I have some rules of thumb I often repeat about trendy names:
1. When it comes to celebrities, it's not about the fame, it's about the name.
A minor reality tv star can have a far bigger impact than a Madonna, if the name fits parents' existing tastes. Stars seldom lead us places we're not already set to go.
2. We all want to be unique...without being "different."
Parents today are eager to choose distinctive names, but our tastes our as similar as ever. So we end up carving out tiny personal niches by creating countless variations on the same theme. Seen from a macro level, all that micro-uniqueness makes us look a whole lot alike.
With that in mind, check out the fastest rising American names of 2008, as determined by the standard Baby Name Wizard Hotness Formula:
Aaden (M, #343) -- as in Aaden Gosselin, one of the eight young kids of the Gosselin family whose lives are chronicled on the TLC reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8."
Khloe (F, #196) -- as in Khloe Kardashian, a general-purpose celebrity who found the limelight via the E! network reality show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
Allisson (F, #418) -- as in Allisson Lozz, a Mexican teen singer and actress who has appeared in several telenovelas.
The pattern's not subtle, is it? Start with a name that's extremely well-liked, and tweak it to "personalize" it for your child. If a tv star of any rank leads the way, you have a hit.
And now brace yourself for the next 5 on the Hot Name Parade:
Marley (F)
Caylee (F)
Miley (F)
Marely (F)
Marlee (F)
You can find 2008 pop-culture rocket engines behind many of those specific choices. There's the book and movie Marley & Me, the pop princess Miley Cyrus, and the heroine Marely of the telenovela "Yo amo a Juan Querendón." But that's not the real story, is it? After all, the Marley of Marley & Me is a badly behaved dog. You never saw a generation of kids named after Lassie and Rin Tin Tin (let alone Beethoven or Cujo).
The incredible concentration of similar sounds is nothing less than the stylistic fingerprint of 2008. In my book, I describe the broader style as "Bell Tone" names. Here's an excerpt:
"Listen to parents calling out names at your local playground and it may sound like bells chiming. The sharp clang of a consonant launches clear, bright long vowels: Bay-lee! Cay-den! Ja-cey! It’s the distinctive chorus of our time.
The Bell Tone names aim for freshness with a clean, light touch. They’re 180 degrees removed from the Orvilles and Velmas of the “Porch Sitter” era."
One thing's for sure about these names: they're cheery and forward-looking, not the retreat to nervous conservatism that some had predicted for these difficult times (see recession naming, parts 1 & 2). After all, you can't say a name ending with -ee without your mouth ending up in a smile.
The fastest rising names of 2008
05/08/2009, 11:17AM
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Comments
I like the description of Khloe Kardashian as "general purpose celebrity"! It makes sense though that the combination of a semi-famous namesake and the popularity of Chloe could combine to make Khloe rise drastically. Because in spite of Kourtney Kardashian, the name Kourtney hasn't broken into the top 1000 in four years, probably because Courtney itself is steadily declining.
Great point, Anne with an E.
And I think it's interesting that the "political" names of the year just chugged along as expected. (Hillary being an interesting exception.) Maverick and Malia went the way they've been going; Sarah, Sasha, and George did the same. (Even Barack's 10k place jump can't have been a difference of more than 100 babies, if that.)
I noticed that Piper, a politically-connected name, did rise substantially: from 240 to 172. Little Piper Palin is a cutey, no matter which 'camp' you're in.
Patricia - and it debuted on Alaska's top hundred, in the top fifty! However, it was climbing, and in the top 100 in a few indicator states the past couple of years.
But, I agree - little Piper Palin couldn't turn off anybody from the name.
Is the data past 1000 available? No fair that they can track Barack's name, but not give us the rest of the names past 1000. :)
On a similar note, I notice that boy variations of Miley also rose: Miles (up 22), Myles (up 33), and Milo (up 91)
Any thoughts on why Peyton/Payton rose so dramatically this year? In terms of sheer percentages, they had the biggest jumps for names that are now in the top 100 (69% and 57%, respectively). I was thinking some combination of NFLer Peyton Manning and the character from "One Tree Hill" (thus appealing to both moms and dads), although the phonetics are certainly very trendy, too.
John - I think you about nailed it.
Woohoo, I called Caylee!!
How about the boys names since we are mentioning Piper? Track was not in top 1000, Trig was not in the top 1000 , Tripp debuted at 926. To me Tripp is a bit classier. I know Trig is established in another spelling and is popular in other areas but it reminds me of Twig which sounds dumb as a name-sorry. Track just sounds made up. Tripp sounds made up but instead of reminding me of "taking a trip" it kind of conjurs names like Phillip and the like.
Btw, Bristol; Brystol; Brystal; Bristal; Brystelle; Bristelle; Brystel; Brisstelle; etc. I think its the next big hit!
Anyone notice the inclusion of Jensen at the bottom of the boy's list? I was actually thinking it might become a more common girl's name as an alternative to Jennifer. I figured the nickname "Jen" might prevent parents from using it on boys. I think it has an upscale/hipster parent feel to it.
Jessica - maybe parents are drawn to it as an alternative to Jason. Also, we've seen boys take on Ash-. Maybe this is in the same category...
Interesting about the variants of Marley. I know a six-month-old named Marleigh, which I think is a nice spelling.
At first I was like "Ugh, I don't like Bell Tone names. Too trendy." Then I realized my favorite girl's name, Margaret sort of has a bell tone sound to it.
What stands out to me in these fastest rising names is that they are all spelled wrong or creative, however you want to look at it.
So people are copying the "creative" spelling now which takes the creative part out of it and just leaves a botched name.
