Boy names that end in IE aren’t as popular as they were in 1900, so let’s give them a little love!
Quintuplets occur in roughly one in 50 million births in the United States, according to Raising Multiples.
But giving each of your quintuplets tree names — that’s a once-in-a-lifetime event.
On Monday, Aug. 4, Ohio natives Betsy and Dan Santiso welcomed a healthy set of quintuplets at the OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. And yes, they gave each of their newborns tree names.
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According to OhioHealth, which announced the anomaly in an Aug. 7 Facebook post, Betsy Santiso and her quintuplets “are doing well.”
The couple are already parents to a toddler son, according to a photo shared by OhioHealth.
“Both parents shared they are grateful for the expert, supportive care they are receiving so close to home,” the post continued.
The “precious newborns” were transferred to the Nationwide Children's Hospital NICU at Riverside Methodist following a successful delivery, per OhioHealth.
As for the tree baby names they chose, the quintuplets are named Juniper, Cedar, Linden, Torrey and Alder.
“We wanted something unique, but not too weird,” Betsy Santiso told Today.com in an interview published Aug. 8.
“Or hard to pronounce,” her husband Dan Santiso added.
The decision turned out to be an easy one, considering their 2-year-old son Rowan was also named after a tree.
“With every tree we would research its history and what it looked like just to make sure it felt right," Betsy Santiso told Today. "We've been thinking about trees nonstop for months!"
According to the outlet, the quintuplets — each of whom weighed between 2 pounds, 9 ounces and 2 pounds, 14 ounces — were born at 29 weeks’ gestation.
"We just found out that they're at the lowest level of support for 29 weekers," Dan Santiso added of their progress.
Are tree names for babies popular in the United States today?
Giving quintuplets tree baby names is rare — but tree names, in general, are rather popular today.
Just look at the names Olivia, the No. 1 most popular girl name in the U.S. in 2024, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA), and Oliver, which ranked No. 3 in 2024 for boys.
According to Behind the Name, Oliver and Olivia both derive from the Latin word oliva meaning “olive tree.”
Other tree names for boys that rank well in the U.S. today include Asher (20th in 2024), Rowan (71st) and Silas (81st) — which isn’t the name of a specific tree, but it translates to “of the forest” in Latin.
Tree names for girls that cracked the SSA’s top 100 in 2024 include Hazel (19th) and Willow (41st).
As for the tree baby names the Santiso family chose, Juniper was the only one listed in the SSA’s top 1,000 in 2024 — where it ranked 111th among girl names.
Alder and Cedar have never appeared in the SSA’s top 1,000 for any year since 1900, while Torrey was only popular in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.
Linden appeared on the list three times in SSA history, ranking 990th in 1943, 997th in 1944 and 929th in 1947.
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Other more unique tree names for babies parents can consider today include Aspen, Forrest, Cypress, Spruce, Koa, Elowen and Sequoia, per Mod Moms Club.
