The Social Security Administration has released the 2018 baby name information!
Look at Harper and Charlotte and Evelyn in the Top 10! Noah and Elijah in the Top 10! Oliver in the Top 10! These are not predictions I would have made twenty years ago. It’s fun to think what surprises will be in the Top 10 in another twenty years!
Of course I looked up my kids’ names. Two are dropping verrrrry slowly. One is holding steady. One is holding steady now, after rising rather rapidly for awhile. One is dropping precipitously.
Now I’m just looking through the names for anything surprising. At first I thought it was surprising to have Emily and Elizabeth out of the Top 10, but it turns out I’m a few years too late to be surprised by that.
Look at the names Mila and Camila and Luna and Nova working their way up the charts! Look at Everly, for heaven’s sake:
(image from ssa.gov)
I continue to find it surprising that the spelling Zoey outranks the spelling Zoe. I’m pleased to see the name Ivy continuing to climb.
Madison and Addison are slowly dropping after a long run.
Three spellings of Jackson in the Top 100: Jackson (#17), Jaxon (#39), and Jaxson (#76).
The name George didn’t do anything crazy after the little royal baby was born in 2013 (I’m including back to 2006 to see what it was doing before then):
(image from ssa.gov)
Do you see any surprises in the new information? Anything interesting happening with your kids’ names? If you’re in the act of choosing a baby name now, did anything happen that makes you re-evaluate your choices?
This is excellent timing. We found our yesterday that our second (and last) child will be a boy and we’re going to talk names tonight. Our first is a girl with a very unusual name (outside of the top 1000), and I feel a bit of pressure to take that into consideration for a boy too, so it’s nice to have the latest information.
Of the names that we have on our list, a few are more popular than I’d anticipated, like Milo, Miles, Felix, and Corbin. I think popularity will knock Sebastian out of the running for us, although we might consider it as a middle name.
I named my son Fordon. Nicely unusual, but at the same time familiar in a last name kind of way.
I am not reevaluating anything, but will ask my husband to reevaluate his hard-line stance of insisting on Harper over Lorelei, one of which is now #9 and the other #473. Bravo, darling, we have given our daughter the same scenario that her parents Christopher and Michelle wanted to avoid due to their own childhoods of having to be called by first and last name. *slow clap*
Ha! Well put.
I’m so fascinated by the differing perspectives on this as well! As someone with a very uncommon name (its never cracked the top 1000), I always wanted my kid to have, if not a common name, at least one easily recognizable. Something a Starbucks barista would spell correctly on the first try. I’m not defensive or bothered whatsoever about my daughter’s name (Ava) being in the Top 10 for several years, but my good friend (mother of an Emma) despairs every year! I guess it all goes back to our childhood experiences with our own names (also a topic I find fascinating)!
My oldest has a family name as a first name, and it’s never been in the top 1000. Other people love it, and I think he’s fine with it now, but when he was little, he informed me that his name was not a “real” name. Thanks to Swistle, I knew to look at the “beyond the top 1000” files and show him that there are 5-10 of him born every year.
My other kids’s names are in the top 1000, but when I looked at names, I looked for ones that friends of mine had, just to make sure I wasn’t picking anything too out there (by my standards).
My name has been popular forever, and people still misspell it.
I am surprised to see both of my kids’ names in the mid-600’s. Once I named them I started hearing their names everywhere, particularly Clementine (born in 2018). Everyone has a niece or granddaughter named Clementine, but with just 425 of them born in 2018 in the whole country the odds don’t seem right for that.
My second daughter shares her name with just 80 people in our (European) country. And yep, everyone has a niece or a neighbour… I think there are two factors: the regional effect, and that when a name is unusual, everyone remembers it and makes sure to tell you about it.
Genesis continues to be popular in my state and I’ve never met one. Also Legend at #217!
