Names by the Numbers

Dec 4, 2024

　　Baby name numerology holds that every letter of every name counts toward its significance, but number names count more than most. 　　Numerical names can reflect a child’s place in the birth order — if I somehow had eight children I’d definitely consider Octavia for the youngest — or the day...

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Game of Thrones Names

Dec 4, 2024

　　Since it began in 2011, the HBO drama Game of Thrones has affected the lives of millions of people in some way or another. Some cried for hours when their favorite characters died; some even had Game of Thrones-themed weddings. 　　But others went the extra mile—not only has the TV show...

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Geographic Names Over Time

Dec 4, 2024

　　By Nick Turner 　　A century ago, you would have gotten some strange looks if you named your daughter Brooklyn — and not just because the borough wasn’t yet a hipster enclave. 　　Geographic baby names were rare in those days, and hardly anyone looked to grimy cities like New York for inspiration....

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Classic Baby Names Make a Comeback

Dec 4, 2024

　　By Abby Sandel 　　The new US Top 1000 list is out, and there’s good news for those who love classic baby names! While plenty of newer names caught on, 2014 was all about the return of longtime favorites. 　　James bumped Jayden out of the US Top Ten. Alice and Eleanor...

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The Playground Analysis of the Real Most Popular Names

Dec 4, 2024

　　By Kelli Brady, The Name Freak! 　　Now that the 2014 SSA list has been released, I can present the “real” Top 50 to you! By combining the different spellings of each name, we can determine which name is truly more popular. Because when you hear “Sophia!” on the playground, you...

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The Best New Baby Names

Dec 4, 2024

　　One of the most exciting parts of the new US Top 1000 has to be the debuts and returns list, prime sources for the best new baby names. 　　In 2014, a name had to be given to 205 newborn boys to make the Top 1000. On the girls’ side, it...

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The Hottest Celebrity Baby Names

Dec 4, 2024

　　By Abby Sandel 　　Do celebrity baby names influence the names we choose for our children? Or are the stars just like us, drawn to the same styles and trends that appeal to parents everywhere? 　　It’s probably a little bit of both, but looking at the new US Top 1000, there’s...

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Best Names Given to Just 5 Babies

Dec 4, 2024

　　By Angel Thomas, aka Dantea 　　These name choices are entirely my opinion, and you might not agree with them.  But after reading through the Below The Top 1000 list from the SSA, I picked out the best names I could find that were spelled properly or at least very close...

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UK vs US Popular Baby Names

Dec 4, 2024

　　Britain and America: two countries sharing, yet divided by, a common language. 　　As both a Brit and a name lover, the release of the US statistics is always fascinating for me. On your top 10 are names of interest which are having a direct influence on British names. There are...

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Most Popular Spanish Baby Names

Dec 4, 2024

　　The most popular Spanish baby names have been revealed by Spain’s national statistics office, with parents choosing more traditional names over modern monikers. 　　Spain’s national statistics office (INE) has released a list of the 100 most popular baby names in 2013 (the most up to date data) and the trend...

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Australia’s Fastest Rising Top 100 Names

Dec 4, 2024

　　By Anna Otto, Waltzing More than Matilda 　　These are names which rose the fastest in Australia in 2014, calculated not only by overall national position, but by the number of states in which the name had significant gains. It also compares their progress in Australia with that in the US,...

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Literary Baby Names in the News

Dec 4, 2024

　　Let’s talk literary baby names. 　　Jennifer Love Hewitt’s new son has a name borrowed from one of the hottest sources of baby name inspiration today: the 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. 　　Noah Wyle’s new daughter has a Mockingbird middle. Her first is associated with a beloved children’s author, too,...

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Unisex Names of the 2014 Top 1000

Dec 4, 2024

　　By Kelli Brady, NameFreak! 　　There are 67 names in the 2014 Top 1000 that charted for both boys and girls. More if you count the ones that are spelled differently. It’s quite interesting to see which gender has taken over the name, as well as which names are given to...

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