How popular is the baby name Christopher in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Christopher.

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Popularity of the baby name Christopher


Posts that mention the name Christopher

Popular baby names in Ireland, 2012

Flag of Ireland
Flag of Ireland


The most popular baby names in Ireland came out a few days ago.

According to the Central Statistics Office, the country’s top names are Emily for girls and Jack for boys.

Here are the top 100 girl names and top 100 boy names of 2012:

Girl Names

  1. Emily
  2. Sophie
  3. Emma
  4. Grace
  5. Lily
  6. Mia
  7. Ella
  8. Ava
  9. Lucy
  10. Sarah
  11. Aoife
  12. Amelia
  13. Hannah
  14. Katie
  15. Chloe
  16. Caoimhe
  17. Saoirse
  18. Kate
  19. Holly
  20. Ruby
  21. Sophia
  22. Anna
  23. Lauren
  24. Leah
  25. Amy
  26. Isabelle
  27. Molly
  28. Ellie
  29. Jessica
  30. Olivia
  31. Roisin
  32. Ciara
  33. Kayla
  34. Julia [tie]
  35. Zoe [tie]
  36. Laura
  37. Niamh
  38. Abbie
  39. Erin
  40. Rachel
  41. Robyn
  42. Aisling
  43. Faye
  44. Rebecca
  45. Eva [tie]
  46. Layla [tie]
  47. Ellen
  48. Cara
  49. Freya
  50. Abigail [tie]
  51. Eve [tie]
  52. Isabella [tie]
  53. Megan
  54. Aine [tie]
  55. Clodagh [tie]
  56. Aoibhinn
  57. Millie
  58. Nicole
  59. Aoibheann
  60. Maja
  61. Sadhbh
  62. Eabha
  63. Charlotte
  64. Amber [tie]
  65. Caitlin [tie]
  66. Sofia [tie]
  67. Alannah
  68. Zara
  69. Alice
  70. Maria
  71. Elizabeth [tie]
  72. Lena [tie]
  73. Mary [tie]
  74. Emilia
  75. Aimee [tie]
  76. Lilly [tie]
  77. Hollie
  78. Aoibhe
  79. Victoria
  80. Eimear [tie]
  81. Maya [tie]
  82. Isabel [tie]
  83. Orla [tie]
  84. Evie
  85. Kayleigh
  86. Brooke [tie]
  87. Clara [tie]
  88. Meabh
  89. Lexi
  90. Tara
  91. Daisy [tie]
  92. Katelyn [tie]
  93. Ailbhe [tie]
  94. Amelie [tie]
  95. Natalia [tie]
  96. Sara [tie]
  97. Hanna [tie]
  98. Laoise [tie]
  99. Ruth [tie]
  100. Madison [tie]
  101. Maeve [tie]
  102. Maisie [tie]
  103. Rose [tie]

Boy Names

  1. Jack
  2. James
  3. Daniel
  4. Sean
  5. Conor
  6. Adam
  7. Harry
  8. Ryan
  9. Dylan
  10. Michael
  11. Luke
  12. Charlie
  13. Liam
  14. Oisin
  15. Cian
  16. Jamie
  17. Thomas
  18. Alex
  19. Noah
  20. Darragh
  21. Patrick
  22. Aaron
  23. Cillian
  24. Matthew
  25. John
  26. Nathan
  27. David [tie]
  28. Fionn [tie]
  29. Evan
  30. Ethan
  31. Jake
  32. Kyle
  33. Rian
  34. Ben [tie]
  35. Max [tie]
  36. Eoin
  37. Tadhg
  38. Finn
  39. Callum
  40. Samuel
  41. Joshua
  42. Rory
  43. Jayden
  44. Joseph
  45. Tyler
  46. Sam
  47. Shane
  48. Mark [tie]
  49. Robert [tie]
  50. Aidan
  51. William
  52. Ronan
  53. Eoghan
  54. Alexander [tie]
  55. Leon [tie]
  56. Cathal
  57. Mason
  58. Tom
  59. Oliver
  60. Andrew
  61. Oscar
  62. Ciaran
  63. Bobby
  64. Jacob
  65. Senan
  66. Rhys
  67. Scott
  68. Benjamin [tie]
  69. Cormac [tie]
  70. Kevin
  71. Lucas
  72. Alan
  73. Donnacha [tie]
  74. Jakub [tie]
  75. Christopher
  76. Filip [tie]
  77. Killian [tie]
  78. Josh
  79. Alfie
  80. Tommy
  81. Ruairi
  82. Odhran
  83. Oran
  84. Leo
  85. Isaac
  86. Dara [tie]
  87. Jason [tie]
  88. Zach
  89. Martin [tie]
  90. Peter [tie]
  91. Brian
  92. Danny
  93. Niall [tie]
  94. Tomas [tie]
  95. Edward [tie]
  96. Stephen [tie]
  97. Logan
  98. Kacper
  99. Anthony
  100. Billy

New to the top 100 list are Isaac, Danny and Logan for boys and Evie, Amelie, Hanna, Maisie and Rose for girls.