It’s interesting how names are so regional. I’m not at all surprised to see Olivia, Sophia, or Harper in the Top 10 and I’m surprised Aria isn’t even higher (I know so many baby and toddler Arias!) but I haven’t met a baby Ava or Emma in years (the Avas and Emmas I know are older elementary/early middle school at this point).
I checked for my own kids’ names and see that I managed to get progressively more unusual. My son’s name was in the high 60s the year I named him and is all the way up to the top 20 now. I’m an Ashley born in 1982 (when it was ranked 18th) and peak Ashley usage came about 10 years later. It seems I inadvertently gave my son the exact same type of name: moderately popular when he was born and then becoming progressively more popular throughout the first decade of his life.
My oldest daughter has a name that had barely squeaked onto the charts when I named her four years ago. This year it’s all the way up to the mid-700s. That seems like a pretty significant climb. I wonder if it will keep going at that rate or will level off.
My youngest daughter’s name isn’t in the Top 1000. It was on the charts starting in 1916, peaked in the 50s, and dropped off in 1988. Based on the usage, I’m wondering if I inadvertently picked a name that won’t actually come back into popularity until our kids start having kids.
The regional differences are huge. My daughter’s name is Ava (you nailed it-she’s in middle school), and in Texas we almost never encounter kids with that name. We learned later that it was much more popular in our home states of MN/NH. I find that it’s also a name that tends to span ethnicity/culture (we know white, black, and Hispanic Avas) and I wonder if that’s a factor in keeping certain names in the Top 10.
I’ll bet Aria/Arya is in for a major comeback due to Game of Thrones!
I’m curious which area you live in as I was surprised Aria was 19th since I don’t hear it often. I have a 5 year old Aria, and I’ve only met two little kids and one young adult with the name.
I had the opposite experience with Jack. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t in the top 10. I find the regionalism of names fascinating as well!
Meghan was one if the names that jumped in popularity…Meghan Markle, I’m guessing?
Speaking of Meghan, should we start keeping an eye on how much Archie jumps in popularity? It was outside the top 1000 until 2018, but I expect to see a spike. I don’t particularly love the name itself, but am so happy that they chose a name that I don’t consider to be a standard stuffy old English name.
Also, I just looked through my state’s Top 100 and was surprised by the following
1) Axel is in the Top 100! I do know one little Axel and always thought of that as a rather bold and unusual choice, but there were 76 Axels born in my state last year so I guess not!
2) Kayden is still hanging on in the Top 100 but the other spellings I would have assumed were more common (Caiden, Cayden) aren’t.
3) In my state Zoe outranks Zoey, but both are in the Top 100 (and I think it’s the only name that has two spellings in the Top 100)
4) Esther is number 96!
5) Victoria is number 26. That surprises me. I don’t feel like it ever comes up in discussions here.
6) Allison is number 40. I think of that as such a “mom name” that I’m surprised it’s ranked that high.
My name (N ancy) was headed out of the top 1000 and has reversed for the past two years. I think it’ll be one that hits top 100 again in 20 years.
I’m surprised that Ella isn’t in the top 10, but maybe that’s regional. I also expected Max and Maxwell to be higher, but they seem to be heading less popular slooowly.
I also have SO MANY names I would like to see rebound:
Eunice
Irma/Erma (my grandmother’s name)
Gertrude (my great-grandmother’s name)
Virginia
Constance
I would love to see a revival of Irene! I don’t really know why, but for me it has a beautiful sound, kind of similar to Ivy (which I also adore) but a bit a more “mature”.
My daughter’s middle name is Irene (after her grandmother and great grandmother) and lo and behold her classmate has the same middle. They are both 13 now. I think it’s due to become more popular as a first name.
When SIL was pregnant with niece (born December 2017) she was pushing for Hazel and BIL was set on Evelyn. I was braiding her hair at the hospital while she was in labor and they were still arguing about it – SIL adamant at wanting honor name and disliking the popularity of Evelyn. Nurse told SIL that she will have a window immediately after the birth where she will get whatever she wants. SIL used it and niece is Hazel. Family in the next room had a daughter hours after Hazel. Named Evelyn.
