Baby Name Wizard

Take a look at the most popular names for American boys:

#1. Jacob
#2. Mason
#3. Ethan
#4. Noah
#5. William

Three of the five -- Jacob, Ethan and Noah -- come to us from the Bible. Reporters often notice this link, and ask me about the apparent hot trend toward biblical names. (See, for instance, this Washington Post article noting that "for new parents, God is in.") 

I usually point out that the Bible has always been a hugely popular source of baby names. 50 years ago, you would have found Michael, John, David and James in the top five. 100 years ago it was John, James and Joseph. What Noah and friends represent is a stylistic shift away from the classic English Christian names of the New Testament and toward Old Testament/Hebrew Bible names that were little heard in the 20th Century.

But does the rise of Ethan and Noah really make up for the decline of John and Mary? What is the overall picture on biblical baby names in America? I tracked the historical popularity of over 300 names from the Bible, and here's my conclusion:

The popularity of baby names from the Bible is at an all-time historic low. The classic Christian Bible names have been plummeting for the past half-century. For a while, a dramatic 1970s rise in Old Testament names made up for this, but for the past decade Old Testament names have been falling nearly as fast as New.

Increasingly, "biblical" is a marker of style more than origin in baby names. As parents seek distinctive, eye- and ear-catching names, they're turning to names that shout their throwback biblical style from the mountaintops. (An American boy is more likely to be named Ezekiel than Peter today.) This appears to hold true even in cases where the biblical forebear was a villain (Delilah outpaces Rebecca), and even when the biblical style comes without any Bible origin at all (see previous post on Lilah and "biblicized" names).

A Look at the Data

You can see the historical trend below. The top green line represents all biblical names, normalized to occurrences per million babies born. The dotted lines break that total down into New Testament names (blue), Old Testament (red), and names occurring prominently in both (purple; think Michael).

Over the past 50 years, the usage of New Testament names has declined by 68%. But during the 1970s, an extraordinary run on Old Testament names kept pace. Between 1970 and 1980, names like Jonathan, Benjamin, Jesse and Rachel soared. The popularity of Joshua rose by over 1500%. The Old and New lines crossed in 1976, and the essence of American biblical names was fundamentally changed.

The New Bible Name Landscape

If you grew up in the '70s or later, it's probably hard for you to hear names like Rachel and Joshua as remotely revolutionary. They're biblical classics, after all. But in earlier American generations, Bible names largely meant Christian names. I've heard from a number of Christian parents who were stunned when elderly relatives objected to their choice of a "Jewish name" like, yes, Rachel or Josh. I can only imagine how they'd respond to choices like Ezra, Elijah, Levi, Josiah, Eli, Isiaiah, Ezekiel or Malachi, all of which are top-200 names today -- let alone Nehemiah, Hezekiah, or Zechariah, which make the top 1,000.

Doubtless some of the parents choosing names of Old Testament Jewish prophets today are, in fact, signalling their Christian faith. The biblical connection gives the names a clear religious grounding. Others, though, are more drawn to the names' old-fashioned pioneer style. Realistically, Levi signals "Levi Strauss & Co." along with "third son of Jacob and Leah."

And still others are simply looking for an unusual, attention-grabbing name that doesn't sound made up. Many parents are eager for fresh, creative ideas, but will only accept names they consider "legitimate." A biblical origin confers unquestioned legitimacy, which can give Bible names a powerful allure even to non-religious parents. Consider that some of the most strongly "biblical-styled" names are most popular in states with the lowest rates of church attendance. (Ezekiel is hottest in Hawaii, Ezra in Oregon, etc.)

It's also clear that as a group, the Bible names that most directly represent Christian role models, such as the names of the apostles, are in sharp decline. This is in keeping with a broad trend away from "naming after" in general: hero naming and family namesakes are on the decline. Baby names today tend to send cultural signals via style or sometimes via literal terms (like Miracle or Angel), rather than connecting the child to an individual role model.

