How popular is the baby name Colton 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 Colton.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Colton


Posts that mention the name Colton

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

Biggest changes in boy name popularity, 2010

For the last few years, the SSA has re-ordered the top 500 (or so) baby names according to rank change.

Below I’ve done the same sort of analysis, but I changed two things. First, I focused on the number of babies instead of on rankings. Second, I looked at the entire list, not just the top 500.

And that’s why these lists and the SSA’s lists look so different. :)

The boy names that increased and decreased the most in terms of usage are below. The girl names were in the last post.

Biggest Increases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Mason, +4074 babies (rank change: 34th to 12th)
  2. Bentley, +3221 (515th to 101st)
  3. Liam, +2317 (49th to 30th)
  4. Eli, +1601 (90th to 65th)
  5. Easton, +1330 (253rd to 145th)
  6. Grayson, +1077 (173rd to 122nd)
  7. Elijah, +984 (22nd to 18th)
  8. Levi, +935 (85th to 70th)
  9. Jacob, +839 (1st to 1st)
  10. Bryson, +771 (151st to 120th)
  11. Lucas, +727 (39th to 35th)
  12. Axel, +645 (264th to 187th)
  13. Colton, +516 (93rd to 73rd)
  14. Jeremiah, +485 (65th to 52nd)
  15. Asher, +474 (165th to 139th)
  16. Brayden, +474 (48th to 40th)
  17. Greyson, +451 (347th to 249th)
  18. Henry, +448 (71st to 67th)
  19. Miles, +434 (162nd to 137th)
  20. Jaxon, +423 (124th to 99th)

Biggest Decreases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Joshua, -2311 babies (rank change: 6th to 11th)
  2. Christopher, -2129 (10th to 13th)
  3. Matthew, -1941 (13th to 16th)
  4. Ethan, -1917 (2nd to 2nd)
  5. Daniel, -1777 (7th to 8th)
  6. Michael, -1689 (3rd to 3rd)
  7. Christian, -1620 (23rd to 29th)
  8. Alexander, -1541 (4th to 6th)
  9. Aidan, -1523 (72nd to 94th)
  10. Kevin, -1476 (44th to 58th)
  11. Brandon, -1331 (38th to 43rd)
  12. David, -1328 (14th to 15th)
  13. Nicholas, -1252 (32nd to 38th)
  14. Ryan, -1185 (19th to 23rd)
  15. Joseph, -1162 (15th to 20th)
  16. Gavin, -1159 (33rd to 37th)
  17. Jose, -1139 (43th to 51st)
  18. Tyler, -1130 (28th to 34th)
  19. Angel, -1102 (37th to 42nd)
  20. Juan, -1048 (67th to 75th)

As with the girl names, three of the above (Jacob, Ethan and Michael) were big winners/losers according to the numbers, but their rankings stayed the same.

Tennessee family with 19 children

kinderfest

A couple of weeks ago, Gil and Kelly Bates of Lake City, Tennessee — and also of the reality TV show United Bates of America — welcomed their 19th child.

Here are the names and ages of all 19:

  1. Zachary Gilvin, called “Zach,” 23
  2. Michaella Christian, called “Michael,” 22
    • Her name is pronounced “like the male version [of] Michael with [an] “uh” sound on the end.”
  3. Erin Elise, 20
  4. William Lawson, called “Lawson,” 19
  5. Kenneth Nathaniel, called “Nathan,” 18
  6. Alyssa Joy, 17
  7. Tori Layne, 16
  8. Trace Whitfield, 15
  9. Carlin Brianne, 13
  10. Josie Kellyn, 12
  11. Katie Grace, 11
  12. Jackson Ezekiel, 9
  13. Warden Justice, 8
  14. Isaiah Courage, 7
  15. Addallee Hope, 5
    • “The double letters in her name remind us that God gave her a second chance in life when she was born with complications that caused her breathing and her heart to stop.”
  16. Ellie Bridget, 4
  17. Callie-Anna Rose, 2
  18. Judson Wyatt, 1
  19. Jeb Colton, newborn

Have any favorites?

P.S. They also have a dog named Johnny and a cat named Kitty.

Sources: Gil and Kelly Bates Welcome Baby No. 19, America’s largest family, the Bates, on miracle 19th child who survived after failing to breathe on his own at birth, About Our Family – The Bates Family, Update on Michael – The Bates Family

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

Babies being named for college football QB Colt McCoy?

The baby name Colt has become more popular recently. After ranking 534th in 2008, it jumped 164 spots to reach 370th in 2009.

Why?

A CNBC reporter says the reason is former University of Texas quarterback Daniel “Colt” McCoy.

In fact, the rise of the name mirrors McCoy’s career. Not bad considering the name was barely cracking the top 1000 when McCoy arrived on national scene four years ago.

It’s a very good theory. Colt did indeed enter the top 1,000 in 2005 — the year that McCoy began playing college football.

But…let’s not forget two things.

First, Colt wasn’t a top-1,000 virgin in 2005. It had been in the top 1,000 from 1982 all the way to 2002 — over two decades. This original run was sparked by Colt Seavers, a character played by Lee Majors on the television series The Fall Guy (1981-1986).

Second, there’s the influence of Colton. It first cracked the top 1,000 in 1982 as well (again thanks to Colt Seavers). Unlike Colt, though, Colton became more popular as time went on. So now, a few decades later, the still-trendy sound of Colton may be paving the way for the re-introduction of Colt.

And now a question for you: In terms of college football-related baby names, which do you like better, Colt or Crimson?

Source: Rovell, Darren. “Parents Naming More Kids Colt.” CNBC Sports 11 May 2010.