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HelpPredictions for SSA list 2017
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The SSA list will be released in just over 2 weeks. What will you be looking for on the list this year?
Things to think about (you don't have to answer all or any of these if you have another related topic to discuss):
> What do you think the #1 names will be?
> Trends
> Big drops / Big rises
> New in the top 10 / 100 / 1000, names leaving the top 10 / 100 / 1000?
> Pop culture influences?
> Any other thoughts?
Here's the 2016 list, for comparison: http://www.behindthename.com/top/lists/united-states/2016
Rosalie Cassander Poet
Radiance Nocturne Silver
www.behindthename.com/pnl/59411
The SSA list will be released in just over 2 weeks. What will you be looking for on the list this year?
Things to think about (you don't have to answer all or any of these if you have another related topic to discuss):
> What do you think the #1 names will be?
> Trends
> Big drops / Big rises
> New in the top 10 / 100 / 1000, names leaving the top 10 / 100 / 1000?
> Pop culture influences?
> Any other thoughts?
Here's the 2016 list, for comparison: http://www.behindthename.com/top/lists/united-states/2016
Radiance Nocturne Silver
www.behindthename.com/pnl/59411
This message was edited 4/23/2018, 11:13 AM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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Replies
— Surname trend will reach its peak and will probably start slipping a bit, but names like Harper and Hudson will hold on a bit longer.
— Jacob and Sophia will drop after a long run at the top, but will probably stay in the top 100 for another 10-15 years.
— Haven will rise for girls and chart for boys.
— Cosette (and related names) will keep rising, will reach the top 20 within 5-7 years.
— -aden names will keep dropping into oblivion (one can only hope).
— Jacob and Sophia will drop after a long run at the top, but will probably stay in the top 100 for another 10-15 years.
— Haven will rise for girls and chart for boys.
— Cosette (and related names) will keep rising, will reach the top 20 within 5-7 years.
— -aden names will keep dropping into oblivion (one can only hope).
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Raiden and possibly Zayden seem to be exempt from dropping with the rest of them, though I guess it could turn around-- last year it was Raiden and Hayden (f) that weren't dropping.
I don't think Haven will chart for boys but I'd definitely like if it did.
I think it's wishful thinking to hope the surname trend is going away any time soon.
I don't think Haven will chart for boys but I'd definitely like if it did.
I think it's wishful thinking to hope the surname trend is going away any time soon.
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I really hope -ayden names fall off the charts. They aren’t individually bad names — heck, I have one — but they’re overused and were such a big trend that they’re going to seem dated as heck in a few decades. I guess if some stay popular, though, then maybe they won’t seem dated in the future?
This message was edited 4/24/2018, 5:04 PM
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Cosette
Cosette top 20 in 5-7 years? That’s bold! I’d be fascinated and kind of delighted if it proved true, but I’m skeptical. Names don’t really rise that fast on the charts.
Cosette top 20 in 5-7 years? That’s bold! I’d be fascinated and kind of delighted if it proved true, but I’m skeptical. Names don’t really rise that fast on the charts.
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Harper
Did anything pop culture happen with Harper? Aside from author Harper Lee (who became famous 60 years ago) I can’t think of any famous associations with that name.
BTW I didn’t realize Harper wasn’t in the top 1000 before recently. I grew up with a few and I’m in my early 30s. I also know someone named Harper who is older than me.
Did anything pop culture happen with Harper? Aside from author Harper Lee (who became famous 60 years ago) I can’t think of any famous associations with that name.
BTW I didn’t realize Harper wasn’t in the top 1000 before recently. I grew up with a few and I’m in my early 30s. I also know someone named Harper who is older than me.
This message was edited 4/24/2018, 5:06 PM
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Several celebrities used it for their babies from 2008-2012 (http://www.namecandy.com/celebrity-baby-names/search/baby/harper). While none of them probably *made* it popular, the more of them that used it, the more people heard it (on that page I linked, only Shonda Rimes had a baby Harper before it charted [not counting the one born in 1972 obviously]).
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Atticus also charted and started its huge increase around the same time as Harper (2004). I think that was also partially helped along by celebrities but I also wonder if it was that the generations that all basically read 'To Kill A Mockingbird' in school were starting to have kids?
