The Decade’s Trendiest Baby Names
April 24, 2015 § Leave a comment
Following is a link to an article about the 15 trendiest baby names in the U.S. (those which have shown the fastest increase in popularity). If you’re looking to stay on top of fashion, or are hoping to avoid blending in with the crowd, this is some handy information, here.
Names included on the list are: Aria / Arya, Aubree (alternate spelling of “Aubrey”), Bentley, Easton, Harper, Jase (shortened version of “Jason”), Jaxson (alternate spelling of “Jackson“), Khloe (alternate spelling of “Chloe”), Lincoln, London, Mila, Paisley (side note: I cannot believe people actually name their children after a print fabric!), Penelope, Scarlett, Violet
Click through for more information (like when the names first hit the charts, and how long their rise to popularity has been coming):
“Today’s Trendiest, Fastest Rising Baby Names“
Some Declining U.S. Baby Names
April 24, 2015 § Leave a comment
Here you’ll find a link telling you all about the decade’s 15 fastest-declining baby names (names which are falling out of favor the quickest.) Will these be the next generation’s old-fashioned duds, like “Wilbur” and “Mildred” are today?
Names included are: Amanda, Amber, Danielle, Erin, Haley / Hayley, Jada, Jenna, Jennifer, Jessica, Jordan, Leslie, Marissa, Megan, Seth, and Shelby
Honorable mention: Cody, Courtney, Devin, Sean, and Trevor
Click through for more info about the names (like when they first became popular, and how high in the rankings they reached before their fall from grace):
“The Decade’s Fastest Dropping Baby Names“
Everything Old is New Again
April 5, 2015 § 2 Comments
I’ve long been of the opinion that there are many classic names that are long since due for a revival. I’d like to see more Olivers and Theodores and Maudies and Candaces and even Victorias running around. Apparently, I’m not the only one, as these links illustrates (click through for the whys and wherefores):
- “20 Victorian Baby Names That Are In Style For 2015“
- “20 Old-Fashioned Baby Names That Are Back In Style“
- “10 Traditional Baby Names That Are Making A Comeback“
For girls: Adeline, Alice, Alma, Amelia, Aubrey, Blanche, Clara, Cora, Edith, Effie, Evelyn, Florence, Hattie, Hazel, Leah, Lillian, Lucy, Maggie, Naomi, Nora, Olive, Ruth, Sadie, and Stella
For boys: Alfred, Bernard, Charlie, Eli, Everett, Henry, Harold, Henry, Isaac, Jack, Jasper, Leo, Max, Oliver, Oscar, Owen, Raymond, Samuel, Silas, and Warren
What other names do you think should make a comeback?
More Than 100 Years of the Most Popular Girls’ Names in the U.S.
March 19, 2015 § Leave a comment
The video shown in the linked article is a fascinating graphic representation of the most popular girls’ names in the U.S., year by year, since 1880, and includes interesting statistical analysis as well as historical context. A running list shows the top ten for each year, and how they change, while the bubble graph includes all of the most popular names for the year. Click through the link to see what names ranked where in popularity:
“See the popularity of hundreds of U.S. girls’ names evolve every year for 133 years.”
The names which have made the top three since 1880 include:
Alexis, Amanda, Amy, Anna, Ashley, Barbara, Betty, Brittany, Deborah, Debra, Dorothy, Elizabeth, Emily, Emma, Hannah, Heather, Helen, Isabella, Jennifer, Jessica, Karen, Kimberley, Linda, Lisa, Madison, Margaret, Mary, Melissa, Michelle, Olivia, Patricia, Ruth, Samantha, Sarah, Shirley, Sophia, and Susan
What do you think? Did your name make the list, and if so, where and when? Any particular trends that caught your eye? (For me, I think it was interesting to see Emma make it back onto the top three after a hundred years or so! Everything old is new again, I suppose.)
By Any Other Name: Behind the Initials
February 26, 2015 § Leave a comment
In this post, you’ll find a link to an article about the real names of some authors who are more well known by their initials, as well as some explanations as to why they may have preferred not using their given names. Click through for their stories (the one about C.S. Lewis is especially charming)! The authors included are:
– A.A. (Alan Alexander) Milne, known for the Winnie the Pooh series.
– C.S. (Clive Staples) Lewis, known for The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters.
– E.E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings, known for his poetry, such as “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in“.
– E. B. (Elwyn Brooks) White, known for Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan, as well as for being the “White” in Strunk & White’s Elements of Style.
– F. (Francis) Scott Fitzgerald, known for The Great Gatsby .
– H. P. (Howard Phillips) Lovecraft, known for his horror stories, especially “The Call of Cthulu“.
