Name style is a moving target. You can learn as much from the direction names are heading as from their current popularity rankings. And when it comes to fashion in the US vs. England, some names are moving in very different directions.
It’s the ultimate baby name dream: a name that’s stylish and appealing, yet undiscovered. I published my first “Why Not?” list back in 2004. How well have those choices stood the test of time?
You should expect to meet a lot more Frankies, Stevies and Georgies in the years ahead. And you should expect most of them to be girls.
The letter X has put its stamp on the past generation of American baby names. X is now a force to be reckoned with—but not for everyone.
Once upon a time, there was only Charity. Today, dozens of different -ty words grace America’s baby name stats, and the concepts they express range to, quite literally, Infinity.
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.
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 […]
Once upon a time, something happened to boys’ names ending in the letter A. Or rather, two somethings. Starting around 1970 the typically female -a ending was twice transformed, and the sound of American boys hasn’t been the same since. See for yourself. The top black line in this chart […]
Vowels have been squeezing out consonants in names for years. Now they’re cutting out the middleman. More and more, vowel sounds follow one another in baby names without any consonant buffer—just ask Liam or Noah.
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