Monday, May 14, 2012

PRINCESS ANGELINA CONTESSA LOUISA FRANCESCA BANANA-FANNA BO BESCA THE THIRD: The Social Security Administration has released the data on the top baby names in 2011. Jacob reigns for the thirteenth straight year for the boys, while Sophia displaces Isabella after two years for the girls. Mason's the biggest riser at the top for boys (from #12), while overall Brantley, Briella, Maximiliano, Angelique, and Elsie are among the bigger risers. (Falling the furthest: Brett for the boys, Brisa for the girls, but also Brenda, Brenden, Braiden, Braeden, and Brayan are dropping. What's up with all the Brrrrrr action?)

Names I wish were not rising, because I am judgmental: Kamden, Maverick, Jayce, Remington, and Karter; Nylah, Charlee, Londyn, Aleah, and Journey.

33 comments:

  1. I find the continued popularity of the "Heaven, Nevaeh" pairing for twin girls very, very distressing. (#6, 29 pairs of twins)

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  2. There's 67 combined for twins Jayden/Jaylen, Jayden/Kayden, and Jayden/Ayden.

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  3. Duvall11:05 AM

    Brisa and Brayan?  Where's Bort?

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  4. Every year, I look forward to this blog post from Southeastern Idaho re: baby names.  Every year, I think (hope) it must be fake.

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  5. KCosmo's neighbor11:31 AM

    Lauri--that blog post was a riot. Sadly, I don't think it's fake.

    I'm proud to say that neither of my daughters' names made it to the Top 10. They have the most basic of names, yet in their simplicity, they have become unique.

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  6. KCosmo's neighbor11:37 AM

    I just checked...my own name (which is NOT KCosmo's neighbor) has not cracked the top 1000 in the past 12 years. I don't know how I feel about that.

    My older daughter's name hasn't made it to the top 100 in 12 years, and I think this year it's 583.

    It's just a crazy buffet of mix-and-match letters and syllables out there.

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  7. Meghan12:11 PM

    Because I am also judgmental, who the hell is naming their kids stuff like Kamden and Maverick?  And YES to Heaven/Nevaeh.  Some of these names make me want to put on my capslock and just scream.

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  8. Plus 37 female/male twin sets for Jayda/Jayden, Jada/Jaden, Jayden/Jayla. It's always a competition between Nevaeh and the Jayden/Jaylen/Kaydens etc to see who makes me scream first.

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  9. I have to be very careful because my administrative assistant's daughter is named Neveah.  It is so hard not to make a snarky comment/roll my eyes/throw up in my mouth when I hear it.

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  10. Watts1:26 PM

    When I see these things, I feel bad for grown adults who have suddenly popular baby names.  Like, I know a Jacob who's 32 years old. It's got to feel weird to have a name ahead of its time.

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  11. isaac_spaceman1:36 PM

    In "21 years ago in baby naming" news, we hosted a college graduation party at our house this weekend.  It was mostly fraternity boys and family, but four girls showed up.  Three of them were Kat, Kate, and Katie. 

    I went to school with 27 Jennifers.  16 Jenns, 10 Jennies and then there was her. 

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  12. Jordan1:54 PM

    It looks like the Remington Steele generation has come of age.  Also among the fastest risers: Ryker, which is clearly Riker for people afraid their kid would be called Ricker.  We're 20 years away from the rise of Tyrion and Theon.

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  13. littleredyarn1:58 PM

    My name was 840-something with a bullet in 2000, and my nickname (which I go by) hasn't cracked the top 1000 in 12 years. Yay for old-fashioned names!

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  14. Watts2:22 PM

    Don't worry, Adam - all the "Br-" names are thriving (even if the people carrying them are not) in Westeros.

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  15. Heh. Of all the Jennifer songs, that one's my favorite. 867-5309 could be erased entirely. It was so awkward being an 11-year-old Jenny when that song came out.

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  16. Arya has moved from unranked to #941 in 2010 to #711 in 2011.

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  17. Joseph Finn3:40 PM

    Mason?  My name gets pushed down the list by MASON?!? (Dixon: not in the top 1000.)

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  18. Sheila3:43 PM

    <span>Renee- Is it really spelled Neveah? (As in, not quite heaven backwards?) I read on Baby Name Wizard that some people are naming their girls Neveah as an "alternate spelling" of Nevaeh, without making the connection to the origin of the name in the first place.</span>

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  19. isaac_spaceman3:48 PM

    Early in my legal career I had dealings with a young British lawyer named Arwen, who freely admitted that the name came from the Lord of the Rings.  She was probably 80% as nerdy as her 70s British nerd parents. 

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  20. isaac_spaceman4:15 PM

    Give it a few more years and it will be Nyveah, because nothing classes up a name like replacing an off-brand vowel with a y.

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  21. lisased4:34 PM

    The name "Nevaeh" is the bane of my existence. Our oldest is named Neva, a name I heard in Europe during a trip in 2002. It's a simple, easy-to-pronounce  name that doesn't have any silent/surprise letters. After I heard it, I found out it was a popular name that had died out, like Gladys or Phyllis, after the '50s. Every year, a teacher or counselor wants to add the "eh" to her name. Every year, we correct them.

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  22. Hodor, on the other hand, still not within the Top 1000.

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  23. Slick6:23 PM

    My younger daughter's name has skyrocketed since she was born. Major, major sigh.

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  24. Watchman6:43 PM

    My wife's business is making personalized birthday shirts for children.  Having watched her work over the last couple of years, the names rising on this list do not surprise me.  I'm not sure there is any moniker a parent can hang on a child at this point that would. 

    I do however remain mystified by the number of different ways in which it is possible to spell Jackson. 

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  25. Last week, I got to deal with the twins Victor and Victoria.

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  26. victoria11:46 PM

    There's a Neva at my daughter's school. I like the name, personally. (Neva, not Nevaeh.)

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  27. Becca1:18 AM

    My name was at 148 last year, but my nickname, which I go by, hasn't cracked the top 1000 in the past 20 years. I didn't try going back further than that, because, let's face it. We all went to school with Beckys, but very rarely a Becca. Thanks, Mom. It's so hard to find a personalized mug or keychain. 

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  28. Renee3:59 AM

    I've never actually seen it -- only heard her say it, but I'm pretty sure I misspelled it above (oops) and it is Nevaeh. 

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  29. littleredyarn6:42 AM

    Now I'm very curious to know how old the parents are.

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  30. Marsha10:38 AM

    Jacob has always been a popular boy's name (at least in the Jewish world). Not out of place on a 32 year old.

    My name is out-of-generation in the other direction. Almost never meet a Marsha my age, but I'm constantly talking to people who have an Aunt Marsha or a Grandma Marsha. Marsha was never very popular, but to the extent it was, it goes with the Carol/Sandy/Linda/Elaine generation of my parents, not the Jennifer/Lisa/Michelle generation into which I was actually born.

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  31. Poor, poor "Riggins Klyde"....  I hereby nickname him "33" for life!

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  32. Marsha10:43 AM

    You sure they're not actually just one cross-dressing child? Did you ever see them in the same room at the same time?

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  33. Roger9:48 AM

    Shit. My favorite name for if I ever have kids has gone from not-in-the-top-1000 between 1988 and 1997 to #73 among girls' names in 2011. So much for that. Almost at its all-time high of #55 (in 1889).

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