Baby names poll answers.

[rivka]

1. Which name is more popular for girls, Ellen or Nevaeh?

72.3%, thinking way too kindly of American parents, picked "Ellen." In fact, Ellen is #447, and Nevaeh is #150. Guess why Nevaeh is so popular. Come on, guess.

It's heaven spelled backwards, that's why.

It's also the name of a Christian rock group. And a porn star.

2. Which name is more popular for boys, Peter or Isaiah?

Voting was extremely close on this one, but 50.6% chose the wrong answer, Peter. Peter is at #148. Isaiah is at #50. Probably because of the extra basketball advantage, is my guess, because I think "peter" as a nickname for "penis" is old-fashioned enough not to play a major role.

3. Which name is more popular for girls, Mary or Kendall?

65.1% decided that Kendall was awfully trendy-sounding, and I won't say that they're wrong. But Mary is higher up on the popularity list at #61, compared to Kendall at #157.

4. Which name is more popular for girls, Mary or Makayla?

Inexplicably, but predicted by 60.2%, Makayla is #51 in popularity.

5. Which name is more popular for boys, John or Hunter?

43.4% got it right. John is #17, Hunter all the way down at #41.

6. Which name is more popular for boys, Toby or Maximus?

Y'all thought that American parents would only go so far, didn't you? 81.9% thought that Toby was more popular, making this the wrongest wrong answer of all. In fact, Maximus is #375, and Toby is all the way down at #439. Explain that one to me.

7. Battle of the TV heartthrobs: Which name is more popular for boys?

The TV thing was a bit of misdirection, actually. Angel is #43, probably because it's a Latino name. Dawson is way down the list at #204. 21.7% got it right.

8. Which egregiously misspelled girl's name is the most popular?

It pains me - severely - to admit that any of these names is on the top 500. 59% thought that the winner must be Madisyn, probably because of the gratuitous "y." But in fact, Alivia (#352) narrowly edges out Emely (#359), and Madisyn (#418) is far behind.

I must now go weep tears of blood.

9. Which name is more popular for girls, Brooklynn or Ryleigh?

I wanted a choice that would make people just throw up their hands in bewilderment. And in fact, voting was fairly even. 46.9% chose the right answer, Brooklynn. (Brooklynn is #406, Ryleigh #479. Queenns wasn't in the top 500, and neither was Manhattanne.)

10. Which name is more popular for boys, Axel or Uriel?

I think this one was a little too easy. 79% correctly guessed that Axel (#333) is more popular than Uriel (#435). But why is Uriel in the top 500 to begin with?

11. Boy's name or girl's name: Harley

It astounds me that 75.6% of you think Harley sounds like a girl's name. It's the name of a freaking motorcycle, is what it is. But indeed, it's #313 for girls and only #426 for boys.

12. Boy's name or girl's name: Jaiden

All the varieties of Jaden/Jaiden/Jayden/Jaydon are more popular for boys than for girls. Jaiden with an "i" is #312 for boys, #416 for girls. Jayden with a "y" is all the way up at #75 in popularity for boys. 60.2% got it right.

13. Boy's name or girl's name: Mackenzie

This was way too easy. Over 90% knew that Mackenzie is a girly, girly girl name, at #46 is popularity. It doesn't even break the top 500 for boys.

14. Boy's name or girl's name: Kendall

This is another one that sounds boyish to me, but as 72% of you knew, Kendall is far more popular for girls (#157) than for boys (#500).

15. Boy's name or girl's name: Skyler

The right answer was winning on this one until the very end of the poll, but in the end the wrong answer pulled ahead with 51.8% Skyler is obviously a boy's name, at #234, compared to #279 for girls. Huh. I guess, actually, that's fairly androgynous.

In conclusion: I propose that we replace naming with a serial number system, as soon as possible.

Comments

[wiredferret.livejournal.com]

People scare me.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Now I want to name the baby "Manhattanne," and Michael won't let me.

Maybe I should just go to bed.

[wiredferret.livejournal.com]

Those wacky co-parents. They get so pushy.

[geminigirl]

I'm sure you've seen Notwithoutmyhandbag.com, but working with the people I do, who come from the kinds of backgrounds that they do (and I refer here to my colleagues, not my clients) we've run across a Chlamydia (because it's pretty and sounds like a flower) a Nautica (pronounced Naw-TEAK-ah) and a Placenta (pronounced Pla-cent-CHA).

