Naming Babies

Throughout history, cultures have attached great importance to names. In some cultures people, like cats, have secret names known only to themselves.

Most parents I know spent hours, days, even months writing down possible names, doing the best to ensure that their final choice would go with their surname and that the child’s initials wouldn’t spell out a word that could provoke ridicule.

American culture may not place the same value on the naming rite as some others. If you watched the movie Pulp Fiction, you may remember what one of the characters says about the meaninglessness of American names. Nevertheless I was astounded to read that in 1994 in New York City, 2,516 baby girls were named Female. In that same year, 3,639 baby boys received the name Male. Their parents hadn’t bothered to give them a name, so the sex designated on their papers was recorded as the given name. Although some of the parents later provided genuine names, many of the children grew up with names pronounced [fuh-MAHL-ee] and [MAH-lee], respectively.

Some countries have laws that curb excessive imagination in naming newborns. The United States is not one of them.

American celebrities tend to choose unusual names for their offspring. For example:
Indiana August
Moses Amadeus
Satchel Seamus
Seven Sirius
Apple
Zowie

Some non-celebrities go further:
Hippo
Jedi
Thunder
Popeye
Espn
Google
Burger
Vanille
J’Adore
Shoog

Despite names like these, a glance at the most popular names given to babies in the United States decade by decade reveals that traditional names have staying power. Good old-fashioned “Mary” remained in the top three until the 1970s; “Michael” made it into the 21st century.

Here are the top three name choices for boys and girls (Social Security statistics) for each decade since 1930:

1930 
Boys: Robert, James, John
Girls: Mary, Betty, Barbara
1940
Boys: James, Robert, John
Girls: Mary, Barbara, Patricia
1950
Boys: James, Robert, John
Girls: Linda, Mary, Patricia
1960
Boys: David, Michael, James
Girls: Mary, Susan, Linda
1970
Boys: Michael, James, David
Girls: Jennifer, Lisa, Kimberly
1980
Boys: Michael, Christopher, Jason
Girls: Jennifer, Amanda, Jessica
1990
Boys: Michael, Christopher, Matthew
Girls: Jessica, Ashley, Brittany
2000
Boys: Jacob, Michael, Matthew
Girls: Emily, Hannah, Madison

The tide seems to be turning. Judging by 2013 figures, the boys are on their way to exotic names, while the girls are headed back to more traditional choices:

2013
Boys: Jackson, Aiden, Liam
Girls: Sophia, Emma, Olivia

1880s
Boys: John, William, James
Girls: Mary, Anna, Emma