Jabberwocky: Elvis, Justice, Ace
Misadventures in baby-naming.
by Mark Peters
November 1, 2007
If you have one of those George Costanza jobs, where not much more is required than rearranging papers in an accordion-style folder and using a private bathroom that was acquired under false pretenses, then do I have a time-waster for you: the Social Security Administration's Popular Baby Names website, which tracks the 1,000 most popular male and female names since 1880.
Before that website came into my life, I thought that cuckoo-bananas names were rarities.
Truthfully, the battiest ones really aren't very common. Winner, Loser, ESPN, Kal-El, Metallica, Plaxico, Apple and Moxie Crimefighter are a long way from making the top 1,000. But with Liberty, Justice and Elvis making the government's list, I'd say there are mobs, perhaps even hordes, of parents who approach the baby-naming task with the creative verve of a yam-smearing performance artist.
Other facts, cuckoo and non-cuckoo, that got my attention:
— I think 2004 is the year the world went insane. Not because Bush beat Kerry or the Red Sox beatWinner, Loser, ESPN, Kal-El, Metallica, Plaxico, Apple and Moxie Crimefighter are a long way from making the top 1,000. the Yankees, but because for the first time ever, girls named "Heather" were outnumbered by girls named "Heaven."
— "Michael" is the Michael Jordan of male names: It's been in the top 60 since 1880, the top ten since 1943, and number one or two every year since 1954. "Joseph" has done pretty well too: it's been in the top 15 from 1880 to the present, and "John" was #1 from 1880 all the way till 1923, and it's still in the top twenty.
— "Emily" is on a streak of eleven straight #1 rankings from 1996 to 2006, while "Jennifer" pulled off fifteen straight #1's from 1970 to 1984, and Mary retained the top spot from 1880 to 1946! Mother Mary on a motorboat, that's impressive. "Emma" has had its ups and downs, but it was #3 in 1880 and #2 in 2006.
— The data makes no mention of race, but certain names — such as the 2006 female top ten: Emily, Emma, Madison, Isabella, Ava, Abigail, Olivia, Hannah, Sophia and Samantha — would seem to indicate there are still plenty of white people in America.
©2007 Nerve Media
About the Author
|
|
Related Articles
|
|
|
|
-
by Helaine Olen
Can Myers-Briggs testing make us better parents?
-
by Rebecca Jones
A teen babysitter's confession.
-
by Sarah Sundberg
Baby Names. Invasion of the Emilys.
|
