Napoleon
Meaning
of uncertain origin, possibly lion of Naples or new city; immortalized (comedically) by Napoleon Dynamite in Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
The story
Napoleon reached the whole world through one man, the Corsican soldier who crowned himself emperor of France, but the name itself is older Italian stock of uncertain origin: some read it as lion of Naples, others as new city. In American records it draws one of the steadiest lines you will ever see, a thin, unbroken thread from the 1890s to today, never fashionable and never gone, kept alive in families with a taste for grandeur. Its most recent famous bearer could hardly be further from the emperor: Napoleon Dynamite, the gloriously awkward Idaho teenager of the 2004 comedy, all moon boots and deadpan sighs, who turned the name into an affectionate punchline for a generation. Tellingly, even that did not move the line. Napoleon simply carries on at its own pace, uncommon, unbothered, and instantly recognizable anywhere on earth.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Napoleon has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
25 people · the #106,978 first name in Brazil · median age 47
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Napoleon
People given the name Napoleon in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Napoleon deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Napoleon truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Napoleon fits with your family’s names and surname.
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