"And on the 12th day of Christmas, I named my baby …" OK, it might not have the perfect ring of a Christmas carol, but it looks like holiday-themed baby names are on the rise this year all throughout the country. The Whitepages has revealed the 12 most festive names in the United States, and while Ebeneezer Scrooge may not have cracked the list, there are plenty of popular names that channel that gleeful holiday spirit.
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Click through the following slideshow to see the most "Christmasy" names in America.
Which origin of #2 do you prefer?
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12. Yule
Fun fact: Yule means "special gift" in Old English, but it immediately evokes images of holiday yule logs and cake. So far, the name has almost exclusively been used for boys, but who's to say your little Christmas baby girl can't be that "special gift"?
11. Christmas
Any Christmas name list naturally has to contain the name Christmas. And, in fact, there are 439 Americans with the name, making it the 11th most popular holiday-themed name.
10. Claus
Thought it only worked for jolly ol' Saint Nick? Not at all. Claus is actually the Dutch and German shortened version of Nicholas and ranks 10th on the Whitepages list.
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9. Bell
You can use it as a nickname for Isabella, but Bell is a perfect stand-alone name. And with jingle bells a' ringing during the season, it makes sense that more than 5,000 Americans share the name.
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8. Merry
Merry peaked in the 1950s, but the Whitepages estimates that there are more than 14,000 Merrys currently in the United States. How's that for a cheerful holiday greeting?
7. Rudolph
Out of all the reindeer, Rudolph is the only one to make the list (bummer, we were hoping for Dasher). Granted, he is "the most famous reindeer of all," so it's no surprise little Rudy is one of the most popular names.
6. Noel
5. Joy
"Joy to the World," Joy has made the list! You can't help but burst into smiles when hearing the name, and that's very likely why it's the fifth most popular Christmas name on the list. With more than 200,000 Americans with the name (and at least 16,000 in Texas alone), it's definitely quite Joy-ous.
4. Jesus
The name Jesus dominates in the Spanish-speaking world. It currently ranks as the 35th most popular name in Spain and is the 79th most popular in the US. It's no surprise there are almost 90,000 boys with the name in California alone.
3. Holly
"Have a holly, jolly Christmas" and "haul out the holly" because no Christmas name list would be complete without our girl Holly. It originated from the stiff and red-berried tree but has quickly become one of the most popular Christmas-themed names in the country. Just think of all the Hollys: Holly Marie Combs, Holly Hunter, and Holly Madison, just to name a few.
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2. Virginia
Is there a Santa Claus? "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus," read the powerful 1897 newspaper editorial. And in no doubt due to the connection to the Virgin Mary, and the virgin birth, Virginia has held steady as a popular name for decades, with more than half a million Virginias in the US.
1. Carol
From "Carol of the Bells" to, well, Christmas carols, we're not that surprised to find Carol at the top of the Christmas names list. It may have started out as a shortened version of Caroline, but it has grown to be a respected and popular name in its own right. The 1.1 million Carols of the country would agree.
