Table of Contents
Name-inspired news and notes for your Sunday reading.
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The names we choose reflect who we are. Race has always been a factor, but it’s not as easy as dividing names into categories – and I suspect it’s even more complicated in 2025.
Nancy recently shared Virginia’s name popularity data for 2024. I’d forgotten that they break their statistics down by race. (Note: as far as I’m aware, these are self-reported.)
It confirmed something I’ve been talking about for a while: Mia is a Latina name. It’s #7 for the state, but #1 among parents identifying as Hispanic.
What surprised me: so is Dylan!
Dylan has recently bumped up in the US popularity data – again – after sliding for a few years. Could credit for the resurgence goes to Spanish-speaking parents? To my ear, it’s a great crossover name, but what drives it? Singer Alejandro Sanz welcomed a son named Dylan in 2011, but that feels like old news. It seems like there’s no definite answer, though this article notes that, like Kai, Dylan’s ties to the sea might explain some of the appeal.
Any thoughts on why Dylan is trending with Spanish-speaking families are welcome!
ELSEWHERE ONLINE
Not sure why I’m so obsessed with the newest member of the Pig family, but … welcome Evie Pig, a little sister for Peppa and George! A town Crier made the big announcement. George and Evie are both very popular choices for children in England right now. Peppa is still a name that’s all her own, which feels right.
TikTok influencers Morgan and Lou named their son Pony Ramone. And the people of the Internet have thoughts. My take? It was inspired by the Orville Peck album “Pony.” I think that’s a solid reason. As rare as the name is, in a world of children named Colt and Bear, is Pony really that outlandish? I’m going to say no.
How perfect is the name Benson Boone? Yes, it’s his real name. The singer-songwriter was much nominated at the American Music Awards. But is any honor greater than having your first and last name trend for children?
UPDATING & THINKING ABOUT
Darcy is back in the girls’ Top 1000. The name is very much preceded by “Mister” in our house, thanks to my Austen-obsessed bookworm daughter. But I think this one is solidly unisex. Kind of love Darcie, too, which is the more popular spelling in the UK.
Maverick is the name that taught me so much. When I started writing in 2008, I was harshly dismissive of this name. The reason I’m so open to truly unusual choices like Pony in 2025? Because I’ve watched Maverick swagger its way up the popularity charts to absolute normal name status.
On the other hand, we’re still snarky about Apple. Which I think is absolutely undeserved. If Apple had been the character of a quirky-yet-lovable television character, I can see it right up there between Willow and Clementine today. I think our reaction is more more about Gwyneth Paltrow than the merits of her daughter’s name.
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
Benson Boone is from the Pacific Northwest in Washington state. I’ve noticed a lot of names are ahead of trend there. Examples: when Olivia was first catching on, there were already scores of Olivias graduating high school. Hudson was common there before the national stats caught up.
The Aiden trend was in full force at the turn of the millennium!
I love how Benson Boone’s giving these names a bigger audience and extra boost!