Like my Dad who went to was in high school in Australia in the 70s didn't read TKAM in school (he read it himself later) but my Mum, who graduated in 88 did read it and by then it was just a staple in high schools. Some celebrities use it and then people familiar with the book and its message are like, "Oh, that's a great namesake- I'm totally naming my kid this because TKAM is my *favorite* book," even if it isn't...and maybe just because it is one of the few books they actually read but it totally makes them look so "woke" and "anti-racism". Add in that Harper is similar to a name like Taylor but seems fresh and not dated and it was a perfect storm for an exponential rise.
Like my Dad who went to was in high school in Australia in the 70s didn't read TKAM in school (he read it himself later) but my Mum, who graduated in 88 did read it and by then it was just a staple in high schools. Some celebrities use it and then people familiar with the book and its message are like, "Oh, that's a great namesake- I'm totally naming my kid this because TKAM is my *favorite* book," even if it isn't...and maybe just because it is one of the few books they actually read but it totally makes them look so "woke" and "anti-racism". Add in that Harper is similar to a name like Taylor but seems fresh and not dated and it was a perfect storm for an exponential rise.
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I think you could be right. I read somewhere that Emma surged in Britain in the 70s a few years after Emma by Jane Austen was a set text for A-Levels. Although Emma was probably due a comeback around then anyway, so maybe it's not as easy to prove as with something unusual like Harper, but it could be a factor.
We did Frankenstein for A-Levels. Not sure that has influenced many names! We also did I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and that could be one of the influences on the popularity of Maya.
We did Frankenstein for A-Levels. Not sure that has influenced many names! We also did I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and that could be one of the influences on the popularity of Maya.
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I had no idea there were so many celebrity child Harpers! The only one I was aware of is Harper Beckham (born 2011) which probably explains why the name became popular here in 2012 and is now in the top 50 (when surnames as first names for girls is generally pretty rare).
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And the thing is that Harper Lee chose to publish "To Kill A Mockingbird" using her middle name and last name, eliminating her first, only because she was afraid that her first name, Nelle, would be continually mispronounced as NELL-ee, when it was actually NELL. It wasn't some endorsement of the use of Harper on girls! Ugh.
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The only thing I'm certain about is a big rise for Orion, currently #324 but I've seen it everywhere. Mythological names seem to be trendy and it has a familiar sound (basically O'Ryan) so I expect that it at least cracked the 200s last year, and will probably be in the top 100 by the end of the decade.
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I can see it:
> people love space (someone on BabyCenter named their son Jovian and explained it's "after Jupiter")
> you're right about mythology names too -- mythology and space go hand in hand
> O names are rising
> Ryan is still very popular so adding an O can only make it better
> people love space (someone on BabyCenter named their son Jovian and explained it's "after Jupiter")
> you're right about mythology names too -- mythology and space go hand in hand
> O names are rising
> Ryan is still very popular so adding an O can only make it better
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I have been looking forward to this occasion since last year's. Very exciting!♡♡♡
Here are my predicts and although I realize that many of them are incredibly predictable, I don't mind. I could have gone deeper and made more name predictions and even less obvious ones but ahh, oh well.
Amelia: Top 10 and replacing Emily
Emily: out of Top 10 (As above)
Evelyn: Top 10's. Maybe. (If not this year than I'm definitely banking on next year)
Oliver: Top 10's. (Almost forgot this one)
Chloe:out of Top 20
Madison: out of Top 20
Sebastian: Top 20
Henry: Top 20
Owen: Top 20
Cole: Top 100
Miles: Top 100
Santiago: Top 100 (personally hope not but seeing how close it is and that it has been increasing...)
Emilia: Top 100
Harrison: Top 100
Bentley: Off top 100
Faith: Off top 100
Kevin: Off top 100
Continue to decrease: Donald,Melvin, Bruce, Stephan/Steven. Landon. Larry. Harper for boys. Landon. Nevaeah. Dana. All the rhyming aidan-Aiden names and some to leave the charts.
Continue to increase: Aurelia. Greta. Julian. Finn. Scarlett. Leo. Nolan. Thea. Alice.
Leaving: Ann. Braeden. Braiden. Jonathon. Madyson. Nancy. Alisha
Top names: Emma & Liam (feel a though that one could go either way though)
Here are my predicts and although I realize that many of them are incredibly predictable, I don't mind. I could have gone deeper and made more name predictions and even less obvious ones but ahh, oh well.
