Industry guru Dave Taylor offers tech support on technical and business topics, including iPhone, iPod, Microsoft Windows, Sony PSP, cellphones, online advertising, CSS, Web design, business, Unix, Linux, SEO, Mac OS X, and shell script programming.     


What are the top baby names?

I'm pregnant and for months have been looking at different online baby name sites trying to figure out the top 100 baby names, top boy's names, top girl's names and so on. It's amazing how many weird and offbeat names the various sites have, but even then, I have to admit I'm skeptical that they really have both the names and their meanings right. So, Dave, what are the top baby names in the United States and where can I find out their meanings?


Dave's Answer:

It wasn't so long ago that my (now ex) wife and I were in the same situation, looking for just the right baby name for our little girl, but being a geek at heart, I went ahead and built a baby name site that's focused on both the names and their meanings. It's a part of my parenting site, the Go Fatherhood Blog, but that's another story. :-)

In terms of identifying the top baby names, that's actually a bit harder. On the other hand, what better place to look for baby names than the Social Security Administration since, after all, every newborn eventually gets a social security number.

And so, according to the SSA, here are the top 10 male and female names for 2005:

Top 10 Names for 2005
Rank Male name Female name
1 Jacob Emily
2 Michael Emma
3 Joshua Madison
4 Matthew Abigail
5 Ethan Olivia
6 Andrew Isabella
7 Daniel Hannah
8 Anthony Samantha
9 Christopher Ava
10 Joseph Ashley
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

There's more info there too. Pick a name you like and you can see how popular it is. Search for "Dave", for example, and you'll find that in 1993 it was ranked 976th for boys, in 1992 it was 980th and in 1991 it was 910th. On the year I was born it was in the top 150 and it appears to have peaked as a popular name in 1959. Fun trivia!

You can also find the top names on a per-state basis. For example, in 2005, the top name in Alaska was Madison, while Olivia took the top slot in Connecticut and Alyssa scored #1 in New Mexico. On the boy's side, Arizona had Angel as its top choice, while Florida had Joshua and Texas had Jose. This shows clear ethnic and demographic differences in these states.

Perhaps the most interesting information from the SSA is the popular twin names, and it reads a lot like some sort of Bible study class. Here are the top 10 twin names: Jacob and Joshua, Matthew and Michael, Daniel and David, Faith and Hope, Ethan and Evan, Taylor and Tyler, Isaac and Isaiah, Joseph and Joshua, Nathan and Nicholas and Madison and Mason. Recognize any twins in that data set?

Wondering about our birth rate in the United States? Here's an interesting graph:

birth-rate-fertility

Finally, again, if you seek baby names and their meanings, I invite you to check out my Baby Names and Their Meanings mini-site, where you can learn exciting tidbits like the fact that popular name Joshua means "God is salvation. The biblical figure who led the Israelites to the promised land. Also see Hosea and Jesus (origin: Biblical)" and that Jacob means "Held by the heel (origin: Biblical)". On the girl's side, Emily turns out to mean either "Admiring (origin: Latin)" or "industrious, eager (origin: German)".

Good luck with the naming, and good luck with the birth!


More Useful d) None of the Above Articles:
✔   What's the most popular Halloween candy?
It's Halloween, All Hallow's Eve, and in the United States, at least, that means it's time for a strange custom that children throughout...
✔   Review: Sony NEX-5N Digital Camera
This is a guest post by professional photographer Paul M. Bowers... I was born and raised in the briar patch of commercial photography-...
✔   How do other countries celebrate Independence Day?
Hello Mr. Taylor. The other kids in my class say that every country celebrates Independence Day on July 4th and that it's a...
✔   What is a ponzi scheme?
Dave, a friend of mine listened politely to my explanation of how a multi-tiered marketing system I've signed up for works, then told...
✔   Update firmware on my Panasonic Blu-Ray DVD player?
I have a Panasonic DMP-BDT320 blu-ray DVD player and it's starting to report that I need a 'firmware' update or upgrade. I have...

Let's stay in touch!
Sign up for my weekly AskDaveTaylor Newsletter and you'll receive even more tech and gadget help right to your inbox, along with exclusive news and industry updates. It's good stuff. I promise!
    Enter your name: and your email addr:  





Categorized: d) None of the Above   (Article 6805, Written by )
Tagged: baby names, names and their meanings, top baby names
Previous: Can I have conditional text in a Movable Type template?
Next: Does Google hate squeeze pages?




Reader Comments To Date: 2

Neil Street said, on September 4, 2006 3:31 PM:

That math question almost threw me!
Seriously -- I get what you're saying about the baby naming sites. We just built a new site (www.babynamesgarden.com) that we hope answers a lot of the issues. We are proud of our 18,000 + name database, and our well-researched lists. We put a lot of work into getting it just right.

Neil Street said, on October 10, 2006 2:29 PM:

It may be too late for the original poster, but we at Baby Names Garden just created a list of the Top 100 Baby Names of the 20th Century. We call it the Mother of all Baby Names Lists. Located at http://www.babynamesgarden.com/Decade.aspx

Cheers,
Neil

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











I will never send you any unsolicited email. Ever.






Check This Out Too...

 
Look for Answers
Need Help? Ask Dave Taylor!


Follow Me on Pinterest

Find Me on Google+
ADT on G+
© 2002 - 2013 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. My lawyer says "Thanks".
"Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.