By Kelli Brady

　　The 2016 SSA list of top baby names says that Noah and Emma are the number one names in the country. However, in your daily life, haven’t you heard more parents yelling out for Jackson or Sophia? To help explain this, the 2016 Playground Analysis is an annual look at the truly more popular names as determined by combining the different spellings of each name. Because on the playground, you may hear a name but not know how it is spelled, and since the SSA list only lists the names as they are given, we need to add up the numbers for each spelling of the names to show where names really rank!

　　Note: These are the combined spellings of the names in the Top 1000 only. When the numbers from the entire list are added, positions could change. The main name listed below is the spelling given to the most babies in 2016 (SSA Rank is in parentheses). The others are in alphabetical order. Opinions vary on how different spellings are pronounced. I went with my best judgment.

　　GIRLS

　　Emma remains on the top of the SSA list for girls. There are minor changes in the Top 10 of the SSA list when comparing the numbers from 2015 to 2016, however there are some pretty significant adjustments to the Top 10 of the 2016 Playground Analysis… Ava jumps up a spot both in the SSA list and the PA list, but after that there is a bit more movement. When comparing the 2015 PA list to the 2016 PA list, Adeline jumps to #6 from #9, Mia drops from #6 to #7, Amelia moves up from #10 to #8, Charlotte jumps from #15 to #9, and Riley moves up from #17 to #10! Emily and Zoey drop from the Top 10. The largest jumps that take place after adding the alternative spellings are by Elena (#94 to #32), Adeline (#63 to #6), Madelyn (#62 to #14), Mackenzie (#85 to #41), and Katherine (#90 to #50).

　　Birth numbers are another way of showing how this analysis explains what you hear around town. When combining the Top 1000 names in spelling, there were almost 6,000 more girls named Sophia and Sofia in 2016 than named Emma.