Amelia: Top 10 and replacing Emily
Emily: out of Top 10 (As above)
Evelyn: Top 10's. Maybe. (If not this year than I'm definitely banking on next year)
Oliver: Top 10's. (Almost forgot this one)
Chloe:out of Top 20
Madison: out of Top 20
Sebastian: Top 20
Henry: Top 20
Owen: Top 20
Cole: Top 100
Miles: Top 100
Santiago: Top 100 (personally hope not but seeing how close it is and that it has been increasing...)
Emilia: Top 100
Harrison: Top 100
Bentley: Off top 100
Faith: Off top 100
Kevin: Off top 100
Continue to decrease: Donald,Melvin, Bruce, Stephan/Steven. Landon. Larry. Harper for boys. Landon. Nevaeah. Dana. All the rhyming aidan-Aiden names and some to leave the charts.
Continue to increase: Aurelia. Greta. Julian. Finn. Scarlett. Leo. Nolan. Thea. Alice.
Leaving: Ann. Braeden. Braiden. Jonathon. Madyson. Nancy. Alisha
Top names: Emma & Liam (feel a though that one could go either way though)
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I mean Freya and not Greta
Ugh auto correct! (:
Ugh auto correct! (:
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I don't know if I agree about Madison; I still see it in a lot of birth announcements and I have it projected at #18. I have been seeing less Chloes though; I have it projected at #23.
Disagree with you about:
Bentley -- people love this. Brentley too. [I actually have Bentley projected at #104 but I see it so much in BAs that I think my projection is incorrect]
Cole - maybe but I have it at #108 so this might not be it's year.
Landon -- i see this a lot
Miles -- stays outside the top 100 this year
Braiden - it has another year unfortunately; too bad because this is probably the ugliest spelling. Braeden's gone though.
otherwise I overall agree.
Disagree with you about:
Bentley -- people love this. Brentley too. [I actually have Bentley projected at #104 but I see it so much in BAs that I think my projection is incorrect]
Cole - maybe but I have it at #108 so this might not be it's year.
Landon -- i see this a lot
Miles -- stays outside the top 100 this year
Braiden - it has another year unfortunately; too bad because this is probably the ugliest spelling. Braeden's gone though.
otherwise I overall agree.
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Madison didn't get really popular until the mid-90s. I think I'm younger than you (I think you said you were in your early 30s?) and I don't know any Madisons my age, though I knew of some at my school a few years younger than me. I knew one Chloe, but it didn't get really popular until even later than Madison (early 2000s). [of course location probably plays in-- my area is a lot of conservative namers; I could definitely see the community not touching Madison until it made the top 100].
Also I think sometimes we on the board forget that people who like a name can't always use it as soon as they start liking it (while it's at it's trendiest/most popular). Totally possible that someone fell in love with 'Madison' or 'Chloe' in high school when they first heard it and had to carry it around for 10+ years before they had a child to bestow it on. The board sometimes acts like names trends should be coming and going just like that, but there's a reason that a lot of trends span a decade or more. And then of course there's people who manage to give the name to a child before it gets very popular.
(And some people are born in the wrong decade entirely-- I went to high school with a girl who spoke very passionately about how much she loved the name Jennifer and how she was definitely going to name her daughter that. This was in 2009.)
Also I think sometimes we on the board forget that people who like a name can't always use it as soon as they start liking it (while it's at it's trendiest/most popular). Totally possible that someone fell in love with 'Madison' or 'Chloe' in high school when they first heard it and had to carry it around for 10+ years before they had a child to bestow it on. The board sometimes acts like names trends should be coming and going just like that, but there's a reason that a lot of trends span a decade or more. And then of course there's people who manage to give the name to a child before it gets very popular.
(And some people are born in the wrong decade entirely-- I went to high school with a girl who spoke very passionately about how much she loved the name Jennifer and how she was definitely going to name her daughter that. This was in 2009.)
This message was edited 4/26/2018, 10:21 AM
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I read a name book once whose author attributed the 1970s rise of Jason, Jeremy, and Joshua to the TV show "Here Come the Brides", which aired from 1968 -1970, and which featured characters of those names. The author thought that young girls watching the show at that time stored the names for use when they later became mothers in the 1970s.
