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4 Things We Learned From the 2020 Baby Name Data

May 9, 2021 Namerology 4 min read 1 Comment

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 […]

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The Surprising Story of Boys Ending in -A

April 13, 2021 LauraWattenberg 2 min read 3 Comments

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 […]

A Baby Name Gender Gap Is Closing

February 18, 2021 Namerology 4 min read No Comments

Parents choose different names for boys and girls—and they choose names differently for boys and girls as well. For centuries, female names have been more creative and more subject to the shifting winds of fashion, much as female clothing has been. Male names, like male clothing, remained more conservative. Until […]

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A Baby Name Gender Gap Is Closing, Part 2

February 18, 2021 Namerology 4 min read 2 Comments

In Part 1 of this series, I described how a longstanding gender difference in American baby naming is rapidly disappearing. Boys used to be named more conservatively, while girls’ names were more trendy and creative. Today, boys’ names too are objects of fashion, subject to shifting tastes. What does this […]

"I'm sorry, Dave" (image from the film 2001 A Space Odyssey)

The Names that Do—and Don’t—Hold Power in Washington

February 4, 2021 LauraWattenberg 4 min read 5 Comments

The Brady Bunch? In. Dave and Jen? Out. Oh, and women? Yeah, they’re still out too. Those are a few of the conclusions from a review of the names that rule in American government. I tallied the given names of over 900 current high-ranking US public servants, including congresspeople, cabinet […]

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