2021 Comeback Kids

Comeback Kid: A name that was once ranked in the top 1000 but fell off the list for 1 or more years. 

I love looking at the names that are back onto the top 1000 and how long they have been off the list. Often times the names have only been off the list for a year or two but every once in a while you will see a name that hasn't been ranked since the 1930s, 1940s, or 1950s. 

In 2021 39 names are back on the list. Half of them have only been off the list for a year but one name has not ranked for 82 years! I love when vintage beauties rank again. 

*Next to each name is their ranking for 2021. Below each name is the last year they ranked and the number spot they were at.*

Loyal #753

Last Ranked: 1948 (#996)

Palmer #990 

Last Ranked: 1949 (#903)

Koen #993

Last Ranked: 2014 (#976)

Yaakov #966

Last Ranked: 2015 (#995)

Agustin #975

Last Ranked: 2017 (#941)

Bowie #950

Last Ranked: 2018 (#984)

Elon #952

Last Ranked: 2018 (#940)

Benedict #991

Last Ranked: 2018 (#983)

Kylian #779 

Last Ranked: 2019 (#943)

Alfonso #876

Last Ranked: 2019 (#941)

Mustafa #890

Last Ranked: 2019 (#993)

Jesiah #919

Last Ranked: 2019 (#987)

Zyon #938

Last Ranked: 2019 (#992)

Howard #940

Last Ranked: 2019 (#984)

Turner #947

Last Ranked: 2019 (#892)

Yisroel #959

Last Ranked: 2019 (#880)

Adrien #967

Last Ranked: 2019 (#861)

Ephraim #978

Last Ranked: 2019 (#975)

Ignacio #981

Last Ranked: 2019 (#988)

Dimitri #987

Last Ranked: 2019 (#996)

Eleanora #997

Last Ranked: 1939 (#978)

Birdie #897

Last Ranked: 1948 (#987)

Vida #992

Last Ranked: 1949 (#930)

Goldie #883

Last Ranked: 1958 (#984)

Billie #941

Last Ranked: 1997 (#930)

Arleth #957

Last Ranked: 2005 (#820)

Dalia #918

Last Ranked: 2014 (#948)

Angelique #876

Last Ranked: 2017 (#800)

Aiyana #967

Last Ranked: 2018 (#992)

Jaylene #974

Last Ranked: 2018 (#879)

Azaria #977

Last Ranked: 2018 (#993)

Austyn #917

Last Ranked: 2019 (#989)

Salma #922

Last Ranked: 2019 (#915)

India #943

Last Ranked: 2019 (#928)

Tatiana #944

Last Ranked: 2019 (#950)

Micah #982

Last Ranked: 2019 (#946)

Kathleen #984

Last Ranked: 2019 (#942)

Arlette #989

Last Ranked: 2019 (#965)

Sandra #998

Last Ranked: 2019 (#988)

What are your favorite names from the list? 

2021 Newbies

One of my favorite things to look at once the new top 1000 names comes out is the names that are new to the chart and also the names that are back on the chart after a year or more off. I've taken to calling the first time rankers Newbies. They have never been listed in the top 1000 since the list was started in 1880. I'd say missing the charts for 141 years is very impressive! 

*Each name has the 2021 rank and the number of spots it jumped in parentheses.*

Ozzy #712 (+336)

Eliam #736 (+442)

Amiri #757 (+534, name with greatest increase)

Evander #767 (+279)

Elio #842 (+240)

Avyaan #911 (+174)

Azriel #921 (+197)

Jakai #926 (+165)

Azael #949 (+180)

Granger #953 (+115)

Gian #960 (+248)

Kartier #968 (+152)

Cassian #969 (+68)

Coleson #970 (+100)

Wylder #979 (+243)

Neo #980 (+123)

Osman #982 (+179)

Khai #988 (+287)

Atharv #997 (+19)

Jaylani #795 (+228)

Nyra #844 (+202)

Clover #866 (+203)

Ocean #877 (+253)

Elia #878 (+230)

Baylor #894 (+130)

Indigo #906 (+120)

Zayla #924 (+221)

Taytum #948 (+230)

Emberlynn #961 (+284)

Guinevere #965 (+45)

Aarna #966 (+54)

Kahlani #968 (+156)

Loyalty #976 (+163)

Soraya #987 (+193)

Ryder #993 (+43)

Soleil #999 (+200)

What are your favorites from this list?

