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The Health Department has released their annual report on baby names in New York City, and among newborn boys the name "Jayden" is (almost) number one with a bullet, ranking #2 overall and #1 among black and Hispanic babies. Jayden wasn't even in the top ten in 2006, and baby name expert Laura Wattenberg shares a theory with City Room about the his stunning rise in popularity: Two years ago, one Jayden James Federline entered the world stage, the offspring of recording artist Britney Spears. “Britney Spears seems to have shifted the standard spelling. That name used to be spelled every which way, but now the ‘y’ spelling has become dominant,” Wattenberg says.
In fact, many New York-born children will one day be able to trace their names back to other fin de siècle celebrities like Rhianna (rank: #70), British actresses Sienna (#60) and Keira (#61), American screen stars Scarlett (#68), Charlize (#84) and Reese (#142). There were also 32 "Messiah" males born, 26 Darwins, and 24 Pulp Fiction fans somehow convinced their wives to name their sons Ezekiel. The most popular boy's name overall was Daniel, Michael was the big favorite for whites, and buried at the bottom of the list are ten lonely Kens. (There are no Barbies on the girls' side, but 16 Barbaras.)
The most popular girls' names in 2007 were Isabella and Sophia, followed by the ever-ubiquitous Emily. Ashley was third. 26 baby girls are Precious, 25 are Diamonds, and 10 mothers named their daughters Wiktoria. Nationwide, Emily and Jacob were the most popular names, according to the Social Security Administration. Their website also lets you search for the most popular names over the years, all the way back to 1880 when Mary and John were most popular. And for local procreators seeking inspiration, the whole NYC Health Department pdf report is here, and here's another pdf on historical trends in baby naming.
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I cannot believe Brianna is not on this list.
I cannot believe how little I care about this.
I thought all Yuppies preferred a pseudo-Celtic name in order to connect their kids to earthy, rootsy, pre-Christian, Tolkienesque goodness.
If there is a tie for first place, shouldn't the next number be 3?
Madison continues to confound after all of these years.
Madison?! I had two dogs named Madison.
My names not on the list. I find that awesome. To this day I've never come across somebody (in this country) with my name.
In case anyone is curious, i am named Bart.
I never heard of anyone naming a baby Jayden.
Also: One of my cats is named Madison!
If you look at the full list, you'll see many, many names of what I'd imagine are Hasidic children. They are getting it ON.
Also, #7, "my son is also named Bort."
In other news -- the population of unimaginative blacks and hispanics has outgrown the intelligent working class.
I have a good friend named Bart....you are not alone.
Where are names like Amanda, Danielle, Whitney, Alexis, Kyndol (ken-dul), Kristie, Alisha, Devin, Addison, Ella, Nicole, Leslie....guess me and my girlfriend from high school are too 80's....
My ex-husbands sisters name is Ryan...that is a bit weird for me but, to each is own......
I notice there are no forthright, one-syllable names. And most of them are weakly reminiscent of soap opera. Decadence setting in among the folk, I guess.
jayden? a pretty douchey name, congrats new york
I'm pretty sure Charlize Theron is from South Africa, not America. And by "pretty sure" I mean: she is.
I also have never met a Jayden
I am surprised Ryan is not on there for a boys name
I know about 10 Ryans and I dont know that many people
Also
John or some variation is not in the top 10?
My beloved childhood dog was named Bart. He was awesome. I miss him.
what? no Seamus?! shocking!
well played, dave.
"We need more "Bort" license plates in the gift shop. I repeat, we are sold out of "Bort" license plates."
most of these names especially the girl names sound like porno names.
Damnit, where's "Skip" and "Connie"??
There was a kid named Shep in my 2nd grade class. We need more of that.
god i love that ssa website. i've spent many a bored hour at work mindlessly looking up the most popular names in 1903. not kidding, it's entertaining!
no Jenna?
Who wants to bet that Obama makes the list next year?
My co-worker is named Bart and my cat's name is Emily.
Beyejo is a good name for a boy.
Jennifers dominated in the early 80s, but I don't bump into that many in my life. In middle school, if someone were to call my name across the gym, at least five girls would turn around.
Isn't Jayden sort of an "ethnic" name?
Hayden is a name Jayden is not
I've never heard of Jayden, Jaden or any variation thereof. Guess I'm out of touch. Or maybe I just don't care about fads.
I'm sure we'll see more Haydens in due time, thanks to that young actress, Hayden Planetari... er, Hayden Panettiere.
I'm surprised Dude didn't make the list.
Lots of hipsters called Dude.
All Jaydens will be called Gayden in the schoolyard. And they will all grow up to be "chefs" at McDonalds. Or possibly janitors.
I'm hoping for a resurgence in Dirk.
In 15 years or so, "Jayden II" will be very popular as well...
Let's hope "Trig" never catches on...
TSOL you made me laugh out loud.
What I really want is some kind of synonym finder, so we can see that actually variations of Jayden (JADEN, JADON, JAEDEN, JAIDEN, JAIDYN, JAYDAN, JAYDEN, JAYDIN, JAYDON) actually account for more like 1300 boys. That ought to bump it right past Daniel, which I can't find any bonus spellings of.
Another fun fact (can you tell I'm procrastinating this afternoon?) AIDAN and AIDEN are tied for 49th place.
PS. My parents were friends with a guy named Bart. He seems pretty normal.
PPS. I kind of like Zeke.
Where's the Jen, Jenny, Jennifer!??!?! =)
Jayden? Jaiden, Jaden...
New York City is now leading the nation in unisex baby names as well! Go New York!
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go away.
Naming your kid Messiah is setting the bar a little high.
I know babies who have been named Jayden, Hayden, Kayden, Payden, not all at once and not in the same family. I know a painter named Bart.