Introducing the Hottest Name in America
Last time, I talked about the Top 20 hot list of names that rose most dramatically between 2002 and 2004. Then I charted the pop culture events that jump-started those names. But if you look closely at the chart, you'll notice I only listed 14 names. What are the other six? Meet them now:
Rubi -- Hot in two ways, as an alternate spelling of the rising hit Ruby and as Rubí, a Latina favorite that got an extra push from a 2004 telenovela.
Saniya, Janiyah -- Saniya is a Hindi name, used in the U.S. by both Indian and African-American families. Rhyming twin Janiyah is a new African-American variation on the theme that joins Aniya, Aniyah, Janiya, Saniyah, Shaniyah, Taniya and Taniyah in the top 1000. Which make the Aniyas runners-up to the Hottest Name crown worn by:
Cadence. And Kadence. And Kaydence. Incredibly, the top three fastest rising names in America are all spellings of the same name.
Cadence, the hottest name in America, has no celebrity bellwether. It's pure style, a sound and image that hits a perfect bullseye for a large segment of contemporary parents. Try typing Kaydence into Yahoo or Google image search -- it's like a national baby convention.
Breaking down the elements that make Cadence such a baby magnet: first, The "Kay" sound is hugely popular for girls, featuring in hits like Caitlin, Kaelyn, Kayla and Kailey. Cadence is also a feminine elaboration on the boy's hit Caden (or rather Caden, Caiden, Cayden, Kaden, Kadin, Kaeden Kaiden, Kayden). It's a meaning name (a cadence is rhythmic flow of sounds), a growing style led by names like Sierra, Autumn and Trinity. And it has a traditional name-like sound. With familiar nicknames (Kay, Cady) and echoes of classics from Candace to Florence, Cadence is a new creation that fits in easily.
Look for more young Cadences in 2005. And as the name becomes part of the sound of the times, its popularity could even rub off on other -ence names, currently an endangered species. Top contender: Patience.
Comments
Cadence is pretty good...for a girl. I don't think I could ever name a boy any of those names!
Related to the name Laci skyrocketing, I wonder if you could comment on the name Connor/Conner and whether her baby's name affected that name's popularity or whether she was jumping on a bandwagon trend when she named him?
Little Cadence is going to have aheck of time in high school band practice.
Rowan for both boys and girls is very hot also. Also for boys Braylon, Abram, Gael, Ryder, Hudson, Asher. Also for girls Candace, Stella, Piper, Ximena.
What will be future trends? For girls, maybeAurora, Josephine, Clara, Elise, Eleanor, Nina, Eliza, Sadie, Cora, Ada, Adeline, Lila, Leila, Evangeline, Amalia, and Clementine.
Cadence was used a name in the movies American Pie II and Shallow Hal, which came out right around the same time. I'm not sure if the movies begat the name trend or the name trend inspired the screenwriters - any idea?
To my ear, "Cadence" sounds like an auto model: test drive a 2006 Toyota Cadence today! Terrific blog, by the way. I love your rigorous analytical approach to a topic that can easily get all-too-cute. I don't have or even want children and yet I look forward eagerly to your new posts.
As for other -ence (or -ance) names, how about Constance and Prudence? And along with Patience, they're all virtue names. I doubt Prudence would ever be a contender (even though I believe there is a character named Prudence, aka "Pru", on Charmed), but Constance I can see. Prudence has too many bad nicknames and associations, like prude, prune, etc.
Oh dear, I hope the previous poster who said Abram is growing in popularity was wrong. I love that name and want it to remain totally unpopular for the next 50 years. :)
Oh, not Rubi! Say it isn't so. My eleven year old sister is used to getting comments on how beautiful her name (Ruby) is. This isn't going to please her one bit.
This breaks my heart. Cadence has been one of my names for years. I love it, but hate all names trendy and thus with ava, rowan, frances, and Eva this will have to bite the dust.
