Which boy names increased the most in popularity from 2017 to 2018?
In this post we’ll answer the question two different ways: first by looking at the top absolute (raw number) rises, second by looking at the top relative rises.
Fastest Rising Boy Names: Absolute
- Theodore, +1,070 baby boys
- Liam, +1,039
- Asher, +772
- Leo, +769
- Hudson, +759
- Gael, +686
- Ezra, +680
- Luca, +507
- Carson, +487
- Milo, +487
Fastest Rising Boy Names: Relative
- Atreus, +1888% (from 8 to 159 baby boys)
- Emric, +843%
- Nahmir, +820%
- Deluca, +420%
- Jiren, +400%
- Nihit, +360%
- Daire, +350%
- Dayveon, +350%
- Syre, +346%
- Kaelum, +340%
(This second list only accounts for names that appeared in the data both years; I’ll be posting the 2018 debut names separately.)
Do you have any explanations for any of the name movement above? If so, please comment!
P.S. Here’s the SSA’s table of baby names that increased in rank from 2017 to 2018. The top boy names on their list are Genesis, Saint, and Baker.
Image: Adapted from Turkey-2036 by Dennis Jarvis under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Atreus is from the video game “God of War”
Jiren is from the manga/anime Dragon Ball
Nahmir is a newcomer rapper
Deluca might be a reference to a Grey’s Anatomy character, but that seems a bit unlikely.
I’m not quite sure what accounts for the rise of Daire and Fiadh. Maybe it’s just that super-Celtic Irish names are becoming more trendy in the US. If there’s another reference for Daire, I’m missing it.
Dayveon is a movie (and the main character) released in 2017.
Syre might have been revived by Jaden Smith’s album Syre. (Syre is also his middle name.)
From the SSA list:
Baker is inspired by the quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Watson is a baby from Teen Mom.
Kenzo is Kevin Hart’s son, who was born in 2017.
Krew seems linked to Joanna and Chip Gaines’s son, Crew.
Imran might have been bumped up by Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Thank you for the explanations/ideas, elbowin and alex!
Recently spotted an article with more details on Baker Mayfield.