Here’s another “biggest changes” analysis, but this one is for the England and Wales boy names. (We looked at the girl names yesterday.)
The tables below include two versions of each list. On the left are the top raw-number differences, taking all names into account. On the right are the top ranking differences, taking only the top 1,000 names (roughly) into account.
Biggest Increases in Popularity
| Raw Numbers (all names) | Rankings (top 1,000) |
|---|---|
|
|
I think the rise of Oscar can be attributed, at least in part, to Oscar Pistorius. Can you think of explanations for any of the other names? (I’d especially like to know what gave Buster a boost.)
Biggest Decreases in Popularity
| Raw Numbers (all names) | Rankings (top 1,000) |
|---|---|
|
|
A lot of Ry- and Ri- names took hits last year. Is the sound falling out of the favor? What do you think?
Top Debut Name
Gurfateh.
Fewer than 3 baby boys got the name in 2012, but 12 baby boys were named Gurfateh in 2013. (But keep in mind that I only have the full England and Wales baby name lists going back to 2007.)
Here are the U.S. boy names that changed the most in popularity in 2013, if you’d like to compare.
The rise in the popularity of Oscar may be explained by the success of the Chelsea footballer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_%28footballer,_born_1991%29
He goes only by the name Oscar, which may make the effect even stronger.
Couldn’t find an explanation for Buster, but coincidentally it has just been reported as an unlucky name for dogs:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/28834562
Thank you, Rachel!