Oh Baby! More baby girls being named Danica
IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter and reigning Indy Pro Series champion Alex Lloyd recently welcomed their first children to their families.
And while neither considered naming their daughters after IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick – the Carpenters chose Makenna, while the Lloyds chose Ava – many new parents are.
Danica, which is Slavic meaning “morning star, ” didn’t rank in the top 1,000 baby names from 1996-2004, but has shown a steady rise in hospital nurseries since 2005, when Patrick led the Indianapolis 500 and was named the IndyCar Series’ Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year.
In 2005, Danica returned to the list at 610 and jumped 71 percent to an all-time record ranking of 352 in 2006.
Here’s a look at how the name ranked over the last few years.
Ranking of Danica:
Year Rank
2006 352
2005 610
2004 -
2003 -
2002 -
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