Some of the specifically Irish names in the top 100 are…

  • Girls: Aoife, Caoimhe, Saoirse, Roisin, Ciara, Niamh, Aisling, Aine, Clodagh, Aoibhinn, Aoibheann, Sadhbh, Eabha, Aoibhe, Eimear, Meabh, Ailbhe, Laoise, Maeve
  • Boys: Liam, Oisin, Cian, Darragh, Cillian, Fionn, Rian, Eoin, Tadhg, Finn, Callum, Rory, Ronan, Eoghan, Cathal, Ciaran, Senan, Cormac, Donnacha, Ruairi, Odhran, Niall

Sources: Jack and Emily most popular baby names, Irish Babies’ Names – CSO

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)

Most popular boy names, letter by letter (2012)

letterpress letters

Yesterday we looked the most popular girl names letter by letter, so today let’s do the same with the boy names.

Top 20 A-Names for Boys

1. Alexander
2. Aiden
3. Anthony
4. Andrew
5. Aaron
6. Angel
7. Austin
8. Adrian
9. Ayden
10. Adam
11. Alex
12. Asher
13. Aidan
14. Antonio
15. Ashton
16. Alejandro
17. Axel
18. Alan
19. Avery
20. Andres

See all A-names for boys.

Top 20 B-Names for Boys

1. Benjamin
2. Brayden
3. Brandon
4. Blake
5. Bentley
6. Brody
7. Bryson
8. Bryce
9. Bryan
10. Braxton
11. Brady
12. Brian
13. Brantley
14. Bradley
15. Bennett
16. Braylon
17. Brendan
18. Braden
19. Beau
20. Beckett

See all B-names for boys.

Top 20 C-Names for Boys

1. Christopher
2. Caleb
3. Christian
4. Carter
5. Cameron
6. Connor
7. Charles
8. Colton
9. Chase
10. Cooper
11. Carson
12. Carlos
13. Cole
14. Colin
15. Caden
16. Camden
17. Cayden
18. Cody
19. Calvin
20. Collin

See all C-names for boys.

Top 20 D-Names for Boys

1. Daniel
2. David
3. Dylan
4. Dominic
5. Damian
6. Diego
7. Declan
8. Devin
9. Derek
10. Damien
11. Drake
12. Dean
13. Dominick
14. Donovan
15. Dante
16. Drew
17. Dalton
18. Derrick
19. Dawson
20. Dallas

See all D-names for boys.

Top 20 E-Names for Boys

1. Ethan
2. Elijah
3. Eli
4. Evan
5. Easton
6. Eric
7. Elias
8. Edward
9. Emmanuel
10. Ezra
11. Emmett
12. Ezekiel
13. Eduardo
14. Everett
15. Erick
16. Elliot
17. Edgar
18. Edwin
19. Elliott
20. Erik

See all E-names for boys.

Top 20 F-Names for Boys

1. Francisco
2. Fernando
3. Finn
4. Fabian
5. Felix
6. Frank
7. Finnegan
8. Franklin
9. Frederick
10. Finley
11. Francis
12. Felipe
13. Flynn
14. Fletcher
15. Fisher
16. Frankie
17. Freddy
18. Franco
19. Foster
20. Ford

See all F-names for boys.

Top 20 G-Names for Boys

1. Gabriel
2. Gavin
3. Grayson
4. Giovanni
5. Gael
6. Grant
7. George
8. Gage
9. Greyson
10. Garrett
11. Graham
12. Griffin
13. Gregory
14. Gunner
15. Grady
16. Gerardo
17. Gideon
18. Gustavo
19. Gianni
20. Gunnar

See all G-names for boys.