I had to say something: Definely agree that Pop culture seems to influence newly -named. There was/is an Actor Aiden Quinn. (He was in "Grease" and "Bachelor Party"). Now i guess that was a few years ago, but interesting that the poplularity has suddenly taken off. And spelling really doesn't matter; if the parents don't spell a name to make it unique, the kids will. Example: Everyday, i pick up the paper or watch TV and find yet a different version of "Karen". (Mathematically, there must be around 30). But back to Pop Culture: I read where a lady named her daughter "Ampersand". Some one commented, "you named your little girl "And?" To which she replied: [Goes with your urban ledgend reference, Laura) ."It's cute, don't you think?". No doubt inspired by the Cadillac commercials of the day. And speaking of which, the commerical (when there was a model) for the Cadilac Catera, used to say, "So go to your Cadillac Dealer and lease a Catera." and it went on to say: "And just who is Lisa Catera anyway? [I'm not making this up!--true story]. But it gets better. While watching a TV show about a week later a character on the show was named, you guessed it: "Lisa Catara". I almost busted a gut laughing. And it was a serious crime drama-type show. My wife happened to be watching. She didn't understand what was so funny.
To the previous poster, Aidan Quinn was neither in Grease nor Bachelor Party. He did become "known" in the early 80's though. Imdb.com is your friend; use it! :-)
Lisa Catera was a character on Chicago Hope. I read the character was named on purpose as a subtle nod to Cadillac which was a key advertiser in the show.
Cadence was the name of my best friend when I was little. She was born in 1980. I was always impressed by her original name and liked it. I'm sad to know that it will be joining in with the popular names.My name is Abby (Abigail)- I was born in 1981. Now I'm very sad that my name is in the top 10 this year. When will the madness end?
I'm surprised with the NASCAR craze there aren't more Earharts/Erhart (sounds like Dale Earnhardt). Not a NASCAR fan in the least, but found this site with it's references to popular culture interesting. I knew a guy much older with that name several years ago and always thought it was cool and unusual.
Humans are frighteningly similar beings, and capitalist consumers are the most similar of them all... so I guess it's not surprising that most of us want a wholly unigue identifier, as we all too often lack a unique identity! I named my daughter (16 months)Cadence for all the reasons listed in your article. I love that it has a traditional name-sound, and as a lover of the English Language and literature, I love the meaning. In addition, there's a symbiology. At 31, my daughter drastically changed the cadence of my life. I went from carefree drama queen to staid, steady home-body. (and I love it). I don't worry that Cadence will share her name with a percentage of America... the name and sound of her name reflects a larger social trend and in the end... we are a product of our epoch. Of course this from a woman named Crystal in 1972!
In 1993, when my daughter was born, I named her Taylor Cadance. Everybody thought I was nuts for giving her a middle name that was most popularly used in the military. Now, I read this article!
Our baby girl, Cadence Leonora turned 5 months yesterday. My wife and I first heard it used as a name while watching American Wedding and thought it flowed well. I play the drums so it was a no brainer when my wife became pregnant, what we were going to name our little girl.The icing on the cake is that her last name is an -ence also. Ference. She shouldn't have any problems spelling her first and last name as they are very close.
I like Cadence.
How about Trinity? It skyrocketed from 627 to 48 between the 90's and 2004
I like the name Cadence but my husband likes the name Shelby for a girl and I like Molly. both very cute. My husband's background is Scottish so I really like to pick Celtic names and I have come up with Keagan for a boy. What do you think? Keagan Robert (the Robert after his dad)
I LOVE the name Trinity as soon as I heard it I knew that was what I was going to name my daughter if I had one and 2 years later I had a daughter and Trinity fit her perfect because she was the third child! I also love when people ask me what her name is and I tell them everyone thinks it's such a cool and unique name!
I can't believe this is the hottest name in America! I am floored. My name is Cadence and I am 32 years old. Born in 1973, my mother was a music teacher and picked it because of it's musical origins and sound. I had never met a Cadence until I was 23 and she was just 8 at the time. I would really like to know if there are ANY Cadence's in the world as old as me. I used to think my mom was pretty original in naming me but now I wonder. Regardles, I love my name and as a professional musician it suits me well. Growing up, it was wonderful to have the nickname Cady so I did not have to explain my name to everyone I was introduced to. All in all, a fantastic name to have.
a matter of fact, i am naming my daughter, which i am due the 21st of december Kadence Skye. we fell in love with it, a few days after i recieved consultation that we were expecting, and stuck ever since.
