Not sure what to name your baby?
Maybe you should go with a classic. The following names have been popular in the U.S. since at least 1880 (when data on baby names was first collected). None of the male names have ever been out of the top 400, and none of the female names have ever been out of the top 500.
So, if you’re stumped, simply close your eyes and point. Just remember to veer to the left if you’re having a boy, to the right if you’re having a girl…
| Aaron Albert Alex Alexander Allen Andrew Andy Anthony Antonio Arthur Benjamin Calvin Charles Christopher Clayton Curtis Daniel David Dennis Donald Edgar Edward Edwin Felix Frank George | Grant Henry Isaac Jack Jacob James Jay Jerry Jesse Joe Joel John Jose Joseph Juan Julian Kenneth Louis Manuel Marcus Mark Martin Marvin Matthew Michael | Nathan Nathaniel Nicholas Oscar Patrick Paul Peter Philip Phillip Preston Raymond Richard Robert Ruben Samuel Stephen Theodore Thomas Timothy Tony Victor Vincent Walter Wesley William | Alice Amanda Amelia Amy Anna Anne Annie Caroline Catherine Cecilia Charlotte Christina Christine Claudia Cynthia Elizabeth Emily Emma Esther Eva Evelyn Grace Helen Jane Josephine Julia Katherine | Kathleen Kathryn Katie Laura Leah Lillian Linda Lydia Margaret Maria Mary Miriam Molly Nancy Naomi Nina Priscilla Rachel Rebecca Rose Rosa Ruby Ruth Sara Sarah Veronica |
Honorable Mentions: Douglas, Eddie, Ivan, Lawrence, Mitchell and Russell were each out of the top 400 only once, and Nora was out of the top 500 only once.
I would really be interested in learning why parents choose the names they do. What helps to make that final decision? When I named my daughters, I chose names that sounded good to me. I didn’t want the name to have a meaning associated with it, because a persons name really does influence what type of personality they have. And without realizing it, we do tend to make assumptions about people based on their name. For example, when we are introduced to someone named Candy, we might expect her to be sweet, and perhaps not so bright. When in reality, she could be extremely brilliant and not so sweet. Lol, or maybe it’s just me. I would like to hear your opinion on the matter though.
Oh, I think it’s a whole slew of things — sounds, associations, popularity, image/perceptions, and so forth. The exact mixture will depend upon the person doing the naming.
omfreaking god why isnt kelsi on here i have looked every where to find my names
kelsi cheyenne nicole
I closed my eyes and the names I pointed to were Benjamin, Joel and Charlotte. Beautiful names and I *love* the band Good Charlotte, but I don’t know if I would ever do that! Nice to know, though, that if I ever so chose to pay tribute to my favourite band, my kids could still have conventional names :)
Such a great resource! I may use this in a blog post for my website for writers, if that’s okay.