Top 20 H-Names for Boys

1. Henry
2. Hunter
3. Hudson
4. Hayden
5. Harrison
6. Hector
7. Holden
8. Hugo
9. Harper
10. Harley
11. Hamza
12. Hank
13. Hayes
14. Harry
15. Harvey
16. Hezekiah
17. Harold
18. Hendrix
19. Hassan
20. Heath

See all H-names for boys.

Top 20 I-Names for Boys

1. Isaac
2. Isaiah
3. Ian
4. Ivan
5. Iker
6. Israel
7. Ismael
8. Izaiah
9. Issac
10. Ibrahim
11. Isaias
12. Isiah
13. Izayah
14. Ishaan
15. Isai
16. Ignacio
17. Immanuel
18. Irvin
19. Isaak
20. Ira

See all I-names for boys.

Top 20 J-Names for Boys

1. Jacob
2. Jayden
3. James
4. Joshua
5. Joseph
6. Jackson
7. John
8. Jonathan
9. Jack
10. Jordan
11. Jeremiah
12. Julian
13. Jaxon
14. Jose
15. Justin
16. Jason
17. Josiah
18. Jace
19. Juan
20. Jesus

See all J-names for boys.

Top 20 K-Names for Boys

1. Kevin
2. Kayden
3. Kaleb
4. Kyle
5. Kaden
6. Kaiden
7. Kenneth
8. Kai
9. Kingston
10. Keegan
11. King
12. Kyler
13. Kameron
14. Kellen
15. Karter
16. Keith
17. Karson
18. Knox
19. Kellan
20. Kolton

See all K-names for boys.

Top 20 L-Names for Boys

1. Liam
2. Logan
3. Lucas
4. Landon
5. Luke
6. Levi
7. Luis
8. Lincoln
9. Leo
10. Leonardo
11. Luca
12. Lukas
13. Landen
14. Lane
15. Lorenzo
16. Louis
17. Leland
18. Leon
19. Landyn
20. Larry

See all L-names for boys.

Top 20 M-Names for Boys

1. Mason
2. Michael
3. Matthew
4. Micah
5. Max
6. Miles
7. Maxwell
8. Miguel
9. Mateo
10. Marcus
11. Maddox
12. Malachi
13. Mark
14. Maximus
15. Myles
16. Manuel
17. Mario
18. Martin
19. Marco
20. Maximiliano

See all M-names for boys.

Top 20 N-Names for Boys

1. Noah
2. Nathan
3. Nicholas
4. Nathaniel
5. Nolan
6. Nicolas
7. Nehemiah
8. Noel
9. Nikolas
10. Nash
11. Nico
12. Nelson
13. Nasir
14. Nickolas
15. Nathanael
16. Noe
17. Nikolai
18. Neil
19. Nixon
20. Niko

See all N-names for boys.

Top 20 O-Names for Boys

1. Owen
2. Oliver
3. Oscar
4. Omar
5. Orion
6. Orlando
7. Odin
8. Omari
9. Osvaldo
10. Otto
11. Oakley
12. Otis
13. Octavio
14. Oskar
15. Oren
16. Om
17. Obed
18. Oziel
19. Oswaldo
20. Osmar

See all O-names for boys.

Top 20 P-Names for Boys

1. Parker
2. Preston
3. Patrick
4. Peyton
5. Paul
6. Peter
7. Paxton
8. Pedro
9. Phillip
10. Pablo
11. Phoenix
12. Philip
13. Porter
14. Prince
15. Payton
16. Pierce
17. Princeton
18. Pierre
19. Pranav
20. Perry

See all P-names for boys.

Top 20 Q-Names for Boys

1. Quinn
2. Quentin
3. Quinton
4. Quincy
5. Quintin
6. Quinten
7. Quinlan
8. Quin
9. Quincey
10. Quadir
11. Quran
12. Quan
13. Quintus
14. Qasim
15. Quade
16. Quintyn
17. Quenton
18. Qais
19. Quaid
20. Quintrell

See all Q-names for boys.

Top 20 R-Names for Boys

1. Ryan
2. Robert
3. Ryder
4. Richard
5. Riley
6. Roman
7. Rylan
8. Ryker
9. Ricardo
10. Raymond
11. Rafael
12. Reid
13. Rowan
14. Roberto
15. Romeo
16. Ruben
17. Reed
18. Ronald
19. Raul
20. River

See all R-names for boys.

Top 20 S-Names for Boys

1. Samuel
2. Sebastian
3. Steven
4. Santiago
5. Sean
6. Sawyer
7. Silas
8. Seth
9. Stephen
10. Spencer
11. Shane
12. Simon
13. Shawn
14. Sergio
15. Skyler
16. Scott
17. Saul
18. Solomon
19. Sullivan
20. Sam

See all S-names for boys.

