Here are the results of Pop Culture Baby Name Game 2014!
Some of the names below were already on their way up, so I’ll leave it to you guys to decide just how much of an effect pop culture had on each one.
Hazel, +828
- Up from 2,049 baby girls in 2013 to 2,877 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the movie The Fault in Our Stars (2014).
Elsa, +567
- Up from 564 baby girls in 2013 to 1,131 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the movie Frozen (2013).
Anna, +287
- Up from 5,352 baby girls in 2013 to 5,639 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the movie Frozen (2013).
Margaret, +168
- Up from 1,765 baby girls in 2013 to 1,933 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the television show Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.
Augustus, +153
- Up from 346 baby boys in 2013 to 499 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the movie The Fault in Our Stars (2014).
Azalea, +139
- Up from 443 baby girls in 2013 to 582 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: rapper Iggy Azalea.
Peter, +53
- Up from 1,846 baby boys in 2013 to 1,899 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: Peter Pan (both the live-action TV event and the upcoming movie).
Robin (as a boy name specifically), +33
- Up from 155 baby boys in 2013 to 188 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the death of Robin Williams.
Zarina, +32
- Up from 42 baby girls in 2013 to 74 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the movie The Pirate Fairy (2014).
Benedict, +29
- Up from 108 baby boys in 2013 to 137 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Annalise, +28
- Up from 665 baby girls in 2013 to 693 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the television show How To Get Away With Murder.
Judith, +28
- Up from 251 baby girls in 2013 to 279 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the television show The Walking Dead.
Kristoff, +25
- Up from 7 baby boys in 2013 to 32 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the movie Frozen (2013).
Shailene, +23
- Up from 6 baby girls in 2013 to 29 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: actress Shailene Woodley, from the movie The Fault in Our Stars (2014).
Tauriel, debuted with 20
- Debuted with 20 baby girls (the 5th highest debut!) in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: two of the Hobbit movies (2013 & 2014).
Amal, +17
- Up from 69 baby girls in 2013 to 86 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: George Clooney’s marriage to Amal Alamuddin in 2014.
Odessa, +13
- Up from 47 baby girls in 2013 to 60 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: rapper Dessa.
- The name Dessa itself, though, actually decreased in popularity in 2014.
Scotlyn, +13
Scotland, +4 & +4
- Scotlyn: Up from 50 baby girls in 2013 to 67 in 2014.
- Scotland: Up from 8 baby girls and 32 baby boys in 2013 to 12 and 36 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the Scottish independence referendum.
Iselle, debuted with 13
- Debuted with 13 baby girls (the 11th highest debut) in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: Hurricane Iselle.
Vale, re-entered with 12 & 8
- After an absence, returned to the list with 12 baby girls and 8 baby boys.
- Pop culture influence: a celebrity baby name (daughter of Savannah Guthrie).
Murphy (as a girl name specifically), +11
- Up from 31 baby girls in 2013 to 42 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the movie Interstellar (2014).
Mandela, +10
- Up from 6 baby boys in 2013 to 16 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the death of Nelson Mandela.
Rosamund, re-entered with 9
- After an absence, returned to the list with 9 baby girls.
- Pop culture influence: actress Rosamund Pike.
Noni, re-entered with 8
- After an absence, returned to the list with 8 baby girls.
- Pop culture influence: the movie Beyond the Lights (2014).
- But another character name, Kaz, decreased in popularity in 2014.
Ansel, +7
- Up from 101 baby boys in 2013 to 108 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the movie The Fault in Our Stars (2014).
Kaiser, +7
- Up from 62 baby boys in 2013 to 69 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: a celebrity baby name (son of Teen Mom Jenelle Evans).
Pharrell, +6
- Up from 16 baby boys in 2013 to 22 in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: musician Pharrell Williams.
Madiba, debuted with 5
- Debuted with 5 baby boys in 2014.
- Pop culture influence: the death of Nelson Mandela.
Lucas, unknown in NYC specifically, +55 in NY state, +564 nationally
- The New York City 2014 data isn’t out yet.
- Up from 975 baby boys in 2013 to 1,030 in 2014, in New York state.
- Up from 11,514 baby boys in 2013 to 12,078 in 2014, nationally.
- Pop culture influence: Venmo’s “Lucas” Ads in the NYC subway.
Names that went up by 4 or fewer:
Names that went down:
- Nelson, -33
- Diem, -17
- Lacey, -10 (though Lacey was +15 in Michigan specifically!)
- Tamir, -6
- Moana, -4
- Lupita, -1
Names still not on the SSA’s list in 2014:
- Arendelle
- Diren
- Ellar
- Ferguson
- Floribeth
- Idina
- Keke
- Ledisi
- Maleficent (despite the pro-Maleficent comments I’ve been getting)
- Odeya
- Peaches
- Philae
- Rust
- Seanix
- Sibel
- Ska
- Vitruvius
- Wyldstyle
Did any of these surprise you?
I’m particularly surprised that Lupita Nyong’o has had no effect on the usage of her name so far.
P.S. Some of the names from the 2013 game that have started/continued to do well: Cressida (re-entered list in 2014), Finnick, Llewyn (the top debut name of 2014), Neymar, Nori, Primrose, Sochi (debuted in 2014), Tessanne (debuted in 2014) and Zoella.