MOVING!

Well, I've decided to move to Wordpress for this name blog. I really like how it allows you to have the most recent comments listed on the sidebar, and since people like to go back and view the comments of the older posts as well as make comments "late," I thought this would be nice to have. I'm totally new to Wordpress, so just like this blog in general, we will see how this experiment goes!

If you haven't voted on the poll to the right, you have the rest of today to do so before I shut this blog down. I should write a new post tomorrow about the poll results. There is a new poll on the new blog. Oh... and here's the new blog address.

NameFreak!

President(ial) Names

First of all, I would like to thank all of you who are making this little experiment of mine a lot of fun. I have really enjoyed all of the responses and I hope to keep it entertaining!

Now onto this week's article. In the honor of the upcoming election, I want to talk about using the names of our U.S. Presidents when naming children. I'm not talking about the presidents' first names, I'm talking about their last names. Here is a list of the ones currently being used (2006 rankings) - along with the possible correlation between peak of name and presidential term (SSA rankings began in 1880):

Arthur (#377) - peaked at #14 in the 1880s and 1890s, Arthur was president from 1881-1885
Carter (#75) - peaked at #75 in 2006, Carter was president from 1977-1981
Clinton (#844) - peaked at #124 in 1981, Clinton was president from 1994-2001
Grant (#155) - peaked at #114 in 1997, Grant was president from 1869-1877
Harrison (#232) - peaked at #52 in 1888, Harrison was president from 1889-1893
Jackson (#36) - peaked at #36 in 2006, Jackson was president from 1829-1837
Jefferson (#642) - peaked at #255 in 1880, Jefferson was president from 1801-1809
Kennedy (#992, #115) - peaked at #516 in 1964 and #115 in 2006, Kennedy was president from 1961-1963
Lincoln (#300) - peaked at #300 in 2006, Lincoln was president from 1861-1865
Madison (#3) - peaked at #312 in 1881 and #2 in 2001, Madison was president from 1809-1817
McKinley (#964) - peaked at #137 in 1896 and #964 in 2006, McKinley was president from 1897-1901
Pierce (#549) - peaked at #394 in 1886, Pierce was president from 1853-1857
Reagan (#792, #155) - peaked at #596 in 2004 and #138 in 2005, Reagan was president from 1981-1989
Taylor (#222, #22) - peaked at #51 in 1993 and #6 in 1994, Taylor was president from 1849-1850
Truman (#943) - peaked at #350 in 1904, Truman was president from 1945-1953
Tyler (#18, #741) - peaked at #5 in 1993 and #238 in 1993, Tyler was president from 1841-1845
Wilson (#512) - peaked at #122 in 1913, Wilson was president from 1913-1921

Almost all of the President's names have been in the top 1000 at one time or another. Here is a list of the name and the years it was on the list (and if it corresponds to the presidential term, I included that as well):

Adams 1898
Bush 1889
Cleveland 1880-1989 (Cleveland was president from 1885-1889 and 1893-1897 and the name peaked at #92 in 1884)
Coolidge 1924-1925 (Coolidge was president from 1923-1929)
Ford 1880-1951 (off and on)
Garfield 1880-1953 (Garfield was president in 1881 when the name peaked at #88)
Hayes 1880-1931 (off and on)
Harding 1920-1923 (Harding was president from 1921-1923)
Hoover 1928-1932 (Hoover was president from 1929-1933)
Johnson 1880-1948, and then sporadically between 1982 and 1987
Monroe 1880-1971
Polk 1890
Roosevelt 1895-1993 (Teddy Roosevelt was president from 1901-1909 and the name peaked at #91 in 1905)
Taft 1907-1912 (Taft was president from 1909-1913 and the name peaked in 1908)
Washington 1880-1921

Only Buchanan, Eisenhower, Fillmore, Nixon and Van Buren have never cracked the top 1000.

Some interesting tidbits of info from my research on the names currently being used:

-In 1978 and 1979, Carter was not ranked in the top 1000. Prior to 1978, it was a steady name in lower half of the top 1000. Starting in 1979, it re-entered the top 1000 and has increased in popularity ever since.

-Clinton has been ranked #211 and higher from the beginning of record-keeping until 1993. Since then it has steadily fallen and is now into the 800s.

-Kennedy entered the top 1000 for boys at #723 in 1960. It jumped to #592 in 1961, was #828 in 1962, #624 in 1963, and #516 in 1964. After 1964, it went back down into the 600s-900s until it fell out of the top 1000 in 1969. It re-entered the top 1000 in 1994, but has stayed pretty low. For girls, Kennedy entered the top 1000 in 1994 and has increased in popularity ever since. It is also spelled Kennedi (ranked #622 in 2006).

-Madison is also spelled Maddison (#403 in 2006), Madisyn (#414), and Madyson (#408). It entered the top 1000 for girls in 1985 and became extremely popular starting in 1993. It has been in the top 1000 for boys since the beginning of record-keeping, except for a big gap of time between 1953 and 1986 when it re-entered the top 1000 only to fall back out in 2000. In 2004, it temporarily came back at #858.

