The name “Blue” is an unusual and rare name for a person. Blue is much more commonly used as a nickname or adjective describing the color blue. As a given name, Blue is quite unique and not very common. In this article, we will analyze data on the usage and popularity of the name Blue over time to get a sense of just how rare it is.
Frequency of the name Blue
To determine how rare Blue is as a name, we can look at government data on the frequency of names given to babies born in the United States. The Social Security Administration (SSA) compiles data each year on the names given to all babies born and issued Social Security cards. This gives us a good sense of which names are commonly chosen versus more unusual names like Blue.
According to the SSA, in 2020 there were only 5 baby boys and 6 baby girls given the name Blue out of all births registered in the U.S. The table below shows the numbers of babies named Blue from 2000 to 2020:
| Year | Number of male babies named Blue | Number of female babies named Blue |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8 | 5 |
| 2010 | 6 | 9 |
| 2020 | 5 | 6 |
As the table shows, the name Blue has never been given to more than 9 babies of either sex in any given year since 2000. This indicates Blue is an extremely uncommon name choice for American parents naming their babies.
Blue’s popularity ranking
We can also look at the SSA’s rankings of name popularity to see that Blue does not even rank among the top 1000 names given to boys or girls in recent years. The higher a name’s ranking, the more widely used it is. In 2020, the name Blue was given to so few babies that it did not have enough usage to be ranked at all among the top 1000 boy or girl names.
More common variations of the name Blue, such as Blu, did rank slightly higher but still very low on the popularity scale. In 2020, Blu was the 979th most popular name for boys with 166 occurrences. However, the traditional spelling of the name Blue was significantly rarer.
Trends over time
Not only is Blue an extremely rare name today, but it has never been common or widely used dating back over a century in the U.S.
The table below shows the highest ranking Blue has ever achieved for boys and girls in over 100 years of SSA data.
| Year | Highest ranking for boys | Highest ranking for girls |
|---|---|---|
| 1900-1909 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 1910-1919 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 1920-1929 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 1930-1939 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 1940-1949 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 1950-1959 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 1960-1969 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 1970-1979 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 1980-1989 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 1990-1999 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 2000-2009 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| 2010-2019 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
As you can see, the name Blue has never cracked the top 1000 most popular names from 1900 through the present day. This emphasizes just how rare of a choice Blue is for parents considering baby names.
Gender divide
Historically, the name Blue has been used slightly more often for girls than for boys. However, the usage for both genders has always been very low.
In 2020, there were 6 female babies named Blue versus only 5 males given the name. Over the past two decades, the female usage of Blue has exceeded the male usage in 15 out of 20 years. However, since Blue is so rare for both genders, the divide is quite small in terms of real numbers.
Out of over 4 million births per year, Blue consistently represents less than 0.001% of names given to either gender. So while marginally more common for girls, it remains a highly unusual name for both baby boys and girls.
Regional trends
In addition to national name data, we can look at state-level statistics on the name Blue. The most recent regional data from 2018 shows the states where Blue was most commonly used as a baby name, though still at very low rates.
The top 5 states for the name Blue in 2018 were:
| State | Number of boys named Blue | Number of girls named Blue |
|---|---|---|
| California | 3 | 4 |
| Texas | 2 | 3 |
| Florida | 1 | 2 |
| New York | 2 | 0 |
| Illinois | 1 | 1 |
The states with the highest levels of usage align with the states that generally have the largest populations. Even in these top states, Blue was still only given as a name to between 1-4 babies total.
The vast majority of states registered 0 usages of the name Blue for either gender in 2018. Overall, regional data confirms that Blue is a highly unusual name choice throughout the entire United States.
Possible influences on the name Blue
Given how consistently rare the name Blue has been over time, it raises the question of why certain parents do choose this unique name. There are a few potential cultural influences that may factor into the limited usage of Blue.
- The color blue – Blue is most widely associated with the color, so some parents may choose it as a name associated with the meaning of blue.
- Music – The blues music genre or songs with blue in the title like “Blue Moon” could provide inspiration.
- Nature – Things in nature that are blue, like bluebirds, blueberries, or blue water, may influence the name.
- Rarity – Some parents may choose the name Blue precisely because it is so uncommon.
While we cannot know for sure the reasoning behind using such a rare name, these influences represent some possibilities. However, they have not made the name common enough to crack the top 1000 in over a century of recorded usage.
Is Blue used outside the United States?
The data we have examined so far focuses on the usage of the name Blue within the United States. Analyzing international data can give us a sense of whether Blue is equally as rare in other parts of the world.
Unfortunately, global name popularity data is more limited than the statistics available for the U.S. However, we can look at data from a few other countries to get a general sense.
In Australia, Blue has never ranked among the top 100 names for either gender over the past decade-plus. The same is true in the United Kingdom, where Blue does not rank at all among popular names based on their government data.
Among Western European countries, Blue is generally an extremely uncommon name choice. The story is similar in Canada, where Blue has never broken the top 100 most popular boys or girls names.
Therefore, evidence suggests Blue is a globally rare name, though isolated usages may occur in small numbers outside of the United States. More comprehensive data would need to be collected to analyze the full geographical distribution. But existing data points to consistent rarity across English-speaking Western countries.
Rise of gender-neutral names
One final factor that could potentially increase usage of the name Blue in the future is the rise of gender-neutral baby names. Names like Riley, Avery, and Harper that can be used for either boys or girls have grown in popularity.
Since Blue is rarely used but somewhat more common for girls, it could gain traction as a gender-neutral option. However, since it has consistently been so rare for so long, a dramatic increase in popularity for Blue seems unlikely. But the gender-neutral name trend could motivate marginal increases in usage.
Conclusion
In conclusion, an analysis of naming data clearly shows the name Blue is exceedingly rare for babies born in the U.S. and internationally. Fewer than 10 babies per year are given the name Blue, and it has never ranked among the top 1000 most popular names. Regional and gender differences exist in the usage patterns, but across the board it remains a highly unusual name choice for parents. Barring a dramatic increase in usage driven by factors like gender-neutral naming, the name Blue is likely to continue being an extremely rare name selection. It captures a certain uniqueness that some parents seek out in a name, but not in large enough numbers to make it anything but an uncommon name.