One Star: Baby Names Popular in Only 1 State (Girls)

Although we can gain a general understanding of American naming through the national data, it is true that naming differs between states and regions.  In some cases, names are only commonly used in one particular area.

The following girls’ names each appear in the top 100 most popular names list for only one U.S. state or Washington, D.C.  State popularity data, like the national data, can be found here, through the Social Security Administration.  The boys’ names will follow in a later post.

Alaska: Dahlia, Denali, Felicity, Cheyenne, Lacey, McKinley

Arizona: Daisy

California: Giselle

Delaware: Ariella, Delaney

District of Columbia: Zuri, Zara, Madeleine, Jacqueline, Nina, Gabriela, Logan

Hawaii: Anela, Kiana, Emi, Kalea, Kailani, Leia, Kaia, Leila, Kalena, Mahina, Makena, Camryn, Rylie, Malia, Kaya

Idaho: Gemma, Lexi

Kentucky: Shelby

Louisiana: Jolie, Camille, Demi, Kali

Maine: Gwendolyn, Rowan, Evangeline

Massachusetts: Maeve, Catherine

Minnesota: Aisha, Greta, Elise

Mississippi: Kaitlyn, Kayleigh, Jaliyah, Kennedi, Malaysia, Jada

Montana: Remington, Hallie, Kimber

New Mexico: Amaya, Destiny

New York: Chaya

North Dakota: Edith, Nova, Arya, Josie, Mckenna

Rhode Island: Rosalie

South Dakota: Henley, Brinley

Texas: Daniela, Ana

Utah: Katelyn, Oaklee

Vermont: Wren, Jillian, Willa, Georgia, Mallory, Ayla

West Virginia: Madilyn, Braylee

Wyoming: Evelynn, Kassidy, Taya, Hadlee, Macie, Maddison, Myla, Marley, Kira, Katie

 

What are your thoughts? 

Naming Between the States

This week I’ve started to analyze American name popularity at the state level.  Usually I discuss the national data on this blog, but let’s face it – the U.S. is a huge country.  What’s popular in one state or region isn’t necessarily going to be popular in another.  In fact, I’m finding that just a few states can account for most of a single name’s popularity in the national data.

I will post more of the nitty-gritty details within once I have a chance to examine the data more thoroughly, but here are a few general observations and things to know:

1. If a name makes the top 100 in California or Texas, it automatically ranks in the national top 1000 because their respective populations are so huge.  There are another couple of states (New York is one of them, I think) where boys’ names are also automatically in the American top 1000. 
2. States that border Mexico and others that have significant Spanish-speaking populations have their own naming style.  Names like Iker, Angel, Carlos, Ximena, Daleyza, and Genesis are far more likely to appear on these states’ top 100 lists.  
3. Considering points 1 and 2, this means that California and Texas comprise a large portion of a name’s popularity within the U.S. and may even be responsible for propelling some names into the national top 100 or 200.  Mateo, the Spanish form of Matthew, was given to almost 5,000 baby boys last year.  1409 were born in California and 1048 were born in Texas.  Not even counting all the states where Mateo might also have been popular, that’s almost half of last year’s Mateos born in just two states!
4. States with tiny populations seem more likely to have more unusual names pop up in their top 100s.  These often are names that are in the top 1000, but don’t usually appear in other states’ top 100 and might rank nationally somewhere in the 400-700 range.  Montana lists Remington as one of its top 100 girls’ names.
5. Keep in mind, states with tiny populations have very little influence on national name popularity. 
6. New York and New Jersey both have larger numbers of distinctly Jewish names.  Rivka and Moshe are only in the top 100 for those states, and these two states account for about 88% of baby boys named Moshe last year.  There are also a number of Old Testament names like Rachel and Esther that nowadays only appear on the top 100s of these states.
7. New York and New Jersey are also notable for the popularity of many Italian names.  Only in those two states will you find Giovanni as a top 100 name.  Names like Anthony, Gianna, and Valentina also rank higher than their national averages there.
8. Mary is still very popular in parts of the Deep South (10th most popular girls’ name in Mississippi!) but otherwise the region seems to favor more modern names.  I was surprised to note that Londyn is actually a more popular spelling than London in Alabama, for example. 
9. Hawaii has a top 100 that looks very different from top 100s in the rest of the country, and several of Hawaii’s popular names don’t even appear in the national top 1000.  Obviously most of these are Hawaiian (Leilani, Keanu), though I thought I saw at least one Japanese name.
10. Noah and Emma may be the overall #1 names in the U.S., but many states differ from that national.  Many states have William or Liam as the #1 boys’ name and Olivia or Ava for the girls. 

