English: Bratislava; New Year 2005; FireWorksThe Social Security Administration has released the 2013 data on most popular baby names, just in time for Mother’s Day!

Lots to think about here, but some quick and completely random notes:

  • Thatcher cracked the US Top 1000 for the first time, ever!  I’ve been big on ‘r’ ending names for a while, and with choices like Archer and Asher on the rise for boys, my only question is why haven’t we discovered Thatcher sooner?
  • Speaking of ‘r’ endings, Piper grabbed me when I spotted her at #97.  A new debut in the Top 100?  Nope.  I just had forgotten that she snuck in at #98 last year.  Still, could Piper be the new Harper, and if so, do we thank Orange is the New Black?
  • London seems to have definitively gone girl.  Both the original spelling and Londyn are climbing for girls, but London is falling for boys
  • For the first time in three years, Aiden has left the Top Ten.  Or has it?  ForReal’s quickie math tells us that Aidan and company are still mighty popular when you add up all of the possible spellings.
  • Speaking of spellings, oh boy, golly I’d been watching Jaxon, but who woulda guessed that Jaxson would be the up-and-comer?  And Jayceon is stunning, with his #206 debut.  Is that the influence of rapper The Game, born Jayceon Terrell Taylor?  Or did I miss a memo?
  • On another note, The Downton Abbey effect is legit, at least as far as the Duchess of Grantham is concerned.  Cora is up to #127.  Or maybe it is the Floradora girls, because Nora is up from #107 to #83.
  • Apollo was up from #993 to #969.  That’s before the Gwen Stefani effect could take hold.  Any guesses as to where Apollo will land for 2014?
  • Magnolia is back in the Top 1000 – huzzah!

Have your favorites climbed?  My girls’ names remain pretty obscure, as do most of my favorites for boys.  But there are some really fabulous names on this list that are definitely on the rise!

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About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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7 Comments

  1. Our boy name is getting a lot of press for being a new entrance into the top 1000…*sigh* Oh well. It’s been hovering just outside for several decades, but it goes to show that even less popular names don’t escape the media eye. I’m trying to get over it…I think about popularity too much anyway 😉 What I’m extremely upset about is that our girl name went form never used by more than 4 girls ever, to being suddenly used! I must be right with the times!

  2. Thoughts:
    Mabel – I can’t believe this one went from outside the top 1000 to #707. I thought it would probably make an entrance, but didn’t expect such a huge jump!
    Atlas – I love Atlas, but didn’t know that so many people would embrace it. Another huge jump from outside the top 100 to #789
    Arlo – Now at #677?! Crossing my fingers that this doesn’t get too much more popular before I have kids.

    I love so many of the new additions, including Margot, Wren, Magnolia, Clyde, Castiel (I don’t watch Supernatural, so this is the first I’m hearing of it. I immediately love it!)

    I’m a little sad that Nora made it into the top 100 because she is a long time favorite of mine, but it was expected.

    Most of the boy names I love are in the top 1000, although some of them are falling. Caspian and Cian are still outside. Plenty of my favourites are still outside the top 1000 too: Ramona, Junia, Blythe, Harriet, Beatrix, Maxine, Zelda, Maude, Luella, Emmeline, and Seraphina.

    1. Yes, I was SHOCKED to see Atlas not only in the Top 1000, but at #789 no less! That is mine and my husband’s favorite name for a boy – it was the very first name I checked today and I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart sunk! I just hope it doesn’t continue a trend and skyrocket before we have kids and have a chance to name an Atlas of our own.

      If I remember correctly, it was quite a bit outside Top 1000 in 2012 (1200’s I believe?), so that is a HUGE jump. My biggest fear was that it’d just barely enter the Top 1000……and it was much worse than barely enter, that’s for sure!! Do you think it will continue to jump leaps and bounds? There are that many people who love it?

      Thankfully some of my favorites are still outside the Top 1000. Philippa (Pippa), Juno, and Dashiell (Dash). Junia is lovely too!

  3. My favorites have all stalled or gone down. My hated ones are going up, so I’m not pleased. Cant believe Daniel is back inside the top 10, it needs to go. But then this is the same chart where John, Chartles, Thomas and Robert are reclimbing… no inspiration whatsoever.

    All unisex names are climbing for girls and falling for boys, in typical fashion. I’d recommend parents just stop using them for boys once and for all. No point.

  4. well, my 2013-born twins’ names both jumped 100+ spots, but since we’re still hovering in the 600s, I don’t feel too bad about that. I was marginally worried they would jump 500 spots and we were part of a trend we didn’t know about.

    Welcome back, Magnolia. You are lovely!

  5. I didn’t notice that Magnolia is now top 1000. I do like that one. 🙂

    I think I spotted a Jaxson locally. I can’t remember now. But it did stand out as an unusual spelling.

    Thatcher is appropriate, after I saw it suggested a lot on Swistle yesterday, as an alternative to Catcher. I guess it took awhile to distance from Margaret Thatcher. That has to be one that is more popular in the US than in the UK.

    I’ve never even heard of the name Jayceon before! 😛 I was reading it “Jay-see-on” before I read that it’s usually “Jason”?! I’m really surprised by that one, especially if it’s just pronounced Jason.

  6. Granddaughter Mabel born in 2013 helped her name make it back into the Top 1000 after almost 50 years off the list. I’ve been following Mabel name news and expected Mabel would be in the 2013 Top 1000, but just barely, thinking she’d land somewhere in the 900s. I’m delighted to see Mabel at #707! (Right across from boys’ #707 Harry: wouldn’t they make a pair, Mabel and Harry!) . She’s on her way up again! (Peaked on the SSA list at #15 in 1891.)