Yes, there’s March Madness basketball on television now. Constantly. (At least it feels that way in my house.)
But I’m breezing right past all of that talk of three-point shots and score predictions to check our your choices in the far more entertaining (IMHO) March Madness Baby Names brackets.
We’ve cut our list from a sweet sixteen to the great eight, and now only four names remain.
One is last year’s second-place name. And one has never been in the tournament before!
If this were college hoops, we could talk about coaches’ strategies and players’ strengths. But this game is a little different, so let’s recap the last round and get back to the fun: letting you choose the 2024 champion!
MARCH MADNESS BABY NAMES 2024: QUARTERFINALS RESULTS
SULLIVAN HANDLES EVANDER
With just over 55% of the total, Sullivan wins this round. That’s not terribly surprising. The upbeat Irish surname name has been a well-established favorite for a while now, while Evander is a relative newcomer to the US Top 1000.
CASSIAN DEFEATS HAL
After Hal’s surprise win against Huxley in the sweet sixteen, the name falls to Cassian. With a little over 60% of the vote, this wasn’t especially close. Cassian may be an upstart, but it combines two things: all the power of the Star Wars universe and the appeal of boys’ names ending with -ian. Could Cassian join names like Sebastian and Julian in the US Top 100? Never say never.
CALLUM CRUISES PAST OTTO
Callum is a slow burn name, one of those choices that seemed like it was destined for the US Top 100 years ago. But it’s stayed just under the radar, slowly growing in popularity for the last dozen years. Could Callum’s victory over Otto, with 57% of the tally, suggest that this name’s time has come?
WESLEY TAKES DOWN RHODES
Wesley was last year’s runner-up, falling in the final round to James. This year, Wesley scored the biggest win of the QuarterFinals, with well over 65% of the votes over Rhodes. Anything can happen in the next round, but Wesley feels like the name to watch.
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
SULLIVAN VERSUS WESLEY
CASSIAN VERSUS CALLUM
Thanks for voting!
Polls will remain open until Tuesday, March 26th. Check back on Wednesday, March 27th to see if your favorite names advance. And, of course, to vote in the final.
