It seemed something was awry. I hear Sophia incessantly. Emma had her day. And where are all the Aidens, Jadens, and Caydens we keep coming across???
The answer lies in multiple spellings.
What happens when we add the numbers? The big new is, Emma is not number one.
Here are THE REAL top 10 from You Can’t Call It “It”:
1) Sophia 21,783 (SSA ranked #7) - Sophia 15,887 + Sofia 5,896 …Sophie is at 4,014
2) Isabella 20,398 (#2) - Isabella 18,377 + Izabella 1,454 + Isabela 567
3) Emily 19,807 (#3) - Emily 17,217 + Emely 1081 + Emilee 678 + Emilie 436 + Emmalee 395
4) Madison 19,563 (#4) - Madison 16,853 + Maddison 1,010 + Madisyn 880 + Madyson 820
5) Olivia 18,927 (#6) - Olivia 16,845 + Alivia 1,809 + Alyvia 273
6) Emma 18,587 (#1) – one spelling
7) Ava 17,122 (#5) - Ava 16,850 + Avah 272
8 ) Abigail 16,108 (#8) - Abigail 14,901 + Abbigail 605 + Abagail 314 + Abigayle 288
9) Hailey 15,353 (#26) - Hailey 7,788 + Haley 3,301 + Haylee 1,451 + Hayley 837 + Hailee 683 + Haylie 624 + Haleigh 404 + Hailie 265
10) Kaitlyn 14,256 (#53) - Kaitlyn 5,062 + Katelyn 3,932 + Caitlyn 1,472 + Caitlin 1,449 + Katelynn 1,116 + Kaitlin 664 + Kaitlynn 561
And for boys, it is as we feared. Does this sound more realistic?
1) Aiden 31,799 (#16) - Aiden 15,411 + Aidan 7,628 + Ayden 5,010 + Aden 1,368 + Aaden 950 + Aydan 451 + Aydin 387 + Aidyn 332 + Aedan 262
2) Jayden 27,090 (#11) – Jayden 16,942 + Jaden 5,126 + Jaiden 2,319 + Jaydon 657 + Jadon 578 + Jaeden 405 + Jaydin 299 + Jaidyn 269 + Jadyn 262 + Jaydan 233
3) Jacob 23,337 (#3) – Jacob 22,272 + Jakob 1,065
4) Michael 20,874 (#2) -Michael 20,298 + Micheal 576
5) Ethan 20,227 (#3) – Ethan 20,004 + Ethen 223
6) Christopher 19,269 (#9) – Christopher 17,783 + Kristopher 677 + Cristopher 549 + Cristofer 260
7) Joshua 18,924 (#4) – one spelling
8 ) Alexander 18,776 (#6) – Alexander 18,423 + Alexzander 353
9) Daniel 18,717 (#5) – one spelling
10) Caden 18,398 (#95) – Caden 4,718 + Kaden 4,449 + Kayden 2,569 + Cayden 2,297 + Kaiden 2,082 + Caiden 1,389 + Kaeden 360 + Kadin 316 + Kadyn 218
Applause to the Social Security Administration for giving us so much information. I appreciate the way they do the rankings, because to me, Abigail and Abigayle are worlds apart.
Yet it can be misleading.
Parents looking for an unusual name opt for Caden, which holds 95th place on the SSA list. Yet with combined spellings, Ks, Ys, and all, we’re looking at the tenth most often heard name on the playground.
Emma holds the distinction of being the only version of her kind in the top 1000. I’ve seen Ema and Imma too. Madeline could eclipse Kaitlyn for the number 10 coveted spot, except that I steadfastly refuse to believe that all Madelines in the U.S. pronounce their names to rhyme with “Lynn.” If you ask me, Madeline has always rhymed with “wine”, and any other pronunciation is a little bit lazy. I let Alivia/Alyvia slide.
Still, the list deviates from my local experience. The girls are familiar with Sophia and Isabella calling the shots, but in my bubble? It’s all about Max and Henry, way down at 126 and 78. One spelling each (not counting the long versions of Max!) Hmph.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
My name is spelled Madeline and rhymes with “Lynn”, that’s how my parents (in the mid-80s) felt it should be pronounced. I’ll add that almost every Madeline I’ve met also pronounce it the same way.
I’ve always felt Madeleine was pronounced differently from Madeline. I may have been a bit offensive to you and others who pronounce Madeline to rhyme with Lynn, and I apologize heartily! To say that you or anyone else mispronounces there name wasn’t really my original intention. I shoul have just said that I didn’t want to combine spellings on that particular spelling and left it at that.
I grew up on the Madeline books which permanently effected the way I see the name.
In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines
Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.
In two straight lines they broke their bread
And brushed their teeth and went to bed.
They smiled at the good and frowned at the bad.
And sometimes they were very sad.
They left the house at half past nine
In two straight lines in rain or shine.
The smallest one was Madeline.
Some of those alternative spellings are, well, um, let’s just say *very* alternative. Yeesh! I will second your notion of Max being right up there – where I am, Max seems to be everywhere. That and Lucas/Luke. Not surprisingly, the girl names are less concentrated, but Sophia, Olivia and Isabella are all frequently heard here. Madison and Madeline are most popular in my circles, however (4 of the people where I used to work have Maddies – that equates to almost 70% of the people working there who have daughters under 18 years old!)