The SSA has re-ordered the top 500 (or so) most popular baby names by rank change. According to these lists, the boy and girl names that increased the most in terms of rank from 2010 to 2011 were these:
Girl names:
- Briella, +394 (891st to 497th)
- Angelique, +247 (627th to 380th)
- Aria, +196 (353rd to 157th)
- Mila, +190 (364th to 174th)
- Elsie, +165 (645th to 480th)
- Nylah, +149 (606th to 457th)
- Raelynn, +133 (629th to 496th)
- Brynlee, +130 (509th to 379th)
- Olive, +127 (543rd to 416th)
- June, +126 (596th to 470th)
- Bristol, +126 (560th to 434th)
Boy names:
- Brantley, +416 (736th to 320th)
- Iker, +267 (646th to 379th)
- Maximiliano, +173 (462nd to 289th)
- Zaiden, +131 (620th to 489th)
- Kamden, +109 (557th to 448th)
- Barrett, +106 (541st to 435th)
- Archer, +101 (548th to 447th)
- Declan, +97 (274th to 177th)
- Atticus, +96 (558th to 462nd)
- Nico, +95 (591st to 496th)
To know which names rose the most overall, check out my follow-up posts Biggest Changes in Girl Name Popularity, 2011 and Biggest Changes in Boy Name Popularity, 2011.
Update: I found info on some of the fastest-climbing names in the SSA’s news release:
Briella:
The fastest riser on the girls’ list may come from Briella Calafiore, the blonde reality star hairdresser from cable TV’s “Jerseylicious” and its spinoff, “Glam Fairy.”
(There’s seriously a show called “Jerseylicious”?)
Brantley:
For the boys, there could be some controversy over Brantley – depending on whether you are a fan of college football or country music. Arguments could be made that the popularity of the name comes from John Brantley, the quarterback for perennial powerhouse The University of Florida, or from Brantley Gilbert, the singer with the number one country hit “Country Must Be Country Wide.” If you like both football and country music, you’re a winner either way!
Iker:
The second fastest riser on the boys’ list is Iker. There may be some international influence here—Iker Casillas Fernandez is the well-known goalkeeper for both Real Madrid and the Spanish National Team. In 2010, Iker led Spain to a World Cup championship, just in time to influence the 2011 baby names list.
Angelique:
On the girls’ side, Angelique is the second biggest climber, but she may have gotten there with some magic. Angelique is the character name of a witch from the cult favorite “Dark Shadows.” She worked her witchcraft just in time for the blockbuster Hollywood remake of the 1960s TV show.
[Latest update: June 2023]
