March Madness 2015: Girls Opening Round

It’s March, and that means it’s time for March Madness Baby Names at Appellation Mountain!

Every year, the sixteen boy and girl names with the most page views during the prior year compete for the March Madness crown.

Since many of the names profiled here are decidedly offbeat, the Sweet Sixteen looks nothing like the US Top Ten. In fact, most of the names aren’t even in the US Top 100. Some have never even flirted with the Top 1000.

The girls’ list struck me as especially quirky this year. Right below the top sixteen were a smattering of names that seemed more wearable: Clementine, Margot, Susannah, Sloane. But rather than disqualify some of these out-there baby names, I figured we’d play the game and see who ends up on top. Who knows? Maybe Pluma will have a real Cinderella story!

Winners from the past few years have been:

• Last year, Cora beat Margot, 56% to 44%, to claim the title.
• Isla came out on top in 2013.
• Genevieve was the #1 name of 2012.
• And in the first year of competition, literary Louisa carried the day.

Now it’s time to vote in the opening round of March Madness!

French, feminine #1 Elodie takes on the brisk, energetic #16 Noa

Rapidly rising #2 Everly faces literary rarity #15 Pluma

Two new 21st century favorites face off: #3 Wren versus #14 Esme

The battle of the British! Downton Abbey’s Countess #4 Cora versus UK darling #13 Imogen

Tolkein’s shieldmaiden #5 Eowyn against steely Southern #12 Magnolia

Sophisticate showdown: #6 Lena versus #11 Nadia

Sleek #7 Selah goes up against quirky #10 Anneke 

Right in the middle: #8 Mira takes on #9 Soraya

Thanks for voting, and check back next Saturday to see which names advance to the quarter finals!