WOOT! Are you as excited as I am? Just when I think I’ve seen it all, a fresh list of baby name statistics makes me feel like a new woman.
A look at the hottest names of 2011 is like a stylistic checkerboard of modern invynchuns and resuscitated old gems. Elsie, June, Cora, Olive, Atticus, Abel and Abram made some of the biggest leaps. Meanwhile in the top ten, Sophia eclipsed Isabella for #1 spot, while Jacob refuses to fade in the twilight (couldn’t help myself). Mason shot up from the #12 spot to #2.
Celebrities and reality television stars are the biggest influencers. Mila, of Mila Kunis fame, was the hottest star for girls. Question is, are they pronouncing that with a long or short I? Iker honors Spanish soccer goalie Iker Casillas. Yet what goes up must come down. Those who fell from grace? Kendra, Kimora, Kobe, and Khloe. And yet the Kray Kray kontinues with Kason, Karter, and Karson.
“Br” is now a most popular Brefix. Brantley and Briella were the fastest risers in the ranks. Parents are also turned to Brynlee, Brynn, Bristol, Braylen and even Bruce in droves. Let’s not forget the BR in the middle. Aubrey and her variant spellings had a very strong showing. Yet when compared to the quickest names to plummet we see what a flash in the pan these names truly are: Brisa, Brett, Brendan, Braiden, and Braeden, and Brayan were among the fastest fallers.
As for Unending Yndings? Raelynn, Adalynn, Londyn and Adelyn are just a few (I had to copy and paste those for fear I’d forget the spellings).
Most scintillating perhaps are the new names that entered the top 1000 for the first time in a while. Aubrianna, Elliot 
, Gwyneth, Hattie, Juniper, Kamille, Nova, and Temperance for girls. Arlo, Cassius, Crosby, Enoch, Hendrix, Kohen, Nixon, Otto, Princeton and Turner for boys are those I spotted. Please chime in on the comments if you see more.
These are just some thoughts at first glance. We’ll be delving more deeply into these and other categories as gleaned from the new SSA list in the coming weeks. Did your favorite name have any dramatic change?
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
Did you notice that several spellings of Katelyn/Kaelyn/Kayla/Kaylee etc. all dropped quite a bit? And Zoey is now more popular than Zoe :/
I was happy to see how many vintage names made big jumps. I didn’t notice that Hattie made the top 1000, a little surprising!
We named our son Arlo, born in mid 2009, at that point we didn’t see it many places… And I searched hard. I am sort of surprised at the growing popularity over the last 3 years and feel like I am not as unique as we were hoping. Although I feel we were at the beginning of the “trend” still
Now pregnant with boy #2 and undecided on the name. I am also annoyed at the horrid spellings of names going on.
It isn’t just you. *Nobody* is as unique as they hope they are. My six year old’s name did not place in the top 1,000 at all the year she was born. It has since jumped to the mid-100s. In her case the name is an ethnic one reflecting her heritage and family history. Its rise in popularity may reflect current trends and, while I don’t really feel comfortable with the idea that people may assume we gave her a name *because* of those trends, I am comfortable with the fact that the name was chosen with care, suits her well, and is loved both by its givers (us) and its wearer (her). What else matters, really?
(And Arlo is way down in the 900s! I don’t think you should worry about its rising popularity just yet. It’s a great name, by the way. Good luck with baby brother!)
I have an Arlo, too!
I’ve yet to have met another baby Arlo- you’re the first. I found it by way of loving Milo, which was veto’d (he said it was a name for a dog).
I wonder if it was Toni Collette’s fault for the rise in popularity? I feel surprised its even in the 1000′s. I know I was hunting older, traditional names with sweet sounds to them.
I see so many interesting pop culture references in these changes – beyond the obvious Kardashian influences. Temperence is the main character on Bones, a brilliant lady scientist. Crosby is the goofy brother on Parenthood. Can Tori Spelling get credit for Hattie or did Baby Spelling come too late in the year to affect 2011 name trends?
I can’t wait to see what else you come up with as you dig!
Hattie/Haddie is also a Parenthood character as well as Kamille/Camille.
