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Top 50 Girls Names in America in 2018
Our names shape our identity and may influence the people we become as adults. Our names have the ability to make us feel confident or insecure, to make others perceive us in a certain way, and to boost or crash our career.
And this has been studied for, probably, as long as names have been around. One study found that girls with 'girly' names were more likely to perceive themselves as girly, and therefore didn't study boy-heavy subjects such as math, physics and science as much. That means that there are less women working in their careers simply because of the name their parents chose for them. (So choose carefully, new parents!)
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Top 50 Boys Names in America in 2018
On the other hand, a study called Boys Named Sue found that boys with names that leaned towards sounding feminine were more likely to have behavioral problems in school. Even more so if a girl in his class has the same name as him. This is one of the many studies that have shown how while it is positive for a girl to have a boy's name, it doesn't have the same effect for boys with girls names. More on that later.
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Popular Unusual Baby Names in 2018
The past few years have seen an unprecedented rise in unusual baby names, which have probably been influenced by the weird names that celebrities give their kids. This list shows 25 of the most popular unusual names of 2018, which, since Gwenyth Paltrow named her daughter Apple (last name Martin... Apple Martin(i)... really?). Studies show that people with unusual names either take on their parents' wish for their child to stand out, or have a hard time because they don't like their name.
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Unisex Names From 1880-2018
As this chart shows, unisex (or "post-gender") names are on the rise (88% since 1985!). Perhaps as the lines dividing gender become more fluid with each year, the need for polarized male and female names is becoming less urgent. This trend may suggest that parents of the 90s and onward are more open-minded and don't want their children to feel pressured to conform to stereotypes. In fact, giving your girl a unisex name may help her become the business woman she dreams about, as opposed to if she had a girly name.
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Most Popular Female Names by State in 2017
Emma is the clear winner for girls names in 2017. The last time the name Emma was as popular as it is today was in 1880, proving that the name Emma is timeless. 'Emma' was possibly revived as a name after Jane Austen's novel 'Emma' came out in 1815. During the past 10 years, it has been among the top girls names in America, the UK, France, Belgium, Russia, Canada, Australia, Norway, Hungary, New Zealand, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands. It was the most popular name for girls in 2008, 2014 and 2015. You can't get more classic than Emma.
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Top Boy Names By USA State Since 1910
James is the most common name on this map, staying the the top boy names for 10 of these 12 decades shown (during the 1990s and 2000s it dropped off the list). James is the Latin form of the Hebrew name Jacob, and there are many diminutives of James that have turned into first names (Jamie, Jim, Jake, Jack). The name James also has many different spellings in different languages, but it is most popular in its English form.
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Effect of Virtual Assistant Release on Baby Names
We never would have expected it, but technology is having an increasing effect on baby names. As you can see in the graphs, there is a spike in popularity of the names Alexa, Siri and Cortana as or directly after the virtual assistants were released. But from there, the name drops dramatically in popularity. This is due to a theory that the publicity of a name, whether negative or positive, causes an increase in popularity. However, after the name has had it's time in the spotlight, it seems to drop dramatically. (No-one wants their child to have the same name as a digital assistant, do they?)
Speaking of tech-inspired names, there's a new trend of parents naming their children after modern technology... think Hashtag, PC and Like (as in, the Facebook function). We're not too convinced about this, but hey, naming your child is a highly personal thing and technology is only going to play greater roles in our lives in the coming years. So go ahead, name your child Wifi.
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Unisex Names by Gender Ratio
Although unisex names are gender-neutral, there are, of course, underlying gender biases for each name. It is common for more male-leaning names to be given to girls, or even just straight up male names. But it isn't the same for boys with girls names. Parents are more likely to give their girls a boy's name because with boys names, characteristics such as strength and courage are implied. It is desirable for girls to have these traits, especially in today's climate of gender equality.
However, the same cannot be said for men having 'feminine' traits. This is reflected in the history of unisex names; girls would take boys names, but boys would not use girls names. As we can see in this graph, the larger majority of people with unisex names are female. Whether this inclination is positive or negative is up to you.
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Game Of Thrones Effect on Baby Names
We wouldn't have gotten through an article about baby names without mentioning Game Of Thrones. It should come as no surprise that thousands of people have named their children after GOT characters, given the show's popularity. Coming in at number 1, Arya jumped to the 119th most popular girls name in 2018 (up from 942nd place in 2010). Another variation of the name, Aria, is even more popular. Khaleesi, meaning 'Queen' in the fictional Dothraki language, came in second, with 560 babies being named Khaleesi in 2018. Strangely, the male GOT names decreased in popularity while the female names boomed. Not all of the female names made the list though - unsurprisingly, Cersei didn't make it.
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Most Upward Trending Names Since 2007
There's a lot to factor in when choosing your baby's name: how people will perceive them, if their name will blend in or stand out, whether they will be more or less likely to be accepted to university or dated... the list goes on. But these names have stood the test of time (well, 21 years) and apparently tick all the boxes. But what are the boxes? According to this article, parents can choose to go classy to stay safe (think Jacob and Muhammad), super weird to stand out (Ivy and Harper), a little unique but not too strange (Evelyn and Florence), or something currently popular (Theo). And these names all tick at least one of those boxes, so they're here to stay.
So when you have a baby to name, there are a lot of factors to consider. But if it's all too much for you, you can just go with something classic like Ben Dover.
The Science Behind Names (10 Graphs)
What's in a name? A lot more than you would expect. Whether your name is John or Jubilee, your parents' decision to name you was, consciously or not, influenced by many outside factors. Keep on reading to learn how names are so much more than the words we call ourselves.
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