Baby name articles ordinarily are a bit light and listy, almost always silly and fun. Surprising for a topic that’s just so ridiculously important! For some of us, it’s the biggest decision we’ll ever make - some might even feel it's more important than choosing a wedding dress, deciding whether to breastfeed, even buying your first home. That's because it’s a choice your child will live with for the rest of his or her life.
According to reports from the last year, the art of naming often has to do with the current cultural, social, political, and financial state of affairs - and 2010 has had its share of major challenges. In light of the economy, war, environmental catastrophe and overall disillusionment, not surprisingly, one of the biggest naming trends has been a shift back to tradition. Sure, names like Mars (Erykah Badu), Honor (Jessica Alba), Sparrow (Nicole Ritchie), Bluebell Madonna (Geri Halliwell) and Tu (Rob Morrow - get it?) may be conversation starters, but is that really such a good thing?
How about names that evoke good values, home, family, diligence and plain old normalcy? According to Lesley Bolton, author of the baby name list and trend manifesto The Complete Book of Baby Names, they’re making a comeback. Kudos to Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick who named their son James, and to Jon Stewart, who opted for Nathan. Other good, old-fashioned names that may be short but work hard - Jack, Joe, Gus, Hal and Hank. For girls, names are getting an "ie" tacked on the end to add a little flourish. Think Gracie, Ellie and Evie.
But there may be more to back-to-basics than just avoiding novelty. Last year the New York Times’ Freakonomics blog (which just loves the subject) reported on a survey of 2,000 elementary school teachers in Germany and found that a child’s name may effect how a teacher perceives them. Teachers surveyed overwhelmingly associated traditional names with positive character traits and non-traditional names with weak performance and bad behavior. Another finding that’s gotten a lot of play is how a child’s name may get them into trouble with the law.
Reports the Washington Times: “Regardless of race, juveniles with unpopular names are more likely to engage in criminal activity.”
In this study, the name Michael was rated at 100 and the least likely to be associated with juvenile delinquency. David was in the middle at 50, with Alec, Ernest, Ivan, Malcolm and Tyrell possessing only a one-point rating. The researchers found that for every 10 percent increase in a name’s popularity, there was a 4 percent decrease in the number of juvenile delinquents of the same name.
The study didn’t apply to female nomenclature. But this isn’t to say you should jump on the Twilight bandwagon for your bouncing baby girl just yet. A major blow for this top trend for 2010 - according to a study by Wharton professor Jonah Berger and co-author Gaël Le Mens, the faster that a new baby name becomes popular, the faster it will die out. These results were part of a comprehensive naming-pattern study conducted in France and the U.S. (R.I.P. Bella and Esme.)
The silver lining? It seems one safe direction to go in that’s popular both for gentiles and the elite… biblical names. Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Daniel, Joshua, Noah, Alexander, Abigail, Olivia, Chloe and Sophia all made the Social Security Administration’s top baby names for 2009 list. Hallelujah!
For a complete list of Social Security’s Top Baby Names for 2009, visit their website or search for baby names and find out where your favorites rank over the years with their baby name database.
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