Revealed: the most popular names used in song titles

A new survey has confirmed the most popular names in song titles. Mary is the most used female name in song titles; John is the male name that appears most in song titles; and Johnny and Maria are the second most used names in song titles
By Phil Hewitt
Published 16th Mar 2023, 19:05 BST
Names in Rolling Stones songs include: Angie, Sweet Virginia, Lady Jane, Cherry Oh Baby, Carol and Ruby TuesdayNames in Rolling Stones songs include: Angie, Sweet Virginia, Lady Jane, Cherry Oh Baby, Carol and Ruby Tuesday
Names in Rolling Stones songs include: Angie, Sweet Virginia, Lady Jane, Cherry Oh Baby, Carol and Ruby Tuesday

Research by music industry experts Music Industry How To analyzed 2,262,292 unique track titles from 1 million Spotify playlists to discover which first names appeared the most frequently. They then found the most streamed songs on Spotify with the names in the titles.

Female names – Mentions in song titles. Mary – Featured in 1,803 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured are: Mary On A Cross – Ghost: 286,170,234 streams; Proud Mary – Tina Turner: 135,614,411 streams

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Maria – Featured in 1,714 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Maria Maria – Santana: 217,654,785 streams; Maria – Blondie: 94,427,125 streams

Georgia – Featured in 698 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Georgia – Vance Joy: 421,856,204 streams; Georgia on My Mind – Ray Charles: 86,514,721 streams

Jane – Featured in 659 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Plaine Jane – A$AP Ferg: 648,171,944 streams; Jane – Jefferson Starship: 61,410,581 streams

Bella – Featured in 580 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Bella Ciao – Manu Pilas: 183,552,399 streams; Bella – Red Hot Chili Peppers: 5,929,737 streams

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Linda – Featured in 579 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Linda – Tokischa: 117,256,646 streams; Linda – Projota: 96,346,234 streams

Juliet – Featured in 459 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Check Yes, Juliet – We The Kings: 234,979,068 streams; Romeo and Juliet – Dire Straits: 230,039,431 streams

Carmen – Featured in 440 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Carmen – Lana Del Rey: 137,697,825 streams; Carmen – Stromae: 57,302,993 streams

Carolina – Featured in 439 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Carolina – Harry Styles: 181,229,423 streams; Carolina – Taylor Swift: 40,055,359 streams

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Paloma – Featured in 419 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Paloma – Mr. P: 6,269,473 streams; Paloma – We Are Wolves: 2,624,626 streams

Male names – Mentions in song titles: John – Featured in 2,040 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: John – Lil Wayne, Rick Ross: 66,025,138 streams; John Hughes Movie – Maisie Peters: 18,334,747 streams

Johnny – Featured in 1,071 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry: 370,896,823 streams; Johnny Run Away – Tones And I: 80,119,916 streams

David – Featured in 876 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: David – Cody Jinks: 19,131,943 streams; David – BLANCO: 13,828,498 streams

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

James – Featured in 863 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: James – Sam Brookes: 24,034,002 streams; James – MGMT – 9,789,389 streams

Peter – Featured in 611 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Peter Pan – Kelsea Ballerini: 132,876,638 streams; Peter Pan Was Right – Anson Seabra: 40,510,187 streams

Michael – Featured in 609 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Big Michael – Stormzy: 26,093,870 streams; Michael – Franz Ferdinand: 11,455,153 streams

Paul – Featured in 608 song titles. Most popular song the name is featured on: Paul – Big Thief: 65,916,492 streams; Paul – Cavetown: 11,464,564 streams

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Emmanuel – Featured in 565 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – Enya: 9,821,096 streams; Emmanuel – Ameer Vann: 4,234,412 streams

Alex – Featured in 551 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Alex – Roy Blair: 4,345,538 streams; Alex – Wild Child: 3,799,620 streams

Mike – Featured in 533 song titles. Most popular songs the name is featured on: Mike – Elvana Gjata: 10,450,366 streams; Mike – Fred Again: 2,250,328 streams

A spokesperson from Music Industry How To said “Music has been a means of communicating stories for thousands of years, lyrics allow artists to speak to an audience. They are the embodiment of a musician's experience and allow for others to relate and feel the emotion that they felt. People are often at the heart of these stories, lovers, family and friends. Therefore, it's understandable why names have been featured in the titles of many tracks over the decades.”

https://www.musicindustryhowto.com