That’s pretty funny the nurse mentioned that! That’s how I ended up with final dibs on my daughter’s name too, our first born. We weren’t arguing about picks, but we weren’t sure and after seeing me give birth my husband said I should pick!
I’m not particularly surprised by this year’s top 10s. It still seems like the revival of the names once considered old-fashioned is holding strong, as well as timeless classics (which of course isn’t a bad thing at all, because these names are beautiful). And I suppose a similar naming pattern/fashion may be found in many other countries (well, it is here in Poland at least).
For die-hard name geeks [:)], here are Polish top 10s (released in March of this year) for comparison (in brackes are English equivalents):
GIRLS
1. Zuzanna (Susan)
2. Julia
3. Maja (Maya)
4. Zofia (Sophia)
5. Hanna (Hannah)
6. Lena
7. Alicja (Alice)
8. Maria (Mary)
9. Amelia
10. Oliwia (Olivia)
BOYS
1. Antoni (Anthony)
2. Jakub (Jacob)
3. Jan (John)
4. Szymon (Simon)
5. Aleksander (Alexander)
6. Franciszek (Francis)
7. Filip (Phillip)
8. Mikołaj (Nicholas)
9. Wojciech
10. Kacper (Casper)
I’ve also checked up my own name, and I’m a bit surprised that it seems to be slowly climbing up the charts (while in Poland it’s going the opposite way):
2013 – 343.
2014 – 325.
2015 – 305.
2016 – 248.
2017 – 236.
2018 – 212.
And now I’m wondering, do any of you, fellow Readers, know some baby Joannas?
How fun to see the trends in Poland (Susan!) There are two Polish girls on my daughter’s soccer team-their names are Patricia and Claudia.
That’s nice to hear:) I really like comparing naming trends in different countries too!
Out of curiosity, I’ve looked up Claudia and Patricia’s current rankings and I was a bit surprised how matching they are in terms of popularity (although with huge difference between countries): both pretty low in US rankings (872. – Claudia, 913. – Patricia), while holding steady in Polish rankings (59. – Klaudia, 64. – Patrycja). In US, their names have to sound very fresh on girls born in recent years!
This was fascinating, thank you for sharing!
You welcome!
Here is the top 10 for Hungary 2018. There are some similarities in girl names.
Girls
1. Hanna
2. Zoe
3. Anna
4. Emma
5. Luca (pronounced like Loo-tz-uh)
6. Lena
7. Zsofia (Sophia)
8. Boglarka
9. Jazmin
10. Lili
Boys
1. Bence (pronounced like Ben-tz-eh)
2. Mate (Matthew)
3. Dominik
4. Marcell
5. Levente (Levi)
6. Noel
7. Adam
8. Daniel
9. Milan
10. David
Thank you, that’s very interesting!
And you’re right about these similarities, especially when it comes to girls names – it’s quite funny that Lena is in the exact same spot in both countries! And Sophia/Sofia seems like a perfect choice for someone who is looking for a name that is a hit in many countries across the world (someone mentioned earlier Australian naming trends so I’ve googled their full rankings and Sophia is also in current top 10 in Australia). I’m also wondering why Emma didn’t gain some popularity in Poland (it was number 97. in 2018)… Although I have a 7-year-old niece with that name – maybe my sister had preceded a coming trend:)
As for boys names, most of them are popular/well known in Poland too (Adam, Dominik, Marcel, Daniel, Dawid and our Matthew – Mateusz), even though currently not in top 10.
My daughter is Joanna but she is 17. We call her Josie and I think most babies are Josephine or just Josie. I love Josephine but felt it didn’t work with our three-syllable, consonant-y Slovakian surname. She also has a friend a year older who is named Joanna and called Joanna.
My 15yo Lorelei and I high-fived over her (imo and also the German opinion, correct) spelling of her name triumphing over The Gilmore Girls (incorrect) spelling of her name!