– H.G. (Herbert George) Wells, known for The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, and The War of the Worlds.
– J.M. (James Matthew) Barrie, known for Peter Pan.
– J. (Joanne) K. Rowling, known for the Harry Potter series.
– J.D. (Jerome David) Salinger, known for The Catcher in the Rye.
– J.R.R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien, known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
– L. (Lyman) Frank Baum, known for the Wizard of Oz series.
– L.M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery, known for the Anne of Green Gables series.
– P.G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse, known for his comic fiction, such as Carry On, Jeeves.
– S.E. (Susan Eloise) Hinton, known for The Outsiders.
– T.S. (Thomas Stearns) Eliot, known for his poetry, such as “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock“.
– W.H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden, known for his poetry, such as “Funeral Blues“.
– W.B. (William Butler) Yeats, known for his poetry, such as “The Second Coming“.
Endangered or Extinct Last Names
January 28, 2015 § 1 Comment
The linked articles list some last names which are going (or have already gone) the way of the dodo, and discuss some of the reasons for their disappearance. Did you even know last names could go extinct? (Also, don’t you think some of these last names sound perfect for gnomes or hobbits?)
9 Last Names on the Brink of Extinction:
“Any last name with under 200 “bearers” is endangered, and we’ve found some which are even extinct. Do you have a rare last name on the verge of extinction? Or is your last name extremely common?”
Endangered last names:
Ajax, Edevane, Gastrell, and Slora
Critically-endangered last names (fewer than 20 bearers):
Berrycloth, Birdwhistle, Dankworth, Fernsby, Loughty, MacQuoid, Miracle, Relish, Sallow, Tumbler, and Villan / Villin
Extinct last names:
Bread, Bythesea, Bytheseashore, MacCaa, Puscat, Pusset, Pussmaid, and Spinster
10 English Surnames About to Go Extinct:
Names which have disappeared from England and Wales (extinct last names):
Chips, Harred, Hatman, Jarsdel, Nithercott, Raynott, Rummage, Southwark, Temples, and Woodbead
Names with fewer than 50 bearers through England and Wales (critically endangered last names):
Bonneville, Carla, Febland, Fernard, Grader, Gruger, Mirren, Nighy, Pober, and Portendorfer.
Names dying out the fastest in England and Wales, compared to the 1901 census (endangered last names):
Ashworth, Brook, Butterworth, Clegg, Cohen, Crowther, Greenwood, Haigh, Ingham, Kershaw, Nuttal, Ogden, Pratt, Sutcliffe, and William
Can you think of any other uncommon or vanished last names?
(Also, if you’re looking for endangered or extinct first names, try this post!)
Some Formerly-Popular Baby Names for Girls
January 20, 2015 § Leave a comment
Here is an article about some names that were once top of the list in popularity for baby girls, but have since gone nearly extinct. What do you think? Is it time to resurrect some of these old-fashioned names? (Note: If you’re looking for good names for characters, remember that the young adults of any particular decade would be likely to have a popular baby name of ~20 years earlier. So, say, an Ethel born in the 1890s would be a “new woman” of the WWI years, or even a “flapper” of the 1920s!)
Bertha (popular in the 1880s)
Betty (popular throughout the 1930s)
Doris (popular in the 1930s)
Dorothy (popular in the 1920s)
Edna (popular from the 1880s through to the 1920s)
Ethel (popular in the 1890s through the early 1900s)
Florence (popular from the 1880s-1930s)
Gladys (popular around the 1890s-1910s)
Ida (popular in the 1880s)
Mildred (popular in the 1910s-1920s)
Minnie (popular in the late 1800s)
Tammy (popular in the 1960s)
Most Common Names for Some Common Jobs
January 7, 2015 § Leave a comment
Click here to see an infographic showing the six most disproportionately common names for for 37 professions. The data was gathered from U.S. public records, with some rather interesting (and useful, if, for example, you’re trying to choose a name that really suits a particular character) results. What do you think: Do certain names just sound right for certain jobs? Were there any results that surprised you? Are you in the right position for your name (keep in mind, some names show up for more than one occupation)?
– ACCOUNTANT: Adele, Charmaine, Kurtis, Maribel, Mindy, and Mitzi.
– BIOLOGIST: Cheryl, Janet, Nicholas, Sara, Stuart, and Suzanne.
– CAR SALESPERSON: Allen, Bob, Clay, Larry, Pete, and Travis.
– DRUMMER: Billy, Chad, Dave, Joey, Mickey, and Tommy.
– ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: Alfred, Bernard, Charles, Edwin, Eugene, and Harvey.
– FARMER: Darin, Delbert, Duane, Elwood, Marlin, and Mavis.
