A confession: I have never personally met a girl named Madison.
I know they're out there, tens of thousands of them. And having daughters in preschool and kindergarten, I meet plenty of little girls. But where I live the fad for androgynous surnames is just a distant rumor. Around here we're ensconced in another naming era altogether, surrounded by Amelias and Julians, Charlies and Sophies.
Every region follows its own threads of fashion. To get a handle on American naming style, perhaps what you need isn't a list but a map.
As it happens, I have such a map. Readers with long memories may even recall that I promised it to share it with you last year. But this is one big country, and its naming map just didn't fit the cozy confines of my blog. After wrestling with it for a time, I've given up and and granted the map its own page.
First, some background. To identify a state's characteristic naming style, I looked for names that were significantly more popular in that state than in the nation overall. That means the most characteristic names of state might not be the most popular names. For instance, Emma is the #1 girl's name in Mississippi, Mary is #11. But Mary is more characteristic of Mississippi's distinctive style because that #11 ranking is unusually high.
You'll also see that certain states fall into two different style streams. Maine, for instance, combines the New England neotraditional sound with the "frontier" style of other sparsely-populated states from West Virginia to Wyoming.
And now, visit the map at http://www.babynamewizard.com/map.html. Then come back here and, as always, give me an earful.
Comments
Wow. It's amazing how much that looks like the political map from the 2004 election!
I wonder how that relates to the political, educational and religious viewpoints of a given region.
You've once again impressed me Laura. Keep up the great work! We appreciate it.
I'd love to be able to click on a state and see that state's distinctively popular names. Making the whole thing interactive would be even cooler. Thanks!
Fascinating stuff. You can go to the social security website to see the top 100 in each state. My daughter's name, Caroline, ranks nationally at #74 for 2004, but at #20 for Massachusetts. Which seems right in step with the map.
Interesting that Isabella is most popular in the "creative fringe". I hear it quite a bit here in MA.
Very interesting. Just like the red/blue divide in politics, though, I think it'd also be interesting to see the differences between urban, suburban, and rural areas. (Not that I'm suggesting you do this, Laura! I'm sure it'd be tough!) I'm in North Carolina, but in a college town. Makes me wonder if we have names more similar to say, Madison, Wisconsin, and Eugene, Oregon, than a small town in NC.
We live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
My daughter is in 3rd grade (She'll be 9 in May). There was a Madison in her pre-school, and we've met a couple of others at birthday parties (it seems to be a predominantly Caucasian name, though I've met one Asian Madison.)
When she was in Kindergarten, there were two Taylors in her class, one boy and one girl. The (Caucasian) boy's mother's maiden name was Taylor, the (African American) girl seemed to be part of the trend.
Great map! I live in Utah, Land of Crazy Baby Names (e.g. Truxton and Jazlyn). I have five young children, so I hear A LOT of kids names. We know at least one child with each of those "Frontier" names. And I know several Madisons; they are all between the ages of 8-14, though. Madison is completely passe for babies.
I doubt that one could do it, but I'd like to see the boundaries drawn on some basis other than political subdivisions. Sometimes political divisions don't explain the variations. For example, Washington and Oregon east of the Cascades are economically, socially, politically, etc. almost indistinguishable from most of Idaho. West of the Cascades, however, is a different story. Seattle and Portland have more in common than Seattle does with Spokane. In Colorado, metro Denver (and maybe much of the I-25 corridor) is markedly different from the rest of the state. I'd bet that economic and social ties ultimately explain more than political boundaries.
Thanks so much for sharing your fascinating research!
Hi folks.
I really enjoy your babynamewizard-tool. As designer I also appreciate it as a fascinating solution for an infographic :)
So I wrote a short review on my interface design blog. Please feel free to leave some comments:
http://interfacedropbox.blogspot.com/
Thanks, bye,
Erhard Wimmer
Fascinating! Interesting point about Mary in Mississippi. Mary is never mentioned as a popular name in the South, but it clearly is. There was apparently a Mary wave in Mississippi in 1983 ... in my sister's grade in school, there were several girls with Mary as a first name. They went by Mary Middle Name, and the middle name was often their mother's maiden name. For example, Mary Meadows. So random. I've never experienced that anywhere else.
Interesting! I live in the far north of Wisconsin, and work with lots of kids, and their names actually resemble more the "Frontier" category than the "Midwestern Reserve". Lots of Austins, Cadens, Dakotas, etc. So for Wisconsin (and other states perhaps) I would stripe it.
Great map! I'm in Massachusetts, with the "neotraditionals," but my top baby name choices were with the creative fringe - Naomi and Gabriel. Also Rachel, Eli, Joel. We were going for bible old testament, though, so maybe that's its own category?
