Middle Name Statistics

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Middle names are something we all like to talk about, but unfortunately, the Social Security Administration doesn't record middle names of babies, only first names. So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I saw that my high school graduation program included most peoples' middle names--this offered me a set of data. Now, my high school only graduated 736 people, and some don't have middle names, or didn't want it to be listed in the program. However, my area is extremely diverse--racially, socio-economically, and religiously--so the small set of data I do have is still worth anaylzing. So, here's the data for the most common middle names among the Class of 2015 ('96 and '97 babies).

Girls
1. Marie (15)
2. Elizabeth (14) and Elisabeth (1)
3. Ann (4) and Anne (5)
4. Nicole (7) and Nykole (1)
5. Rose (8)
6. Grace (5)
7. Lee (2) and Leigh (3)
8. Jean (3) and Jeanne (1)
9. Louise (4)
10. Lynn (3) and Lynee (1)

Notable Trends

• Alex- Names: Alexandra, Alexandria, Alexis (2)
• An- Names: Analiese, Angelin, Anna, Ann (4), Anne (5), Annie
• -Ay Names: Kay, May, Monet, Rae, (2), Shae
• El- Names: Elaine, Elena, Elisabeth, Elizabeth (14), Ella, Eloise, Elvira
• Esme Names: Esme (2), Esmeralda
• Iman- Names: Iman (2), Imani
• La- Names: Lanae (2), Lan'Yel, Larae, Lashae, Lashay, Latasha, Latefah, Latoya
• Heritage Choices: Abu, Fatima, Fionnuala, Guadalupe, Inez, Keiko, Ondina, Roisin
• Only two: Claire, Catherine/Katherine, Mary

Gems

• Bartholomew
• Bean
• Beata
• Chiffon
• Elvira
• Hopes
• Houston
• Love
• Magaly
• Saffia
• Salome

Boys
1. James (10)
2. Edward (7)
3. William (7)
4. Charles (6)
5. Thomas (6)
6. Joseph (5)
7. Michael (4) and Micael (1)
8. Anthony (4)
9. David (4)
10. John (4)
11. Patrick (4)

Notable Trends

• Al Names: Alan, Alexander (3), Allen
• Ed- Names: Edmond, Eduardo, Edward (7), Edwin
• Mark Names: Marcus, Markus (2)
• Zach: Zachary (2), Zachery
• Brit Picks: Basil, Edmond, George, Phillip (2), Sinclair, Tucker (2)
• Heritage Choices: Angel, Azriel, Enahoro, Hong, Mitja, Sohail
• Only two: Lee, Matthew, Peter, Robert

Gems

• Aksel
• Basil
• Jewel
• Kirby
• Moss
• Sinclair
• Soliman
• Winter
• Wolfgang

*I'm taking next week off for the holiday. Sorry for the infrequent posting--this has been a busy summer for me!*

Similar Usage Stats: Noah

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A few months ago, I talked about what names were similar in popularity to Sophia throughout the ages. Today, I thought we look at the most popular boys name, Noah. In 2013, Noah was used for 0.9043% of all baby boys (that's less than Sophia!). Take a look to see what names resemble Noah's popularity.

2005, Joseph (9)

1995, Jonathan (23)

1985, Thomas (25)

1975, Charles (25)

1965, Eric (25)

1955, Edward (25)

1945, Jerry (20)

1935, Raymond (17)

1925, Henry (18)

1915, Harry (19)

1905, Fred (18)

1895, Clarence (17)

1885, Albert (16)

It looks like we've gotten more unique in our boy name choices in the past few decades. A name that was given to 0.9% of baby boys went from being in the mid-twenties to the top ten. That's pretty major. 100 years ago, Harry shared similar popularity to Noah. Does that mean Harry is ready for a comeback? I think 2015 could be the year.

10 E Names You Never Thought of Using: Boys

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Vowel names are all the rage, but E names seem to be mostly for the girls. E names are great for boys too, infact, one of my favorite names is first on this list. Let me know what you think.

Eames- A super cool name with obvious namesakes. How awesome would this be on the child of an interior designer?

Eamon- A nice alternative to the ever-popular Aiden.

Eden- I know what you're thinking. Yes, Eden is a unisex name. You can pronounce it the same way you do for girls, but the ED-en pronunciation is more masculine.

Egan- An upbeat Irish surname that is seldom heard as a first name.

Elm- Nature names are very in, so why not try Elm? He's short, sweet, and to-the-point.

Emil- Is your name Emily, Emilia, or Emiliana? Channel the Smith family and name your son Emil.

Ennis- A masculine alternative to the softer Ellis.

Estes- A simple way to honor Grandpa Esteban that also has literary ties.
Everard- If you're stuck between Everett and Edward, Everard might be the perfect name for you.

Everest- There might be some high expectations with this name, but he's an interesting alternative to Everett.

Full Names for Ned

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Ned is an Old English contraction, coming from the phrase "mine Edward" or "mine Edmund." Hence, any name that starts with an Ed- is worthy of the nickname Ned. He's spunky, not used much in the U.S., but also really adorable. Listed below are some choices for Ned's full name.

Expected:
Edison- Trendiest of the group, he has that popular surname feel.
Edmund- Extremely British, yet very useable here.
Edward- Straightforward, but a classic.
Edwin- An overlooked choice to consider.

Unique:
Eden- Yes, it looks like the girls name Eden. But in Israel it's a boys name pronounced ED-in. Maybe spell is Edan.
Edgar- A la Poe.
Edge- I'm not going to lie, Ned and Edge have very different feels, this combination would surprise me.

Unheard of:
Edom- He means "red" in Hebrew.
Edric- Another cool British choice, he could possibly honor an Eric.
Edsel- A German name that could work in the U.S., especially with Ned as the nickname.