Falling names are devilishly hard to predict. The question "what do I keep hearing about" is so much more natural than "what do I keep NOT hearing about?" This year, though, we all had a fighting chance. In fact, we had a crib sheet: the fastest rising names of 2007 and 2008. For girls' names in particular, this was a year of easy come, easy go. Counting down the top 5 fastest falling names of the year:
#5 Hillary
OK, this name doesn't quite fit the theme. Hillary traveled a classic 40-year fashion arc, appearing in 1963, rising high in the '70s-'90s, then disappearing in 2003. But Hillary Clinton's growing political clout gave the name a brief second wind that has now passed.
#4 Miley
Now we're talking. The top riser of 2007, and top-10 again in 2008, Miley hit the wall in 2009.
#3 Jaslene
Remember Jaslene Gonzalez, who powered the 5th hottest name of 2007? If not, that would explain this year's tumble.
#2 Mylee
The 3rd hottest name of 2007 walks hand in hand with her twin Miley.
#1 Marely
A top-10 riser last year, thanks to a hot telenovela.
Ah, fickle fame. The boys' fastest falling names are a bit more varied lot:
#5 Sean
Still a top-100 name (barely), Sean has finally hit the steep part of the inevitable fashion slide.
#4 Cordell
The real story here is that Cordell made the top 1000 the year before at all. Check out the NameVoyager graph: any ideas what that was about?
#3 Brady
The continuing name fallout from the injury that put Patriots quarterback Tom Brady out of commission for the 2008-2009 season.
#2 Jonas
Call it the male version of the Miley phenomenon.
#1 Aidan
Nope, this doesn't mean the "Age of Aidans" is over. The more common spelling Aiden actually rose in 2009. I suspect that the specific decline of this one, most traditional spelling means that the parents who thought of Aidan as an old Irish saint's name are giving up on it because of the flood of Aidyns, Aydens, Aedans et al.
2009's Hottest and Nottest Baby Names, Part 2: The Fallen
05/07/2010, 7:02PM
Baby Name Wizard Store
Celebrate with personalized baby name products! Custom birth announcements, invitations, bibs, onesies & more.
Start Shopping
Comments
I do remember Jaslene Gonzalez! But not surprised that her name fell, there have been several cycles of ANTM since she won.
Dennis Lehane's The Given Day, set in 1919 Boston, features an Irish-American character named Aidan who goes by Danny. I wonder if Aidans prior to this Aidan/Aiden/Ayden craze went by Dan to blend since Aidan would have been seen as more ethnic/Irish?
Cordell is a character in the 2008 movie Fool's Gold. Maybe it experienced a brief wave in the African-American community that year?
That Aidan spelled A-I-D-A-N should be the fastest falling boy's names is fascinating. It makes sense, sort of, but I wouldn't have predicted it.
Aw. I am kind of sad to see my name fall off the top 1000. Am I really that uncool? *sniff sniff*
Hillary, you have my condolences :) - the fall of 'Hillary' from the top 1000 is most disappointing to me, as I find it such a strong, yet lovely name! It's still on our list if we ever have a girl.
When talking about Brady, I always have to mention former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn [his first name is actually Brayden]. He was very influential in naming trends here in Northern Indiana. Lots of Bradys in the local birth announcements, some babies even named Brady Quinn. He graduated in 2006, and I noticed the dip in popularity of Brady in local birth announcements the very next year.
I have a grandson named Aidan, so I noticed right away that Aidan with that spelling is dropping in popularity. I was thinking, well maybe parents just don't care about traditional spellings anymore -- or try to avoid them in order to be 'different'. But I think your explanation is closer to the mark, Laura. Aidan -- while an old name and with a saint connected to it too -- was fairly unknown in this country until recently. My daughter and her husband thought of Aidan as an established, but underused name when they chose it for their first child in 2001, and they liked the connection with their Irish surname too.
But even though AIDAN fell in 2009, Aiden/Aidan plus 8 other spellings is still doing quite well, and as I noted in a post this morning Aidan-anyway-you-spell-it really is the #1 name that baby boys were CALLED in 2010:
And the number one name for boys born in 2009 is: .....AIDEN!
