We’ve made it to the very final match in this summer’s contest!
The annual New Names Showdown started at the beginning of July with eight names for boys, all new to the US Top 1000 or recently returned to the rankings:
- AURELIO
- CHOSEN
- DUTTON
- LUX
- MURPHY
- RHODES
- TEO
- ZEN
Your votes narrowed that list from eight names to four. And now we’ve reduced that list to just two finalists.
(Not sure what all of this is about? Check out this post for an overview of our annual summer throw down between names new to the US Top 1000.)
Here’s how the semifinals played out:
With nearly 67% of the total, Rhodes beat out Aurelio. Rhodes marries s-ending favorites with place names, for a powerful combination. (The Marvel character doesn’t hurt!) But Aurelio marries ancient style with a vibrant O ending. So while Rhodes’ win was clear, odds are we’re going to hear lots more of both names.
Murphy scored more than 56% of the votes to slide past Teo. Friendly, upbeat Irish name Murphy might join Riley and Finnegan farther up the popularity charts. And Teo? It’s another O-ender, a romance language cousin to Theodore. For now, it’s Murphy that moves forward.