Apparently the fastest rising name of all, ever, is Barack. I just posted the link below on the other 2 threads about the 2008 lists and think it belongs here too:
Must see video: Most popular baby names announced
May 8: Michael Astrue, commissioner of Social Security, reveals some of the most popular baby names in the U.S. from 2008 on the Today Show.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30624090/?GT1=43001
Astrue says "you can't see the big news on the boys' side" and explains that "the biggest jump we've ever had was for Barack" from the 1200s to #2409. He also explains why SSA publishes their top name lists every year.
Nina, I so agree with you! I have a grandson named Aidan (which is the standard spelling and most frequent a few year years ago). Now there are 10 spellings of the name in the top 1000, along with numerous spellings of Jayden, Brayden, Hayden, Caden, Zayden and Raiden. (I'm not sure if any of these have a standard spelling???). It's interesting to see how the 1000 names shrink to about 600 for girls and 700 for boys when spellings of a name are combined.
Tinus @ 6: I really don't think that Miles, Myles, and Milo can accurately be termed the boys' version of Miley. Although the sound is similar, these names have been around for centuries, while Miley is a new "name', originating, I'm guessing, with baby talk to a smiley little girl named Destiny: 'how's Daddy's lil 'miley girl?" And 'miley Cyrus certainly is a smiling girl.
I wish I remember what names I put on my ballot! My guess, "Heath," to rise was my best one--it jumped nearly 200 places (from 900's to 700's). "Alice" didn't make nearly the jump I thought it would. Maybe I'm in a weird vortex of "Alice" babies...
Our 14 year old daughter's name is pronounced Marley but spelled Majerle - as in Central Michigan Basketball standout and NBA 3 point shooter Dan Majerle - it's a great name and she loves it!
Emma's break-through as the #1 girls' name is being overshadowed in the press by the meteoric rise of Barack, even though Barack didn't make the top 1000. According to chicagotribune.com, Barack rose a record 10,126 places to No. 2,409, and EmaxHealth highlighted the rise of the name Barack in their report on baby names: Top Baby Names 2009: Barack Skyrockets.
http://www.emaxhealth.com/1/20/31039/top-baby-names-2009-barack-skyrocke...
I wasn't sure where to post this, as we seem to have 3 discussions going at once: America's most popular names; fastest rising; and fastest falling, Laura's most recent post. So I've posted it on all three because the rise of our new president's unusual name seems to be overshadowing the 2008 top 10 rankings (which are kind of boring -- basically the same names as 2007 in a new order, especially on the girls' side) and because Barack has been proclaimed by SSA as the fastest rising name ever.
Maybe semi-famous (as opposed to super famous) is a plus. People feel like the celebrity doesn't own the name. The name is not tied as closely to a single person.
re: Jensen: I think I love it. I wonder if their mothers are named Jennifer. Is -sen the same as -son?
re: Hayden: It is a name in its own right, not just a variant on Aiden. Like the composer Haydn.
Tinus, there are pop examples with those names you mentioned that all sound like Miley: Miles O'Brien (he's been around on CNN), Myles of Style on HGTV (Kim Myles won the Design Star contest last year), Milo Ventimiglia (actor on Heroes).
RobynT, re: "semi-famous," I'm guessing Jensen is after (intentionally or otherwise) the actor Jensen Eckles.
I was eagerly awaiting the release of the 2008 data, expecting to see Lincoln (the name my 2007 baby would have gotten had she been a boy) continuing to shoot up the charts, but it only had a slight rise compared to last year. I think with Obama's election, people in 2009 who want to name their child after a president with some historic weight might make this name jump up again.
I don't know about you but I'm so tired of my kids coming home and saying Aden F and Abby G-- like they only know which person they are talking about because of their last initial! I'm all for unique baby names! I found a ton of super cute, super unique ones at babyhold.com you should check them out!
"Alice didn't make nearly the jump I thought it would. Maybe I'm in a weird vortex of "Alice" babies..."
I think I'm in the same vortex. One of my co-workers named her baby Alice just last month. Another friend of mine was considering it, but had a boy. Alice has been popular in Britain for a while now, Alicia and Allison are starting to feel a bit stale, and I think it's just a matter of time before Alice really breaks through here.
When Alice does storm up the charts, I'm wondering (indeed hoping) that it brings some of the other underused "-is" names along with it... Iris, Avis, Mavis, Maris, Carys...?
I don't think there is a rule in choosing a baby name, after all we are all free to pick any name. Still I value the meanings of baby names so I rather guide myself in this direction. Putting a baby name because it's in trend doesn't really makes sense to me, the name is representative for the baby, it's like a life long feature, what do trends have to do with that?
though that the combination of a semi-famous namesake and the popularity of Chloe could combine to make Khloe rise drastically. Because in spite of Kourtney Kardashian, the name Kourtney hasn't broken into the top 1000 in four years, probably because Courtney itself is steadily declining. online finance degrees | adult education schools -teaching assistant courses
Still I value the meanings of baby names so I rather guide myself in this direction. Putting a baby name because it's in trend doesn't really makes sense to me, the name is representative for the baby, it's like a life long feature, what do trends have to do with that? networking degree |
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I just named my son Jensen.
Great idea! You apparently have the meaning behind each name creation. I will be looking for baby name here when I get pregnant. free classifieds |job listings |article directory
My son have the same name of my grandfather ! This is cultural in my family, his name is prosper, have you ever heard about that name ? or not ?
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One of my co-workers named her baby Alice just last month.I found a ton of super cute, super unique ones at you should check them out.
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I recon choosing the name is very important, not just it sound good, but also represent the characteristic of the person him/herself.
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Choosing baby name requires some consideration. Meaning of name plays an important role in the life of the baby. So be careful while choosing the name.
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