We’ve made it all through March! And now it’s time for the big match-up in March Madness Baby Names for boys.
Before we get to our contestants, let’s review where we’ve been.
We started with sixteen names, based on the most-viewed posts at Appellation Mountain during calendar year 2020. Popular posts here aren’t quite like the most-viewed names on other sites – they’re not a Liam or Noah in the bunch!
- PHOENIX
- HUXLEY
- TORIN
- ARROW
- WILDER
- COVE
- EMRYS
- ENDEAVOUR
- HAYES
- DECKARD
- ST. JOHN
- KOA
- OTTO
- RAPHAEL
- PALMER
- REID
After the opening round and quarter finals, just four names advanced to the semis. Here’s how those contests went:
Reid defeated Otto.
With nearly 57% of the vote, buttoned-up surname name Reid sent quirky traditional Otto packing.
Raphael defeated Emrys.
Welsh rarity Emrys tends to fare well at Appellation Mountain, but this might be the farthest the name has ever advanced. Overlooked traditional Raphael racked up nearly 65% of the total to advance.
PAST WINNERS
The winner of the final match will join the following names in the victory circle:
- Nathaniel and Louisa in 2011
- Arthur and Genevieve in 2012
- Archer and Isla in 2013
- Everett and Cora in 2014
- Finn and Cora in 2015*
- Theodore and Sylvie in 2016
- Leo and Wren in 2017
- Rowan and Eliza in 2018
- Arlo and Margot in 2019
- Caspian and Tess in 2020
Fun fact: Cora successfully defended the March Madness title in 2015, before we agreed that all past winners should be retired.
In the summer of 2020, we held a Ten-Year All Time Champions’ reunion contest. And Eliza ’18 and Theodore ’16 won that contest.
But back to 2021. Here’s the final match-up! Your vote decides which name joins the list above.
REID versus RAPHAEL
They’re both solid choices that would fit right in on this list: traditional surname name Reid and overlooked classic Raphael.
Voting stays open through Monday, March 29th. Come back on Wednesday, March 31st to see which names take the March Madness Baby Names 2021 title!