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I saw a "Rylee," lately, and wondered whether she'd ever be a partner in a law firm. But then, she's growing up with Madisyns and Kelseas and Charmins.

[dandelion-diva.livejournal.com]

I'm going to assume Charmin is a joke.

And if it isn't, I'm going to believe it is, so I can, you know, live.

Gessi

[pnh.livejournal.com]

(opening a vein)

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

In Norway they have (or at least had) a system the prevents parents from using made up mispelled idiocy. The name must have been historically used in Norway to name your kid that. I'm usually agaist state interferance with freedom, but by gosh that's bril for the kids in Norway.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, by the way. I helped gave my brother his name. I put a suggestion in my parent's ear and eventually my brother was named Stefan Joseph. Since we have a system not totally unlike the vor with picking names from family history (My sister is Christine Karen, my mom is Karen Frances, my Grandma is Frances Pearl, and so on) it makes naming somewhat simpler.

The first born always gets the parent's first name as a middle name, then you search the family tree for something that sounds good to go with it. The second born just gets grab bag off the family tree.

Being a young genealogy buff I helped with my brother and found the name combination that really rolled off the tongue.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

France also.

B

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

They have that in Germany, too. Personally, I've always thought it was pretty totalitarian. A couple I know in eastern Germany wanted to name their daughter a perfectly normal French name, and were blocked by it. Bleagh.

-J

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Haven't met too many Norwegians, have you?

[thette.livejournal.com]

In fact, Maximus is #375, and Toby is all the way down at #439. Explain that one to me.

Well, obviously, a baby boy should be named after his father, and Maximus is short for Gluteus Maximus. From this, we draw the conclusion that all too many American kids have real asses for fathers.

[lysana.livejournal.com]

Maximus makes me wonder about Gladiator as an influence.

And to grumble about something that I can't change, it's supposed to be spelled Michaela, damn it...

[erikted.livejournal.com]

It astounds me that 75.6% of you think Harley sounds like a girl's name.

The only human I know named Harley is a girl.

Well, actually, she's a boi, and she's dating my ex.

But I think her parents thought she was a girl when they named her.

She looks good on a motorcycle though.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

Harley was a girl on the soap opera I used to watch when I was a teenager. *shrug*

-J

[jinian.livejournal.com]

It's heaven spelled backwards, that's why.

ARGH. I die now.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

But wouldn't heaven-spelled-backwards mean "hell"?

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Neaveah.

There are going to be all these people who think it's a normal name.

And there are going to be all these other people who think it's a typical American name.

But I grew up thinking "Jr", pronounced, naturally, "Jir", was a typical American name, very dashing in its lack of vowels.

Wouldn't you rather be called Uriel?

Is there some weird class thing going on here, with these really awful ones?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Is there some weird class thing going on here, with these really awful ones?

Maybe. Some of the newly trendy names seem upper-middle-class to me, like Sloane or Kendall for a girl, or Hunter for a boy. The "alternate spelling to make the name unique" names, like Madisyn, and the stripper-sounding names like Destinee (also in the top 500, it pains me to say), sound very much lower-middle-class.

But you know, it also reminds me of the women I used to see on wedding planning newsgroups who thought of their wedding as their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be special, the center of attention, the one in the spotlight. Everything had to be fairy tale perfect, because it was their only chance to shine. Other women (usually with advanced degrees, challenging jobs, etc.) clearly thought of themselves as likely to have lots of lifetime opportunities to shine, of which the wedding was only one. It's a very different approach.

I wonder if the emphasis on "unique" and "special" baby names has a similar cause - lack of confidence that their child will be unique and distinguished. I mean, I don't think these women are applying the test of inserting the name into high-powered adult contexts ("...pleased to introduce the CEO of the Rand Corporation, Destinee Jones"), because they don't imagine that their daughters will grow up to be CEOs. Their only chance of specialness might be a special name.

[kate_nepveu]

According to news reports I have read, African-American families are more likely to use recently-created names or different spellings. I don't recall whether this held true across income levels.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

It might also be an age thing. When you're sixteen, it's hard to think about the fact that you're naming a human being and not another doll or dog.

-J

[wcg.livejournal.com]

This is more evidence for Big Al's proposed County Clerk law, which would allow county clerks to smack parents who propose goofy names for their children.

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, in France the local authorities can veto any name that is too weird or would subject the child to ridicule.

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about the rest of the country, but in the South it is not unheard of to give children -- both boys and girls -- surnames as given names. Which may be where Kendall and Harley for girls got started.