Name-inspired news and notes for your Sunday reading.
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Something we talk about in the world of naming: popular names, even Top Ten names, don’t repeat as often as they once did. And yet, we all have stories about repeating names, like the time every third girl at my daughter’s sleep-away camp seemed to be named Emma.
Laura makes lots of good points in this post explaining why we keep hearing the same baby names (no matter what the stats say).
Here’s something she didn’t mention that I’d like to highlight: this mostly applies in early childhood.
As our kids get older, the pool of names expands.
This means two things:
- First, the chance of your child’s name repeating is greater in a 1000-student high school than it could possibly be in a 22-student kindergarten.
- But it matters less, because a repeating name is diluted as your child stands out for other reasons. In that 1000-student high school, you know that your Sophie is the freshman on the track team, while Sofia is the senior in the drama club. There’s another Sophia or three, maybe, but your daughter has never had a class with any of them.
It’s a little bit gutting to discover that your Maeve is one of two in your beloved neighborhood preschool program. It’s tempting to choose something even less common for her younger sibling – and maybe that’s the right approach. But it’s also good to reflect that an early case of name-sharing won’t necessarily make your kiddo one in a crowd forever.
ELSEWHERE ONLINE
Dog names are people names, and people names are dog names. Proof? The American Kennel Club released their updated list of the Top Ten picks, and every girl-dog name is a popular girl-people name. The boys’ list leans a little more divided. I’m probably going to guess that Bear or Duke is your beloved pet, but Cooper or Finn? Could go either way.
Popular names in Latvia are fascinating. Many are identical to the American Top 100: Nora, Mia, Emma, Leo. Others are just a little different: Olivers, Adele. But some are absolutely new to me: Reinis, Viesturs, Madara, Ieva.
Will there be an uptick in baby Boscos? My guess is no, but I was delighted to note a character named Bosco LeRoy in Now You See Me, Now You Don’t, the latest installment in the magician/Robin Hood saga. Dominic Sessa plays the part. Just 29 boys were named Bosco in 2024, so the saintly surname is a long shot, but it’s also a Bo- name ending with O, so … maybe?
UPDATING & THINKING ABOUT
Afton, because Aspen has had a good run.
Fia, a Mia-Maeve-Sophia successor with a great meaning: untamed.
Lucian, the logical successor to Sebastian and Julian.
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading and have a great week!
