2004 Top 100
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| Wed, 02-23-2005 - 10:17am |
Here's the address-
www.parentcenter.babycenter.com/babyname/names2004.html
They make comments on the trends. Below are my predictions of which way each name is moving in 2005.
To sum it up, IMO- If C/K was the letter of the 90s, E- (including "ethnic") is it for 2000s, with a love for vowels in general filling out the trend.
Girls' Names
1. Emma - up
2. Madison - down
3. Emily - stays
4. Kaitlyn - stays
5. Hailey - down
6. Olivia - up - regionally VERY popular
7. Isabella - stays the same
8. Hannah - down
9. Sarah - about the same
10. Abigail - down
11. Sophia - UP - the number one name in the Northeastern regions
12. Kaylee - down
13. Alyssa - down
14. Madeline - stays the same
15. Brianna - down
16. Grace - stays
17. Alexis - down
18. Sydney - down
19. Samantha - the same or up
20. Riley - up, up, up - This is SO popular everywhere- watch it!
21. Lauren - stays the same
22. Taylor - down
23. Chloe - up
24. Ella - up, up, up - Ditto my comments on Riley. It's overwhelmingly proportionately popular.
25. Ava - up - Hasn't caught on in the South. This is the only thing keeping it out of the top ten.
26. Elizabeth - stays the same
27. Ashley - down, down, down
28. Makayla - down
29. Lily - up a little
30. Anna - stays the same
31. Kayla - down
32. Megan - the same
33. Zoe - up
34. Mackenzie - down
35. Kylie - down
36. Natalie - up but not much - Popular more by region
37. Allison - ditto
38. Maya - up
39. Katherine - same or up
40. Morgan - down
41. Mia - up - This one is sneaky, too because it popularity is spread out over regions, cultures, & social classes!
42. Jasmine - up
43. Isabel - up
44. Jordan - down
45. Rachel - same
46. Julia - up, another Northeast fave
47. Jessica - down
48. Savannah - down
49. Ariana - same or up
50. Victoria - ditto
51. Paige - up
52. Avery - same
53. Abby - same
54. Trinity - same
55. Brooke - same
56. Katie - down
57. Peyton - One of the few unisex names still climbing for girls
58. Alexandra - up
59. Jaydn - same or up
60. Rebecca- same or up
61. Jenna - same or up
62. Bailey - down
63. Leah - up a little
64. Gabriella - up
65. Faith - same or up
66. Caroline - up
67. Sophie - up
68. Nicole - same
69. Audrey - up, up, up - This is a biggie!
70.Gabrielle - up
71. Lillian -up
72. Molly - same
73. Ashlyn - same
74. Claire - up
75. Kennedy - down
76. Amelia - up, up, up - Another biggie!
77. Gracie - up
78. Marissa- same or down
79. Amanda- same
80. Erin - down
81. Destiny - down
82. Reagan - down
83. Kate - up
84. Brooklyn - same
85. Alexa - same or down
86. Jada - same or up
87. Mary - up
88. Angelina - same or up - Jolie is also climbing the charts!
89. Ellie - up
90. Danielle - same or down
91. Aaliyah - same
92. Alicia - down
93. Sierra - down
94. Gianna - up
95. Kendall - down
96. Charlotte - up, up, up
97. Maria - same
98. Autumn - same
99. Shelby - down
100. Amber - down
MY PREDICTIONS- This year's biggest jumpers- Audrey, Amelia & Charlotte with Riley, Sophia, Ava, Ella, & Julia pushing hard too. The hottest trend- Biblical and/or old names that begin with letter E--- I- is also big, and A- is always a fave.
The 1990s - On the way out- you can usually watch last decade's names topple quickly in the second half of the next decade (now)- Ashley, Jessica, Amber, Erin, Katie, Morgan, Sydney, Jordan, Mackenzie, Taylor - The exceptions- Lauren, Megan will hold steady (and possibly Rachel & Rebecca) with Caitlyn/Katelyn falling VERY slowly
Boys' Names
1. Jacob - down
2. Aidan - up, I don't know that I've ever seen a name move so rapidly. With its history and ethnic flair, I believe it has staying power.