Yet again. Aiden, Aidan, Ayden, Aden, Aaden, Adan, Aydan, Aydin, Aidyn, Aedan add up to 31,635 baby boys called by that name in 2009.
While Jacob, which 'won' because there are so few alternate spellings, had just 22,246 baby boys answering to that name, including those whose parents gave them an alternate spelling - Jakob, Jakobe or Jaycob.
Jayden too will be heard more than Jacob, as there were 26,116 boys given that name in 2009, using 10 different spellings to arrive at the same sound.
It looks like the top three names heard among baby boys born in 2009 are:
1. Aiden (ranked 12 SSA) [31,635]
2. Jayden (ranked 8 SSA) [26,116]
3. Jacob (ranked #1 SSA) [22,246]
(Sorry if this eventually posts twice (?) -- still having trouble getting by the anti-spam filter.)
I have a grandson named Aidan, so I noticed right away that Aidan with that spelling is dropping in popularity. I was thinking, well maybe parents just don't care about traditional spellings anymore -- or try to avoid them in order to be 'different'. But I think your explanation is closer to the mark, Laura. Aidan -- while an old name and with a saint connected to it too -- was fairly unknown in this country until recently. My daughter and her husband thought of Aidan as an established, but underused name when they chose it for their first child in 2001, and they liked the connection with their Irish surname too.
But even though AIDAN fell in 2009, Aiden/Aidan plus 8 other spellings is still doing quite well, and as I noted in a post this morning Aidan-anyway-you-spell-it really is the #1 name that baby boys were CALLED in 2010:
And the number one name for boys born in 2009 is: .....AIDEN!
Yet again. Aiden, Aidan, Ayden, Aden, Aaden, Adan, Aydan, Aydin, Aidyn, Aedan add up to 31,635 baby boys called by that name in 2009.
While Jacob, which 'won' because there are so few alternate spellings, had just 22,246 baby boys answering to that name, including those whose parents gave them an alternate spelling - Jakob, Jakobe or Jaycob.
Jayden too will be heard more than Jacob, as there were 26,116 boys given that name in 2009, using 10 different spellings to arrive at the same sound.
It looks like the top three names heard among baby boys born in 2009 are:
1. Aiden (ranked 12 SSA) [31,635]
2. Jayden (ranked 8 SSA) [26,116]
3. Jacob (ranked #1 SSA) [22,246]
Laura, I noticed that on the new SSA "Change in Name Popularity" chart Jane only went up by 3, when I had an increase of 4 places (390 to 386). When I looked at the data, SSA NOW has Jane ranking 389 for 2008, while up through last evening Jane was ranked 390 for 2008. Any idea why the numbers changed for the 2008 girls' Top 1000 rankings this late?
I am surprised by Miley's appearance on this list. I was sure that that name had more staying power!
This is a bit late, but thanks to Larksong for those links to the Afrikaans baby names. I don't speak any Afrikaans but I got the gist of it and it's quite interesting.
So are parents who like the spelling "Aidan" more likely to be NEs who recoil from the name's popularity (in all its incarnations)? Or are they just name snobs who think the name should have remained pure in its original spelling and don't want their son associated all those inferior spellings? (I would sadly fall into the latter category in that I love the name Aidan--but Aiden not so much. I notice that even my computer leaves Aidan alone but underlines Aiden as being misspelled.) Fascinating...
And I would remove Adán from the list, as it's the Spanish form of Adam--a different name entirely. I realize that many little Adans may have parents trying to get the "Aidan" sound, but there's no way to parse that out just from the data.
I agree that Adan should be interpreted as Adán and not grouped with Aidan when combining spellings. As you say, there's no way of telling what parents who chose that name/spelling intended.
I think parents who stick with standard spellings are not necessarily NEs or name "snobs", but maybe people who like the history of a name, which only attaches to the standard spelling(s) (as in Catherine/Katherine).
Aidan is the traditional anglicized way to spell the name of the Irish saint, and St. Aidan has been used in the name of many churches. There is a St. Aidan Episcopal Church near me. According to a wikipedia article, "Known as Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Aidan the Apostle of Northumbria (died 651), was the founder and first bishop of the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in England. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. Aidan is the anglified form of the original Old Irish Áedán. In 2008, he was proposed as a possible patron saint of the United Kingdom.
