Biggest changes in girl name popularity, 2014

Which girl names increased and decreased the most in popularity from 2013 to 2014?

Below are two versions of each list. My version looks at raw number differences and takes all 19,067 girl names on the 2014 list into account. The SSA’s version looks at ranking differences and covers the top 1,000 girl names (roughly).

Biggest Increases

Raw Numbers (Nancy’s list)Rankings (SSA’s list)
  1. Olivia, +1,308 babies (18,366 to 19,674)
  2. Harper, +1,296 (8,268 to 9,564)
  3. Nora, +1,206 (3,502 to 4,708)
  4. Ariana, +1,065 (4,396 to 5,461)
  5. Evelyn, +1,045 (7,647 to 8,692)
  6. Everly, +1,042 (812 to 1,854)
  7. Daleyza, +976 (485 to 1,461)
  8. Skylar, +957 (3,775 to 4,732)
  9. Scarlett, +918 (5,047 to 5,965)
  10. Paisley, +878 (3,595 to 4,473)
  1. Aranza, +3,625 spots (4,232nd to 607th)
  2. Montserrat, +582 (1,153rd to 571st)
  3. Monserrat, +571 (1,162nd to 591st)
  4. Maisie, +462 (1,120th to 658th)
  5. Zendaya, +420 (1,312nd to 892nd)
  6. Karter, +415 (1,383rd to 968th)
  7. Ariadne, +411 (1,212th to 801st)
  8. Daleyza, +358 (585th to 227th)
  9. Thea, +358 (1,134th to 776th)
  10. Remington, +351 (1,036th to 685th)

Here’s what the SSA says about the rise of Aranza: “The Latin soap opera “Por siempre mi amor” was aired on Univision from 2013 to 2015. The show featured a young lead character named Aranza, and obviously had its effect on naming trends last year.” (Aransa was on the 2014 debut list.)

The SSA also noted that Montserrat was the name of “the lead character in a very popular Latin soap opera” — “Lo que la vida me robó,” which aired from 2013 to 2014.

Biggest Decreases

Raw Numbers (Nancy’s list)Rankings (SSA’s list)
  1. Sophia, -2,657 babies (21,147 to 18,490)
  2. Nicole, -827 (3,338 to 2,511)
  3. Samantha, -810 (6,490 to 5,680)
  4. Addison, -762 (7,712 to 6,950)
  5. Hannah, -748 (7,260 to 6,512)
  6. Makayla, -711 (3,270 to 2,559)
  7. Isabella, -623 (17,573 to 16,950)
  8. Alexia, -607 (1,820 to 1,213)
  9. Kaylee, -588 (5,101 to 4,513)
  10. Alexis, -568 (4,756 to 4,188)
  1. Miley, -405 spots (388th to 793rd)
  2. Karly, -330 (991st to 1321st)
  3. Britney, -315 (839th to 1,154th)
  4. Kaya, -244 (760th to 1,004th)
  5. Nahla, -241 (969th to 1,210th)
  6. Rihanna, -233 (956th to 1,189th)
  7. Kaylyn, -227 (982nd to 1,209th)
  8. Makena, -227 (993rd to 1,220th)
  9. Karissa, -224 (968th to 1,192nd)
  10. Sherlyn, -217 (672nd to 889th)

I see at least 3 pop star names (Miley, Rihanna, Britney) on the rankings side.

Finally, here are the big winners and losers from the last few years:

  • 2013: Sadie/Daleyza (biggest increases) and Isabella/Litzy (biggest decreases)
  • 2012: Harper/Arya (biggest increases) and Chloe/Dulce (biggest decreases)
  • 2011: Harper (biggest increase) and Isabella (biggest decrease)
  • 2010: Sophia (biggest increase) and Madison (biggest decrease)

Sources: Change in Popularity from 2013 to 2014, Noah and Emma Top Social Security’s List of Most Popular Baby Names for 2014

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

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