3. Ethan - same
4. Ryan - same or down slightly
5. Matthew - same
6. Michael - down but it's rightfully stubborn
7. Tyler - down
8. Joshua - down
9. Nicholas - same or slightly down
10. Connor - should be moving down but the Irish trend will help hold it steady
11. Zachary - down
12. Andrew - same or slightly down
13. Dylan - down
14. Jack - up
15. Jayden - up
16. Logan - same
17. Caden - up
18. Caleb - down
19. Alexander - up
20. Nathan - up
21. Noah - same or slightly up
22. William - up
23. Jackson - same, this one's just about reached its potential, IMO
24. Joseph - same
25. Christopher - will fall, but slowly
28. James - up
29. Daniel - same
30. Benjamin - down
31. Anthony - same
32. Cameron - up
33. Austin - down
34. Evan - up
35. Luke - up, up, up Lucas, Luke are the "new" Jacob/Jake.
36. Gavin - up
37. Brayden - up
38. Brandon - same or down
39. Christian -same
40. John - same
41. David - down but only slightly
42. Sean - up, thanks to the Irish thing
43. Gabriel - up
44. Jonathan - same
45. Samuel - up, thank to the Bib. thing
46. Elijah - UP
47. Colin - up
48. Justin - same or down a little
49. Alex - steady
50. Mason - down
51. Jordan - down
52. Thomas - up
53. Hunter - down
54. Lucas - up
55. Kyle - very slowly down
56. Owen - UP - one of the few non-biblical, non-old, non-Irish names that will hold its own
57. Jake - up
58. Devin - same
59. Jason - down
60. Liam - up
61. Cole - up
62. Adam - same
63. Dominic - up, the new Anthony
64. Aaron - up
65. Ian - same or up
66. Hayden - up
67. Isaac - UP
68. Robert - same
69. Carter - same
70. Isaiah - up
71. Chase - down
72. Landon - same or down
73. Riley - down b/c of pop. as a girl name but only slightly b/c of the Irish trend
74. Eric - steady
75. Max - same
76. Nathaniel - UP - The new biblical hottie
77. Tristan - down to make room for "old" names
78. Brian - down
79. Ashton - same, but Asher is the "new" kid on the block
80. Brendan - same
81. Cody - down
82. Carson - down
83. Julian - up
84. Wyatt - down
85. Blake - down
86. Seth - same
87. Sebastian - up
88. Xavier - same
89. Will - same
90. Bryce - same or down
91. Garrett - down
92. Kevin - down
93. Sam - up
94. Patrick - same or up
95. Brady - up
96. Charlie - same
97. Parker - down
98. Trevor - down
99. Charles - same or up
100. Cooper - same
100. Timothy - UP
100. Henry - UP
The big movers in 2005- Aidan, Aidan, Aidan - along with Nathaniel, Isaac, Timothy, & Henry - Watch Dominic too. Anything Biblical and/or letter E is huge. I- is another fave.
The 1990s- Boys' names move slower and the following should've fallen down more than they have, but the Biblical wave is helping to hold them- Zachary, Nicolas, Andrew, Caleb, Daniel, Benjamin, Joshua- They will make a little room for "newer" Bible names. Same holds true for Irish- Ryan and Conner will make room for names like Brady & Liam, but hesitantly. The days for Cody, Austin, Parker, Bryce, etc. are nearly over. Michael & Christopher are over really, but their Biblical links and parents' honoring of fathers/grandfathers will hold them in. Watch Asher; it's the next big thing.
Early prediction for years ahead- the recycling of "girl" names for boys- Particularly Morgan, Sydney, Avery, Kendall
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This is a question I've never really investigated. Don't know why I haven't, being the name buff that I am. Hospital papers for 4th quarter babies are probably not properly recorded for 6 weeks or so after the new year (?). I did speak with a SSA rep when my second child was born, regarding a hang-up with her name. It led to a lengthy discussion of the naming site. She did say it takes longer than we realize to compile the names.
