The series continues!
Todayās deep dive focuses on a literary name whichāthough not on my own listāhas appeared on the lists of far more American parents than Iād have guessed! The name? Why, [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f], of course. The name [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] (reh-NEZ-may) is credited as an invention of author [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] [name_u]Meyer[/name_u] for her [name_u]Twilight[/name_u] saga and is borne by the half-vampire child of the sagaās heroine and vampire lead, [name_f]Bella[/name_f] [name_u]Swan[/name_u] and [name_u]Edward[/name_u] [name_m]Cullen[/name_m]. The name is a hybrid of [name_f]Renee[/name_f] and [name_u]Esme[/name_u], the names of the childās two grandmothers.
Here are my findings:
[name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] has been used as a name for a total of 14 years. The earliest documented birth of a baby named [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] was in the year 2009, when 18 baby girls and 0 baby boys were given the name. According to the SSA, 1,465 baby girls (ages newborn to 14) in the US have been named [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f]! Additionally, girls have been named [name_f]Renesme[/name_f] (184, since ā09), [name_f]Renesmae[/name_f] (367, since ā12), and Renesmay (104, since ā13). That makes 2,120 little girls named reh-NEZ-may, spelt any of 4 ways.
Hereās the [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] (spelling used in Twilight) breakdown:
[2009] 18
[2010] 47
[2011] 33
[2012] 60
[2013] 135
[2014] 135
[2015] 129
[2016] 154
[2017] 129
[2018] 148
[2019] 143
[2020] 155
[2021] 162
[2022] 165
And here are my personal observations:
The [name_u]Twilight[/name_u] book from which the name [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] originates (Breaking Dawn) was published in [name_u]August[/name_u] of 2008, which opened the door in 2009 for babies to join the littlest [name_m]Cullen[/name_m] in sharing her obscure, new name. The first half of the novel was turned into a film, which released in [name_u]October[/name_u] of 2011. [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] is not born until the second half of this final installmentāand, thus, subsequent āPart 2ā filmābut her name is mentioned in the 2011 āPart 1ā film. Though, this mention didnāt seem to do much for her name in the charts that year nor the next. The second half of the novel was released as a film in [name_u]November[/name_u] of 2012, and boom. Up went [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] in the 2013 name charts!
As well, the alternate spellings [name_f]Renesmae[/name_f] and Renesmay were only used starting in 2012 and 2013, respectively, after the release of the final [name_u]Twilight[/name_u] films.
What I find most curious is that, contrary to what Iād have thought, [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] shows no apparent signs of slowing down. In fact, her best year as a name in terms of popularity was only last year, 2022, long after the rush of [name_u]Twilight[/name_u] hype. Fun Fact: in 2022, more baby girls were named [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] than were named [name_f]Wanda[/name_f] (22), [name_f]Susannah[/name_f] (53), and [name_f]Betsy[/name_f] (84) combined.
Whew. What a name!