A 1973 roll call might go something like this:
“Laveda?”
“Present.”
“Verlon?”
“Present.”
“Darlinda?”
“Here.”
Utah has always been brimming with creativity in the name game.
2009 was no exception.
Utah is a great example of wanting children to stand out while fitting in. Their top 100 baby names are rather different from national statistics, yet patterns emerge quickly for what appeals to the beehive state.
Perhaps it’s the missionary spirit, but Utahns enjoy a good journey. Boston (62 v. 540), London (98 v. 121), Brooklyn (4 v. 37), and Aspen (74 v. 589), are all top 100 picks. Note that Brooklyn is the fourth most popular female name. In addition to their geographic choices, Utah parents are braving all sorts of new frontiers. Their love of X and Y is well documented: Jaxon (38 v. 126), Braxton (58 v. 174), Daxton (87 v. 743), Tyson (79 v. 238), Ryder (74 v. 145) and Ryker (22 v. 353) are all at the top of the chart, as are sound alikes Brielle (67 v. 245), Brinley (70 v. 778), Brynlee (58 v. 676), Rylee (43 v. 796), Kylee (79 v. 148). Kaylee, Bailey, Hailey, and Halle are also popular.
Like Daxton and Brinley, they seek out names that are recent phenomena: Gage (80 v. 141), Jace (69 v. 161), Bridger (65 v. 867). The “Br” prefix is a recurring one (harkening back to Brigham Young?), as is the “ton” suffix. Ps are popular too: Paisley (66 v. 318), Presley (80 v. 268), and Piper (95 v. 147) for girls and Parker (29 v. 96) Porter (70 v. 471) and Preston (82 v. 120) for boys far out pace the country at large. Other Utah favorites include Hudson (96 v. 150), Easton (51 v. 252), Ashton (83 v. 116) , Ruby (41 v. 108), and Marley (149).
Notably absent are Aaliyah, Destiny, Genesis, Serenity, Ariana, Gianna, Victoria, presumably due to a lower proportion of African American and Italian American communities.
Being the Mormon capital (58% self identify as Latter Day Saints), one might have expected to see some Nephis and Moronis and on the list. Not so. Scriptural chart toppers exist in Utah no more than they do in the rest of the country. This surprised me. I did learn however that the prevalence of Eliza (45 v. 278), Lucy (19 v. 101), Lydia (34 v. 118) and Sadie (24 v. 111) are likely due to Mormon forbearers from the Partridge, Smith, and Grant families, dovetailing nicely with current antique revival trends.
For more on this subject, please check out Wes and Cari Clark’s highly amusing and informative The Utah Baby Namer.
Anyone out there who can weigh in with first hand knowledge of Utah or LDS naming practices?
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Very interesting analysis, Elisabeth. I’m not at all surprised that top baby name choices in Utah set the state apart from the rest of the country so drastically. I have some ‘theories’ about this, but best keep them to myself unless I find research that backs them up. This could be part of a PhD dissertation on the state; perhaps it already has been.
I’ve spent some time looking at state results too, but more along the lines of what the #1 names are in each state.
We would love to hear your theories Patricia! I think it’s ok to hypothesize without proof. That’s what a hypothesis is for.
Very interesting analysis, Elisabeth. I’m not at all surprised that top baby name choices in Utah set the state apart from the rest of the country so drastically. I have some ‘theories’ about this, but best keep them to myself unless I find research that backs them up. This could be part of a PhD dissertation on the state; perhaps it already has been.
I’ve spent some time looking at state results too, but more along the lines of what the #1 names are in each state.
Here’s what I discovered when I compared the top boys and girls names in the 50 states plus DC (which is included in SSA data):
Although Jacob + Isabella are ranked the number one boy/girl names — combination — for the nation, they don’t do well as a pairing in the states, both ranking #1 in only two states – Arizona and Ohio.