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I guess we will just have to wait and see. Braeden is the ugliest spelling IMO so I'll be more thrilled to see that gone but the less of these names, the better. I especially hate Brayden\Braiden\Braden...ick!!
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I like Aurelia - nice.
This message was edited 4/24/2018, 3:34 AM
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Same here (: it also happens to be the middle name of my oldest neice.
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Such a beautiful name!
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Nancy
I’m surprised that Nancy is still on the charts today. It was most popular in the 1930s and 40s, so it’s almost “old” enough for it to experience revival as a “vintage” name.
I’m surprised that Nancy is still on the charts today. It was most popular in the 1930s and 40s, so it’s almost “old” enough for it to experience revival as a “vintage” name.
This message was edited 4/23/2018, 8:57 PM
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I actually think Stranger Things helped a lot of people see the appeal of Nancy in the US. I don't see her going anywhere.
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I love Nancy
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Nancy is currently having a moment in the UK, it seems. I imagine “hip” parents using it here in the US too. I don’t think it will vanish — in fact have expected it to rise.
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I started liking Nancy recently. For me it's mostly because of a friend (in her 60s) who I met last year, but it also seems younger to me than it has in a while.
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Nancy definitely seems “old” to me, but that’s part of the appeal. Society overvalues newness and youth far too much; there’s a lot of good to be found in older, classic, more established things.
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?
I just meant that meeting a young Nancy feels like more of a possibility than it has in the past, to me.
For example, I also feel like Dorothy seems younger recently, though I don't particularly like it...whereas Mildred, which I do like, doesn't.
I guess I do think it's easier to be fond of names that I imagine on children and elderly ladies than names that sound middle aged to me, though.
I just meant that meeting a young Nancy feels like more of a possibility than it has in the past, to me.
For example, I also feel like Dorothy seems younger recently, though I don't particularly like it...whereas Mildred, which I do like, doesn't.
I guess I do think it's easier to be fond of names that I imagine on children and elderly ladies than names that sound middle aged to me, though.
This message was edited 4/23/2018, 11:00 PM
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Trends:
> Nature names
> Unisex names (ties with nature names) - Oakley, Rowan, Avery (I don't see it leaving the top 200 for boys yet)
> ette/a names (I include -otte/-et/-ett names in this as well, so Charlotte, Scarlett, Elliot, etc count and are leading the way for some less common ones -- Arlette, Loretta, and Etta may chart this year.
> Unique initials (I, O, Q, X, Y, Z -- especially O.)
> Heavier sounds (less L and K, more R)
Rises/falls:
> Mad- names (all of them, even the 'nice ones') drop, Ad- names are up except for Addison
> August- names are up
Pop Culture:
> Game of Thrones: Lyanna charts; Khaleesi continues to rise despite people crying about it so much.
> Star Wars: Rey rises but doesn't chart. Iffy about what's going to happen to Kylo-- I want to say it will keep rising because it's so perfectly now but I have not even seen one BA for a Kylo).
Top 20:
> Oliver in the top 10
> Amelia in the top 10
> Last minute dark horse prediction: Evelyn in the top 10.
> Owen, Sebastian, Henry in the top 20.
> Riley in the top 20.
> Either Emma or Olivia could be #1, too close to call. I put Olivia for the derby. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Noah will remain number 1 but I wouldn't be horribly surprised if Liam overtakes it for 2018.
> Michael continues hang around in the top 10
> Nature names
> Unisex names (ties with nature names) - Oakley, Rowan, Avery (I don't see it leaving the top 200 for boys yet)
> ette/a names (I include -otte/-et/-ett names in this as well, so Charlotte, Scarlett, Elliot, etc count and are leading the way for some less common ones -- Arlette, Loretta, and Etta may chart this year.
> Unique initials (I, O, Q, X, Y, Z -- especially O.)
> Heavier sounds (less L and K, more R)
Rises/falls:
> Mad- names (all of them, even the 'nice ones') drop, Ad- names are up except for Addison
> August- names are up
Pop Culture:
> Game of Thrones: Lyanna charts; Khaleesi continues to rise despite people crying about it so much.
> Star Wars: Rey rises but doesn't chart. Iffy about what's going to happen to Kylo-- I want to say it will keep rising because it's so perfectly now but I have not even seen one BA for a Kylo).
Top 20:
> Oliver in the top 10
> Amelia in the top 10
> Last minute dark horse prediction: Evelyn in the top 10.