Top 20 T-Names for Boys

1. Tyler
2. Thomas
3. Tristan
4. Timothy
5. Tanner
6. Tucker
7. Theodore
8. Trevor
9. Travis
10. Trenton
11. Troy
12. Tyson
13. Taylor
14. Ty
15. Tristen
16. Titus
17. Trent
18. Tate
19. Trey
20. Tony

See all T-names for boys.

Top 20 U-Names for Boys

1. Uriel
2. Uriah
3. Urijah
4. Ulises
5. Ulysses
6. Unknown [not a name; used when the name is unknown]
7. Umar
8. Uziel
9. Usher
10. Uzziah
11. Urban
12. Ulices
13. Uzair
14. Ulisses
15. Usman
16. Ubaldo
17. Uriyah
18. Uri
19. Uzziel
20. Ulyses

See all U-names for boys.

Top 20 V-Names for Boys

1. Vincent
2. Victor
3. Vihaan
4. Vicente
5. Vincenzo
6. Valentino
7. Vance
8. Van
9. Vaughn
10. Valentin
11. Vivaan
12. Vince
13. Vladimir
14. Veer
15. Viktor
16. Vernon
17. Vito
18. Varun
19. Vander
20. Vedant

See all V-names for boys.

Top 20 W-Names for Boys

1. William
2. Wyatt
3. Wesley
4. Weston
5. Waylon
6. Walter
7. Walker
8. Warren
9. Wade
10. Wilson
11. Winston
12. Willie
13. Will
14. Westin
15. Wayne
16. Westley
17. Wiley
18. Westyn
19. Wallace
20. Wes

See all W-names for boys.

Top 20 X-Names for Boys

1. Xavier
2. Xander
3. Xzavier
4. Xavi
5. Xavion
6. Xaiden
7. Xavian
8. Xavior
9. Xayden
10. Xavien
11. Xzavion
12. Xzander
13. Xadrian
14. Xzavior
15. Xaiver
16. Xzayvier
17. Xaden
18. Xaviar
19. Xion*
20. Xyler*

*Xion and Xyler are actually in a 3-way tie with #21, Xzavian.

See all X-names for boys.

Top 20 Y-Names for Boys

1. Yahir
2. Yusuf
3. Yosef
4. Yael
5. Yousef
6. Yehuda
7. Yandel
8. Yadiel
9. Yisroel
10. Yair
11. Yahya
12. Youssef
13. Yaakov
14. Yeshua
15. Yitzchok
16. Yaseen
17. Yariel
18. Yerik
19. Yash
20. Yoel

See all Y-names for boys.

Top 20 Z-Names for Boys

1. Zachary
2. Zane
3. Zayden
4. Zion
5. Zander
6. Zaiden
7. Zachariah
8. Zackary
9. Zayne
10. Zechariah
11. Zain
12. Zavier
13. Zeke
14. Zaid
15. Zaire
16. Zachery
17. Zackery
18. Zaden
19. Zack
20. Zyaire

See all Z-names for boys.

Image: Adapted from Wood letterpress type at Washington University in St. Louis in 2011 by Michellecornelison under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Biggest changes in boy name popularity, 2012

Which boy names rose the most from 2011 to 2012?

And which ones fell?

We just looked at the girl names, so now let’s check out the boy names.

Here are the differences between the two “increases” and “decreases” lists–

My list, on the left, looks at the raw number differences between the 2011 names and the 2012 names. My analysis covers all 14,162 boy names on the 2012 list.

The SSA’s list, on the right, looks at the ranking differences between the 2011 names and the 2012 names. Their analysis covers approximately the top 500 boy names on the 2012 list.

