Newell vs Newman

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Newell Newman

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 133 years in which either name was published, Newell for 101 years and Newman for 32 years. The lead changed hands 33 times.

• 1883–1886 Newell ahead
• 1887–1896 Newman ahead, apart from one short spell
• 1897–1980 Newell ahead, apart from 4 short spells
• 1986–1990 Newman ahead
• 1997–1999 Newell ahead
• 2000–2007 Newman ahead
• 2008–2010 Newell ahead

22 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.

Side by side

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Newells alive today are over 69; half the Newmans are over 61. That is 8 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Where each one is strongest

• Newell Utah (20.1×), Tennessee (6.6×), Texas (2.1×)
• Newman Alabama (13.3×), Louisiana (12.8×), Georgia (4.0×)

How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.

Compare something else

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