Why Aren't We Using Linus?

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Erin writes:

I am not pregnant, nor will I be for quite a while, but names and their popularity fascinate me and I love your blog.
I've been thinking. What about the name Linus? I never hear it used. Personally, I think it has an old timey charm without being "too old man".
The problems I see, however, are the lack of nicknames and the Peanuts connection. Do you think the connection is too strong to make the name useable? In my opinion, I like the connection. Linus is my favorite Peanuts character, especially in the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. But I also LOVE the Sabrina connection. Humphrey Bogart's character was Linus Larabee. I really like the character, and I'm a huge Audrey Hepburn (who played opposite Bogart as Sabrina) fan, so that even strengthens the connection for me.

So, why isn't this wonderful name being used?

I love the Peanuts character of Linus, too: so sweet, and also smart. And although I do strongly associate the name with him, it's a fully positive association, and I think it would fade as easily as the Peanuts associations with Charlie and Lucy and Violet did as those names got more popular. In fact, Lucy is a good example: I remember when it first started getting popular again, people would mention that they were nervous about the Peanuts association---but I haven't heard that mentioned in ages now.

I also associate Linus with the Linux operating system, since that's what Paul uses.

I thought at first the issue might just be that the sounds of Linus are out of date and we need to wait for them to come back around: we're not using Lyle much, either, even though the name Kyle was very popular there for awhile. But we ARE using Elias (2,961 new baby boys in 2011), which is so close. And we're using Lila(h) even more: 5,782 babies named Lila/Lyla/Lilah/Lylah in 2011.

Maybe the popularity of Lila is giving Linus a slightly feminine sound? But if it is, I don't hear it yet.

Maybe the issue is the second syllable: Magnus is the only other name I can think of that uses it, and that was only given to 152 baby boys last year; Linus was given to 124. Oh, and there's Dennis, which was given to 678 baby boys in 2011, with another 116 named Denis. Hm, and Adonis, which was given to 332 boys in 2011. Still, it's not a popular ending right now. (Source of all these numbers: Social Security Administration.)

I have wondered if the issue might be that the name sounds somewhat like a personal male body part. I know! I know, it doesn't really! The first syllable is totally different! It's only the second syllable, which isn't even spelled the same way! I can't explain it; it's just my immediate association. Uranus has similar issues, poor planet.


What do you think: Why aren't we using Linus?