'Simone' could win gold on baby name popularity lists

Thursday at the Olympics was a good day for women named Simone.

First Simone Biles took home gold in the individual all-around, prompting questions of whether she’s the greatest gymnast in history. Then Simone Manuel made barrier-breaking history in the 100m freestyle, becoming the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming.

The astounding success of both women who share such a beautiful name soon prompted a question:

Are we about to see the name “Simone” skyrocket in popularity?

A quick search of Twitter would seem to indicate that we’re poised for such a rise as dozens of people either speculated about an increase or said they wanted to name their own daughter Simone.

There’s pretty much nowhere to go but up for the name that means “one who hears.” According to the Social Security baby name database, Simone was the 810th most popular name in 2015, representing just 0.018 of the total female births for the year. The name’s most recent peak was No. 310 in 1988, though that came well before the births of both Manuel in 1996 and Biles in 1997. (Simone did not rank in the top 100 most popular female names in Texas for either year.)

Though people are talking a big game in the golden afterglow, we’ll see how many follow through. There was either a decrease or no noticeable uptick for “Mary Lou,” “Carly,” “Nastia” or “Gabrielle (Gabby)” following any of the previous four American gold medals in the individual all-around.

Simone, though, could prove to be different. Biles’ dominance and Manuel’s pioneering win could combine to make it an appealing option for parents looking to name their daughter after two great role models.

Just like the two famous women who own that name, we certainly wouldn’t bet against it.