I love Hattie, normally I would say it’s too nicknamey, but Haddie on Parenthood makes it seems very wearable. That’s show isn’t very popular though, so I wonder how much influence it could have had.
I think Parenthood is pretty popular and possibly why both names shot up.
I also think the teen mom trend is apparent especially since the name Bentley went from non existent to rising so fast right after the first season aired, the mom’s names themselves are even catching on pretty quick!
Harper, a longtime favorite of mine, also really shot up. From the low 100s to now in the 50s!
aw, i wouldn’t lump aubrey in with the other flash-in-the-pan BR names. it’s not my favorite, but it’s fairly classic, especially when compared to brayden and the like.
I might give you Aubrey, but what about Aubree? Aubrie? Aubrianna? Aubrielle?
Precisely!!
what about aubrey for a boy?
Like Beardsley! Love the idea but might think twice about using it now.
I know an Aubrie. She’s in Kindergarten. I think they used the spelling from her grandmother’s name. I also know a 4 year old Aubrey. They’re both at our church, so I wasn’t too surprised to see the name rising.
Can’t wait until the name game!!
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I totally forgot, but now that you’ve brought it up, I am DYING to play!!!!
Nixon?! Really? Good grief.
I wonder where Nixon’s coming from. I doubt the parents of Kennedys and Reagans are politically inspired. I think they just like the name.
While I’m disappointed that Abram, Calvin and Otto are rising, a number of our choices are actually falling, so that makes me really happy!
(Peter, Frederick, Karl, Franklin and Roy are all falling.)
I would have guessed that both Henry and Leo would have hit the top 20, but maybe that’s just locally.
Henry, especially! In our circle, at least, it’s every other boy lately. (Love it, though!)
The most popular names can vary so much by location. The state stats for the top 100 names are very interesting.
Disappointed that some of my faves, like Mae, Rosemary, and Pearl, made dramatic leaps up the list. But I’d rather meet a baby named Pearl than Kendra
And I echo Sara A. – excited for the new name game!
I’m soon to marry a Koan (that name/term comes from Zen Buddhism), so I’ve definitely taken note of the rising numbers of Cohen, Kohen, Coen, and Cowans. They’re popping up all over the place!
I echo your frowny face for Elliot’s rising popularity as a *girl’s* name. Boo!
Some of the top twin combinations have me cringing. London and Paris? 14 times?
I agree. A lot of them are really, really bad.
The ones that are very similar in sound amaze me: like Landon & London and Oliver & Olivia. That must be so confusing when you’re talking about your babies – and then when they’re old enough to respond to their names!!! Maybe they’d go by their middle names instead?
I really disliike matchy-matchy twin names. I thought that was going out of style but I guess not. I’d name twins as I would name any siblings- similar style, different sound.
a facebook friend just had twins named madison and ella. i thought those two were on the way out?
Not all all. I thought Madison might drop a bit, and that Addison would be in the top 10.
Why the sadface for Elliott? Is it the name itself or because it appears on the girls’ list? I admit it’s a little strange, but it definitely confirms some trends you’ve looked at before (i.e. boys’ names on girls, and surnames on girls).
It definitely has to be because of the gender switch. I am thinking of using it for a boy but I don’t want to use a gender neutral name.
Because, like Maxwell, I would prefer to see this name stay firmly in the boys’ column.
I don’t like Elliott on a girl at all. The ell- beginning doesn’t make it sound feminine to me.
I was sad to see so many of my favorite names rise. Eloise, Calvin, Elliot, Juniper, Iris…at least Miranda fell a little.
Elliott and Eloise are two of my all-time favourites! I love to see a good name rise, so I’m happy. (As for Calvin…it has a nice ring but I just can’t get on board with the ”baldness” meaning!)
Elliott and Eloise are two of my all-time favourites! I love to see a good name rise, so I’m happy. (As for Calvin…it has a nice ring but I just can’t get on board with the ”baldness” meaning!)
Mmm, Iker Casillas… *drools everywhere*
how is this pronounces?
What do you all think of the names
Luca Ashburn Jones
and
Aria Kelly Jones
I love Luca, but when I read “Aria Kelly” all I heard in my head was “R. Kelly”. Don’t do that to your daughter..