It’s March! The world is thinking basketball, talking 3-point shots and such.
Here? Instead of watching hoops, we’re voting our way through the most popular names at Appellation Mountain last year, until we find just one champion for the boys, and just one victor for the girls.
PAST MARCH MADNESS BABY NAMES CHAMPIONS
Wondering which names have won this contest in years past? Here’s the complete list of champions chosen by your votes:
- 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
- Raphael and Magnolia in 2021
- August and Marigold in 2022
- James and Gemma in 2023
- Callum and Maisie in 2024
- Sullivan and Alice in 2025
* When the contest first started, I allowed past winners to compete in subsequent years … and then Cora won, back-to-back. So we took another vote, deciding that names that won had to retire from future rounds.
2026 NAMES COMPETING
Every year, the most popular names at Appellation Mountain compete to join this list of March Madness victors. The names that compete were the most-viewed in the prior calendar year, from January 1st through December 31st of 2025.
- TALLULAH
- SCOTTIE
- RUMI
- VALANCY
- CELESTE
- JAMES – Yes, James is a boy’s name. But there’s a post on this site titled “James for a Girl.” And even though I haven’t updated it in ages, it is consistently among the most-viewed posts. So yes, James competes in the Girls’ Opening Round. (It’s won the boys’ contest previously.)
- ROMILLY
- SYLVIA
- HARRIET
- AZURA
- DARCY
- LILA
- LILLIAN
- VESPER
- MABEL
- ASTRID
And with that, let’s get to the competition! As in March Madness, seeds are determined by rank. (So the most-viewed name, Tallulah, is the top seed. The first match-up pits #1 Tallulah against #16 Astrid.) But for this contest, that doesn’t necessarily lead to an advantage.
TALLULAH versus ASTRID
SCOTTIE versus MABEL
RUMI versus VESPER
VALANCY versus LILLIAN
CELESTE versus LILA
JAMES versus DARCY
ROMILLY versus AZURA
SYLVIA versus HARRIET
THANKS FOR VOTING!
Polls remain open until Wednesday, March 11th. Check back on March 14th to see if your favorites advance – and, of course, to vote in the next round!