But if "biblical" has become a style category, what is its future? Styles, after all, come and go, and the biblical style is a limited commodity. With names like Hezekiah already ranking in the top 1,000, it's easy to imagine style-minded parents running out of biblical options.

The 15% decline in the use of Old Testament names in the past decade suggests that might already be happening. It also puts to rest the idea that America is experiencing any kind of Bible baby name boom. That boom was many generations back -- back when, perhaps, John and Mary were still seen as biblical names.

Tracking this year’s fast-rising baby names, I started to feel some déjà vu. It seemed like the same handful of sounds kept popping up again and again.

Liam and Mia both cracked the top 10 for the first time. Mila, Leo, Ayla and Eli all climbed. Throw an R and N into that sound mix and you get fast-rising Arya, Noah, Mira, Lana, Nora, Luna, and even Leon, all without breaking the four-letter barrier.

These names clearly share some DNA with another rising style that I’ve called "liquid names" for girls. (Arianna and Aurora are popular examples.) But while the liquids are all about flow – supple, multisyllabic creations – these names are mirror-smooth, self-contained miniatures: raindrops. And they’re on the rise for both boys and girls.

A "raindrop name" shows its liquid form by packing two or more syllables into four or fewer letters. Its consonant sounds maintain a smooth and tranquil surface. No hisses, no sharp stops, just M, L, N, R and Y. A handful of favorite names of past generation fill the bill, most notably Mary. But as you browse the list below, I suspect you’ll find the sound both appealing and totally of the moment.

Top 500-Ranked Raindrop Girls:

Amy
Ana
Anna
Anya
Aria
Arya
Ayla
Ella
Emma
Erin
Isla
Lana
Leah
Lena
Lia
Lila
Lily
Lola
Luna
Lyla
Mary
Maya
Mia
Mila
Mya
Myla
Nia
Nina
Nora
Nyla

Top 500-Ranked Raindrop Boys:

Alan
Ali
Amir
Ari
Eli
Ian
Leo
Leon
Liam
Milo
Noah
Noel
Omar
Owen
Raul
Rory
Ryan

...and keep an eye out for:

GIRLS
Aya
Ily
Mara
Mina
Mira
Nola
Ria
Rina
Yael

BOYS

Arlo
Elam
Ira
Noam
Oren
Rio

Last time, I introduced the girls' names of the "100 Club": names that reached the threshold of 100 new American babies for the first time last year. (Read that post for more background information.) Now, it's time to meet the boys.

The Boys' 100 Club:

Abdulrahman
Adiel (Obscure biblical name, rising with the huge popularity of -iel names among Spanish-speaking parents)
Aries
Axl (The spelling Axel is a traditional Scandinavian name. Axl is the lead singer of Guns N' Roses, and a character from the video game Guilty Gear.)
Boone (Country singer Eric Church's young son, Boone McCoy [note McCoy, below]; the name Boone had already risen somewhat due to a character on tv's Lost)
Brayton (As a perfect cross between Brayden and Payton, this name feels inevitable.)
Cairo
Carver
Castiel (An angel on the tv series Supernatural; the name is based on rabbinic stories of an archangel Cassiel.)
Creed
Dakari (An alternate spelling of the African name Dakarai. The clearer pronunciation of this version appeals to American parents.)
Damani (Rising in multiple spellings. This spelling often includes an apostrophe: D'Amani.)
Eason (Fashionable surname, would make a deadly set of triplets with Ethan and Easton.)
Isa
Jad
Jayceon (Given name of the rapper known as Game)
Kiyan (Son of basketball star Carmelo Anthony)
Koa
McCoy
Nikola (Common form of Nicholas in languages of Southeastern Eurpoe, has climbed very gradually in the U.S. over the past 40 years)
Noam
Reyansh (Character name from the Indian soap opera Dil Dosti Dance)
Ruger (Firearms manufacturer; see previous note on the rise of gun-inspired names)
Ryu (Lead character of the Street Fighter game series)
Yeshua
Zayn (One Direction singer Zayn Malik)