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Help[Opinions] What names have american association to you?
Replies
Ashley
Barbie
Bonnie
Brittany
Candy
Cherry
Cindy
Cosette (yes, it came from Hugo but never heard it in this country)
Dolly
Haley (and variations therof)
Kaitlyn/Caitlyn (rather than Caitlín)
Kateri
Keira
Melissa
Rhoda
Rumer (Rumour)
Scarlett
Scout
Sienna
Sindy
Skeeter
Starla
Tonya (more used to Tanya)
Twyla
Tyra
Vonda (more used to Wanda)
Xanthe
Zena
names like Sue-Ellen, Peggy-May, Cindy-Lou, using last names as first names for girls; using names ending in son for girls (or Mac names - which means son of, Nic is the prefix for daughter of); spelling Ch or C names with a K or KH; names with suffices like LaDonna, LaShella, LaTonya, DeVonna. Anglecizations of Niamh, Siobhan, Róisin and other Gaidhlig or Gaelic names. Names after alcholic drinks - Brandi, Sherry, Chardonnay (and Hemingway did call one of his daughters Margaux after the wine).
Atticus
Carter
Chandler
Chip
Chuck
Clayton
Cletus
Coby
Cody
Cole
Colt
Colton
Devon
Duke
Earl
Ethan
Hank
Howard
Holton
Hunter
Junior
Killian
Kobi (as opposed to a nickname).
Koda
Kody
Kolby
Linus
Milt(on)
Newt
Parker
Phinneus
Poindexter
Skip/Skipper
Taylor
Thaddeus (tho that may be Polish emigrés)
Tyler
Tyrone (tho it is an Irish county, of course).
Trey
Trip
Xeon
Zeon
Double initial names CJ, JR, TJ, BA; names starting with prefixes DeWayne, LeShaun or Ja. Anglecisations of names like Séan, Seumas/Seamus and other Gaidhlig or Gaelic names. Names after guns..like Remington or Colt.
Barbie
Bonnie
Brittany
Candy
Cherry
Cindy
Cosette (yes, it came from Hugo but never heard it in this country)
Dolly
Haley (and variations therof)
Kaitlyn/Caitlyn (rather than Caitlín)
Kateri
Keira
Melissa
Rhoda
Rumer (Rumour)
Scarlett
Scout
Sienna
Sindy
Skeeter
Starla
Tonya (more used to Tanya)
Twyla
Tyra
Vonda (more used to Wanda)
Xanthe
Zena
names like Sue-Ellen, Peggy-May, Cindy-Lou, using last names as first names for girls; using names ending in son for girls (or Mac names - which means son of, Nic is the prefix for daughter of); spelling Ch or C names with a K or KH; names with suffices like LaDonna, LaShella, LaTonya, DeVonna. Anglecizations of Niamh, Siobhan, Róisin and other Gaidhlig or Gaelic names. Names after alcholic drinks - Brandi, Sherry, Chardonnay (and Hemingway did call one of his daughters Margaux after the wine).
Atticus
Carter
Chandler
Chip
Chuck
Clayton
Cletus
Coby
Cody
Cole
Colt
Colton
Devon
Duke
Earl
Ethan
Hank
Howard
Holton
Hunter
Junior
Killian
Kobi (as opposed to a nickname).
Koda
Kody
Kolby
Linus
Milt(on)
Newt
Parker
Phinneus
Poindexter
Skip/Skipper
Taylor
Thaddeus (tho that may be Polish emigrés)
Tyler
Tyrone (tho it is an Irish county, of course).
Trey
Trip
Xeon
Zeon
Double initial names CJ, JR, TJ, BA; names starting with prefixes DeWayne, LeShaun or Ja. Anglecisations of names like Séan, Seumas/Seamus and other Gaidhlig or Gaelic names. Names after guns..like Remington or Colt.
I would have to go with quintessentially African-American names because they are truly from the U.S. and do not originate from any other country. Many names that use apostrophes, like D'Andre or D'Angelo, and others like Deshawn or Daquan, or like Olympic runner Sha'carri Richardson, basketball player Lebron James, all names that sometimes recombine elements of existing names with new flair and flourishes or use invented prefixes and suffixes (if those are the right terms) to create new unique names that are truly American.
I guess I'd also have to add Native American given names, but I don't know many authentic Native American given names. Many tribal names, like Cheyenne, are not the names that those groups call themselves, they're more like umbrella terms.
