The top boy-name debuts of 2014

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The movie-inspired Llewyn was the top debut name for baby boys in 2014.

Of all the boy names appearing for the very first time on a Social Security Administration baby name list in 2014, the following were the most popular:

1. Llewyn, 38 baby boys
2. Keylor, 34
3. Feynman, 15
4. Sanav, 15
5. Jadaveon, 14
6. Rudransh, 14
7. Cavani, 13
8. Haigen, 13
9. Amirali, 12
10. Kharson, 12
11. Teller, 12
12. Alisher,11
13. Kavir, 11
14. Raynav, 11
15. Zacardi, 11

And a handful from the 10-and-under group: Crusoe, Adagio, Briggston/Brigston, Jetzael, Tyking, Voss, Coast, Cobalt, Flash, Liamgabriel, Roux, Acamas, Clutch, Kingcharles, Menachemmendel, Stallone, Winchester, Wrett, Bangaly, Billion, Cohutta, Knoxville, Legendary, Renegade, Rocker.

Where do the names above come from? Here are some explanations:

  • Llewyn – from the Coen brothers’ film “Inside Llewyn Davis” (2013).
  • Keylor – from Costa Rican footballer (goalkeeper) Keylor Navas, who made some notable saves during the 2014 World Cup.
  • Jadaveon – from American football player Jadeveon Clowney, who was a first round draft pick in 2014.
  • Cavani – from Uruguayan footballer (striker) Edinson Cavani, who also appeared in the 2014 World Cup.
  • Zacardi – from Zacardi Cortez, American gospel musician, whose second album came out in 2014.

Can you come up with explanations for any of the others?

Here are the boy name debuts for 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

U.S. Baby Names 2014: Most popular names, Top girl-name debuts, Top boy-name debuts, Biggest girl-name changes, Biggest boy-name changes, Top first letters, Top lengths

Source: SSA

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

13 thoughts on “The top boy-name debuts of 2014

  1. Feynman – Michelle Feynman is an actress who appeared in the tv series “Numb3rs” and the movie “Challenger” in 2013. Her father, Richard Feynman, was a famous physicist who passed away in 1988.

  2. Interesting! But I’m wondering…would a female actress really cause the #3 debut on the boys’ list? I’m not sure. Best theory so far, though.

  3. Feynman also immediately captured my attention. Although Richard Feynman has an enduring popularity, he’s not the kind of person to inspire baby namers.

    My guess is the French DJ and musician Yoann Feynman.

  4. Another strange one: Teller makes me think of Edward Teller, “father of the hydrogene bomb”—again a person that does not inspire baby namers.

    Maybe the freestyle skier John Teller inspires the parents? He won a gold medal at Voss, Norway (another name in the debut list; reminding me of Bloohm+Voss; a German shipbuilding company).

  5. Haigen is a video game character in the popular video game “Sanctum”. Kharson is perhaps a play on the traditional name “Carson”.

  6. Alisher Ursanev, a Russian and one of the richest men in the world. He bought the nobel prize from scientist James Watson in December 2014, who won it for his work on the double helix. Cost: $5 million dollars. Alisher immediately gave it back so Mr. Watson is now a rich man who donated much of the money back to the University of Chicago for further genetic research.

  7. Teller: I’m thinking Miles Teller, of Whiplash / Divergent fame.
    Sanav Rudransh, Raynav: Indian names.
    Haigen: Haigen Hawkins is a character in the video game Sanctum 2.
    Alisher: Alisher Usmanov, the richest men Russia.
    Kaniv: a city in the Ukraine

  8. Cohutta Grindstaff appeared on MTV’s show “The Challenge” in 2014. He’s named after the Cohutta Mountain Range.

  9. Knoxville could be from the city but I’m betting it’s from Johnny Knoxville…so another “baby name for Jackasses”, as Nancy put it in her post about the name Bam.

  10. Amirali looks like a combination of Amir and Ali, both fairly popular names with Muslims. I’ve seen name smushes in some of the most popular name lists from Middle Eastern countries.I would guess this is a name used by immigrant families, maybe from Iran.

  11. I’m working on the pop culture baby name game results post right now and forgot to mention here that Madiba also debuted in 2014.

  12. Also, thank you everyone for the input! Sorry I didn’t say that yesterday. Been busy updating the site, so I’ve fallen behind on responding to comments…

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