CONTRIBUTORS
FAVORITE LINKS
Daily Mom Guest
What's in a name?
Oh, everything.
For some, choosing just the right baby name is about evoking family history or bestowing a sense of individuality on a child. (We're looking right at you, Mrs. Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.) Sometimes, it's the only thing that keeps your kid from getting stuffed into a locker every day of his educational life. And sometimes it's the thing that causes it.
Example: My mom went to school with a girl named June Rose Budd. She wasn't a friend or even an acquaintance, but my mom still talks about this girl, and still pulls out her old yearbook to prove that she didn't make it up. (With my mom--as with yours, I'm sure--we need to see it in writing.)
Wacky names aside (and yes, we know all about that kid in playgroup named Toffee), the Social Security Administration releases statistics each year about the 1,000 most popular baby names, and the results--especially if you look at them over time--can be pretty fascinating. Check this out:
- The name Laura (I'm partial, sorry.) was popular in the early '60s (After Laura Petrie, Mary Tyler Moore's character on The Dick Van Dyke Show?) and again in the mid-'80s. (Does any particular daytime super-wedding come to mind?)
- The name Norah doesn't even crack the top 1,000 until 2003, the year after Norah Jones released her Grammy-winning debut album.
- While we're on the diva topic: Between 1990 and 1991, the name Mariah (as in Carey) jumped from number 259 to number 69 following the release of Mimi's first album.
- In 2007, the name Jayden jumped from number 48 to number 18. Is Britney to blame for that? Maybe. Keep in mind that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have a son named Jaden--a name that appears on the list for the first time just two years after his birth. So this could be a convergence of celebrity Ja(y)dens.
- Cracking the top 1,000 for the first time in 2007 is the name Shiloh, ranking at 804. Ring any bells?
We can't interview every American and ask if the Britney Spears head-shaving incident, or shots of Angelina breastfeeding on the cover of W magazine inspired anything in particular, but the casual connections are compelling. Any votes for which names will make the list in the future? Suri has yet to crack the top 1,000, but she's young yet. Our personal bets for next year's heat-seekers? Barack, Sasha and Malia.
As for Michelle, that's a no-brainer. Its' been one of the most popular girl names in America for the last century and has been in the top 100 since the '50s. Michelle Obama was born in 1964 and the name reached its highest rank in history--number 2--just four years later. But that, we're guessing, is a coincidence--a case of a popular name influencing a famous American, and not the other way around.
-Laura Motta
Producer, Momtourage.com
More about baby names:
- Try our Baby Name Finder.
- Test your baby name IQ.
- Visit the baby name message board.
1 Comments
Leave a comment
HOT TOPICS
Advertisement
ARCHIVES
RSS
FEATURED MOM MOMENTS
Yes, names make a big difference. I worked with a girl, last name was Baker. When she was pregnant, she said her husband wanted to name him "Stu-die, so he could be "Stu-dieBaker", like the old car. While grocery shopping a few years ago, I heard the mom calling to her son, "DAKOTA" that had waudered off. Names like Dakota, "Indiana", make me think of someone thats strong, "cool", etc. As I turned to see if I could help look for him, a "WHITE version of STEVE ERKLE" rounded the corner. High-waters, big glasses, runny nose & suspenders!!!!!!! I SWEAR!!!!!!!!!!! That name did not work for that kid!
Also, many years ago, we received a letter from our "home office" of where I was working. I was signed by "Peaches Spruce", which I later learned was a man. Don't ya know he got stuffed in lots of lockers, or got the crapbeat out of him - daily! But obviously, he survived.