When it comes to nature names for boys, daring possibilities abound. This list focuses on the most popular picks in the US as of September 2020, reflecting births in calendar year 2019. Of course, nature names for boys have always been with us. Glenn and Craig and Ray all had their moments during the twentieth […]
READ MORE >>Rarest Girl Names: Arbor, Silvana, Teal
If you’re looking for a name your daughter will never share, this list of the very rarest girl names is for you. Every one of these names was given to 50 or fewer girls born in the US in 2019. That’s not zero – but it’s pretty darn rare. After all, it takes 257 births […]
READ MORE >>Fastest Rising Boy Names: Luca, Waylon, Brooks
There’s more than one way to define the fastest rising boy names in the US. Most often, we look at rank. Archie jumped over 300 spots; Kenzo and Saint, by more than 100 each. But it’s sometimes more interesting to look at gains in the actual number of babies given a particular name. Archie’s big […]
READ MORE >>Fastest Rising Girl Names: Alaia, Everleigh, Luna
When we talk about the fastest rising girl names, we’re almost always talking about rank. Which name rocketed from #846 to #603? (That would be Lyanna, by the way.) But it’s equally interesting to look at which Top 1000 names rose the most in terms of actual births. After all, rank is relative. A (slightly) […]
READ MORE >>Sunday Summary: Data Day Comes At Last!
I was planning on a long, lazy Labor Day weekend. A bunch of books were queued up on my Kindle, we’d done the grocery shopping, the house was clean. And then, I flipped my laptop open just to finish proofreading a private #namehelp post I had promised for Saturday … ONLY TO DISCOVER THE DATA! […]
READ MORE >>New Boy Names: September 2020 Update
50 new boy names returned or debuted in the US Top 1000 for the calendar year 2020. After much waiting, the US Social Security Administration released all the data on September 4th – just in time for Labor Day! How does 50 new boy names compare to years past? Last year, we reviewed 45 newcomers. […]
READ MORE >>New Girl Names: September 2020 Update
40 new girl names either debuted in or returned to the US Top 1000 for the calendar year 2019. That’s down from 50 last year. The list published in 2018 gave us 43 new girl names. In 2017, 45 girls’ names ranked in the US Top 1000 that did not appear in the prior year. The […]
READ MORE >>Most Popular Baby Names: Olivia and Liam Take the Top Spots
After a long delay, the new baby names popularity data for the United States is here at last! OLIVIA REPLACES EMMA AS THE TOP NAME FOR GIRLS There’s very little change in the girls’ US Top Ten, but we do have a new #1: Olivia. The new Top Ten is as follows: Olivia Emma Ava […]
READ MORE >>Name Help: Connecting Names for Boy-Girl Twins
Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! Alison writes: I’m expecting boy-girl twins in December – but they will probably […]
READ MORE >>Thisbe and Thora: Girl Names starting with TH
With Thea racing up the charts, could more girl names starting with Th be next? After all, they’re underused. Astonishingly so! As of 2018, just two appeared in the US Top 1000: Thea, at #273 and Thalia, at #763. Even classic Theresa fails to chart, though Teresa comes in at #798. It wasn’t always this […]
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