The top boy-name debuts of 2018

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The top boy-name debuts in the U.S. baby name data last year were:

  1. Jahseh, 65 baby boys
  2. Thielen, 21
  3. Daer, 17
  4. Amell, 12
  5. Daesyn, 12
  6. Ulugbek, 12
  7. Vayu, 12
  8. Lavie, 11
  9. Liano, 11
  10. Oaklynn, 11
  11. Rhaegar, 11
  12. Sirroyal, 11
  13. Truu, 11
  14. Usmon, 11
  15. Weller, 11

Some of the other debuts include: Baz, Xylo, Euro, Sensei, Sicario, Gaurik, Ludo, Soldier, Tritt, Jasahd, Muir, Ozymandias, Thanatos, Ao, Callisto, Charm, Freyr, Garrix, Gursehaj, Jalex, Kenmari, Khal, Koe, Kyloren, Ludovico, Oso, Rovanio, Selleck, Solstice, Swae, Tayceon, Acai, Beacon, Glauk, Glavine, Horizon, Jorniel, Kawaii, Kentucky, Kreek, Perfect, Precise, Prevail, Rehoboth, Sircarter, Solar, Universe, Wentz, Westbrook, Yanciel, Zaytoven

Sircarter was influenced by Sir Carter, the son of Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Do you have explanations for any of the other debuts?

P.S. Wondering what a “debut” name is? Debut names were too rare to appear in the SSA data in any previous year (1880-2017). In order to debut, they need to be given to at least 5 babies of one gender or the other within a single year.

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

6 thoughts on “The top boy-name debuts of 2018

  1. Jahseh was the given name of the rapper XXXTentacion shot in June 2018.

    Thielen seems to refer to the american football player Adam Thielen.

  2. Daer looks like…a nightclub that opened in 2018 at the Harley Davidson Hotel in Atlantic City? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a nightclub inspire baby names, but it’d be interesting to know if there are any precedents.

    Amell might refer to the actor Stephen Amell, from the superhero TV show Arrow.

    I think SirRoyal is probably inspired by Sir Carter. And Jasahd looks like a mashup of Jahseh (XXXTentacion) and Asahd (DJ Khaled’s son, which was a top debut last year). Tayceon seems like a take on Jayceon, which is the rapper The Game’s first name. It was also a top riser a few years ago.

    Usmon might be inspired by a Tajik rapper, but that feels like a stretch.

    Sicario was probably heard more due to the action movie by the same name (a sequel came out in mid-2018).

    Zaytoven is a hip hop producer. Garrix seems inspired by Martin Garrix, a Dutch DJ.

    Glavine seems inspired by Tom Glavine, the retired baseball pitcher, but I have no idea why that would have become popular last year. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. And all I can think of for Tritt is the country singer Travis Tritt, but that doesn’t seem like a particularly current reference, either.

    I didn’t get it at first, but Kyloren is probably Kylo Ren, like the Star Wars villain. (Kylo was a fast riser a year or 2 ago, wasn’t it?)

    Westbrook is probably after Russell Westbrook, the basketball player.

  3. I don’t speak the language but I assume Usmon is a Pakistani name. Usman Khawaja is an Australian cricketer born in Pakistan. Americans don’t name babies after cricketers but Australians and Pakistanis sure do!

    I don’t have any details for these but Glauk is an Albanian name, Gursehaj is Sikh. Ludovico is Italian. I assume the usage of these names is part of the trend for people to embrace their cultural roots rather than Anglicise their names.

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