-McKinley as a boy's name was in the top 1000 from 1890 until 1966. McKinley as a girl's name has only been in the top 1000 in 2006.

-Reagan as a boy's name has only been in the top 1000 since 1996. Reagan as a girl's name hit the top 1000 in 1975 and then stayed and left the top 1000 until 1981. It didn't re-enter the top 1000 until 1993 and then has become increasingly more popular.

-Taylor as a boy's name has been in the top 1000 since record-keeping began. Taylor as a girl's name didn't enter the top 1000 until 1979.

-Truman was in the top 1000 pretty steadily until 1972 and then it didn't re-enter until 2003, but has just barely stayed there.

-Tyler didn't really enter the top 1000 until 1946 for boys and 1984 for girls. Tyler reached its peak for both sexes in the same year of 1993!

A lot of this to say that the timing of the presidential term rarely has an effect on naming children, unless it's the late 19th century or early 20th century. It seems like people may have avoided the name Reagan while he was president, and Clinton has decreased in popularity since his term began. I also noticed the popularity of a name the year before the man became president (maybe while he was running for president). It's a shame the record-keeping doesn't go back further... it would have been interesting to see how many Lincolns were out there in the 1860s or Jeffersons were out there in the early 1800s.

Looking at it another way, the popularity could have absolutely nothing to do with the president; for example, Madison became a hot name after the movie Splash came out in 1984 (I realized that correlation from The Baby Name Wizard book). Even if the term of the president has nothing to do with the name's popularity at the time of the presidency, popularity later on could be a "looking back into history" phenomenon, in which case I wouldn't know unless I asked everyone with a little Kennedy or Reagan why they named their child that name (which I would SO do). :) I already know my friend Erin named her daughter Kennedy because it was her maiden name. So... one down.
Whether people use these names on their children because they are Presidents' names, because of some other fad, because they just like them, or because of coincidence, it was still fun to do this research. I also liked studying the differences in usage for the two genders. As you can see, most of these names are only used for boys. And while Kennedy, Madison, McKinley, Reagan and Taylor are seen on both genders, they have mostly been taken over by the girls (Tyler is used for both, but is still dominantly male).
Here is an interesting article by Wattenberg about the names of presidents. I just read it (after I did my research), and she says that parents nowadays are waiting until the presidential term is up before using the names. (Another thing I noticed was that she doesn't list Nixon as a name that hasn't been in the top 1000, but I don't see it anywhere on the SSA website.) As I said before, parents in the past seemed to use the names of the president as he was running for the office or early in his presidency. Just an observation from me. Believe it or not, the research I have done for this post is not completely thorough, so if you notice anything or see/know anything else that would be of interest, let me know. :) Anyway, Wattenberg seems to come to a similar conclusion... parents choose these names because of their style, not because they are "presidential."
In closing, I really like most of these names. I think the only ones I would consider using are Harrison (although I think the nn Harry wouldn't go well with my last name), Jackson (not so much anymore, but I love the nn Jack), Lincoln (love the Pres and love the nn Linc), Reagan (yes, because I love him) and Wilson (more because it is also Reagan's middle name).
What do you think? Which of these names do you like, if any? Would you use it for a boy or girl or both?

Complete the Sibset #1

In the interest of two of the topics I've touched on this week (sibsets and Austen), here is my weekly "for fun" request. Think: Bennett girls. :) What would you name 5 daughters? You can either pick 5 names you like the most, or create a theme for them. :) You can also include your current daughter(s)' names if you would like to. List the first names only, or add the middle names. Have fun! (I may post my picks in the comment section.) :)

An Analysis: Poll #1

I didn't do this for the first poll I put up, but I thought I would do an analysis of the polls so I (and you) can comment on the results. I don't vote in the polls, so I can also let you know what my answer would have been. :)

Which is your preferred spelling?
1. Catherine (4, 17%)
2. Katharine (1, 4%)
3. Katherine (7, 30%)
4. Kathryn (11, 47%)

Total of 23 votes

I have to say, I am surprised at these results. I thought for sure there would be more preference for the "traditional" spellings of either Catherine or Katherine. I am very surprised that Kathryn won by so much. I would have voted along with the majority. I am usually one who dislikes alternate spellings for names, but Kathryn is one of the few that I do prefer. Although, Katharine is growing on me, just because it looks more elegant with the "a" in the middle. But I wouldn't choose that way to spell it for my own kid due to spelling confusion. Anyway, Kathryn has always seemed very pretty to me. I love the nickname of Kat too, and because I'm weird, I see it more as a nn for Kathryn than Katherine. Kate (or Katie) is more for Katherine, probably because of the presence of the "e." And as for Catherine, I do like it, and I like the spelling of Cate too. I'm not sure if I prefer one over the other though (Cate vs. Kate). Maybe you guys have a preference?

Some interesting information: In 2006, Katherine ranked the highest of the spellings at #36 (according to the SSA). The others ranks as follows: Catherine #122, Kathryn #144, and Katharine #906. All of them are falling in popularity over the past several years.

