Amazon put us on a collision course. Not that we couldn’t see it coming—Apple’s Siri had sent early-warning signals years before. With Amazon’s “virtual assistant” Alexa, though, there was no escape. Human names and virtual names met head on, and the human names blinked. Alexa was America’s fastest-falling baby name […]
In my teenage daughters’ generation, American girls named Madison outnumber Bridgets by nearly 20 to 1. Yet my kids have had plenty of classmates named Bridget, and they’ve never met a Madison. A statistical fluke? In part, yes, but the odds were stacked by geography. We live in Massachusetts. This […]
Liam and Emma continue to reign as America’s top baby names. Depending on where you live, though, you might be more likely to meet babies named Amelia and Oliver, or Harper and Grayson. For your browsing pleasure, here are the top 5 baby names in each state. While the top […]
Not every name has the style strength to stick around for generations. This year we say goodbye to 17 of those long-lasting names, as they have dropped off the top-thousand popularity lists for the first time in at least 50 years. In a few cases, it was the first time […]
Meet America’s newest baby names. Each year, hundreds of names make their debut in the U.S. name statistics, meaning they were given to at least five newborn boys or girls in one year for the first time ever. I’ve collected some highlights in notable categories from 2018. Together, they paint […]
As names like Arya and Khaleesi continue their march up the popularity charts, the baby name triumph of Game of Thrones has made headlines. Is that franchise the new naming champion? Harry Potter has reigned as king of fandom baby names for years. The last time I checked in, the […]
I thought the wave had crested. I was wrong. Back in 2007, I first reported on an unprecedented convergence in American baby names: one letter was dominating the boys’ side. Across the style spectrum, everybody wanted their boys’ names to end in N. Almost a third of American boys were […]
Counting down the boys’ names making the biggest moves on the 2018 popularity chart: #5. Saint Kim Kardashian and Kanye West struck a chord with their first boy’s name choice. Saint fit in with popular “exalted” names like King and Messiah, while its sound set it gently apart. #4. Elián […]
Counting down the girls’ names making the biggest moves on the 2018 popularity chart: #5. Oaklynn The hit name Brooklyn is starting to cool off, and Oaklyn/Oaklynn is stepping up as a natural heir. We’ve seen the same “headless” transformation before with shifts like Madison to Addison. #4. Mila Actress […]
2018 was a stellar year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Two of their superhero films, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War were the year’s two top-grossing films. Each centered around a man who faces powerful enemies but ultimately triumphs as he pursues his vision of a better society. One of […]
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