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

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I think you're right about "specialness" and further I think giving unique names is an opting-out of anything like an homogenous culture. It's a way to refuse to participate in the society around you.

I volunteer with underprivileged second graders, and my kids, 20 or so in the class last year, all had unique names. Quaveon, Otoniel, Shanika, Rubicel, Fatuma, and so on. Some of the kids were American black, more were Mexican immigrants, a few were African immigrants, or were from other places in latin America. All children of poverty. I don't understand how the more-traditional, Catholic, Spanish-speaking families came to their unusual names. Argentina, for example, is another country where parents may chose their child's name from the approved list. But I saw that also in Guatemala, meeting children named Saolo and Fabiola.

Perhaps we're just, globally, coming unmoored from tradition in many ways, and this is how people are embracing it.

It's not that young mothers make bad choices, or that they cannot tell the difference between naming their babies and naming their pets, for heavens' sake.

K.