2021 Top 100

The top 100 list is a hodge podge of names. You have the classic, timeless names mixed in with the modern coming of age names. I like to think there is a name on the top 100 for everyone. I know there are some people that would say any name in the top 100 is off limits. But I like to counteract that with asking this one question: "How many babies or kids do you know with the name Silas or Ruby?" Both those names are currently ranked under the top 50 but still in the top 100. Personally I don't know any kids in real life with those names. I can guarantee that there are plenty of names in the top 100 that you haven't heard on a baby or younger child in real life. And every year the names move just a little. A name that is in the top 100 this year might fall out next year and vice versa. 

This year we had 6 new names jump into the top 100, 4 boys and 2 girls. I have to say I'm surprised that there aren't move changes to the girl names. Relatively speaking there are more girl names and variants out there than there are boy names. But it looks like we are getting a little bit of a change with the boys this year. 

I am not surprised at the boy names that have entered the top 100. In fact I had predicted that Beau, Bennett, and Waylon would enter the top 100. I am getting a very western vibe from these new boy names. 

As for the girl names I am very surprised that Athena and Rylee are in the top 100. They have been hovering just outside the list in recent years. Rylee was actually #100 a few years back. I thought for sure she would inch down just a little this year. I do have to say I had no idea what names would even be entering the top 100 this year for girls. Most of the names just didn't feel like they would make it in.

Because we gained 6 new names to the list that means 6 names fell down the charts. 

Jaxson #85 --> #101

Jace #96 --> #102

Adam #97 --> #104

Kayden #99 --> #108

Samantha #90 --> 105

Brielle #100 --> #118

I am going to keep up with my fun name data analysis from years past and include the top 5 names that had the biggest increases and biggest decreases within the top 100 for both genders. I won't be including names that entered the top 100 this year. 

1. Luca (#42), Brooks (#77) +25

2. Kai (#71) +22

3. Wesley (#84) +14

4. Theodore (#10) +13

5. Jack (#11) +10

1. Leilani (#67) +25

2.  Autumn (#66) +16

3.  Ruby (#62), Alice (#64) +12

4. Isla (#33), Delilah (#58) +11

5. Caroline (#81) +10

Biggest Decreases Within the Top 100 

1. Connor (#97) -19

2. Hunter (#86) -18

3. Carson (#98) -14

4. Dominic (#99) -11

5. Jeremiah (#85) -10

1. Anna (#84) -16

2. Josephine (#72), Serenity (#85) -15

3. Genesis (#75) -13

4. Skylar (#74) -11

5. Victoria (#43), Aubrey (#65), Bella, (#73), Ariana (#88) -9

How do you feel about the top 100? What are your favorites?

2021 Top 10

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Close your eyes and imagine me singing that Christmas song in the beginning of May. That's exactly what's happening this weekend! The Social Security Office released the most popular names for 2021 (the most recent year of data). If you are a namer than you probably have similar feelings as myself. Some people in the name community call this Namer's Christmas and I couldn't agree with them more. 

I've been looking over the data since yesterday and collecting all sorts of fun info. I have lots of posts idea to share but we're going to start with the simple top 10. 

Boys

1. Liam

2. Noah

3. Oliver

4. Elijah

5. James +1

6. William -1

7. Benjamin

8. Lucas

9. Henry

10. Theodore +13 

Girls

1. Olivia

2. Emma

3. Charlotte +1

4. Amelia +2

5. Ava -1

6. Sophia-1

7. Isabella

8. Mia

9. Evelyn

10. Harper 

We have a new comer to the boy's list! Mr. Theodore jumped 13 spots and landed a place in the top 10 knocking Alexander down to #13. I have to say I am very excited for that jump. To me, Theodore is a timeless name that doesn't feel dated. Other than Theodore's jump the boy names stayed relatively the same. In fact, the only other movement was the switch between James and William. 

2021 bought no new names to the girl's top 10. In fact the only movement on the list was in the middle spots. I will say I am excited that Charlotte is inching closer to #1 (even if it was only one spot). I have a feeling we will see her move higher up in the near future. 

Now I have never done this in the past but while I was looking at the top 100 list I noticed something. Jack jumped 10 spots to #11, just shy of the top 10. So then I got to thinking and went to take a look at the number of babies given the names Theodore and Jack (#10 and #11 respectively). Theodore was given to 9,535 boys and Jack was given to 9,504. That means Jack missed the top 10 by just 31 babies. It seems that the difference between #10 and #11 is a couple of hundred babies but I did see a gap as small as just 10 babies. Will Jack make it into the top 10 next year?

Liam

• For the 5th year in a row Liam is the reigning champ! 
• He's been in the top 10 since 2012 and when he jumped into the top 10 he went from #15 to #6. 

Olivia

• Olivia has been #1 now for 3 years running. 
• She has been in the top 10 since 2001
• She has been in the top 1000 every year since 1880