The top name pairings are:
William + Emma – 5 states (AL, AR, NC, TN, SC)
Michael + Isabella – 5 states (AK, CT, NJ, NY, PA)
Alexander + Isabella – 4 states (CO, DE, IL WA)
Ethan + Emma – 4 states (MT, IN, KS, SD)
Ethan + Olivia – 3 states (ND, WI, UT)
Girls’ names that ranked number one (number of states + DC): Isabella (21) Emma (14) Olivia (8) Madison (4) Ava (2) Addison (NE) Allison (DC)
Boys’ names that ranked number one (number of states + DC): Ethan (9) William (9) Jacob (7) Alexander (6) Michael (6) Logan (3) Anthony (2) Jayden (2) Noah (2) Aiden (NM) Daniel (CA) Jose (TX) Ryan (MA) Wyatt (WY)
For the girls, Isabella is the clear winner as the top name in 41.17% of the states/DC. Emma, 2008 #1 nationally, is still the top name in over one-fourth of the states. Only 7 girls’ names were #1 in any state/DC.
But the boys’ names are a different matter. Twice as many boys’ names – 14 – ranked #1 in some state/DC. And nationally ranked #1 Jacob didn’t do very well in the states, ranking first in only 13.72% of the states/DC.
Thank you for this Patricia!
Very interesting geographical clumps.
Also fascinating how many different boys’ names vie for first place!!! People really do seem to have much more of an interest breaking out of the norm for their boys’ names than before.
Also, all these people naming their baby Allison in DC? That is a surprise. It’s like Ashley: #1 in U.S. Territories. Wha?!???@#??
This is definitely very interesting. I have noticed the trend for names like Hazel and Aspen rising in the western states.
Okay – I read this entry last week but felt entirely unequipped to make an intelligent comment… however, I did want to say I found it incredibly interesting! Now for my pathetic attempt at contributing to discussion!: I have a number of LDS friends, but only one pair live in UT with two sons (J@ce and |_uke), but both of the boys were born while they were living in other parts of the country.
I’m surprised by all those place names and wonder if they are also connected to the LDS tradition of doing a year of service, often abroad (but, in fairness, those place names generally don’t seem to reflect the destinations that my LDS friends have gone).
The local effect of name trends is fascinating! Thanks for all that digging and analyzing!
So the back of my brain is telling me that there’s a reason for distinctive names that ties to LDS culture … there’s a mention on the Utah Baby Namer that it is because of large families living in the same area, all sharing the same last name. And along the same lines, that if you want to honor grandpa Joe, but you’re the ninth grandchild of fifteen, it might take some thinking to come up with a version that’s not been taken before.
Still, it seems to me that the last time I said something like this on a forum, I was informed that many Utah residents have perfectly ordinary names …
Haven’t a few Ammons popped up recently? And isn’t there a Book of Mormon tie there …
It’s a fascinating list, Elisabeth – thanks!
That explanation Abby actually does make a ton of sense Abby. I wonder if it started there and then just became part of LDS culture to look for unusual names?
There’s a Dancing With the Stars dancer, Ashly DelGrosso-Costa, with an Enoch and Ammon, which I just love. Still not chart toppers though, at least in the top 100. You would think Ammon would overpower Braxton, but not so.
Ashly has a sister named Afton, I just read.
Sebastiane, JNE, and Abby and others– thanks for revisiting! I appreciate the feedback, and will soldier on…
Fascinating! My husband, while not a member of the LDS church, is fascinated by it and has done extensive study of LDS practices and belief. I showed him this blog because I knew it would pique his interest.
I am LDS and live in Utah, when we named our kids, we just picked names we like. I have heard of people that use a pattern in naming thier kiddos like always using family names, but there is nothing religious to that, just a choice.
I am LDS and I live in Utah. I don’t necessarily think that being LDS is the reason for the unique baby name trend (i.e. it is not a tenet of our faith to have unique names, ha ha!) I think it is related, however, because most LDS families are large (which is a tenet of our faith, to have children) and by necessity we have to be creative when it comes to names to avoid duplication and confusion. My husband has over 60 first cousins, for example.
I am always surprised at the names that emerge in Utah as being popular because I usually think they are strange sounding. Maybe I’m the exception to the rule but in my area (East Salt Lake City) the trend is toward “classic” names, rather than “unique”.
The OP mentioned the prevalence of names such as Eliza and Lucy. It think you are right to tie that to common pioneer ancestry, of which many came from England and other western European countries. So when looking for a family name to bestow upon our children, we often are drawing from the same pool of names (Thomas, James, Catherine, Eliza, Lucy, Lily, Charles, John, etc.)
