Once upon a time, there was only Charity. In the early decades of U.S. national baby name stats, starting in 1880, Charity was the only -ty “concept” word being used as a name. It was the lone reminder of a past style of demure virtue names like Chastity and Amity. […]
There’s a new letter in town, and it’s just for show. Allow me to introduce the “ornamental H,” an alphabetic flourish that’s adding a stylistic—not phonetic—note to names like Whyatt, Khadence and Ameliah. The story behind the style is a cultural ride that takes us everywhere from the Bible to […]
Each year, hundreds of new baby names make their first marks in the United States. Many are variations on familiar names. Others may be unfamiliar here, but well-known in other parts of the world. Still others are inspired by the words and names expectant parents encounter every day, from video […]
Over a thousand names made their all-time debuts in the 2020 baby name statistics, meaning they were given to five or more American boys or girls for the first time ever. Together, they make up a cultural kaleidoscope. You’ll find names representing languages and faiths from around the world; popular […]
The Reddit post earned thousands of upvotes and comments. Strangers pointed me to it; friends and family pointed me to it. The data was right there in a graph, the trend unmistakable. And yet the name story wasn’t true. The baby name Karen did not just plummet into obscurity, pushed […]
Olivia unites us, Theodore divides us, and Oliver is the King in the North. Those are some of the takeaways from a new look at the most popular baby names in every US State in 2020. Olivia, the nation’s top girl’s name, ranks in the top 5 in every single […]
Some quick notes on themes emerging from the new national baby name statistics. 1. Masculinity Through Word NamesOver one thousand names made their all-time debuts in this year’s name stats, 500+ each for boys and girls. Common English words appeared three times more often among the boys’ names. I suspect […]
2020 was a year like no other. In a time of loss, division and moral reckoning, the fastest rising names of the year were not hot new celebrity names, but memorials. Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash in January, 2020. Kobe was […]
Just in: the official ranking of the most popular baby names in the USA for the year 2020. BOYS GIRLS 1 Liam Olivia 2 Noah Emma 3 Oliver Ava 4 Elijah Charlotte 5 William Sophia 6 James Amelia 7 Benjamin Isabella 8 Lucas Mia 9 Henry Evelyn 10 Alexander […]
A social media craze is taking on names. And, my fellow name enthusiasts, I think we can do it better. The game is called a #TellMeChallenge, or “tell me without telling me.” The goal is to convey a piece of information in a sideways manner, with a reference that makes […]
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