For example,
The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the Tsétsėhéstȧhese (also spelled Tsitsistas, [t͡sɪt͡shɪstʰɑs][4]). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne
I guess I'd also have to add Native American given names, but I don't know many authentic Native American given names. Many tribal names, like Cheyenne, are not the names that those groups call themselves, they're more like umbrella terms.
For example,
The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the Tsétsėhéstȧhese (also spelled Tsitsistas, [t͡sɪt͡shɪstʰɑs][4]). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne
This message was edited 6/7/2025, 8:39 PM
I don't view last names as first names as American, because the British loved to use surnames too. Maybe it's just an "English" thing. But names that obviously refer to American popular figures, like Lincoln, Reagan, Kennedy, Jefferson, then yeah those are very American.
Gun related names are pretty American to me, like Kimber, Colt, Remington. Car and motorcycle related names (Axel, Hemi, Harley). Luxury brand names (Chanel, Dior, Lexus). Place names and Indigenous word names, like Dallas, Aspen, Winona, Laramie, Cheyenne, Dakota.
Although, we use all these names in Canada too, so maybe I should say they are North American rather than USAian.
Gun related names are pretty American to me, like Kimber, Colt, Remington. Car and motorcycle related names (Axel, Hemi, Harley). Luxury brand names (Chanel, Dior, Lexus). Place names and Indigenous word names, like Dallas, Aspen, Winona, Laramie, Cheyenne, Dakota.
Although, we use all these names in Canada too, so maybe I should say they are North American rather than USAian.
Certainly lnfns, and also occupational names, especially if they are typically male occupations given as names to girls. Attempting to be original by tweaking the spelling of names also seems more American than not.
Madison, Tex, Aviana, Colt, Emersyn, Hillary, Tanner, Dakota, Roosevelt, Taylor, Calvin, Sloane, Bailey, Houston, Koda, Tennessee, Earl, America, Oakley, Brooklyn, Hunter, Nevada, Joe, Collins, Truman, Sawyer, Ember, Mason, Carter, Nevaeh, Tucker, Cheyenne, Shania, Montana, Imani.
I think you have a point: it appears that Madison and Kennedy in particular started growing in popularity for reasons other than presidential association - Splash for Madison and the MTV personality Kennedy for Kennedy.
(Though I have to imagine that part of why Kennedy adopted that as her moniker was at least somewhat politically motivated. She was an MTV personality first and foremost for much of her career, but one who was unapologetic about her politics - she rather famously chanted "Nixon now!" at MTV's 1993 inaugural ball whenever the Clintons were onstage, and the image of a person named Kennedy chanting "Nixon now!" while one of the lawyers who worked on Nixon's impeachment is onstage is really almost aggressive with the symbolism. Kennedy is her middle name, I believe, so it didn't come out of nowhere, but still.)
I don't know that the same is true for Reagan, though.
(Though I have to imagine that part of why Kennedy adopted that as her moniker was at least somewhat politically motivated. She was an MTV personality first and foremost for much of her career, but one who was unapologetic about her politics - she rather famously chanted "Nixon now!" at MTV's 1993 inaugural ball whenever the Clintons were onstage, and the image of a person named Kennedy chanting "Nixon now!" while one of the lawyers who worked on Nixon's impeachment is onstage is really almost aggressive with the symbolism. Kennedy is her middle name, I believe, so it didn't come out of nowhere, but still.)
I don't know that the same is true for Reagan, though.
I've known maybe two Reagans? I think the name is declining. But I thought it was a cute name.
Regan is a name that appears in King Lear.
As an American I'm unsure I can answer this objectively.
I would agree that the surname of presidents as first names seems like an American name. Sometimes I think there's plausible deniability that there's an association with the president specifically - Jackson and Carter and a few like that seem commonplace enough that I imagine many parents don't even think about a presidential association. But I've encountered more children named Reagan than I'd ever imagine (politics aside, I think it's just an ugly-sounding name) ; Kennedy seems to have entered the mainstream; I've encountered more people named Roosevelt and McKinley than I would've guessed; so who knows.
It's interesting to me that we haven't seen Bush or Obama enter any kind of mainstream... I wonder if that will come or if it will be seen as gauche. The popularity of Clinton seems to have actually diminished during after the Clinton presidency/Hillary Clinton's years in the political spotlight. Then again, it is absolutely fascinating to me that Nixon appears to be having a moment in the sun in the United States, so who knows what the future will bring there.
