The 2007 baby name information is up at the Social Security site: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/. This is the real list based on actual birth certificates, not that stupid sham list Baby Center puts out based on a survey of their non-representative readership. Shammers!
By the way, as Jess Loolu points out, the name Nevaeh (Heaven spelled backward) is now number THIRTY-ONE. And I still can’t remember how to pronounce it.
Also, I would like to point out that reversing or inverting things is, traditionally, the way to make them the opposite, or evil. Upside-down crosses, upside-down flags, upside-down stars, backwards lyrics: all very bad. Perhaps it would be better to go with a name like Christina or Angel or Heaven, if that’s the effect you want. JUST SAYING.
What’s your opinion on the different spellings of a name? For instance, Madeline is number 30 something, but Madeleine is number 290. Can I officially say that my daughter’s name isn’t even in the top 250 because her spelling isn’t? Or, is her name getting dangerously popular?
Also, if someone pronounces it MAD-AH-LINE, I don’t count that as the same name. I’m only talking about people that spell it Madeline and say it MAD-AH-LYNN.
Erica- I take it name-by-name: sometimes I consider it “the same name,” sometimes I consider it “the same name, but most of them are misspellings,” and sometimes I consider it “different names.” Madeleine/Madeline is a tough one: I do think of the -lyn and the -line pronunciations as making them different names, but I guess I’d avoid declarations about uncommonness.
That backwards/upside down thing is SO TRUE. And also HILARIOUS. In my opinion.
I was just saying the same thing about Neveah two days ago. Why spel it backwards? Just name the girl heaven for crying out loud!
When did this Nevaeh stuff begin? & where are the children saddled with this name? I have yet to meet one in person but then maybe my friends just have better taste.
I HATE how high my daughter’s name is on this list. I will forever hold it against my husband, but am glad I insisted we spell it what I now consider to be the “right” way.
Shelly- I haven’t met a single Nevaeh, either. Where ARE they all?
Probably in my hometown along with all the Madisyns, Braylies, and Vanitys.
Yes! Where are all the Nevaehs? According to our hospital nurses, it peaked in our area when E. was born (2+ years ago).
Also, the most unusual name they’d ever had a mother name her child was “Meconium” because she thought it was pretty. True story.
“Also, I would like to point out that reversing or inverting things is, traditionally, the way to make them the opposite, or evil…JUST SAYING.”
HA! This totally made my day. Well, that, and the conversation that happened at my mom’s house this morning which I posted about on my own blog.
I know of a Neveah. That has GOT to be the most ridiculous name there ever was. Gah-ross.
It could be shortened to Neve, I suppose.
My friend works in the very, very large labor & delivery hospital. She’s an RN. She tells us the crazy names. Some of my favs of late:
-Dangerous Pookey
-Alayah (pronounced A-LIE-AH, because when she told the father she was pregnant her called her that)
-Iwillriseupandcometojesus Jones
Note: Please don’t anyone say you’ve heard of children named Lemonjello (le-MON-jell-o) or Orangello (oh-RON-gell-o) because it’s an urban legend. I’ve had three different people tell me they know of somebody who worked with somebody who came across these names. Snopes.com deals with it. Too lazy to link to it, of course. With verified names like Neveah and Analyse (that’s Analiese for the uninitiated), who needs urban legends?
Hee hee hee… I love your comment, “Inverting something is the way to make it evil!” Tell me how you really feel, Swistle! Hilarious!!
Well, my daughter’s name (Ava) is supah-popular, as expected (I still love it). But I DO take solace in the point Erica makes, which is that many names are more popular than they seem, if they can be spelled more than one way. Not so much with Ava.
Also, is this ALL the discussion we are going to GET on the list, across the Swistleverse? MORE!!!
I feel like “popularity” is relative to your community so the SS is sort of useless to me. I’d rather read the birth announcements or preschool rosters (not that those are readily available! LOL) to get a more accurate reading of what is “popular” in my area.
It used to bug me that my Henry’s name was in the top 200 in the year he was born (2000) but it’s really only been the last few years that I’ve heard his name becoming “interesting.” Everyone — including strangers I met at work — hated his name back then! (They said it sounded “old” or like a “nerd” or a “farmer!” I only had one male friend say anything positive.) Some friends of friends are using the name, and I’m certainly hearing it in my large internet circle but I still don’t know of any other young Henrys personally, despite the fact that the name is now in the top 100.
It is worth noting that the girls’ names seem more commonly heard than the boys’ around me (I don’t know a single Anthony!), so again, I really think the usage of names is relative to your area.
Nevaeh. LOL! That was awesome.
Lara- The SS site also lets you search by state—still not as good as if it were by town, but closer than national. Many names are the same or close to the same—but one of our son’s names was over 50 nationally and in the top 10 in our state, so YEEK.
Also, it’s still good to know the national figures, since you might move, or if your children might when they’re grown.
Also-also, I think people give more significance to “top 100” than they should: it SOUNDS really popular, but even the top TEN are often only one kid in a class. In the top 200 are names I’ve NEVER encountered. That doesn’t necessarily have to do with location so much as perceived popularity: people think a Top 200 name is common, but it really ISN’T.
Also-also-also, the SS site is good for marking TRENDS: you can chart the progress of the name Henry and SEE how the popularity of it is steadily heading up. Other names, you can see the popularity falling. The exact number isn’t as important as whether a name is becoming more/less popular.
*I heard when Bud was born that a mother had just named her child Placenta–because she thought it was beautiful!
*When I see a name like Katelyn in the tope 10, I do not consider it the same as Caitlyn. But that’s just me.
*Hannah is down one from last year!! WOOT!!
* A girl who worked for me named her daughter Neveah in 2003 (she pronounced it NA-VAY-YAH) and that is the only one I have ever encountered.
Side note, there is now a little girl called Saachi in Lucy’s class at school. What do you think of that??
(Lara: I *love* the name Henry, and am disappointed that it’s becoming so popular. Not that I would ever get to use it because my husband doesn’t like it. But it’s so adorable for a baby boy! Yet also strong sounding for a man!)
My husband is Joseph, which is consistently in the top 10, which means he really likes, um, unusual names since he has always been one of 6848904 Josephs. I very rarely encounter other Jills, and I tend to like more classic names, so if and when I ever get pregnant we’re going to have a tough time agreeing on any names.
The first Nevaeh I encountered was the baby of the hooker daughter from the Canal St. Brothel in New Orleans. It was an all-in-the-family kind of “business,” with Grandma, Mom, and the teen daughter providing “services.” I saw a tv special about it, which is where I heard Nevaeh. I felt sorry for this young mom, who thought this was a beautiful and novel concept to name her daughter “heaven, backwards.” Anyway, it’s always linked to that in my mind.
I have been considering baby names lately since we are planning on conceiving in the next few months. I heard a name the other day and LOVED it. The name is Tierney (teer-nee). It immediately got put on my baby name list, but when I shared it with friends, they thought I had said “Tyranny.” Nobody likes it:( Needless to say, it has been removed from The List. What do you think? Other names I love: Hazel, Claire, Kennedy, Natalie, Olivia, Mia (mee-a) and my husband loves the name Cadence. For boys, I love: Josiah, Jonah, Micah, Cecil, Isaiah, and Caleb. For Josiah, I think I would call him Josi for short :)
Lo- Ha! I hadn’t noticed that pronunciation problem either! I was like, “Hm, Tierney. Nice!” And then I tried saying it aloud. Hm, guess not!