The top boy-name debuts in the U.S. baby name data last year were:
- Jahseh, 65 baby boys
- Thielen, 21
- Daer, 17
- Amell, 12
- Daesyn, 12
- Ulugbek, 12
- Vayu, 12
- Lavie, 11
- Liano, 11
- Oaklynn, 11
- Rhaegar, 11
- Sirroyal, 11
- Truu, 11
- Usmon, 11
- 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.
Jahseh was the given name of the rapper XXXTentacion shot in June 2018.
Thielen seems to refer to the american football player Adam Thielen.
Rhaegar is a name from Game of Thrones.
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.
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.
@ elbowin, Sara, alex and Worcester – thank you for the explanations/thoughts!
Wentz is from Eagles QB Carson Wentz. (And Carson was the big winner in the 2018 Pop Culture Baby Name Game.)