First, if you’re celebrating Mother’s Day today, wishing you a joyful Sunday.
And if today is hard for you, please know that you’re not alone.
Since the Social Security Administration gave us our annual Mother’s Day Gift this past Friday, all the news is related to those numbers.
YELLOWSTONE IS STILL A BIG STORY
Character names from the smash hit show influenced parents’ choices in 2022. This year, it’s the girl’s turn. Last year, Dutton and Kayce rocketed into the US Top 1000. They gained again in 2023. The story for this round, though, is Lainey smashing into the Top 100. Country music star Lainey Wilson plays Abby on the show, so it’s not her character’s name, but her name influencing parents’ choices.
POP CULTURE FUELS DEBUTS, TOO: VISERYS, ALICENT, NAMORA, RZA
Nancy has the scoop on names appearing in the data for the very first time. (This means they’ve been given to five boys or five girls in a single year. When the number of births falls below that threshold, names are not reported.) Popular franchises like House of the Dragon, Avatar, and Black Panther pushed some interesting choices into use, as did music and sports. See the girls’ list here and the boys’ list here.
JAMESON, EVERLY, ADDISON ALL FALL: PART OF A BIGGER TREND?
Laura Wattenberg raises an intriguing question: is the surname name era coming to an end? She notes that many of the fastest falling names are surnames (or spelling variants of surnames, like Everleigh and Jaxon) and none of the fastest rising ones come from the category. I’m not sure how to think about this just yet. She’s absolutely right … and yet, I’ve heard parents say they dislike surname names, but name their kids Avery and Graham. Still, definitely something to watch closely.
AURORA: FUTURE TOP TEN NAME?
Okay, this is only partially data related. But I feel like Aurora has become the name that appeals to everyone. The sound is gorgeous. It comes from an ancient goddess of the dawn, which feels auspicious. There’s even a Disney princess! We love A names, and the -ora sound. It shortens to Rory. Norwegian singer Aurora collaborated on the Frozen 2 song “Into the Unknown.” The Foo Fighters have a song called “Aurora” and fictional band Daisy Jones & the Six do, too. But mostly: it’s a night sky name that delivers amazing, color-drenched displays. How can you not love this name? And yes, Aurora reached the Top 25 this year, ranking #22 in the US – a new high.
MATEO: MORE THAN JUST A NEW TOP TEN NAME
For years, I’ve been watching the way we name our sons change. Not the names, exactly – though that, too. But this feels like a seismic shift. For generations, we gave our sons traditional names, family names, solid, masculine names, in the most conventional English form. We saved our creativity for our daughters. (Not everyone, not all the time. But as a general practice.) There are half a dozen reasons for this change. But one of them is the rise of Spanish language. Nearly 42 million Americans speak Spanish at home. And so Mateo surpasses Matthew, Luca is more popular than Luke.
I’ll be exploring this – and lots of other, big picture trends – on the AM Baby Names Patreon. Join us!
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
I’d love to know if anybody has ever seen the Aurora Borealis in real life! I haven’t yet.
I haven’t, but I know that there’s a solar storm going on that makes it far more visible than it has been before.
Thank you! That is interesting.
“For generations, we gave our sons traditional names, family names, solid, masculine names”
I mean that hasnt changed just because Mateo and Luca are super popular. They are traditional and masculine in their respective languages. Its just that for example, hispanics make a larger share of the population in 2023 than in 1983.
Good point, thank you – I’ve been trying to remember to add “English” when I describe this switch, but I missed it here. Updating.