I can see the 'legitimacy' of alternately spelling Aidan the old Irish way, as Aedan, but that's the only alternate spelling of the name that seems acceptable to me.
O well, I will continue to think Sean a very charming name.
Well, now that I have caught up with the posts after spending yesterday pouring through (only the top 500) I have some comments. I totally missed the boat on the risers this year. I should have put my picks from last year in again because I predicted Caylee last year. Ugg! BUT, I did pick Hillary as a faller. Woohoo! I really have to start keeping up on Spanish tele-novelas though.
I am inputting all the data into Excel so anyone with questions about specific names can post if they like. What was very interesting so far (and sad too for me) is the way all the 70/80's style names have slipped about 7%. Things like Jennifer and Jessica made large tumbles compared to other years. However, Alexis climbed up the ladder very nicely. People are so picky LOL!
Very interesting analysis of the other risers/fallers and oddities Laura-keep it up (though not so fast next time)!
In case anyone is interested-some of the other top risers/fallers were as follows:
Risers=
Khloe 42%
Bella 26%
Stella 11.3%
Ariana 11.1%
Lyla almost 9%
Fallers=
Miley 10%
Hannah 9%
Ashley 6.9%
Lauren 6.8%
Jessica 6.1%
Sorry but I haven't even begun to look at the boys.
deleted
Hillary - I too am a Hilary who is kind of crushed that it's fallen out of the top 1000 again. I had actually pegged it to keep rising moderately once it broke back into the top 1000 a few years back - shows what I know!
Incredibly, I've never even heard of some of the other names on this list! Jaslene? Cordell? Marely?
zoerhenne, that's interesting about the 70s/80s names. Seems like Sean's slide might fit in with that trend.
Regarding '70s names: I just met a kindergartner named Todd. Or was that a '60s name? Bet he's the only Todd in his class -- almost qualifies as a "unique" name for a little boy now!
I wonder if little Todd could be Todd, Jr.
I don't know if this would really have much of an affect, but I believe one of Snoop Dogg's sons is named Cordell (the other one is Corde) and there was a reality show about his family on around the time that name rose in popularity.
Also, 5 of my 6 riser and faller picks were terrible, but I did pick Aidan as a faller! My reasoning was that people who would use that particular spelling (myself included) would be less likely to use it for their child because of all of the alternate spellings (and rhyming names) that have become so popular.
I'm definitely glad to see Jonas fall. It's my favorite boy's name and has been ever since I read The Giver in 7th grade. It drives me crazy that it's associated with The Jonas Brothers. At least it's still less popular than Jonah.
I must admit, that Miley is a cute name - especially since it originated with Smiley. I'd never use it, but I really do like it.
@AlisonK- I fell in love with Gabriel after reading The Giver! Actually, many of the names in the book were great: Asher, Jonas, Fiona, Lily, Gabriel. Too bad Gabriel's so popular.
Wow, multiple posts! Exciting times.
Thanks to everyone doing stats. I esp. like the combined spellings. I've been looking through the bottom ranking names with only 5-8 babies. It is crazy, a lot of ridiculous spellings, but it's also a goldmine for word and attribute names..
Trillium, Stellar, Siren, Serendipity, Rhapsody, Faithful (I bet she gets a hope chest for her 1st birthday), Aquarius, Comfort, Temperance, Soul, Mystique, Prosperity, Dreamer, Sovereign, Harlequin!, Fate, Innocence, Psalms, Cinnamon, Starlit, Southern, Tomorrow, Hallelujah, Galaxy, Islam, Gift (especially charming when visiting Germany), Coy. For boys.. Greco, Jerusalem, Clever, Albino, Dream, Curry Royalty, Marvelous, Victorious.
The next round of tough or surnamey boys?
Boomer, Furious, Hopper, Koven, Crockett, Wraith, Thorn, Racer, Lord, Matrix, Tavern, Ganon, Gunnison, Buster, Brig, Dashton,
Lots of -bells and -lyns, and -leys..
Portlynn, Lochlyn, Lilybelle, Joylin, Jezabella, Itzabelle, Icelynn, Hopelyn, Chaylin, Summerlynn, Anaisabel, Dazzlyn, Brecklyn, Emberlin, Knightley, Quinlynn, Bentleigh, Zoribel, . Boys - Starlin, Weslyn.
