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Popular baby names in the US have shifted towards unique spellings and gender-neutral options. While traditional names like Mary and Joseph remain popular, more creative names like Kaley and Avery are rising in popularity. Unusual spellings are also common, particularly for girls’ names. Celebrities have also contributed to the trend of choosing extremely unusual names for their children.
Although some baby names, such as Emily, Katherine and Benjamin, have been popular and common for hundreds of years, many of the most popular baby names in the United States today have only gained prominence in recent years. Many of the current top names feature unique spellings or are gender-neutral, meaning they can be used for both a boy and a girl.
In the Social Security Administration’s list for 2006, many of the names in the top ten were names that had been popular for generations, such as Emma, Emily, Samantha, Michael, Matthew, Anthony and Christopher. However, further down the list of popular baby names, more creative and original names appeared, such as Kaley, who was number 41 for girls; Avery, 66 for girls; Aiden, 49 for boys; and Mason, 42 for boys.
Names of Biblical origin, such as Mary, Jacob, and Joseph, are still among the most popular names for boys of both genders, as they have been for hundreds of years. Recently, the name Nevaeh has also become popular among Christian families: the 70th most popular female name is an inversion of the word “heaven”. The large Latino community of the United States is also evident in today’s most popular baby names, with common Spanish names like Juan, Angel, and Jose appearing on the list of most popular boy names.
Unusual spelling has also become common, particularly for girls’ names. Some of the names on the list include Kaitlyn, Kaylee and Katelyn. For the top ten male names, there were 86 spelling variations. For the most popular female names, there were 163 different spellings. Some of the more popular names that can be used for a boy or girl baby are Taylor, Morgan and Riley.
Among modern celebrities, it has become a trend to choose extremely unusual names for children. Actor Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-el, after the birth name of the comic book superhero, Superman, while magician Penn Jillette named his daughter Moxie CrimeFighter.
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