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In Baby Name Popularity, "Jayden" Nears Top of Chart!
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 23, 2008
Modified Oct 23, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 23, 2008
Modified Oct 23, 2008
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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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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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