That’s right, it’s data time! The SSA has released its top 1000 and beyond, dishing out the most popular and the most rare; those who have slipped and those who have climbed over the years. First up, as any of you who’ve hung around for a while know, is the Victorious Top Ten. Today, we’ll be talking about the names that claimed those elite twenty spots, whether they just shifted up or down a bit or if we’re welcoming newcomers into the group. There was quite a suitable amount of shifting this year, and I happened to predict my version and predictions for this year’s top ten before the data was released, adding yet another element of fun to this series. So, with that covered, let’s take a look at some of these numbers!
And the Winners are... The Top Three
The top three girls aren’t exactly the most fascinating. I had predicted that long, Latin Olivia would take the top spot once more, refusing to budge. And that she did. I can only say that I anticipate her reign to last a couple more years at least simply based on European popularity and her ability to snatch that #1 title from the much-adored Emma. Below her sits Emma again, a name that succumbed to Olivia without too much of a fight, but is still far too strong a power in the baby naming realm to give up yet more of her terrain, much less scoot down and out of the top three. I’m very glad to report that I also correctly predicted Emma, as well as #3 Ava. And major shocker, Ava sat in the same exact place that she claimed last year: #3. Ava’s tough for me to project for in the future, but I think she’ll either stay neutral, bopping about #3 for a few years in the future, or take a small hit down to #4 or #5 in the foreseeable future.
The boys stayed reliably still, even though their lack of movement was contrary to my predictions. Irish William diminutive Liam holds on to his three year streak proudly, as I had assumed. Masculine but brief, friendly and strong, and overall a versatile choice, it’s not hard to see why so many parents and guardians look down at their baby and bestow upon him the name Liam. However, I had predicted that Noah and Oliver would swap places in 2020, with Noah’s #2 in 2019 falling to replace #3 Oliver, handing adorable United Kingdom success Oliver the #2 position. Despite this making sense trajectory-wise, with Oliver very obviously on the upswing and Noah evidently descending from his peak, I simply think that there hasn’t been quite enough time for this to take effect. From this data, I assume that we’ll have a #2 Oliver in at least three years time, and Noah will have taken a couple fatal hits as well.
For Team Pink, I pride myself on correctly guessing the top 5. As I had initially recorded, Charlotte hopped up those 2 spots to claim her #4, lurking just outside the top 3. Will she achieve that coveted top 3 spot next year? Huh. If Ava’s timing is right, she could fall in 2021, paving the perfect path for Charlotte to slip into that #3 slot. Sophia fell that one spot that I expected her to, creeping back to the edge of the top five. Finally, Isabella budged two spots, losing all hope of sneaking back into the top three at this point until a potential revival time, the frilly treasure now plummeting at #7. Amelia slid right into #6, up a spot as I had suggested might occur. The girly, sweet, spunky little name is just bursting with nicknames and parents are adoring her, so it’s no wonder that she’s mounting the ranks. Mia stayed still, a name tugged in two directions. She’s boosted by being a condensed version of the wildly popular Amelia, yet is dragged down by her past popularity and a hint of datedness. These forces have balanced eachother out, resulting in her neutrality. However, we’ll have to see how well Amelia fares in order to properly assume which force will ultimately be stronger and give Mia a boost--or a push downward. Finally, there’s the swap for #9 and #10, a swap I completely did not see coming. Instead of Harper hopping on top of Evelyn, Evelyn pushes perky, plucky Harper down a spot while the sweet modern classic reigns.
As for the baby boys born in 2020, I was happy to see that I at least hit it out of the park with #4 and #5, even if I swung and missed for the top three. According to my estimation, biblical Elijah would swap places with traditional William, reflecting the sounds and stylistic preferences for names in recent years. And that is exactly what transpired. Elijah masterfully brought William down, and then stole his #4 spot by quite the healthy margin. Benjamin and Lucas stayed stagnant, contrary to my claim that Lucas would handily defeat Benjamin. And then came the real shocker: the candidates for #9 and #10. Based on last years data, I doubted that any really substantial change would be made to the contents of the top ten, more of a gentle reconstruction and reconfiguration to better suit the needs of parents today. Oh, but was I wrong.
We all know that 2020 was a year of immense change, and apparently, that applies to boy names as well. Instead of Mason and Ethan exchanging their spots as I had anticipated, both names completely disappeared from the face of the top ten, Mason slipping to the outskirts of the top ten at #11, with Ethan falling just a bit further behind at #13. Instead, 2019’s #12 Henry managed to leap a shocking three spots to plant himself at #9, a modern classic that just seems to be expanding his reach by the year. I personally expected him to make a dramatic move like this. In my name profile for Henry about a month ago, I said that, “Predicting #10 or #9 for him next year would not be ludicrous,” and I definitely stand by this, particularly now that the data is out to confirm my theory. But previous #11 Alexander wasn’t really on my radar. The name is wonderful, a classic with cool and edgy modern nicknames, but it’s been on a downward slope. Why now does Alexander suddenly crack the top 10? Well, I’m certainly not complaining. After all, this just means that a whole ton of parents loved Hamilton just as much as I did (although I’m partial to Angelica and Theodosia myself).
My Favorites: Personal Top Three (Of The Top Ten)
Elijah has really grown on me. He’s not my typical style, but something about his sounds and style are just really appeal to me. He scores #1 for my boys. I’ll shove Alexander in #2, a solid classic worn by Kings and saints and a whole lot of admirable people. Lex is also such a fun nickname! Finally, I’ll throw in Noah, quite the wildcard, but a name that has some of the appealing factors of Elijah. Plus, the meaning “rest; comfort” is lovely and sweet. As for the top ten most popular baby girl names, I’m keeping them mostly the same since last year. Sweetly regal Charlotte with her spunky nickname Charlie and calming and peaceful full form is just too hard to resist, so she accepts Delphina Moon’s #1 for the second year in a row. And yes, Evelyn manages to grab my #2 once more. Evie is so precious! I’m going to slide Emma in there as #3. From day to day, I get different vibes from Emma. Some days, she’s a precocious name, a bratty name. The other days, she’s graceful, dainty, and literary. Today, as you may have guessed, she’s the latter.
Thank you for taking a look at the first bit of my Data Analysis series! Next up, some of the boy names that flew the highest, the names for our sons that are statistically the most trendy. Well, that’s all, but I hope you enjoyed the first segment of this 5-part data analysis series. Happy mother's day to all of the moms out there, and a very special thank you to my mom. Take care everyone, and enjoy the rest of your day!
Sincerely,
-Delphina Moon