Did you know Jacob has been the number one boy’s name in the US since 1999? Ironically this is one of the names my husband and I have chosen as a possibility if we have another boy. Now I’m not so sure. Considering how popular the name is, he may have a hard time in school when the teachers do roll call. Emily was the number one girls name every year from 1996 to 2007. Guess which girls name ranked number one from 1909 to 1946? The answer is at the end of this blog.
On the other end of the spectrum, celebrities are infamous for naming their children extremely unique names. Their names are one of a kind. When you name your daughter Apple, you never have to worry about someone asking, “Apple who?”
My husband and I like to strike a balance. We don’t pick names from a baby name book; we pull up the Social Security website and view the list of names for the previous year. Anything in the top ten is automatically out. Any names already used by a family member are out. Anything after #200 is likely an alternate spelling for a more popular name (which can confuse a child) or is too odd for our tastes. Names that remind us of people we don’t care to be reminded of are also crossed off the list. Remaining names are weighed against each other based on a number of different criteria. Does it sound good with our last name? Can we think of a good middle name to go with it? Can we picture ourselves saying this name hundreds of times per day? That essentially is our baby naming strategy.
Popularity does certainly play a role when choosing a name for our children. We don’t want them to get lost in the shuffle of Ashley’s or be ridiculed for the rest of their lives either.
Do you care how popular your baby’s name is? Oh, and the number one name from 1909 to 1946 for girls? It’s Mary.