Shockers..
Sophialauren, Nefertiti, Beonka (especially horrifying for me!) Seattle, Cullen, Twilight!!, Pennylane, Londonmarie, Henchy, Drusilla/Drucilla, Sanskriti, Lamiracle. For boys.. Imhotep, Stalin, Eyden, Ugonna, Angeldejesus, Trenden (yes you are!).
Fun finds..
Alazne, Fawn, Ifeoma, Temilola, Zsazsa, Casimira, Iratze, Padme, Ottilie, Jessamine, Sorcha, Hyacinth, Anahita, Lilja, Fizza, Francie, and for boys.. Mico, Isandro, Pius, Tuck, Ivor.
Guest B, Looks like you found the SSA's "Beyond the Top 1000 Names" fascinating too. The names you listed from the bottom of that list are amazing, and some make me wonder if the parents thought they were naming a puppy - Cinnamon, Buster, Boomer... Hopper would be cute on a pet bunny. It amazes me that more than one baby ended up with some of the names you listed!
Gift {n} poison
Gift {n} toxin
Gift {n} venom
Gift {n} (sl.: Heroin) poison (sl.)
Guest B, I see what you meant by "Gift (especially charming when visiting Germany)".
It took 263 instances to make the Top 1000 for girls (#1000 Mireya), but only 194 to make the Top 1000 for boys (#1000 Mustafa). Among those names that were just 25 babies short of making the list are a few that seem like they could move up soon:
Girls: Pearl, Winter, Sawyer, Selina, Amalia
Boys: Edison, Brecken, Jedidiah, THEO (really surprised that Theo isn't already on the list), Langston
Found this fun article for you all since we were recently talking about hyphens--
http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/spelling-mistakes-cost-money-embarrass-people-and-change-the-course-of-history/19466353?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl1|link7|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fweird-news%2Farticle%2Fspelling-mistakes-cost-money-embarrass-people-and-change-the-course-of-history%2F19466353
Fun fact: 2009 is the first year in 26 years for which the "Beyond the Top 1000" list contains FEWER names than the one before it. Interpret that how you will. Note that, for boys at least:
1. The amount of babies born fell from 2008,
2. The percentage of babies whose names appear in the list fell by about 0.07%.
Another fun fact: The SSA had to pull names that are NOT on the "Beyond the Top 1000" lists to fill up 1880 and 1881's top 1000. For 1881, they had to do it for BOTH lists, so it should actually be called "Before the Top 1000". :V
Guest B: Seeing as how the SSA omits spaces, hyphens, and other marks, Angeldejesus is much more likely to be Angel de Jesus.
I think Cordell's random rise is due to Snoop Dog's reality TV show that was on that year. Cordell was one of his sons. That's all I can think of.
Where are you guys finding the Beyond the top 1000? I thought those were not published for privacy reasons. Link, please?
I am excited to hear that Pearl is becoming more popular and might make the list. It is my husband's grandmother's name and one that I had always considered for a daughter (even wrote a novel with a character named Pearl), but my husband won't consider it because he can't think of it as anything other than a grandma name. So I would love to see other people use it.
Guest RP -- Fun fact: 2009 is the first year in 26 years for which the "Beyond the Top 1000" list contains FEWER names than the one before it.
So the "Beyond..." list has been available for 26 years??? I've never seen or heard of it before.
Shaylea: SSA baby names first page -- "Popular Baby Names", Under Baby Name Data click on "Background Information", on the left side of that page is the link for "Beyond the top 1000 names"
JenRose82, There were 261 baby girls named Pearl in 2009, so Pearl came very close (263) to making the Top 1000.
The SSA website NOW makes available "Beyond the Top 1000" data for every year in its baby name records (from 1880 - 2009), but does anyone know how long those lists have been accessible?
Laura, you probably know the answer to this?
I've never heard of this data being available before now, so I'm thinking it may be a new feature this year. ???
There's a lot of research material in those lists. And someone could write a baby name book of appealing names NOT in the 2009 Top 1000 List for all the parents looking for rarer names.
