The first round of March Madness 2013 begins now!
A quick reminder about the rules for veterans and rookies alike: the sixteenth most popular name faces off against the most popular name, and so on and so forth. There are eight match-ups in the first round.
Vote for your favorite in each pair – or not, if you can’t decide. You can only vote once per name. Voting closes on Friday, March 8. The next round – which will be narrowed down to just four match-ups – begins on Saturday, March 9.
For more on the favorite names from last year, see this post.
And no, this contest isn’t just for the boys. Girls’ names will be up later today.
Ready, set – choose your favorite boy names!
First up: the wildly popular shades of Gray versus the literary, dashing Dashiell
The modern Huxley takes on the français Etienne
The colorful Indigo against the mythological Atlas
The accurate Archer faces the kelly green Declan
Otto is a palindrome, and Benton is a surname – which do you prefer?
Place name Camden or the handsome and heroic Atticus?
The mighty Finn versus the impeccably Irish Eamon
Controversial Cohen faces the Scandinavian Soren
I love Eamon and hopes it gets more votes. Its my favourite boys name.
Archer and Declan was really hard for me too!
I know as an informed name nerd I’m not supposed to advocate using Cohen… but it just has such a nice sound. There, I’ve outed myself. But I would never urge someone to use it without informing them of the controversy first.
FWIW, I find the sound of Nevaeh charming.
I don’t think there’s a good argument for it being offensive, personally. It’s a religious office, correct? the idea is that it’s offensive to use cohen for that reason. Most people don’t know that and think of it as a surname, I think. Even if they did see it as a religious office, other religious offices are used as first names also, such as Deacon and Bishop. And there’s nothing particularly offensive about using them as a first name. In any case, it’s the spirit in which something is done that makes it offensive, I think.
May I ask, why is Cohen controversial?
Read the Cohen article + comments: https://appellationmountain.net/name-of-the-day-cohen/
Maybe it’s because I live in South Jersey, but I could NEVER name my son Camden. Camden is one of the most dangerous cities in NJ. If you were to ask anyone in the state of NJ about naming their son Camden, I highly doubt you will find someone to use that name. Is there another Camden that I am unaware of? I don’t quite understand it’s popularity given the horrible city that is 20 minutes from where I live. Thanks!
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden
Thanks! I didn’t realize there were so many other places. I guess I’ll just always associate with the one that is closest to me in NJ. Which is unfortunate, because it’s a name that is spot on with the latest baby name trends. I can see its potential to those who familiarize it with the other Camdens around the world, but I don’t think I could use it on my own child.
other than what you said, I know nothing about Camden, NJ, and less about any other place. I just don’t like it as a name though, so I didn’t vote for it.
The original Camden is in England – that picture is from London, not New Jersey. I was there as a teenager … it struck me as rather edgy and stylish, though I’m not certain that’s still the case. Amy Winehouse lived there …
I canNOT believe Cohen is even in the running considering its (potential) massive offensiveness!
Hetta, it is based purely on page views. As a result, a controversial name is MUCH more likely to make it into the first round.
Cohen doesn’t seem offensive to me. It’s a surname.
Arg, voted for Atticus but I’m officially switching to Camden… the nickname Cam is adorable on a little guy.
Interesting…most of the names I chose were in the minority. I really hope Dashiell, Eamon and Declan get through.
The only one that was hard for me was Otto and Benton, mostly because I kind of hate both.
On a side note, I think I might really like Eamon, but how exactly is it pronounced?
AY-mon
Oh that’s nice!
Declan vs Archer was the hardest choice for me this round. I love both, but love Declan just that little bit more 🙂
I had the same difficulty with this pairing. Declan edged out Archer in my case too.
I know! It’s tough when the two best names are pitted against each other in the first round. I’d take Declan and Archer over any of the others.
I could see Declan and Archer as the two finalists! But sometimes that’s what the rankings give us in March Madness. 🙂