I was also interested in the trends for each letter; in the GIF above, there's a rise and a fall of names ending in "d" (although the rise ends in the mid-1930s, which I've already explained is problematic due to the way data was collected). So here's a grid of every letter; the scales are not the same ("n" is far more popular than "q", for example) so I've shaded each one so that darker green goes along with most popularity, and the overall trends of each one can be seen:
There's still more that can done with this data; only since 2011 have as many as four of the top ten boys' names ended in 'n', so evidently this is a phenomenon that has carried through more than the top tier of popularity; it would be interesting to see the contributions of different names. I also wonder what some of the peaks and valleys for other names represent, and of course one could always do the same analysis to the last letters of girls' names (let me guess: lots of "a"s), the first letters of either sex, and even middle letters or multi-letter patterns. More to come, unless some other shiny data bauble catches my eye first...
Other prooffreader.com posts about baby names:
- Variant spellings, Britney and girls named after months
- Sigourney, Sharona and boys named Sue (and Emma)
- Increasing diversity of baby names in the past century
41 comments
Kevin
ReplyThe surge is partly due to Ethan, Brandon, Aiden and Mason, but it's not just limited to the most popular names.
ReplyConsidering renaming myself. Like a lot of 'n' names but was worried about their popularity. Might as well name myself "Common."
ReplyAyden, Brayden, Cayden, Dayden, Eayden, Fayden, Gayden, Hayden, Jayden, Kayden, Layden, Mayden, Nayden, Oayden, Payden, Qayden, Rayden, Sayden, Tayden, Uayden, Vayden, Wayden, Xayden, Yayden, Zayden.
ReplyYes
ReplyIayden
ReplyMy grandson was named Caden 9 years ago.
ReplyRIP George Carlin...
Replyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo8CrY_ZfFk
steven
ReplyPhteven
ReplyWhile "ends in n" seems to overtax the visualization library a bit, you might enjoy poking around this:
ReplyEnd in "on" and others from nametrends.net
How popular is the Name: Homer these days?
ReplyWhat's his name now?
ReplyWhat's his name now?
ReplyJonathan :)
ReplyJason, Ason, Bason, Cason, Dason, Eason, Fason, Gason, Hason, Iason, Kason, Lason, Mason, Nason, Nosan, Sonan, Zason
ReplyDespite Osama Bin Laden eh?
ReplyFirst name, last name or just first name?
ReplyFirst name: boys and girls in the U.S. don't generally have different last names.
Reply"We're just making plans for Nigel..."
ReplyShinzon, Verizon, Lebanon, Defcon. ComicCon, JSON
Replyfrickin' Bieber I swear
ReplyHomer peaked in popularity around 1920, when over 1700 boys were bestowed the name. It's descended into relative obscurity in modern times. In 2012 (the most recent year for which we have data), 24 American boys were named Homer.
ReplySource: http://www.ourbabynamer.com/Homer-name-popularity.html
Batman, Robin, Superman, Spiderman, Aquaman, Captain America (first names, remember), Iron Man ... Coincidence? I think not.
ReplyI tried to search names ends with N for my little boy and found some good American names like Aaden, Aaralyn, Kamryn, Dalvin and Landyn
ReplyHoping that i wouldn't have to research more if these are unique or rarely used, what would you all suggest.
source www.babynology.com
How about Aiden, Cameron or Landon? (not even sure how to pronounce Aaralyn or Dalvin) Stick them with 'original' spellings, and they're going to spend their whole lives correcting people on how to pronounce and spell their name. Maybe be a real trend setter and go with David, Robert, Michael or Peter.
ReplyIt appears the name Anonymous is more popular than I would have believed. That seems to contradict the fall in the letter S
ReplyYour right. It's far to common. I need to set myself apart.
ReplyFreaking awesome list.
ReplyThis is a wonderful animated chart and I don't at all mean to dismiss all the hard work that went into it. But it might have been informative to add consonant blends: names ending in ck, sh, th, ch, etc.
ReplyI like the chart.
ReplyAnother option would be to map first name popularity against James Bond villains to check for correlation. Unless, of course, you have more important things to do.
D'oh
Replyand the whole Cayden, Brayden, Jayden phenomenon slash explosion.
ReplyCollin
ReplyColon
ReplyThat is a computationally difficult but worthwhile approach. Name experts agree that it's not names or spellings that are being preserved, it's sounds. (In other words, not "n" but "aden"). I will add this to my to-do list. Thanks for your contribution! Don't worry, I don't interpret statements like "I wish your work had been done like this" to mean "You shouldn't have done your work like that," I'm always open to a good idea.
ReplyYes
ReplyThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyHave you thought about the potential correlations between immigrant patterns and name endings? Does that appear to be related at all? I would love to look into this if you grant me access to your data sets!
ReplyThere's definitely a link between immigration and baby name patterns; it would be a bit of a challenge (and I do enjoy a challenge) to tease out beyond the obvious ones ("Hey, look! The more people immigrate from Central and South America, the more babies are named Juan!"). The data set is public, it's at http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/limits.html
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