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Helpthe difference is much more pronounced ...
in reply to a message by Rachel Shaina
On the girls' list than on the boys' list, with the notable exception of Ptolemy.
Solveig says she wouldn't even blink if she encountered a Ptolemy, but that is not the same thing as Ptolemy's popularity on the BTN list being related to its popularity in real life, and the fact is she is highly unlikely to ever encounter a Ptolemy of any age who was given that name by his parents (as opposed to giving it to himself as a stage name or something.) In fact, if she, or anybody else, said they encountered one, it would be a very big surprise. I would be fairly sure that anyone claiming to have known "several" Ptolemies is full of BS.
On the girls' list, only a couple of top-100 names are in the top 20, and top-tenners Isabella, Ava, Emily and Sophia are nowhere to be found.
"It's one thing to be open-minded and quite another to be so open-minded your brains fall out."--Dear Abby
"Let other people push you around, and you deserve whatever bad things happen after that."--Lauren Bacall
Solveig says she wouldn't even blink if she encountered a Ptolemy, but that is not the same thing as Ptolemy's popularity on the BTN list being related to its popularity in real life, and the fact is she is highly unlikely to ever encounter a Ptolemy of any age who was given that name by his parents (as opposed to giving it to himself as a stage name or something.) In fact, if she, or anybody else, said they encountered one, it would be a very big surprise. I would be fairly sure that anyone claiming to have known "several" Ptolemies is full of BS.
On the girls' list, only a couple of top-100 names are in the top 20, and top-tenners Isabella, Ava, Emily and Sophia are nowhere to be found.
"It's one thing to be open-minded and quite another to be so open-minded your brains fall out."--Dear Abby
"Let other people push you around, and you deserve whatever bad things happen after that."--Lauren Bacall
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Replies
My sister knows a Ptolemy. I know his aunt. They're out there....
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I really don't understand your point- of course the BtN list isn't going to reflect the SSA list exactly because we're a small sample size that actually *isn't* the same as the general population even though we are apart of the general public. It is what is known as a "sampling bias". That is why you try and get a representative sample in any kind of research if you want to generalize your findings to the "general public". Rachel Shaina isn't trying to do that- she does this for her own interest and for ours.
We have a sampling bias because even though anyone can post on these boards, most don't. The people who post here are mostly female, are generally more highly educated or at least read more than the general population, have an interest in names (therefore are less likely to pick a name they just hear regularly like Isabella), and actively spend time weighing the pros and cons of names. Of course it won't reflect the SSA charts, just like if you took a sample of children of college professors or a sample of children born in a small Southern town that is mostly African-American- it won't be anything close to the SSA charts but still might be interesting just because it does reflect that sample. It just won't be generalizable to the population at large.
We have a sampling bias because even though anyone can post on these boards, most don't. The people who post here are mostly female, are generally more highly educated or at least read more than the general population, have an interest in names (therefore are less likely to pick a name they just hear regularly like Isabella), and actively spend time weighing the pros and cons of names. Of course it won't reflect the SSA charts, just like if you took a sample of children of college professors or a sample of children born in a small Southern town that is mostly African-American- it won't be anything close to the SSA charts but still might be interesting just because it does reflect that sample. It just won't be generalizable to the population at large.
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I didn't really have a particular point ...
I was just kind of surprised at how far removed the BTN rankings are from the SSA rankings. It was just striking, is all.
I was just kind of surprised at how far removed the BTN rankings are from the SSA rankings. It was just striking, is all.
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A celeb recently used Ptolemy. Not sure who or when.
The reason I wouldn't blink at a Ptolemy is the sheer WTH names I come across all the time. It's got a geeky vibe to it and fits into the geek naming niche. No, I'll probably never know more than one, but it wouldn't surprise me.
The reason I wouldn't blink at a Ptolemy is the sheer WTH names I come across all the time. It's got a geeky vibe to it and fits into the geek naming niche. No, I'll probably never know more than one, but it wouldn't surprise me.
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Don't get hung up on Ptolemy. 16 uses means 1 person posted it every month and 1 other person posted it 4 times. That's it. Last year it was only posted 12 times (1 person really likes it), and prior to that, it didn't even make BTN's top 100. It has 43 all-time postings; it ties with Emrys and Sidre and Theron (and Mark, heh).
BTNers typically avoid very popular names. Surely in your time here, you've seen plenty posts saying "I like this name but it's too popular". Sophia did okay, actually (10 postings). Isabella, Ava, and Emily got 2 each.
Try to think more in terms of movement, rather than where a name ranks now. Is it going up or down? Remember that a large majority of actively posting BTNers don't have children [yet]. And that this is a small sample size and that it's a pretty specific sample (I'd go through our last roll call, but I'm busy comparing name popularities) wherein most of the people are white 18-30sish? educated women. That's what I meant by niche.
I'm almost done comparing the girls. I'll put the comparisons in a top level reply when I'm done.
BTNers typically avoid very popular names. Surely in your time here, you've seen plenty posts saying "I like this name but it's too popular". Sophia did okay, actually (10 postings). Isabella, Ava, and Emily got 2 each.
Try to think more in terms of movement, rather than where a name ranks now. Is it going up or down? Remember that a large majority of actively posting BTNers don't have children [yet]. And that this is a small sample size and that it's a pretty specific sample (I'd go through our last roll call, but I'm busy comparing name popularities) wherein most of the people are white 18-30sish? educated women. That's what I meant by niche.
I'm almost done comparing the girls. I'll put the comparisons in a top level reply when I'm done.
This message was edited 12/10/2016, 11:16 AM
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