MSN.com has just released the Top 10 boys and girls names of 2007. I don't know how accurate it is since the Social Security Administration hasn't released the "official" list, but it's probably pretty close. Most of you who read this know that I am and have been really interested in names/words for most of my life (since I could read I guess), and this article points out one reason why names are fascinating: many times, the surgence or resurgence of a name reflects things that are happening in our culture. Most of you probably know at least one baby named Addison that was born since "Grey's Anatomy" appeared on TV, and the article points out that Addison climbed 20 spots in just 2007. That's kind of a big deal to name geeks out there. The same kind of thing had the opposite effect in 2006 when the name Katrina dropped from 246 to 382. To read more about the effects current culture has had on naming, go here. Fascinating! The author of the site sponsors a "name of the year" contest, and this year it was Barack. Let's see if the political climate of the United States has an effect on the number of little Baracks born in the United States in the coming years, shall we?
It would be interesting to see if this list took into account the kre8ive spellings of the mainstream names already present on the list (Addyson, Haylee, Ayden, etc.: you know, the parents who want to be "different."), or if those names are just a bit further down the list.
Anyway, if you are planning on having a baby in 2008, there's one list for you. You may want to get your ideas from it, or you may want to avoid it completely. Bottom line, if you love a name, you should go for it no matter how popular or unpopular it is. I mean, I grew up with many other Leslies in my classes (no other Lesleys though), and I was just fine. Anyway, even if you decide on a name for your child and have regrets about it later, a name isn't as permanent as it may seem. You can always change it like these people did. One girl in the article, named Sophie, began going by Isadora at the age of four!
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4 comments:
I doubt that list is accurate at all, for the whole of the US. But for people that I know (probably the same kind of people that let BabyCenter know what they named their kid), it's pretty darn close.
I love my name and tell my parents regularly how glad I am that they named me what they did. Here's a doozy for you...if my sister would have been a boy, my dad was going to name her Yuri Gragorie Lanier....I know it's phonetically spelled on at least the middle name, but he's big into Russian/Eastern European type names and that was what he wanted...thank you God for a sister! BTW I would have been Alexander (can't think of middle name they said?) and my brother would have been Rachel Aprilova.
I remember you telling me about Yuri Gregori. Wonder why they didn't use that for your brother's name? Maybe yours was supposed to be Alexander Dmitri. Anyway, your parents were ahead of their time naming you Emma.
Or behind the times...anyway, I don't know anyone else our age named Emma, and it is a great name. Josh was going to be Rhonda if he was a girl.
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