Biggest Increases

The baby boy names that saw the biggest popularity increases from 2011 to 2012 were…

Nancy’s list (raw numbers)SSA’s list (rankings)
  1. Liam, +3,286 babies [rank: 15th to 6th]
  2. Gael, +2,044 babies [rank: 408th to 146th]
  3. Brantley, +1,583 babies [rank: 321st to 158th]
  4. Jaxon, +1,539 babies [rank: 86th to 66th]
  5. Jace, +962 babies [rank: 106th to 86th]
  6. Ethan, +911 babies [rank: 7th to 3rd]
  7. Damian, +844 babies [rank: 138th to 97th]
  8. Eli, +814 babies [rank: 58th to 44th]
  9. Henry, +795 babies [rank: 57th to 43rd]
  10. Iker, +763 babies [rank: 379th to 230th]
  11. Hudson, +761 babies [rank: 112th to 93rd]
  12. Grayson, +744 babies [rank: 97th to 85th]
  13. Colton, +739 babies [rank: 74th to 65th]
  14. Lincoln, +726 babies [rank: 178th to 132nd]
  15. Dominic, +725 babies [rank: 76th to 70th]
  16. King, +699 babies [rank: 389th to 256th]
  17. Jaxson, +684 babies [rank: 140th to 106th]
  18. Jase, +667 babies [rank: 562nd to 304th]
  19. Hunter, +633 babies [rank: 55th to 45th]
  20. Mateo, +626 babies [rank: 171st to 138th]
  1. Major, +505 (988th to 483rd)
  2. Gael, +262 (408th to 146th)
  3. Jase, +258 (562nd to 304th)
  4. Messiah, +246 (633rd to 387th)
  5. Brantley, +163 (321st to 158th)
  6. Iker, +149 (379th to 230th)
  7. King, +133 (389th to 256th)
  8. Rory, +118 (599th to 481st)
  9. Ari, +73 (508th to 435th)
  10. Maverick, +72 (428th to 356th)
  11. Armani, +70 (502nd to 432nd)
  12. Knox, +66 (434th to 368th)
  13. Gianni, +66 (515th to 449th)
  14. Zayden, +63 (292nd to 229th)
  15. August, +62 (395th to 333rd)
  16. Barrett, +61 (436th to 375th)
  17. Remington, +58 (479th to 421st)
  18. Kasen, +58 (526th to 468th)
  19. Zaiden, +56 (489th to 433rd)
  20. Orion, +52 (471st to 419th)

Looks like the movie Lincoln influenced a lot of parents last year.

Here are last year’s raw number jumps and last year’s ranking jumps.

Biggest Decreases

The baby boy names that saw the biggest popularity decreases from 2011 to 2012 were…

Nancy’s list (raw numbers)SSA’s list (rankings)
  1. Jacob, -1,370 babies [rank: 1st to 1st]
  2. Justin, -1,238 babies [rank: 59th to 74th]
  3. Tyler, -1,178 babies [rank: 38th to 50th]
  4. Christopher, -1,168 babies [rank: 21st to 23rd]
  5. Joshua, -1,162 babies [rank: 14th to 17th]
  6. Anthony, -1,117 babies [rank: 11th to 15th]
  7. Hayden, -1,068 babies [rank: 90th to 109th]
  8. Daniel, -1,063 babies [rank: 10th to 11th]
  9. Jaden, -994 babies [rank: 100th to 140th]
  10. Jonathan, -925 babies [rank: 31st to 35th]
  11. Jayden, -913 babies [rank: 4th to 7th]
  12. Nicholas, -908 babies [rank: 42nd to 49th]
  13. Gabriel, -850 babies [rank: 24th to 24th]
  14. Brandon, -795 babies [rank: 47th to 56th]
  15. Gavin, -789 babies [rank: 36th to 40th]
  16. Evan, -776 babies [rank: 40th to 47th]
  17. Jose, -762 babies [rank: 65th to 72nd]
  18. Christian, -747 babies [rank: 30th to 33rd]
  19. David, -743 babies [rank: 18th to 19th]
  20. Ashton, -735 babies [rank: 109th to 141st]
  1. Braeden, -105 (476th to 581st)
  2. Yahir, -85 (429th to 514th)
  3. Kieran, -82 (474th to 556th)
  4. Cullen, -79 (472nd to 551st)
  5. Brayan, -73 (426th to 499th)
  6. Jalen, -70 (400th to 470th)
  7. Amare, -70 (425th to 495th)
  8. Trey, -69 (324th to 393rd)
  9. Casey, -62 (424th to 486th)
  10. Payton, -60 (398th to 458th)
  11. Jakob, -60 (335th to 395th)
  12. Randy, -57 (356th to 413th)
  13. Zackary, -56 (451st to 507th)
  14. Eddie, -56 (488th to 544th)
  15. Jerry, -53 (394th to 447th)
  16. Jaylen, -51 (206th to 257th)
  17. Ernesto, -50 (491st to 541st)
  18. Devon, -46 (351st to 397th)
  19. Braylon, -46 (233rd to 279th)
  20. Braden, -45 (258th to 303rd)

Here are last year’s raw number drops and last year’s ranking drops.

