1782 in England)

Howdy Guy
(male, born in 1784 in England)

Ineeda Nunn
(female, born circa 1915 in North Carolina)

Larceny Luckydoo
(female, born circa 1914 in Arkansas)

London England
(male, born circa 1914 in Canada)

Magnetic Love
(female, born in 1912 in New York)

Many Moore
(female, born circa 1880 in Pennsylvania)

Married Young
(female, born circa 1923 in Tennessee)

Married  Young, born in Tennessee

Minnie Merrycats
(female, born circa 1880 in Utah)

Mud Brown
(born in 1877 in Wisconsin)

Much Moore
(female, born circa 1900 in Georgia)

Mustard Mustard
(female, born circa 1841 in Delaware)

Need Butler
(male, born circa 1933 in Pennsylvania)

Never Fail
(male, married in 1928 in Oklahoma)

Nude Mann
(male, born circa 1871 in Ohio)

Obedient Beard
(male, born circa 1852 in Indiana)

Odious Nutt
(male, born in 1879 in Texas)

One Moore

Orchestra Harp
(male, born in 1873 in Kentucky)

Phoebe Beebee
(female, born in 1876 in England)

Pullman Carr
(male, born circa 1906 in Illinois)

Scholastic Sauce
(female, born circa 1889 in Louisiana)

Scot Land
(born in 1959 in Wisconsin)

Sea Shore
(male, born circa 1892 in Kansas)

Silence Bellows*
(female, born in 1896 in New York)
*Another married name.

Slipper Wearing
(female, born circa 1873 in South Carolina)

Smart Strong
(male, born circa 1923 in Arkansas)

Smelly Cotton
(male, married in 1906 in Texas)

Some Moore
(male, born in 1850 in Virginia)

Square Kitchen
(born in 1909 in Illinois)

Strong Beer
(male, born in 1846 in Indiana)

Superb Bullocks
(female, gave birth in 1916 in Ohio)

Teaspoon Typhoon
(born in 1953 in Michigan)

Tender Shoulders
(female, born circa 1939 in Kentucky)

Village Millage
(male, born in 1872 in South Dakota)

Wiggle Messenger
(male, born in the 1700s in Massachusetts)


Middle Name + Middle Name

Country Cowboy

Beata Apple Tree Hitchens
(female, born circa 1845 in England)

Ernest Big Boy Sloan
(male, born circa 1896 in South Carolina)

Lorelei Pink Dragonfly Dunlap
(female, born in 1996 in Texas)

Mary-Francis Morning Star Adams
(female, born in 1929 in Texas)

Nephi United States Centennial Jensen
(male, born in 1876 in Utah)

Ngan Ha Milky Way T Tran
(female, born in 1976 in Texas)

Oscar Church Bell Kham
(male, born in 1983 in Texas)

Shawn Country Cowboy Cunningham
(male, born in 1978 in Texas)

Shawn Hugh Hefner Moore
(male, born in 1975 in Texas)

Sidney Sweet Apple Granger
(male, born circa 1880 in England)


First Name + Middle Name + Last Name

Little Bit Moore

Chevy Van Pickup
(male, born circa 1986 in Massachusetts)

Henry Ford Carr
(male, born in 1924 in Minnesota)

Jolly Jingle Bell
(male, born circa 1926 in Arkansas)

Little Bit Moore
(female, born circa 1924 in Tennessee)

South East West

Sun Shine Summers
(female, born circa 1924 in Texas)

Supreme Knowledge Allah
(born in 2002 in Minnesota)

Tell No Lyes
(born in 1734 in England)


Which of these name combinations is your favorite?