I’ll post more detailed information in the future.  I’m really glad I took a look at the state data though.  Among other things, this has given me greater clarity into why and how certain names remain ‘popular’ on the national level, and which names to look out for in the future.

Source: https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/state/index.html

The Name Shasta

Shasta was a somewhat popular girls’ name in the 70s and 80s.  It entered the top 1000 in 1976, peaked in 1978, and left in 1986.  Nowadays, it’s very rare.  Last year there were only 15 baby girls with this name. 

There are any number of categories that might inspire parents to bestow this name:

• Flowers: Shasta Daisy
• Topographical/Outdoorsy: Mt. Shasta, California
• Beverages: Shasta is a soda brand

Those first two categories are highly appealing to many parents.  Flower-names are perennial favorites for girls’ names, and geographic naming is trendy for both genders.  River and Sky (more often, Skye) are very popular, and it’s not too unusual to see children named after mountains either (McKinley, Everest, Afton).  Shasta would fit right in. 

Still, there remains the fact that Shasta is also a soda.  Various alcoholic beverages have been extremely popular as names in the past century (i.e. Sherry, Brandy), so beverage-status itself is not an insurmountable obstacle.  I’m not sure that carbonated drinks perform so well on the playground.  Fanta did appear in the extended SSA data around the same time that Shasta was popular, but that was apparently due to the mini-series Roots; not because parents suddenly thought colas were great names. 

Another thing to consider is that Shasta is the name of a Native American people.  There are implications to naming children after indigenous groups, especially when a a group is still alive.  Some would call it appropriation.  You may think you’re honoring that group, but you could just be insulting someone. 

What do you think of Shasta?

Cairo

Overlooking the Pyramids and the city of Cairo

Of all the buzzing baby names this year, one of the biggest is probably Cairo.  Cairo entered the top 1000 in 2015 for the first time ever.  City names are nothing new, and they often enjoy unisex popularity.  London currently ranks #105 for girls and #605 among the boys, while Milan ranks #424 for boys and #695 for girls.  Milan, however, is also recognized as a masculine Slavic-language name, which might explain why it’s more popular for boys in the U.S.  Paris was such a name of an older generation, as for males it likely referred to the abductor of Helen, and for girls to the city or Paris Hilton.  Nowadays it’s only popular as a feminine name (#263), and I suspect Ms. Hilton may be the reason.

I think these kinds of city names become so popular because, in some way or another, they represent pinnacles of culture to people.  London, Paris, and Milan are fashion-capitals, or at least they were when I last heard that trivia question.  Cairo is the capital of Egypt *and* has the Pyramids, but if it wasn’t popular before, why specifically is Cairo a popular name now?  

The answer is in the numbers.  If you look at the extended data (i.e. beyond the top 1000), the name Cairo first began to be used in the late 1970s and was a regular from then on.  Then, in 2011, usage more than doubled.  There were 45 boys named Cairo in 2010, and in 2011 there were 92.  Usage has risen every year since.  Last year there were 220 male Cairos, ranking the name at #940 out of 1000.  The point: Cairo is a popular name because of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

I’ve never heard of names becoming popular because of protests that happened in another country, or because of instability in some location.  The name Isis is dying because of the terror organization.  Maybe the media brought Cairo to the attention of parents who use names as an outlet for cosmopolitan aspirations, or maybe people thought civil disobedience admirable.  It’s certainly a more interesting tale of popularity than if it were fashion- or celebrity-based.