Source: SSA’s Change In Popularity From 2011 To 2012

Popular baby names in the United States, 2012

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The #1 names in the nation are still Jacob and Sophia!

Here are the full top 50 lists:

Boy NamesGirl Names
1. Jacob, 18899
2. Mason, 18856
3. Ethan, 17547
4. Noah, 17201
5. William, 16726
6. Liam, 16687
7. Jayden, 16013
8. Michael, 15996
9. Alexander, 15105
10. Aiden, 14779
11. Daniel, 14143
12. Matthew, 13834
13. Elijah, 13719
14. James, 13271
15. Anthony, 13105
16. Benjamin, 12695
17. Joshua, 12522
18. Andrew, 12501
19. David, 12422
20. Joseph, 12404
21. Logan, 12390
22. Jackson, 12388
23. Christopher, 11777
24. Gabriel, 11442
25. Samuel, 11290
26. Ryan, 10863
27. Lucas, 10616
28. John, 10505
29. Nathan, 10357
30. Isaac, 9928
31. Dylan, 9920
32. Caleb, 9867
33. Christian, 9530
34. Landon, 9296
35. Jonathan, 9253
36. Carter, 9202
37. Luke, 8922
38. Owen, 8630
39. Brayden, 8451
40. Gavin, 8203
41. Wyatt, 8159
42. Isaiah, 8044
43. Henry, 8006
44. Eli, 7998
45. Hunter, 7967
46. Jack, 7877
47. Evan, 7851
48. Jordan, 7734
49. Nicholas, 7653
50. Tyler, 7628		1. Sophia, 22158
2. Emma, 20791
3. Isabella, 18931
4. Olivia, 17147
5. Ava, 15418
6. Emily, 13550
7. Abigail, 12583
8. Mia, 11940
9. Madison, 11319
10. Elizabeth, 9596
11. Chloe, 9595
12. Ella, 9115
13. Avery, 8272
14. Addison, 8122
15. Aubrey, 8006
16. Lily, 7889
17. Natalie, 7852
18. Sofia, 7767
19. Charlotte, 7418
20. Zoey, 7411
21. Grace, 7304
22. Hannah, 7202
23. Amelia, 7191
24. Harper, 7154
25. Lillian, 7100
26. Samantha, 6874
27. Evelyn, 6837
28. Victoria, 6814
29. Brooklyn, 6728
30. Zoe, 6383
31. Layla, 6227
32. Hailey, 5878
33. Leah, 5724
34. Kaylee, 5571
35. Anna, 5552
36. Aaliyah, 5471
37. Gabriella, 5461
38. Allison, 5387
39. Nevaeh, 5317
40. Alexis, 5306
41. Audrey, 5266
42. Savannah, 5143
43. Sarah, 5107
44. Alyssa, 5054
45. Claire, 4915
46. Taylor, 4825
47. Riley, 4786
48. Camila, 4776
49. Arianna, 4685
50. Ashley, 4678

Liam enters the top 10! 15th last year, 6th this year.

Michael just keeps getting lower and lower.

Avery, on the other hand, keeps rising on the girls’ side — 18th last year, 13th this year.

See any other interesting rises/drops so far?

Update: Here’s more from the SSA’s news release:

Many pop-culture naming trends appear in a popular feature of Social Security’s baby names website–the “change in popularity” page. This year’s winners for biggest jump in popularity in the Top 500 are Major and Arya.

The fastest riser on the girls’ list may have been influenced by the popular cable TV series “Game of Thrones.” Arya is the daughter of a leader of one of the Seven Kingdoms. She also is an expert sword fighter, so doubt her influence on the popular names list at your own risk.

For the boys, parents may associate Major with the military title. Acting Commissioner Colvin added “I have no doubt Major’s rising popularity as a boy’s name is in tribute to the brave members of the U.S. military, and maybe we’ll see more boys named General in the future.” You also might trace Major’s increase in popularity to a cable TV show. “Home by Novogratz” is a popular home design show featuring Major Novogratz, the youngest son of designers Robert and Cortney.

The second fastest riser for boys was Gael, and for girls, Perla. Both names most likely are on the rise due to the increase in the Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Perla is the Latinized version of Pearl and is popular among Hispanic-Americans. Gael’s popularity could be tied to Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

Here is last year’s list.

Sources: SSA, Jacob and Sophia Repeat atop Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names List – SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)