2011 Baby Names Almanac - Emily Larson [2]
The following chart lists the top five names for girls and boys for each of the 50 states, and it also shows the actual number of births for each of those names in each state. Check out how many girl babies got the number 1 name in Wyoming (Isabella, 36) compared to the number of girl babies with the same name in California (3,127)
Top Five Names by State
What Joined—and Dropped Off—the Hot 100 in 2009?
One of the easiest ways to spot name trends is to watch what joins the hot 100 and what drops off. For the (young) ladies, several new names joined in 2009: Serenity, Mya, Molly, Khloe (Kardashian, we bet! This name jumped the most places in 2008 and has now cracked the hot 100), Eva, and Bella (of course, Twilight!).
Another bunch dropped off the list: Sara, Megan, Mary (the girls’ name that has been number 1 more often than any other name in the past 100 years, a total of 46 times!), Jennifer (another hugely popular name from yesteryear), Isabel (so close to Isabella, this year’s number 1!), and Gracie. For the boys, Parker, Oliver, Miguel, and Levi joined the list, and here’s a real shocker: the very similar-sounding names Kaden, Jaden, and Caden, plus Brady, fell off. Perhaps those “-aden” names got a little bit too popular for some people in 2009?
New To The Hot 100
Serenity Parker
Mya Oliver
Molly Miguel
Khloe Levi
Eva
Bella
Off the Hot 100
Sara Kaden
Megan Jaden
Mary Caden
Jennifer Brady
Isabel
Gracie
New to the Top 1,000 This Year
These names are fresh faces in the top 1,000 list this year. Some of them have appeared on the list in years past, but after falling off the charts, they’re making a comeback. Odds are they’ll keep moving up.
The boys’ name Eden has appeared at number 902 for two years in a row.
Girls
Vivienne: 532 Taraji: 881 River: 960
Bristol: 666 Ember: 885 Ivanna: 965
Leighton: 669 Evelynn: 899 Ayleen: 968
Milan: 775 Harlow: 902 Marleigh: 976
Brinley: 778 Alaya: 903 Kayleen: 981
Maliah: 800 Caydence: 905 Azariah: 985
Lylah: 828 Raelyn: 922 Reece: 987
Calleigh: 832 Aiyanna: 948 Cambria: 993
Adelynn: 843 Kamya: 956 Samiyah: 994
Rylan: 859 Charley: 949 Kloe: 998
Millie: 868 Kaelynn: 955 Lilyanna: 999
Boys
Archer: 679 Casen: 905 Mack: 975
Knox: 706 Westin: 934 Remy: 976
Sylas: 847 Hayes: 949 Maddux: 983
Kayson: 852 Maxx: 958 Zavion: 986
Jaxton: 855 Jaycob: 970 Cain: 987
Dilan: 875 Juelz: 972
Camilo: 898 Kalel: 973
Biggest Jumper: Analia
Perhaps due in part to the Telemundo show El Rostro de Analia, Analia zoomed onto the list this year. Not even on the top 1,000 in the last 20 years, it leaped at least 67 percent and more than 675 places to debut at 329.
How Do You Spell Aydin?
When you take into account that the name Jayden has ten spelling variations in the top 1,000 (see the list that follows), that means that this one name actually shows up on the list ten different times! We broke down the top 1,000 names for boys and girls this way, counting all the different spelling variations as one name, and we got some surprising results. Looking from that perspective, there aren’t 1,000 unique names at all! We counted roughly 639 unique girls’ names, and approximately 747 unique boys’ names. The girls have fewer unique names, spelled in more ways, whereas parents of boys reach into a bigger pool of names. Let’s take a look at some of the names with the most (or most interesting!) variations in the top 1,000.
Note: some of these names could be pronounced slightly differently from one another, but if they could also be pronounced the same as the main name on the list, we included them.
Boys
It’s no surprise that the “-ayden” names (such as Aiden, Jayden, Brayden, and Kaden) offer lots of spelling variety, but the changes in Tristan and Kason struck us as a little more unusual.
Aiden Jayden Kaden Brayden
1. Aiden 1. Jayden 1. Kaden 1. Brayden
2. Aidan 2. Jaden 2.