Here in NYC, there's a mixture of everything, but I agree that the neotraditionals loom large among the Manhattan babynaming crowd!
Very interesting. I live in NY and have never met a Madison either. I think the style-wise with the names I do see, even if I don't see those particular names a lot.
So, Laura, if you don't know any Madisons, what do you encounter among your children's friends? And I'm dying to know what your own children are named. I'm not stalking you, I just want to know what you considered the ideal, with your expertise.
The map is fasicnating. Thank you!
I second the comments on the Southern "Mary" phenomenon. In Virginia, I grew up with many Mary's with their mother's maiden name as a middle that went by "Mary Randolph" or "Mary Madison" or "Mary Dare" as opposed to just "Mary." Most were born in the late 70's/early 80's.
I think it's because that second name is an important identifier in the South - "Oh, Mary Dare - as in the Richmond Dare's? I knew Thomas Dare as a child..."
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The "Mary" phenomenon is not only found in Mississippi. I live in Birmingham, AL. On my small street alone we have - Mary Evans, Mary Ellen and Mary Catherine. They are all under 2 years old. I think it is lovely and sweet. My son, William, will have an easy time finding his Mary.
This is my favorite baby name website ever (although the poll sites are intrigueing every now and then). It's also the only place I've ever seen my daughter's name (Zella) written on a name list - I guess most lists and books don't go back to 1890! Anyway, your map is so interesting - I'm also in MA, and my daughter's freinds include two Sophias, two Isabellas, an Ella...all those neotraditional favorites. Thanks again
Kristen
Intriguing to find the Mary phenomenon in VA and AL too. I live in AL and haven't met any little Mary's yet, but I hope it happens soon. It's a cute trend I think. I like the classic names, anyway though. I like it that the old-fashioned names are coming back in vogue somewhat.
Superb job as usual, Laura!
I live in a Spanish South state (Arizona), and, as you've mentioned before, Hispanic Americans seem to favor 80's names.
But I don't know of too many kids under the age of 10 named Bryan or Ashley (save for my cousin Bryan, who's a junior anyways). Though a lot of Hispanics are moving in, the population of my town is still predominantly white, and the kids' names are more in step with the "Modern Girls" and "Frontier" styles. There are masses of children with names like Hailey, Alexis, Dylan, Sierra, etc.
Recently, I met a little girl named Evie--it was short for Evelyn. I couldn't even begin to tell you how refreshing that was.
Coming from the UK to California three years ago, I'v been amazed at how different the naming trends are in the US- all these surnames, particularly for girls, seem odd to me.
You mentioned, Laura, not having met a Madison. Well, one of my students is named Madison Stingray- how's that for memorable?!
I've also taught girls named Austin, Jordan, True, Montana, Sierra and Catalina. I'm more used to Emma and Sophie, William and Alexander amongst the upper middle classes and Callum, Cameron (for boys), Brittany and Kiera amongst the working class families. I think it divides more along class lines in the UK.
I've never met a Madison, either. I live on the west side of Los Angeles -- even though it's the Spanish South, it feels like every other girl we meet is named Maya, Isabelle/Isabella, or some permutation of Lily.
My own 7 1/2 year old is named Mary. I've only met one other child with her name, and she lived in Omaha, Nebraska.
This map doesnât ring true for me. I live in the suburban east San Francisco Bay Area, and I have met a *lot* of kids -- I was a childrenâs librarian for 10 years and now have a 7-month-old son. Around here, the only two categories of names that seem truly infrequently used are Spanish South (strangely) and Old South. But California is a huge and diverse state.
If I had to pick the most common categories here, I guess Iâd say Midwestern Reserve for girls and Neotraditionals for boys.
I have lived in Denver and Houston since my son, Soren, was born. Before we named him, neither my husband nor I had ever met or heard of a "real" Soren (Kierkagaard not withstanding). We have met 3 and heard of several more since naming him almost 3 years ago.
The relevant part, though, is we generally have a good deal in common politically/philosophically/educationalywith the parents of the other child - and so far no one (including us) that we've met have been Danish.
My guess is that not only is there an urban/rural divide, there's also a class divide. That's why parents look at the Social Security list and think, "Gee, this name isn't very popular. It's only 300 on the list." When the child comes along, of course, they realize that many parents in their social set chose the same name.
Is there a way to find out what names fall into which category?
Kirsten
(Cracked the top 200 in 1990's! Too bad there's no agreement on pronunciation.
My name is Austin and my middle name is Effie and I live in North Carolina. I have two little sisters and their names are Hannah and Madison but she is the only Madison I have ever met.
There is a fascinating discussion of name differences along class lines in the cuurent bestseller "Freakonomics." They actually have lists of names along with the average years of education of the mothers who did the naming. There is also a significant discussion of "black" vs. "white" naming trends.