I think that Barb is right on. Finding unusual names is definitely not something preached in the LDS church, but I think that in Utah where there are so many children we often look for names that are a little more unusual. In my mother’s generation there were some pretty hysterical name combinations people came up with by adding “La” or “Ra” on the front of a family members’ name to create a new name for the child. Two examples of people I know personally are LaVell and RaDawn. Some times people would even make a combination using parts of the mom and dad’s names. Those combos were often really bad. I won’t give any examples since I don’t want to offend anybody’s name. ha ha.
I think that now a trend is to look to family ancestors for names, that’s where my 3 children’s names came from (our church does emphasize the importance of researching family history–but not necessarily using the names to name our children.) I think it makes a nice connection to name children after ancestors.
Scripture names have also often been used, but I don’t see it as much lately. My cousins are each named after people in the books of scripture that my aunt and uncle were studying when they found out they were pregnant: Ammon, Rebekah, Seth, Paul, etc. But I don’t think that’s a common practice.
What’s so interesting to me is that in seeking out unusual names, micro trends evolve and everyone winds up with a Daxton and a Bridger. These names ARE very unusual nation wide but in Utah are top 100.
A big thank you to Martha, Barb, and Megan. I am thrilled to bits that LDS members have taken the time out to shed some light on this. It makes perfect sense that large families would have a tendency toward the unusual.
I wonder if scriptural names will make a comeback? (There are so many good ones!) Who in Utah is using these names today?
This was a really interesting article for me to read as I’m a young Australian (20) moving to Utah in 2 months to study. Yes, I am LDS, so when I saw this article I thought it would be all about the Nephi’s and Helaman’s cropping up!
But when I read the article, I was surprised because a lot of the popular names mentioned are ones that I’d never before heard in Australia, only on general American baby naming websites, that were becoming more popular overall. It seemed like you hit on a lot of names that are the basis of really popular naming trends. Names that stuck out for me in this regard include place names London and Brooklyn (the other common name on the rise on the baby sites I’ve looked at was Irelyn), Paisley and Presley, Parker, Preston, Hudson, and Easton (which all stood out to be because I’ve rarely heard them in Australi), and the astronomically popular -iley/-ailey/-ley variations (Rylee, Kylee, Kaylee, Bailey, Hailey etc).
How are these faring across the rest of the states, compared to just Utah? They all seemed like modern trends that were increasing in popularity everywhere. Maybe the stats are just higher in Utah because of the birth rate
A note about Bridger – this could possibly be harking back to to Fort Bridger, which I believe was a supply stop on the Mormon Pioneer trail back in the 1800s, and was named after a man (sur)named Bridger.
I haven’t researched the stats here in Oklahoma, but I’ve heard almost all of these names here in my very small town. Rylee, Kylee, Ryder, Brooklynn, Brynlee, Bailey, and Hailey are the most popular here.
Just found this website from ohdeedoh and I love your blog! (and your name, too. I don’t meet too many other people named Elisabeth) I am LDS and had a baby in Utah in 2009. We named him Miles and I was surprised to find out that it was ranked #81 in Utah last year, but only #162 in the country.
I think there are a few factors that lead to such unique naming trends in Utah. The large families definitely play a role in it, since we had to knock a few names off of our list because they were already taken by cousins. When we had our son, we lived in BYU married student housing, so there was a much higher-than-average amount of young children and I think that contributes to the feeling of wanting a “unique” name. I also think that age might be a factor. Many LDS couples get married and start having children in their early-to-mid-twenties, so I think that makes them younger on average than parents in other areas and could give them different name preferences.
haha, this conversation is so funny to me, but for a different reason. It’s so funny to see people speculate why we Mormons do what we do. I guess we come up with unique names, but I never considered it part of our culture. I actually stumbled upon this site looking to see how popular the name Lincoln was. I’m pregnant now, and that is what I want to name the baby, but it was also what I wanted to name my last son three years ago, and two other friends who had babies just before me named their son Lincoln. For us, we have chosen to name our children after US Presidents. That has nothing at all to do with LDS culture, just something we wanted to do. So we have a Kennedy, Jackson, and Eisenhower and maybe a Lincoln!