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.

Movie Names: Amelie

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Have you guys seen the movie Amelie? It's one of my favorites, the story and characters are all so whimsical and charming. One of the perks of watching a French movie is hearing all the characters names. Some of them fit right in with today's top American picks, while others are a bit more out there. Let me know what you think.

Girls:
Amandine- Incredibly French. A great pick if you're looking for a name that honors an Amanda while reflecting your culture.
Amelie- She's becoming an increasingly popular alternative to Amelia, but how can you resist her charm?
Eva- Parents love Eva for her similarity to Ava, but if you want something a little less popular, try Eve, who ranks at 490.
Georgette- It's not very hard to picture a little Georgette called Georgie, even in America.
Gina- Gina sounds a little dated on her own, but the nickname Gigi is oh so cute and trendy.
Madeleine- The French spelling is lovely, but I'd say the Maddie names are overused.
Philomene- Does Philomena remind you too much of the 2013 Oscars? Philomene is just as pretty.
Suzanne- I know I've said it before, but the nickname Susie is ready for a comeback. Suzanne is a great way to get there.

Boys:
Dominique- Dominique is one of the only truly unisex names out there, yet I've only heard it on girls. What's your take on Dom for a boy?
Joseph- An American classic.
Lucien- Lucian ranks 631 on the Top 1000 list, but the French spelling doesn't make it.
Nino- Ever since I saw this movie for the first time, I fell in love with Nino. I can't picture him on an American man (too cutesy?), but I love the idea of a baby Nino.
Raphael- Sleek and glamorous.  
Raymond- One of these days a celebrity is going to use Raymond, and then he will be all over the place. Until then, he is ranked at 264, so use him before he gets hot.

Blog Names: The Socialite Family

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I recently stumbled upon a French blog called The Socialite Family, and fell in love with it. I adore the homes featured on the blog, but I love the names even more. Listed here are the names of the children.

Aliocha (boy) and Hiroko (girl)
Anne, Nemo, Leon, and Jules
Arsene (girl)
Bishop, Ford, and Clark
Camille
Camillo
Charles and Eve
Chiara, Ines, and Joseph
Eli and Thom
Gustave and Honore
Honore
Jacques and Paul
Leontine, Abel, and Violette
Lola
Lucio
Margaux and Raul
Minnie and Roxanne
Nataniel and Vadim
Selma, Gabriel, and Gaspard
Reina and Niels
Vasco (girl)
Wolfy and West

Ten Years Ago

Today, I was very interested to see what names were popular ten years ago, and how they were similar and different from our top ten today. Turns out, there were a few surprises. Here are the top ten boys and girls names from 2001.

Girls:

Emily
Madison
Hannah
Ashley
Alexis
Sarah
Samantha
Abigail
Elizabeth
Olivia

Boys:

Jacob
Michael
Matthew
Joshua
Christopher
Nicholas
Andrew
Joseph
Daniel
William

I was most surprised that our top two baby names for girls (Isabella and Sophia) did not make the top two. Isabella was 28 and Sophia was 37. Also, Ashley is number 27 today. That seems strange to me, because I consider it very 1990's and have never met an Ashley. For the boys, Nicholas has dropped to number 37. Very surprising was Aiden, who was at 86 in 2001, but a few years later, up to number 1. Jayden was 139. That concludes our Ten Years Ago post for this year.