Voltaire
French · Boy · 2 syllables
Popularity & facts
Relative popularity index, 2010–2025Popularity over time
Popularity indexHistorical popularity from 1880–2025 · US Social Security Administration data
About the name Voltaire
Voltaire is a pen name derived from the French word "voltaire," likely a play on "volte" (turn/twist) or an anagram of "Arouet, l.j." (the author's real initials), though its exact etymology remains debated among scholars.
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Etymology
Voltaire is a pen name derived from the French word "voltaire," likely a play on "volte" (turn/twist) or an anagram of "Arouet, l.j." (the author's real initials), though its exact etymology remains debated among scholars. The name was adopted by François-Marie Arouet, the 18th-century French Enlightenment philosopher, and has been associated with him and the Age of Reason ever since, making it emblematic of secular European intellectual culture rather than a traditional given name in any culture or religion.
Voltaire currently ranks #14,012 in the United States as a boy's name. It reached its peak popularity around 1971.
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