> Owen, Sebastian, Henry in the top 20.
> Riley in the top 20.
> Either Emma or Olivia could be #1, too close to call. I put Olivia for the derby. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Noah will remain number 1 but I wouldn't be horribly surprised if Liam overtakes it for 2018.
> Michael continues hang around in the top 10
This message was edited 4/24/2018, 6:11 AM
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no prediction - just brainstorming
I love Aiyanna; I have a friend named Eileen - whose name is occasionally / frequently shortened (more amidst conversation) to "Ei". I Looooove Eileen as well. Perhaps Aiyanna would experience the same.
Bear & Fox are interesting to me too - each with one syllable and would presumably be characterized as "animal names" - would Fox be Foxy as a hypocoristic version among close ties?
King, Kaiser, Kinga (King(y)a / Kinya -- Kunigunde - (I sorry had to "drop" that version in there.)
I like Bastion "bastion of defense" yet as another version of Sebastian / Sebastion. Seba / Sheba - he. Elisheba / Elizabeth
Elijah / Eli / Elisha / Elise / Lisa
I love Aiyanna; I have a friend named Eileen - whose name is occasionally / frequently shortened (more amidst conversation) to "Ei". I Looooove Eileen as well. Perhaps Aiyanna would experience the same.
Bear & Fox are interesting to me too - each with one syllable and would presumably be characterized as "animal names" - would Fox be Foxy as a hypocoristic version among close ties?
King, Kaiser, Kinga (King(y)a / Kinya -- Kunigunde - (I sorry had to "drop" that version in there.)
I like Bastion "bastion of defense" yet as another version of Sebastian / Sebastion. Seba / Sheba - he. Elisheba / Elizabeth
Elijah / Eli / Elisha / Elise / Lisa
This message was edited 4/24/2018, 3:34 AM
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Do you know when the list will be released?
> What do you think the #1 names will be?
Emma and Noah because all the other names close to them seem to be used less and less frequently so even though Emma is being used less (in numbers) it will remain at the top, Noah as well.
> Trends
More names from the 30s and 40s such as Dorothy, Lucille. More simplistic/no nonsense names such as June, Jane or May. Classic names for boys with typical nicknames from the 30s and 40s such as William 'Billy' and James 'Jimmy'. More names ending in -e, -ette, -ine, -een as opposed to all those crazy common names that are starting to fall that end in -a, -ella, -bella, -ina. More nature names such as River for both genders.
> Big drops / Big rises
Bigger drops: Jennifer, Jessica, Alexis, Hannah, Samantha, Alyssa - former 90s names in general and the 80s names that are still used a bit
Drops: all those names that were heavily used by celebrities in the 90s and became popular among the general population in the late 90s/early 2000s but are beginning to sound tired will fall, some of them rather quickly for former top 10 names (Chloe!) e.g. Chloe, Lily, Isabella, Sophia, Zoe etc. plus Ariana, Arianna, Aubrey and Aubree, Skylar, Bella and Ella (I know it went up a bit last year but I think it will go down again)
> What do you think the #1 names will be?
Emma and Noah because all the other names close to them seem to be used less and less frequently so even though Emma is being used less (in numbers) it will remain at the top, Noah as well.
> Trends
More names from the 30s and 40s such as Dorothy, Lucille. More simplistic/no nonsense names such as June, Jane or May. Classic names for boys with typical nicknames from the 30s and 40s such as William 'Billy' and James 'Jimmy'. More names ending in -e, -ette, -ine, -een as opposed to all those crazy common names that are starting to fall that end in -a, -ella, -bella, -ina. More nature names such as River for both genders.
> Big drops / Big rises
Bigger drops: Jennifer, Jessica, Alexis, Hannah, Samantha, Alyssa - former 90s names in general and the 80s names that are still used a bit
Drops: all those names that were heavily used by celebrities in the 90s and became popular among the general population in the late 90s/early 2000s but are beginning to sound tired will fall, some of them rather quickly for former top 10 names (Chloe!) e.g. Chloe, Lily, Isabella, Sophia, Zoe etc. plus Ariana, Arianna, Aubrey and Aubree, Skylar, Bella and Ella (I know it went up a bit last year but I think it will go down again)
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It's typically released the Friday before Mothers day, so I'm expecting it will be released on the 11th this year.
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