The Top 20 Most Popular Baby Names (Warning: Stupidity alert!)

Netscape News ^ | 1/9/04 | anon.

[VeritatisSplendor]

The Top 20 Most Popular Baby Names

For the first time in more than a decade, the year's most popular baby name for boys is not Biblical. Move over Michael and Matthew and make room for Aidan, Jaden, and Caden--the top three boys' names for 2003, according to BabyNames.com.

Meanwhile, Madison has hung on for another year as the top name for girls, which as near as anyone can figure comes from the 1984 movie "Splash," starring Daryl Hannah in the role of a mermaid named Madison.

Top 20 boys' names:

Aidan/Aiden/Aden

Jaden/Jayden

Caden/Kaden

Ethan

Caleb

Dylan

Jacob

Jordan

Logan

Hayden

Connor

Ryan

Morgan

Cameron

Andrew

Joshua

Noah

Matthew

Addison

Ashton

Top 20 girls' names:

Madison

Emma

Abigail

Riley

Chloe

Hannah

Alexis

Isabella

Mackenzie

Taylor

Olivia

Hailey

Paige

Emily

Grace

Ava

Aaliyah

Alyssa

Faith

Brianna

BabyNames.com compiles this annual ranking of the top 20 most popular baby names using the favorite name lists created on the Web site by more than 100,000 expectant parents.

The shift in the choice of boys' names is really quite notable. "Traditionally, you see more of a fluctuation and creativity in girls' names, but this is the first year we have seen such a big change in the boys' name list," admitted Jennifer Moss, a senior partner with BabyNames.com.

"In the past 20 years, Celtic and English names--such as Ashley, Caitlyn, and Brianna--have been extremely popular for girls," adds Moss. "And now that trend is entering the boys' list with Aidan, Dylan, Logan, and Connor--a huge break from the usual trend of Biblical names like Michael and Jacob. We think as names become uni-gender for girls, parents are taking more risks and being more creative and unique with naming their boys."

[Captainpaintball]

At first it was just black names that were absurd. I'm still waiting for "Escalade Jackson," "Grand Marquis Jones," "Nextel Jenkins" and "Pentium 4 Watkins" to grace the police blotters.

Now it seems white America feels the need to make their kid more speeeeeeeeeecial by giving them stupid (or ridiculously spelled versions of reguar) names. Megan Meghan, Mheghan, Meegan, Meghaan, Mehgann, Maygan, Mayghann, Morgan, Morgann, Morghann, More-gan, More-gon, Mor-on, morons, MORONS!!! It was once a white-trash phenomenon, now it's polluted all segments of society. It's mostly the woman's fault; although today's man isn't doing much about it... hence the preponderance of sissy boys' names.

Almost all of the boy names sound limp-wristed and androgenous. The girl names might as well earn the unfortunate recipients automatic welfare benefits.

It's not funny. It is a sign of a slow, painful decline down the toilet for the whole country.

[conservative cat]

I'm sure everyone can imagine what was done to the name Gabrielle.

I hope not too much, my older daughter is Gabrielle! (I've called her Crabrielle, before.)

[Alberta's Child]

What was the dog's name -- Bitch?

LOL.

[conservative cat]

It would be interesting to track down the reasons for the sudden rise and/or fall of other names.

As a previous poster said, Aidan was a character on Sex in the City. I don't watch it and don't like it, but I did like the name for a boy when I was expecting this past summer. Emma is Rachel and Ross' baby on friends. I do like that name. It was struck down by the male half. : )

I try to go with names that aren't too popular but aren't too weird either. It is harder to do with boys. We named our nine year old Nicolas because it was the only boy's name that my ex-husband and I could agree on. Turns out that it had a sudden surge in popularity and there were Nicholases everywhere in his age group. My daughter, who is six, has about 3 in her class.

[PAR35]

Kashod is also apparently a word which appears in the original text of the book of Joel in the Old Testament. If he isn't Muslim, then his family probably heard a preacher expounding on the book of Joel and didn't get the spelling quite right.

Calvin, Commentary on Joel, Part 3
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/m.sion/cvjoe-03.htm

[Dan from Michigan]

Damn it. That song is now running through my head.

[FITZ]

Someday the Brittney's, Kimmies, Jessicas, Joshuas, Jasons of 15 -20 years ago will be grandparents and their grandchildren will wonder why they had to get such old-fashioned sounding names. Some names seem to belong only to a generation or so --- but names like Michael, Elizabeth, Joseph, Sara don't seem to place you in any particular generation. I knew people who were given overly-ethnic names and they always hated them.

[Straight Vermonter]

Both of my boys have biblical names and will be taking saint's names when they are confirmed. Its nice for kids to have someone to try to emulate.

[FITZ]

LOL!

[Virginia-American]

Hey I have an 'old standby' name of Virginia

Which I'm quite fond of...

Seriously, I have a cousin Virginia.

My great aunt was named Norfa. (born in the late 1800s). No-one has any explanation of where the name is from.

[jonsie]

Thanks, that helps knowing that the parents were trying for a biblical name. I have some many students who have names that are hard to pronounce. Some I know are made up, but some are from Africa and other countries that are legit. I generally ask students where they got their names from. Many students have "normal" names but opt for more "street" names like Biggie "Z".

[Koblenz]

Monica has dropped off the charts.

She got blown away

[proudpapa]

My wife wanted a unique name for our son. I recommended Adolph. Strangely enough she changed her mind and wanted something more common... Jacob.

[Khurkris]

"I got a new student today named "Quashod" and I am perplexed as to why any parent would name their name son that!"

I think that is some kind of clam or oyster.

[FreepLady]

I named my middle daughter Camden. Poor thing, she can never find any personalized cups with her name on it!! :-)
My youngest son is Grayson...although my 71 yr. old Dad has a habit of calling him "Jason". (When I was pregnant..needless to say I was quite hormonal and weird!!)

[Gabz]

Your daughter will be just fine...........the kids in my neighborhood in the late 60's and early 70's was not as forgiving about names as they are today.

Crabrielle is a new one on me - I have no intentions of letting my husband see this post!!!!!!!

[T'wit]

A few years ago a Swedish couple named their son
Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmncssqlbb11116, pronounced "Albin."

[michaelt]

Next, how 'bout monica? took a dive in 98 and never recovered.

Are you telling me Monica went down in 1998?

[T'wit]

Then this came along and I couldn't resist :-)

The Xinmin Evening News claims that China (population 1 billion 200 million) is running out of first names. In fact, nearly all of them use one of only a hundred or so given names, which means that if you are named Tiffany or Jason or Caitlin, there will be twelve million other people named Tiffany or Jason or Caitlin, and we can see how that would get on everyone's nerves. Yet so far nobody in China has been named Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmncssqlbb11116, much less Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmncssqlbb11117.

[woofie]

Where is "Gub"?