Perhaps even if they could speed up the process, it has become a tradition to unveil the names at Mother's Day. There's a lot of hype to it, at this point!
An interesting aside- Babies do not have to be named for up to one year after they are born and will instead be publicly identified by their SSN, not that I would advocate leaving the hospital without a name...
Later, Ginger
I must respectfully totally disagree with you. I'm truly sorry that the posting of the private sector's most encompassing name statistics caused such animosity.
To claim it's not real? 350,000 babies aren't real?
To say it's highly inaccurate? Perhaps it's more accurate, for us on this board, simply because it reflects the trends of computer users, who are indeed the same ones, on the computer, tracking name trends, and ultimately and sometimes unknowingly deciding the trends by what they find ON the computer!
What happened to Sofia, Gabriela, & Maria? Sophia is at #11, Gabriella at #64, and Gabrielle at #70. Baby Center combines all the spellings together and uses the most popular spelling to represent the name itself. A quality I rather like, as compared to the SSA.
While I in no way advocate discounting our Hispanic population, I'm inclined to think that we are "borrowing" their names instead of their "borrowing" the names of mainstream America. Therefore, I find it hard to believe they would be offended by the lack of names in the poll. Their naming decisions are based almost wholly on the historical preservation of their culture & families, not what's trendy- as mainstream America is doing. There are sites to obtain information on ethnic naming trends, which I find fascinating and would be happy to share. Yet, I don't feel it's reflective, in and of itself, of the naming decisions of the majority of people on this board. What it is- is helpful in giving our posters ideas and insight in selecting ethnic names. Which, ironically, is a BIG trend right now.
Misleading piece of site promotion? I'll wait until Mother's Day to respond to that.
"The official accurate SSA"- Ah, yes. The same administration who took it upon itself to change my daughter's Social Security card which should've read Wellsley Michae to Wesley Michael. I wonder if they counted her as a girl, a boy, or both?...LOL
*I believe in the end, any naming poll/statistics are meant for fun & speculation. Parents make their own decisions- and certainly shouldn't put too much stock in statistics that are 6-18 months old (at best) by the time their child arrives.
"Nothing to base naming predictions on?" Print it out and save it. I'll be glad to sign my name to it.
Respectfully, Ginger
No animosity, a bit of critical amusement perhaps.
PS
Devonelisa--
I mostly lurk here, but I must say that I totally agree with you. I work on an Indian Reservation, and also grew up near a reservation. I know that some of my friends and colleagues who are Indian laugh--but often with a bit of bitterness--about how some of their traditional names have been used by mainstream caucasian America. sort of ironic, huh, for a white family to name their child Dakota, Cheyenne or Montana. I could imagine that some Hispanic and Asian families may feel the same way (as I imagine some Indian families may have felt when they learned that George Bush's cat's name was "India".)
I also agree with your point on Hispanic names. They are totally underrepresented in this list (or, actually, not represented at all, except to the extent that they are now being used by caucasian parents)--as I am sure are more traditional African American and Asian names. Don't even get me started on this--I did not see one African/African American name on that list! I agree that there is little diversity in naming...I worked in adoptions for a year and saw many, many Isabelle's, Olivia's, Madison's, Emily's, and Mackenzie's. This was in 2000. I saw very few unusual names, and also seemed to see fewer family names (names of family members were generally included in various reports in the files).
It is rather sad for me to see so many trendy names, I have to say. My family has a strong tradition of "remaking" family names into new names (I'm Annie, aunt is Ann, great-grandmother was Anna Leone), using the same names (sister is Mary Elizabeth, neice is Holly Elizabeth, grandmother was Mary Elizabeth, aunt is Ann Elizabeth) and using classic (but not overly used) names (Victoria, Janine, Heidi, Jeffrey, Hazel, Brian). That's about the only "trend" I plan to follow when I get around to having children!
-Angel
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