– FIREFIGHTER: Brandon, Darren, Jason, Jeremy, Matthew, and Ryan.
– FITNESS INSTRUCTOR: Jennifer, Julie, Karen, Pamela, Rebecca, and Virginia.
– FOOTBALL COACH: Bill, Dan, Jim, Mike, Rich, and Steve.
– FOOTBALL PLAYER: Darnell, Derrick, Jermaine, Nate, Quinton, and Reggie.
– GEOLOGIST: Frederick, Henry, Hugh, Leonard, Samuel, and William.
– GOLFER: Bobby, Bud, Johnny, Simon, Tommy, and Willie.
– GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Alison, Diana, Jan, Jessica, Kurt, and Vanessa.
– GUITARIST: Buddy, Eddie, Mick, Richie, Sonny, and Trey.
– HAIRDRESSER: James, Lori, Patricia, Raymond, Robert, and Susan.
– HISTORIAN: Adrienne, Caroline, Emma, Henry, Herbert, and Theodore.
– INSURANCE SALESPERSON: Brent, Clark, Dalton, Garrett, Mac, and Patty.
– INTERIOR DESIGNER: Bonnie, Elise, Lynne, Marjorie, Martha, and Melinda.
– JOURNALIST: Alastair, Angus, Gideon, Hanna, Jonah, and Louisa.
– JUDGE: Archibald, Clement, Josiah, Lise, Louise, and Rufus.
– LAWYER: Augustus, Cecily, Marshal, Norton, Sanford, and William.
– LIBRARIAN: Abigail, Eleanor, Johanna, Julia, Margot, and Nanette.
– MECHANIC: Dave, Fred, Jerry, Patrick, Randy, and Rick.
– METEOROLOGIST: Bill, Jeff, Joe, Jim, Mike, and Scott.
– PHOTOGRAPHER: Annie, Bruno, Hugo, Noah, Tracey, and Zoe.
– POET: Anne, Celia, Dorothy, Edgar, Edmund, and Hannah.
– POLICE OFFICER: Kevin, Kim, Louis, Raymond, Timothy, and Wayne.
– RABBI: Chaim, Judah, Meir, Moshe, Shlomo, and Yosef.
– RACE CAR DRIVER: Bobby, Jimmy, Johnny, Luigi, Robbie, and Sebastian.
– RANCHER: Boyd, Clifford, Judy, Leland, Leroy, and Roy.
– SOCIAL WORKER: Constance, Jeannette, Marsha, Penelope, Stella, and Vivian.
– SOLDIER: Jacob, Jeremy, Joshua, Justin, Kyle, and Zachary.
– SONGWRITER: Benny, Billy, Mick, Richie, Sonny, and Stevie.
– STUNT-PERSON: Alex, Ben, Eddie, Erik, Terry, and Tom.
– SURGEON: Barrett, Harris, Holly, Jefferson, Sanford, and Sherwin.
– VENTURE CAPITALIST: Alexander, Doug, Guy, Joanna, Nicholas, and Shawn.
– VETERINARIAN: Gene, Larry, Peggy, Sara, Tracy, and Wayne.
Top 20 Baby Names for Naughty (and Nice) Children
December 4, 2014 § Leave a comment
Here’s an article about the names shared by kids “most likely to misbehave“. Are you on the naughty list? Do you need to clean up your act before Santa comes to town? Or maybe just change your name real quick so you can make the nice list?
Worst-Behaved Girl Names:
Amber, Bethany, Caitlin, Courtney, Eleanor, Ella, Holly, Jade, Laura, and Olivia
Best-Behaved Girl Names:
Abigail, Alice, Amy, Charlotte, Emily, Emma, Georgia, Grace, Hannah, and Sophie
Worst-Behaved Boy Names:
Benjamin, Cameron, Ethan, Jake, Jamie, Joseph, Joshua, Lewis, Luke, and William
Best-Behaved Boy Names:
Adam, Daniel, Harry, Jack, Jacob, James, Oliver, Ryan, Samuel, and Thomas
Most Common Baby Names, 2014
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
This article takes a comedic view on the likely fates of those children given the most common baby names of 2014 (as determined by a U.S. News poll, so not entirely scientific . . . )
For the boys, we’ve got Aiden, Caden, Ethan, Jacob, Jackson, Liam, Logan, Lucas, Mason, and Noah.
And for girls, we’ve got Ava, Emily, Emma, Isabella, Madelyn, Mia, Lily, Olivia, Sophia, and Zoe.
What do you think? Have you see hundreds of little Aidens and Avas and Ethans and Emilys and Masons and Mias experiencing “Baby’s First Fill-in-the-Blank” this year?