The only source for stats that I'm aware of is the SSA website. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/ I don't know what state you're in, but if you look at the last 30 years for all states, Caleb has risen in popularity from #912 to it's current spot of #35. It made a fairly significant leap in the early 70's and has risen on a steady basis since, but the good news is that it no longer appears to be climbing. It has hovered around the 35th spot for the past 5 years. As to your question of whether it is trendy...Not by my definition, but others might disagree. I think there's a chance there will be another Caleb in your son's class, but I don't think you should let that concern you too much. If it's a name you love, that's what really matters. I don't think it's so popular that he'll be one of four Calebs in his class... Porter may be rarer, but it has the characteristics of a trendy name in my opinion. It has basically appeared out of nowhere, along with a bunch of similar names. I think it will fall out of style just as quickly.
I hope this helps. I really like both Caleb and Christian.
Congrats on expecting. Caleb has actually already peaked and Christian is peaking. So to put it into straightforward terms, if you can live with the popularity of Christian, Caleb should be a breeze!
The bigger issue, IMO, is the sound of Caleb and Christian together. This is sort of matchy and categorizes them into a certain generation. On the other hand, they are perfectly suited from a style point-of-view. They seem equal in strength, popularity, recognizability, how they grow up on a child, ---everything!
Caleb is part of two widely-used trends- Letter C- & Biblical--- But the individual name isn't particularly trendy. It has a lot of character and strength. Again, Christian would actually probably be considered the trendier of the two. And again, if you're happy with Christian (which is a good, strong name), Caleb should be a breeze, from the trendy aspect.
Porter- I like it. It's part of two trends too- Surnames and names that end in -er. Yet, it's still largely undiscovered. It's one of the sneaky names though. It's definitely not out of reach for most people. From a popularity/nationwide standpoint, you are much, much more likely to run into a Caleb. From an accessibility/regional perspective, you are just as likely to run into a Porter. If you use Caleb, people will think- "Nothing new." If you use Porter, people will go, "Wow, I like that." and pass it on to expectant parents...
So you can be part of a trend or start a trend, but in the end, choose the name you LOVE.
The only source for stats that I'm aware of is the SSA website. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
I don't know what state you're in, but if you look at the last 30 years for all states, Caleb has risen in popularity from #912 to it's current spot of #35. It made a fairly significant leap in the early 70's and has risen on a steady basis since, but the good news is that it no longer appears to be climbing. It has hovered around the 35th spot for the past 5 years.
As to your question of whether it is trendy...Not by my definition, but others might disagree. I think there's a chance there will be another Caleb in your son's class, but I don't think you should let that concern you too much. If it's a name you love, that's what really matters. I don't think it's so popular that he'll be one of four Calebs in his class...
Porter may be rarer, but it has the characteristics of a trendy name in my opinion. It has basically appeared out of nowhere, along with a bunch of similar names. I think it will fall out of style just as quickly.
I hope this helps. I really like both Caleb and Christian.
Congrats on expecting. Caleb has actually already peaked and Christian is peaking. So to put it into straightforward terms, if you can live with the popularity of Christian, Caleb should be a breeze!
The bigger issue, IMO, is the sound of Caleb and Christian together. This is sort of matchy and categorizes them into a certain generation. On the other hand, they are perfectly suited from a style point-of-view. They seem equal in strength, popularity, recognizability, how they grow up on a child, ---everything!
Caleb is part of two widely-used trends- Letter C- & Biblical--- But the individual name isn't particularly trendy. It has a lot of character and strength. Again, Christian would actually probably be considered the trendier of the two. And again, if you're happy with Christian (which is a good, strong name), Caleb should be a breeze, from the trendy aspect.
Porter- I like it. It's part of two trends too- Surnames and names that end in -er. Yet, it's still largely undiscovered. It's one of the sneaky names though. It's definitely not out of reach for most people. From a popularity/nationwide standpoint, you are much, much more likely to run into a Caleb. From an accessibility/regional perspective, you are just as likely to run into a Porter. If you use Caleb, people will think- "Nothing new." If you use Porter, people will go, "Wow, I like that." and pass it on to expectant parents...
So you can be part of a trend or start a trend, but in the end, choose the name you LOVE.
Later, Ginger
Ginger