I named our daughter Cadence in 1993 after finding the name in a book. We call her Cadee for short. We were looking for something different. Her name is often misspelled and she is often called Candace, but otherwise, she likes her name and thinks she is unique. I was happy to find that others are also using this name. She is very musical by the way; perhaps a side effect of the name!Have enjoyed reading the other postings.
I agree with whoever mentioned "Shallow Hal" and "American Pie". I think the popularity of Cadence really started to grow once it got a little bit of media play.And I prefer Cadence for a boy with NN Cade.
One of my one-year-old's middle names is Patience. I never dreamed it would get popular ... sigh.
My Grandson's name is Keagan.
I'm sorry but I am really upset by the popularity of Cadence! I intentionally looked for a name that was NOT popular because I did not want a Jennifer. My husband is a drummer and Cadence was the perfect name for our daughter. I checked all the lists in 2004 to make sure that Cadence wasn't near the top and now I read this article. Please stop copycats!
I just wanted to say that we decided to go ahead and name our daughter Kaydence (born in 2006), even after reading this article. Yes, it is one of the hottest names, and that troubles me, but I really like the name before I learned it was so popular. The name also has special meaning since my wife and I met at the company of the same name (well, Cadence).
I love the name Cadence but DO NOT want a nickname of Cady. . .those named Cadence, do you find this tends to be the #1 nickname assigned to you? If so, how can you avoid being labelled Cady (sounds too much like Katie which we are just not keen on). What other nicknames do you find you adopt?? We are 7 weeks away and still struggling about this name....
My name is also Cadence and I'm in my twenties. I have never met someone with my name before and growing up I HATED it!! I never liked being called Candace and know that your daughter will be called that no matter what the popularity becomes. I do love it now, however! My own mother can't stand my name and she calls me Cady, but there shouldn't be concerns about Cady being forced on a child as long as you choose to keep it strictly at Cadence! PS - Most people don't think of Cady immediatly anyway...
Well, I have to say that as a Cadence, the growing popularity of the name made me so sad that I wanted to cry. I really thought that there was a slim possibility that I could remain the only one in my lifetime, and yes that was naive, but I wanted to believe that. Now I hear that the name is climbing the charts and I am mortified! I am afraid my name runs the risk of becoming another Jennifer or Rachel. I know this is selfish (and you should know I am a mother of 4 and not by nature a selfish individual) but I truly hope that unless you have some really significant reason to name your child Cadence, that you don't for the sake of the originality of the name. It truly describes who I am and I and those who know me have always said I could never be anything else, it means more to me than anyone could ever know. It helps define me. It should be saved for those who find incredible meaning in it.
Well, I have to say that as a Cadence, the growing popularity of the name made me so sad that I wanted to cry. I really thought that there was a slim possibility that I could remain the only one in my lifetime, and yes that was naive, but I wanted to believe that. Now I hear that the name is climbing the charts and I am mortified! I am afraid my name runs the risk of becoming another Jennifer or Rachel. I know this is selfish (and you should know I am a mother of 4 and not by nature a selfish individual) but I truly hope that unless you have some really significant reason to name your child Cadence, that you don't for the sake of the originality of the name. It truly describes who I am and I and those who know me have always said I could never be anything else, it means more to me than anyone could ever know. It helps define me. It should be saved for those who find incredible meaning in it.
I named my daughter Kaydence in 2006 I thought it was very orignal. I first heard it studying english literature as it is a litery term. I had no idea until now (my daughter is 10 mths) just how popular the name is!! I still realy like it. We call her Kay for short sometimes. THe other spelling I like is Kaidence.
I'm from the London, in the UK, where the name Cadence isn't very popular, and being a musician,I'd love to be able to name my daughter Cadence-Marie, but worry that as Cadence is such a unique name here, making it into a double barreled name might be overkill... what do you think?
My daughter is called Prudence and I have not met another one. I also have a daughter called Florence. If we have another girl Cadence has got to be a contender!