I'm not sure- has Laura commented on any of the research from that book?
Great map and so true! I'm in MA too and have never met a Madison (and my kids are in preschool and elementary school). If you name a girl Charlotte (or Evvy!) here she will have lots of company. A Nevaeh would stand alone - I've never even met someone who thinks it's not a groaner - even though it's becoming one of the country's most popular "new" names.
Doesn't mean an awful lot to me as I'm British and live in the UK but I can see the trend - I'm sure there is a similar trend over here too!
I even know of one little girl called "Madison" over here! Don't like the name at all I'm afraid.
There are some names which are very over-used and popular over here, such as "Emma", which has come to have "chav" (white trash) connotations which still seem to be thought of as classy and beautiful in America!
The other thing I'm interested in is the American popularity for "Hayley" (or Haily or Hailie or Hailey etc). I was born in 1971 along with several Hayleys (only ever spelt that way). The name was popuar because of the 1950s/1960s child actress Hayley Mills (daughter of actor Sir John Mills and writer Mary Hayley-Bell) - it was a family surname given as a christian name.
The name died out in the UK in the 1980s! So I was amazed to hear its popular in the US now (and being "krea8tivly" spelt!)
Re Caroline's popularity in Massachusetts: is this possibly due to Caroline Kennedy?
I know this isn't about current names, but I wish someone could explain to me why there is such a proponderence of Bruces here in Idaho. In Memphis, I met only a couple of Bruces in my whole life, but since moving to Idaho a year ago, I have met/spoken with at LEAST a dozen Bruces between the ages of 35 and 55.
So I can believe that there are WIDE variances in nameing trends by region.
Laura, it would be great if you developed the regional categories some more -- i.e. a longer list of names for "Spanish South," "Old South," etc. I am a California native, but I named my daughter a compound name (Mary and my middle name) to honor my family's southern roots. I am interested in learning about what other names are distinctly "Old South." I am also interested in compound names. Many members of my extended family have compound names, but it is hard to understand the trend because the name data does not capture the fact that people are often called by both their first and middle names.
Compound names seem to be much more popular for girls where I live than boys. And these girls tend to have brothers with one or two syllable names. I know an Ada Catherine, a Scarlett Jane, a Mary Hunter, and an Ann Elizabeth, all with brothers with very short names.
I've not met a Madison recently, but I remember babysitting a teacher's grandchild when in Jr High named Madison. I remember thinking it was unusual (we're talking mid-90's) and assuming it had something to do with "Splash." I'm from the Bay area of Florida, the Yankee South, if you will. We usually get a total mix of USA cultures around here since no one (but me and my husband) is actually "from" here.
I'd add to these categories:
Spanish South: Mia, Angelina, Alondra, Evelyn, Diego, Gabriel, Brandon, Sebastian
Midwestern: Lauren, Isabelle, Lydia, Gracie, Chloe, Noah, Mason, Zachary, Brady, Parker, Nolan, Grant
Neotraditionals: Ava, Lily, Ella, Charlotte, Kayla, Maya, Vincent, John, Jack, Owen, Liam
Modern Girls/Boys: Addison, Gracie, Alexis, Brayden, Landon, Hayden
Old South: Sarah, Reagan, Jackson, Jeremiah, Jayden, Jaylen,
Frontier: Avery, Brooklyn, Carter, Gavin, Wyatt
Fringe: Serenity, Ashlyn, Cadence, Ciara, Kaylee, Elias, Ryder, Cooper
(my take may be a little different)
Hey, this is an interesting site, and the only proof I've ever had that I'm not the only girl named Austin to ever walk the planet.
I'm from NM, but we seem pretty Spanish South to me...
woaini
I think this is great..Its just jelped me name my unborn little boy! Thank you sooo much.
I too think that it would neat to see the actual STATES popular names, because where I am, they are all the same common names..everyday! The Carolinas have absolutely nothing unique or rare about names. Being from this Old South Region, in this state SC, there are not many names that fit what the region map said...but I am sre it goes for the over all region..just not this state. I say that because the majority here are black..so every ones name is something like Shakiqua and Jarmeekus you get the drift...
I have named our first and only child from teh Frontier and Creative Fringe Region....Kaden Elijah!
Thank you your map..it was GREAT!
Am very pleased to see that Angel based names (Gabriel, Gabriela) are still well represented. They had forthrightness and responsibility to the child. (No Cathetel's yet, though, means Angel of the Garden, as our planet needs special greening care).
My wife is pregnant and we're gonna name the baby either Hortense or Gertrude if a girl and Goober or Gomer if a boy. What do the rest of you think?
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