Completely Un-Scientific Roundup of 2017's Hottest Names

I spend a lot of time perusing hospital birth announcements, just trying to get a feel for what actual people out there are naming kids. Here's what I've found.

For girls, the following names seem to be getting fairly popular, at least in some regions:

Kinsley
Hazel
Willow
Tenley
Wren
Remi
Sloan(e)
Ellis
Thea
Laney/Lainey/Laynie
Carter/Karter
Greta
Cora
Hattie
Rae and Raelynn (Rey-Lynn, Raylin, etc.), particularly as a middle name
Rain/Reign/Rayne as a middle name

For boys, the following have seem to be more popular all of a sudden:

Ryker
Ryder
Oakley
Ezra
Wyatt
Tucker
Trace
Stetson
Hudson
Levi
Beckham
Everett
Emmett
Asher
Jensen
Remington
Camden/Kamdyn/Kamdon etc.
Grayson (Greyson/Graysin/Gracyn etc.)
Axel (especially as a middle name)

The Social Security Administration baby name list comes out in just 5 months, we'll see if there's an uptick in these names!

Some more Finn names

Americans love nicknames. Even when there's a nickname they will use on their kid forever, they will pick a longer name, even if it means making one up. For example, when the name Brandi started becoming popular for girls, the longer forms Brandisha, Brandina, Brandolyn, and Brandice were coined. For boys, Jax has become popular. Not satisfied with Jackson as a long form, parents have coined Jaxton and Jaxion. There are countless examples in American naming history of this, backforming long versions of names (or using already existing names and places in a new context) to get a nickname.

This phenomenon is more common for girls, but there are some examples for boys as well.
here are some more examples:

Kelly -> Kellina
Lexi -> Lexington, Alexia
Kaylee -> Kayleena, Jakaylee, Kaylisha, Kaylissa, Kaylise
Jody -> Jodene, Jodette, Jodelle
Grace/Gracie -> Graceland, Graycen

And for boys:

Cody -> Dakota, Koden, Jacody
Trent -> Trenton, Trentavious
Gray -> Grayton, Graylan
Bodhi -> Boden, Bowden
Brad -> Bradrick, Bradney, Bradson, Braddon, Braddox

Which brings me to the name Finn. Finn is one of those names that suddenly came out of nowhere and is now the Next Big Thing. Actually, it probably has surpassed the "next" phase and IS the Big Thing. With the rise of Finn are a bunch of Finn names that could beget Finn as a nickname:

Finnegan
Finley
Phineas
Finnick (thanks, Hunger Games!)

and to a lesser extent:
Finland
Finbar
Fintan
Finian
Finnan

Why stop there? I've come up with some more you could use:

Infinity -it's been quietly used for both girls and boys for a couple of decades now!
Delphinus -it means "from Delphi" and is the name of a saint who died in the year 403.
Arnfinn -it means "eagle of the Finns" in old Norse
Fingal -it comes from Fionnghall, meaning "white foreigner" in Scottish Gaelic
Rufinus - a nickname for a red-haired person in Ancient Rome
Finesse -it's been used sporadically as a name since the 90s. Why not? Abstract concept names are all the rage right now!
Serafin/Seraphinus - meaning "fiery ones," the Seraphim are an order of angels in the bible.
Finis - it means "the end" in Latin. Make of that what you will.
Griffin - a mythical beast. Why not?
Phinizy - this name was given to 5 boys in 1920 and hasn't been used since. Bonus: it's the name of a swamp in Georgia!

Pinterest Lists

Name Nerds now has a Pinterest board! Yay! I have no idea what to do with it! Here it is:

Name Nerds on Pinterest

Other name boards on Pinterest contain lists of names. So, here goes.

These names were given to 5 or more boys between 1880 and 1930. There are some interesting ones!

2016 Top Names for Boys in the USA

 Here are the Top 2016 names for boys, grouped by spelling. SPOILERS: Jackson once again takes 1st place, with Aiden a distant second. Highlights coming soon; I (or rather, my bf Chris Korda) have been working on a computer algorithm that will correlate all this data for me, and we are still working out the kinks!


2016 Top Names for Boys in the USA

The Force is With Naming

Last year, 238 boys got named Kylo. How many Kylos have there been in previous years? Zero. But Kylo isn't alone-- Star Wars names in general are on the rise. Here are how many were born in 2016:

Anakin (303) 
Finn (2277)
Han (19)
Lando (20)
Leia (1604)
Luke (9930)
Mace (83)
Padme (16)
Poe (7)
Rey (63)
Solo (5)

There were no baby Vaders in 2016, but there have been in past years.
Obviously some of these names are not necessarily Star Wars related, but Anakin and Lando definitely are!

Friends of Aiden

I'm working on the 2016 Boys' names in the USA now... but until I'm done, here is a list of all the names that rhyme with Aidan in the top 7000, in descending order of popularity (most popular spelling listed only):

Aiden (22201)
Kayden (14859)
Jayden (14280)
Brayden (7532)
Zayden (3615)
Hayden (2740)
Raiden (1243)
Tayden (264)
Grayden (235)
Drayden (187)
Layden (101)
Jakayden (83)
Bladen (79)
Payden (61)
Treyden (61)
Shayden (42)
Vaden (33)
Dayden (26)
Slayden (22)
Baden (21)
Clayden (15)
Nayden (15)
Xzayden (14)
Dakaiden (13)
Wayden (12)
Xaden (12)
Chayden (11)
Thayden (11)
Yaden (7)
Fayden (5)

Note: the only consonants missing are Q and M.  I bet if Maiden weren't already a word, Mayden would be a name! Also: Quayden-- sounds good to me-- someone get on naming a kid that! Maybe Qaden can be an alternative spelling of Kayden...

2016 Girls' Names- USA

I have been working for years on an algorithm that will group names by spelling. It's been a long, annoying process. Anyway, I've made some headway (or rather, the great Chris Korda has made headway), and I have been able to get the first half of the names out by now! It usually takes me until at least July! So, without further ado, here are the top Girls' names for 2016. (highlights coming soon as soon as we tweak the database).

Top Girls' Names 2016: USA