Lorelei (German) vs Lorelai (Amy Sherman-Palladino)
I am Australian and have a secret theory that because our population is much smaller names hit our top 10 some years before they do in America (because fewer parents have to use them). I have been watching name sites since I was first pregnant in 2003 and I’m still stuck on this theory!
For example I looked at 2011 data for my home state and the names Swistle mentioned. Charlotte was #7 (falling), Elijah 39 and climbing, Oliver 6 and climbing, Noah 7 and climbing, Jaxon 61 and climbing. All of these ended up top 10 by last year.
OTOH the names that are in the top 20 USA that surprised me were the ones that aren’t even top 100 here anymore (falling fast): Michael, Daniel, Matthew, Aiden. James is also falling but still top 20 now. Emma, Elizabeth and Emily are all outside top 20 and falling very fast here.
My son’s kinder (3yo) has Archer (2), Archie, Alfie, Austin, Skye (2), Johnnie (2), Bonnie. All names that wouldn’t have been considered when I had my first. My 14 year old thinks the coolest baby name for a boy is Albie (!!!).
Ophelia! Is 373! After not even being in the top 1000 for a long time till 2015.
The Lumineers maybe?
My son’s name is in the 200s and falling. I’m currently expecting baby #2, we don’t know the sex so have both a boy name and two girl names. Our boy name is in the 100s and slowly and steadily climbing. Neither of our two girl names are in the top 1000. One made a single appearance in this century and the other not at all. They’re both old, classic, family names. But it seems they not on the comeback train just yet.
Oooh, this is most intriguing! My younger daughter (born Jan 3 2018) has a name that is now in the 800s, after being out of the top 1000 since the 1970s. There are around 300 other girls with the same name. Given her birthday, was she the first one of the year? How I wish there was a way to find out!
Also, Swistle, I have to thank you for this post from 2010. It was how I found you and it kept me from naming my first daughter Evelyn. Lovely name, and my husband and I have a fun story about an Evelyn who brought us together, but the increasing popularity was a turn off for me. For reference, Evelyn is now #10 for girls, we gave our first daughter a name that is now in the 700s.
Good grief, time is so strange. I remember distinctly that post from 2010 (when I was still pregnant with my 8 yr old son…)
Saoirse! This was one of those “Irish names that you couldn’t use in the states because no one could pronounce it from the spelling.” (It is like Sur-sha or seur-sha.)
I alway liked Áine but didn’t think people would get to the sound of Anya from there, you know? A few names like that have gone mainstream due to angicanized spellings (e.g, I have a Maeve, that’s a top 400 name and rising.)
But Saoirse cracked the top 1000 in 2016 and jumped quite a few places to 830 in 2019. Can that all be from Saiorse Ronan?
I have a 2011 George, so born before the prince. I looked up his name right away and was pleased to see his name fall this time. :) I hope his name keeps falling!
My daughter’s name is still rising but not crazily and she is almost 14 now.
Henry is consistently rising, as expected. I’m glad it didn’t go top 10 yet. It has in our state. My son will be 12 this year so I feel ok about it.
Surprised (and a little sad) Ezra entered the top 1000 for girls. We have a son Ezra born in 2016 but before the data came out for 2015 so when we chose his name it was still outside the top 100 for boys. Now Ezra is almost in the top 50 for boys!
We have a Finn which only rose one spot (now 166) but we met so many more Finns then Ezras. It just proves a name that can be a nickname for multiple names that all rank outside the top 100 can feel much more popular than a top 100 name.
Jane, our girl choice for both boys and any future girl surprisingly dropped! A few of the other boy names on our list also dropped including Max.
I was surprised that there were only three new boy names to the top 100.
As mother to a three year old Ivy I’m not particularly pleased to see it climbing and now into the top 100, but I obviously knew it could go that way back when I named her.
Second daughter’s name remains out of the top 1000.