How Popular is Your Name? (Stats)

Did you think you were being original when you named your baby? Only time will tell. Boy baby names seem to stay pretty mainstream with Jacob and Ethan being the two most popular names, while girl baby names have stayed away from mainstream names like Brittany and Jessica and more towards exotic names. So is your baby name popular?

The top boys names seem to be relatively predictable. Jacon, Michael, Alexander, William, Joshua and Daniel have always been common boys names. There are a few pop culture references like Aiden and Logan, but overall there are no boys names that catch us off guard.

The girls names are all about pop culture references. Isabella is the most popular girl name probably due in large part to the Twilight series where "Bella" is the main character. Other names like Emma, Olivia, Sophia, and Ava are not traditional American names, but couples seem to be naming their babies these names increasingly more. Over 22,000 baby girls were named Isabella, compared to about 21,000 boys named Jacob. Here’s a look at the percentage of baby boys and girls with the respected popular names:

It is interesting that boys tend to have more popular names than girls. This could be in part due to how women think more about what they want to name their baby girl over their baby boy (hence the desire to be original). A lot of the boys names are biblical. The 20th most popular name (Benjamin) was given to 0.62% of newborns, whereas the 20th most popular girls name (Ashley) was only given to .39% of newborns.

Do your parents think they were original when they named you? Well names that were popular 20 or 30 years ago are now popular again, like Ashley, Alyssa, and Alexis.

Data Source : United States Social Security Administration