(Genuine question for non-US citizens: do you ever encounter this for world leaders elsewhere? Like, is there any kind of chance that you'd encounter someone with the first name of Putin, or Erdoğan, or Ardern, or Thatcher, or Trudeau, or Merkel, or Macron, or any other international political leader? I almost think I'd be more likely to encounter a child with those names in the US than elsewhere, considering how certain cults of personality exist in the US for certain international leaders.)
I'd also guess that place names that seem specifically associated with places in the United States might fit the bill.
My US-centric myopia is showing here but I'd guess that names that are closely associated with American television shows that are widely viewed internationally are associated with Americans. The kinds of names I might associate with an early-aughts teen drama like One Tree Hill or The O.C. perhaps.
I would agree that the surname of presidents as first names seems like an American name. Sometimes I think there's plausible deniability that there's an association with the president specifically - Jackson and Carter and a few like that seem commonplace enough that I imagine many parents don't even think about a presidential association. But I've encountered more children named Reagan than I'd ever imagine (politics aside, I think it's just an ugly-sounding name) ; Kennedy seems to have entered the mainstream; I've encountered more people named Roosevelt and McKinley than I would've guessed; so who knows.
It's interesting to me that we haven't seen Bush or Obama enter any kind of mainstream... I wonder if that will come or if it will be seen as gauche. The popularity of Clinton seems to have actually diminished during after the Clinton presidency/Hillary Clinton's years in the political spotlight. Then again, it is absolutely fascinating to me that Nixon appears to be having a moment in the sun in the United States, so who knows what the future will bring there.
(Genuine question for non-US citizens: do you ever encounter this for world leaders elsewhere? Like, is there any kind of chance that you'd encounter someone with the first name of Putin, or Erdoğan, or Ardern, or Thatcher, or Trudeau, or Merkel, or Macron, or any other international political leader? I almost think I'd be more likely to encounter a child with those names in the US than elsewhere, considering how certain cults of personality exist in the US for certain international leaders.)
I'd also guess that place names that seem specifically associated with places in the United States might fit the bill.
My US-centric myopia is showing here but I'd guess that names that are closely associated with American television shows that are widely viewed internationally are associated with Americans. The kinds of names I might associate with an early-aughts teen drama like One Tree Hill or The O.C. perhaps.
This message was edited 6/7/2025, 9:29 AM
I think you have good insight, and it's interesting to have an American perspective on which names are uniquely American. As for the likelihood of people being named after politicians in other countries, I work in development and I've lived in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa. In Asia, I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't know enough about the culture to be aware if someone was named after a political figure. If they were, I didn't notice. America is the only place where the association was quite clear. It was less common when I was there (in DC during the Bush administration) but I do recall the odd kid named Reagan and thinking it was a bit on the nose.
This message was edited 6/7/2025, 9:27 AM
Pretty much all English names. Odds are, the first time I heard it was from American media. Specific names that come to mind are occupational names for girls like Hunter, Scout, Sailor etc. On the other end of the spectrum is Ava, Claire, Paige, Nicole, Jessica etc.
Living in Australia (and working with children here for the past 16 years) while watching a lot of American TV, the first names that come to mind are Randy and Brandy. I’ve never known anyone IRL with these names but have heard them frequently on TV. Then I think of surname names like Sutton, Kendall, Collins and Madden which I also never hear in Australia. (We have Archer, Carter, Cooper, Spencer, Wilson, Hudson etc but not so many surnames that don’t end in either -er or -on. At least, that’s my experience.) Finally, Bailey for a girl; even at its peak, Bailey was much more popular for boys here.
So, to summarise:
Randy
Brandy
Sutton
Kendall
Collins
Madden
Bailey on a girl
So, to summarise:
Randy
Brandy
Sutton
Kendall
Collins
Madden
Bailey on a girl
Liberty
Ellis
Austin
Brooklyn
Denver
Dallas
Savannah
Maverick
Virginia
Franklin
Dakota
Reagan
Dixie
Jefferson
Raleigh
Ellis
Austin
Brooklyn
Denver
Dallas
Savannah
Maverick
Virginia
Franklin
Dakota
Reagan
Dixie
Jefferson
Raleigh