At church this morning there was a rose on the alter for newborn Breeze Lynn. Just checked out her name in the "Beyond" list: 18 baby girls were named Breeze in 2009.
The records have been available since... yesterday, I think. Just discovered them this morning.
@AlisonK
There is no way the Jonas Brothers will still be relevant when your child is growing up.
At least, this is my great wish for the future of popular music.
I'm more of a Jonah fan myself, but couldn't use Jonas, anyways, as it is incompatible with my last name.
Am I the only Hilary that is excited to see the name "Hillary" fall on the list? First of all, that version has the icky extra "L" in it. And secondly, I like that it isn't a name you hear very often, but it also isn't too out there. I was in my 20s before I actually met another Hilary; so, I'm pleased to hear about its sudden decline. Yay!
Lets not forget that people who were fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as kids are now adults and Hillary was a spoiled rich African American character.
I have always loved the name Aidan and when I see it spelled Aiden. Looks like a mispelling that way. Love Aidan and hate Aiden. Screams stupidity.
I cringe to think Aiden is now the popular spelling. Why does the U.S. feel compelled to change spellings so much? Does not make the name any better.
Absolutely agree that changing traditional spellings screams stupidity. And I think it's extremely unfair to the child. I have to spell my fairly common name (Michelle) all the time, and it can be annoying, as I'm sure anyone would agree. Now imagine doing that intentionally to your child. Why? It doesn't make the name any more original, people!! It only makes you look illiterate, and your child will be the one to suffer.
My sister recently welcomed triplets: Aedon, Jonas, and Miley.
Prom dresses, evening wear, daywear and accessories from celebrity designers and exclusive ranges. Buy online or visit our prom dresses stores
prom dresses
discount prom dresses
New Style Moncler,Moncler jackets,Moncler coats online
Moncler coats
Moncler
As to some of the names mentioned, Comfort is a 17th century Puritan name, Wraith means a vision of a dead person, so that name might be given to a child who looks exactly like a dead ancestor. I knew a girl named Drusilla who was born in the late 50s. I didn't like the name as a child, but it grows on you, and surely does beat many of the horrible names on the Top 1000 list. Jedidiah is the name of one of the Duggar children, and the only Cordell that I have ever heard of is "Cordell Hull" who was a government official (Secretary of State?) when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Gee, do you think that WWII nostalgia is influencing mothers to name their sons Cordell???
Dsquared2discount is the best online Dsquared shop where you can
buy the Dsquared Jacket, Dsquared Jeans, Dsquared Shirt and more.
Dsquared
The most cool online shoes shop where you can find the most fashion designers shoes, include
Manolo Blahnik shoes, Jimmy Choo shoes, Christian Louboutin shoes and more.
we offer high quality highheels at low price.
Manolo Blahnik Shoes
Jimmy Choo Shoes
Manolo Blahnik
Jimmy Choo
Explore the world of erotic lingerie. Find the most erotic lingerie, hot underwear,
babydoll, clubwear, teddies and more.
erotic lingerie
An online shop specializing in Herve Leger, Herve Leger Dress, Herve Leger Skirt,
Herve Leger Sale, Herve Leger Dresses.All new style in our store.
Shop the latest styles Juicy Couture handbags, juicy couture tracksuit.
Juicy couture sale, juicy couture outlet,100% quality guarantee.
FashionStyleOnsale offer high quality moncler Jackets at low price.
Moncler Jackets on sale, shop more discount Moncler Vest, Moncler Coats at FashionStyleOnsale
Cheap Chanel bags, Chanel handbags, chanel wallets onsale,
Luxuy handbags, purses, high quality at low price at cobstyle.com.
I enjoy reading the report, too. It′s easy to understand that a journey like this is the biggest event in ones life.
xiaoxiao123 09 04
My name is NOT Michele.And it works for others. My dad's name is Stephen, and he hates being written as Steven, and my mom has one of the most obvious names, Bonnie, and still gets Bonny... ?? sigh...gucci handbags
Every women can not afford to buy a coach clearance handbag, it will paying much money on each purchase. If you’re also a fan of coach knockoffs handbags, you’ll be pleased to know that you can buy fake Coach handbags, which will save a large portion of your money and you’ll be in a position get your hands on the look-alikes of the coach handbags sale.
Post new comment