　　1. Sophia (4) – Sofia

　　2. Olivia (2) – Alivia, Alyvia

　　3. Emma (1)

　　4. Ava (3) – Avah

　　5. Isabella (5) – Isabela, Izabella

　　6. Adeline (63) – Adaline, Adalyn, Adalynn, Addilyn, Addilynn, Adelyn, Adelynn, Adilynn

　　7. Mia (6) – Miah

　　8. Amelia (11) – Emelia, Emilia

　　9. Charlotte (7)

　　10. Riley (22) – Rylee, Ryleigh, Rylie

　　11. Zoey (26) – Zoe, Zoie

　　12. Emily (9) – Emely, Emilee, Emilie

　　13. Abigail (8)

　　14. Madelyn (62) – Madalyn, Madalynn, Madeleine, Madeline, Madelynn, Madilyn, Madilynn

　　15. Evelyn (12) – Evalyn, Evelynn

　　16. Aria (23) – Ariah, Ariya, Ariyah, Arya

　　17. Aubrey (25) – Aubree, Aubri, Aubrie

　　18. Madison (15) – Maddison, Madisyn, Madyson

　　19. Layla (30) – Laila, Lailah, Laylah, Leila, Leyla

　　20. Harper (10)

　　21. Chloe (20) – Khloe

　　22. Elizabeth (13) – Elisabeth

　　23. Avery (16) – Averi, Averie

　　24. Lily (24) – Lillie, Lilly

　　25. Ariana (54) – Arianna, Aryana, Aryanna

　　26. Scarlett (18) – Scarlet, Scarlette

　　27. Camila (32) – Camilla, Kamila

　　28. Ella (17)

　　29. Leah (37) – Lea, Leia, Lia

　　30. Nora (36) – Norah

　　31. Brooklyn (34) – Brooklynn

　　32. Elena (94) – Alaina, Alayna, Elaina

　　33. Grace (19)

　　34. Addison (29) – Addisyn, Addyson

　　35. Victoria (21)

　　36. Natalie (31) – Nataly, Nathalie, Nathaly

　　37. Maya (64) – Maia, Miya, Mya, Myah

　　38. Hannah (33) – Hana, Hanna

　　39. Lillian (28) – Lilian

　　40. Allison (49) – Alison, Allyson, Alyson

　　41. Mackenzie (85) – Makenzie, Mckenzie

　　42. Sarah (57) – Sara

　　43. Penelope (27)

　　44. Kaylee (70) – Caylee, Kailee, Kailey, Kayleigh, Kaylie

　　45. Hailey (68) – Hailee, Haley, Haylee, Hayley

　　46. Anna (51) – Ana

　　47. Skylar (42) – Skyler

　　48. Paisley (46) – Paislee

　　49. Savannah (38) – Savanna

　　50. Katherine (90) – Catherine, Kathryn

　　Penelope and Savannah rise into the Top 50 of the 2016 PA, while Kylie and Peyton fall out of it.

　　BOYS

　　There is quite a shuffling of the Top 10 boy names in the SSA list when comparing 2016 to 2015. However, when comparing the 2016 PA to the 2015 PA, Jackson remains at the top and nothing else really changes until you see William take over #6 from Jacob, which drops to #7. Then it gets really fascinating! James jumps from #12 to #8, Lucas from #15 to #9, Benjamin from #16 to #10! And while Aiden stays at #2, two other “–ayden” names, Jayden (#8 to #18) and Kayden (#9 to #15) were huge droppers, probably because some of their alternative spellings have dropped out of the Top 1000. Even so, Kayden was still one of the biggest movers when comparing the SSA list to the PA list (#101 to #15), along with Jace (#76 to #36).

　　And again, you may be hearing about more baby Jacksons than Noahs because after combining the Top 1000 names in spelling, there were 5,000 more boys named Jackson (and his alternative spellings) in 2016 than named Noah.

　　1. Jackson (17) – Jaxen, Jaxon, Jaxson

　　2. Aiden (16) – Adan, Aden, Aidan, Ayden, Aydin

　　3. Noah (1) – Noe

　　4. Liam (2)

　　5. Mason (4) – Maison, Mayson

　　6. William (3)

　　7. Jacob (7) – Jakob

　　8. James (5)

　　9. Lucas (14) – Lukas

　　10. Benjamin (6)

　　11. Michael (8) – Micheal, Mikael

　　12. Elijah (9) – Alijah

　　13. Ethan (10)

　　14. Alexander (11) – Alexzander

　　15. Kayden (101) – Caden, Caiden, Cayden, Kaden, Kaiden

　　16. Grayson (37) – Graysen, Greysen, Greyson

　　17. Matthew (15) – Mathew

　　18. Jayden (27) – Jaden, Jaiden

　　19. Oliver (12)

　　20. Daniel (13)

　　21. Carter (26) – Karter

　　22. Logan (18)

　　23. David (19)

　　24. Joseph (20)

　　25. Samuel (21)

　　26. Henry (22)

　　27. Dylan (32) – Dillon

　　28. John (28) – Jon

　　29. Owen (23)

　　30. Sebastian (24)

　　31. Caleb (44) – Kaleb

　　32. Gabriel (25)

　　33. Isaac (31) – Issac

　　34. Luke (29)

　　35. Anthony (30)

　　36. Jace (76) – Jase, Jayce

　　37. Connor (54) – Conner, Conor, Konner, Konnor

　　38. Wyatt (33)

　　39. Christopher (36) – Kristopher

　　40. Andrew (34)

　　41. Christian (46) – Cristian, Kristian

　　42. Joshua (35)

　　43. Mateo (59) – Matteo

　　44. Julian (39) – Julien

　　45. Cameron (57) – Camron, Kameron, Kamryn

　　46. Nicholas (63) – Nickolas, Nicolas, Nikolas

　　47. Jack (38)

　　48. Landon (53) – Landen, Landyn

　　49. Ryan (40)

　　50. Jonathan (56) – Johnathan, Jonathon

　　Mateo rises into the Top 50 of the 2016 PA, while Nathan falls.

　　How does this analysis compare to what you are hearing at the playground?