How popular is the baby name Mason 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 Mason.

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Popularity of the baby name Mason


Posts that mention the name Mason

Is the baby name Penelope about to skyrocket in popularity?

Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick welcomed their second child, a baby girl, on Sunday. The baby’s name is Penelope.

While not all of us care much about the Kardashian clan, in the baby name world, this news matters.

Why?

Because Kourtney just about single-handedly launched the baby name Mason into the top 10 when she decided to name her first child Mason in late 2009.

Mason was the baby name that increased the most in usage in both 2010 and 2011. It’s currently the second most popular name in the nation.

Penelope — a name that comes to us from ancient Greece via Homer’s Odyssey — is already on its way up:

  • 2011: 1,847 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 169th)
  • 2010: 1,543 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 200th)
  • 2009: 1,294 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 252nd)
  • 2008: 919 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 359th)
  • 2007: 794 baby girls named Penelope (rank: 409th)

What will happen to the baby name Penelope now that it’s got the Kardashian stamp of approval?

Biggest changes in boy name popularity, 2011

Which boy names saw the biggest increases in popularity from 2010 to 2011? How about the biggest decreases?

According to the numbers, Mason was the winner. (Same as last year, in fact.)

  1. Mason, +4597 babies (rank change: 12th to 2nd)
  2. Liam, +2442 babies (rank change: 30th to 15th)
  3. Bentley, +1774 babies (rank change: 100th to 75th)
  4. Axel, +1059 babies (rank change: 187th to 132nd)
  5. Easton, +1037 babies (rank change: 145th to 102nd)
  6. Jace, +1020 babies (rank change: 146th to 106th)
  7. Ayden, +968 babies (rank change: 79th to 70th)
  8. Declan, +891 babies (rank change: 274th to 177th)
  9. Blake, +885 babies (rank change: 87th to 73rd)
  10. Jaxon, +878 babies (rank change: 99th to 86th)

The loser? Jacob:

  1. Jacob, -1858 babies (rank change: 1st to 1st)
  2. Joshua, -1754 babies (rank change: 11th to 14th)
  3. Tyler, -1649 babies (rank change: 34th to 38th)
  4. Ethan, -1389 babies (rank change: 2nd to 7th)
  5. Christopher, -1318 babies (rank change: 13th to 21st)
  6. Angel, -1253 babies (rank change: 42nd to 52nd)
  7. Anthony, -1252 babies (rank change: 10th to 11th)
  8. Evan, -1111 babies (rank change: 36th to 40th)
  9. Alexander, -1110 babies (rank change: 6th to 8th)
  10. Nicholas, -1089 babies (rank change: 37th to 42nd)

Last year’s loser, Joshua, was this year’s runner-up.

And here’s something confusing for you: boy names that decreased in usage but increased in rank include James, Gavin, Caleb, Luke, Charles, Brayden and Kaleb.

Popular baby names in the United States, 2011

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The top baby names in the U.S. in 2011 were Jacob and Sophia! (A new #1 name for girls!)

Here are the full top 20 lists…

Girl Names

  1. Sophia
  2. Isabella
  3. Emma
  4. Olivia
  5. Ava
  6. Emily
  7. Abigail
  8. Madison
  9. Mia
  10. Chloe
  11. Elizabeth
  12. Ella
  13. Addison
  14. Natalie
  15. Lily
  16. Grace
  17. Samantha
  18. Avery
  19. Sofia
  20. Aubrey

Boy Names

  1. Jacob
  2. Mason
  3. William
  4. Jayden
  5. Noah
  6. Michael
  7. Ethan
  8. Alexander
  9. Aiden
  10. Daniel
  11. Anthony
  12. Matthew
  13. Elijah
  14. Joshua
  15. Liam
  16. Andrew
  17. James
  18. David
  19. Benjamin
  20. Logan

My first impression of the boys’ list: “Look at how much Michael dropped!”

My first impression of the girls’ list: “Look at how high Avery is getting!”

More to come later today…

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

Mason, a relatively popular name since the 1990s, had never cracked the top 25 until 2010, when it hit number 12. Some may attribute this year’s rise to number two to reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian’s son. We note, moreover, that Mason has been a regular top-five name in Wisconsin for many years, undoubtedly a tribute to strong-legged Green Bay Packer kicker Mason Crosby.

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

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!

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.

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.

Sources: SSA, Jacob and Sophia Take Top Honors on Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names List – SSA

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

Popular baby names in Wyoming, 2011

Flag of Wyoming
Flag of Wyoming

While we bide our time waiting for the SSA to release the top names of 2011, let’s take a peek at Wyoming.

A total of 7,336 babies were born in Wyoming last year. The most popular baby names were these:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Emma
2. Olivia
3. Sophia
4. Addison
5. Isabella
6. Madison		1. William
2. Jacob
3. Jackson
4. Parker
5. Mason
6. Liam

The Wyoming Department of Health released these numbers a couple of days ago.

Source: DeGood, Rylee. “Wyoming Moms Go ‘Old Fashioned’ with Naming.” CBS 5 10 May 2012.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Wyoming (public domain)