Little love for 'Usain' ... Few babies named after sprint king

Usain Bolt may be a legend, but his performances on the track have seemingly not inspired many Jamaican parents to name their children after him.

Registrar General Department (RGD) statistics show that the name 'Usain' is not a favourite among parents, with only 35 newborns being given that name between 2005 and 2016*.

The RGD's records indicate that Jamaicans have a love affair with Bible names for their sons, with Daniel (2,358) and Joshua (2,116) being the top-two names given to boys in the past 11 years.

The popularity of the name 'Usain' also pales in comparison to Neymar. In 2014, when the World Cup was staged in Brazil, Neymar, with 145 entries, was the sixth most popular boy's name used to register babies in the Jamaica.

With the exception of 2009, when 13 babies were given the name Usain, no more than four Jamaican parents gave their children the name Usain in any year.

In 2009, Bolt shattered his own 100m world record to claim the World Championships title in Berlin, lowering it to 9.58 from the 9.69 he set at the Olympics in Beijing, China, the year before.

Most popular names since 2005

MALE Times used

DANIEL 2,358

JOSHUA 2,116

JAYDEN 2,089

JORDAN 1,381

NATHAN 1,304

JUSTIN 1,112

NATHANIEL 900

MATTHEW 720

RICARDO 631

ANTHONY 569

FEMALE Times used

BRIANNA 1,600

GABRIELLE 1,527

AMELIA 1,285

ARIANNA 1,227

TIANNA 1,101

ABIGAIL 1,055

JADA 853

ASHLEY 731

RIHANNA 694

KAYLA 590

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME 'USAIN'?

Years Times used

2005 2

2006 4

2007 1

2008 1

2009 13

2010 4

2011 2

2012 1

2013 4

2014 0

2015 1

2016 2

TOTAL TIMES USED 35

Source: Registrar General Department

*Data for 2016 is preliminary