All-in-all, Katherine is one of my favorite names, no matter how it is spelled. It is a much-deserved classic. What are your thoughts on these results (if you have any)?

Sibsets

In the baby name message boards that I frequent, there are many conversations about sibsets. "What should I name my next child so it fits with my current child(ren)?" This is important to a lot of people. Well, maybe it's just important to a lot of name freaks. :)

I know a lot of you like a certain style when naming your children. Whether it be classic, Biblical, or tryndee, parents usually want to stick with a style and therefore the names of their children are usually consistent. Others just choose names that they like, no matter what style it is. This is fine, but it may lead to a Nevaeh among sisters Elizabeth, Katherine and Anne.

How about matchy names? Taylor and Tyler. Fred and Jed. Mackenzie and Mackayla. Another thing that parents may do that isn't entirely bad, but in some ways shows a lack of creativity (or maybe too much creativity in order to get the match). :) I think it also leads to a lot of tongue-twisters and/or confusion when calling for the kids.

There's also the same initial issue. If you use names that begin with the letter A for the first two children, do you continue that for the subsequent children? I wouldn't use the same letter twice personally, unless I find another R name that I absolutely love (which isn't likely), but I don't mind it when people do use the same letter. My mom's family is Debra, Douglas, Dale, Diane and David. And then there's me and my brother... Kelli and Keith (Jr). So, I don't have a problem with it. I also don't see the problem in straying from a letter that has already been used more than once. Although, I have to admit that a Jason would stand out against siblings named Lisa, Luke, and Lesley.

The main reason this is a topic of conversation, I suppose, is that parents don't want a child to feel "left out." Though I imagine that this is more of an issue to the parents than to the children. And also a lot of these are probably only things that I would notice and therefore aren't important in the grand scheme of things. But because I am a freak, I... well, notice... and therefore talk about it on my name blog. :)

I, of course, think differently for other people than for myself. I am of two minds personally. I would like for my children's names to "fit," but since we are probably going to have only two children, the theme of my children's names could just be that there isn't a theme. :) Rachel is Biblical and classic, so I could go with a completely different type of name for our second child and it will be ok with me. However, if we have a third, then I would be stuck with what kind of name to choose. I'm sure I would find something (I'm not completely obsessed about this for myself, surprisingly enough), but I'm glad that we are only going to have two kids. :)

Some resources on sibsets: My favorite baby name book is The Baby Name Wizard. I refer to it so much that my copy is falling apart. It categorizes names and tells how popular each name has been. But one of my favorite features is the suggestion of possible sibling names for each name it lists. On a funny side note, it lists Leah as a possible sister name for Rachel. Why would anyone want to name their daughter Leah after having a Rachel? Wasn't Leah the ugly and unwanted sister? :) Anyway, it is really interesting to see what the author, Laura Wattenberg, suggests. Wattenberg has a cool blog... there's a link to it in my sidebar. She also has another website that would help with sibling names called Nymbler (link to the right), where you plug in a name and it gives you other names you may like. Thanks to Kristen for reminding me of this neat site!

I'm sure I will talk about this topic more in the future, but we'll leave it at that for now. I couldn't leave without a question though, so how do you feel about sibsets in general?

Name Match #1

What name comes to your mind first when you imagine a BOY with the following characteristic (one name for each characteristic):

Sporty:

Nerd:

Cool Geek:

Class Clown:

Sensitive:

Leader:

Musical:

Artistic:

Shy:

Rachel Joyce

I thought I would start things out by talking about why we named our daughter Rachel Joyce.

Joyce was a no-brainer. My grandmother was Maxine Joyce, my mom is Debra Joyce, and I am Kelli Joyce. I love that we all have this connection, especially with my grandmother. We are all the first-born children of our parents, and we are all Joyce's. And now Rachel joins that group. She is the first-born child and she is a Joyce. There was absolutely no question in my mind that my first-born daughter would have the middle name of Joyce. I don't even remember having a discussion with Brent about it... it was just assumed. And while it's an older name (you don't meet very many 2-year-old Joyce's, or 20-year-old Joyce's for that matter), I love that it's not common. I am dedicated to using family names as middle names, and using older names isn't that big of a deal to me because, while the middle name is extremely special, it isn't what the child is going to be called (usually). So... Joyce was set.

The first name didn't come as easily. I am married to a man who could care less about baby names. I have had names picked out ever since I can remember, and Brent just didn't see the need to discuss any names before we were even pregnant. So, after I became pregnant, I wanted to talk names. He said he wanted to wait until after we found out the gender. "Half the work," he said. :) Well, we found out it was girl in August of 2005, and didn't actually decide on Rachel until October. That's a long time for me to not know the name of my baby folks. :) Ironically, the name Rachel was "set" early on my pregnancy. We were driving somewhere one day and I asked him what his favorite Biblical girl name was. He said that he didn't know and asked me if I had one. I said, "I've always liked Rachel." And he said, "That's a nice name." So, technically, it was the first (and only) name on our combined list. All the other names I brought up he either didn't like or we both weren't completely comfortable with. I love nicknames (I would suggest Charlotte with the nn Charlie), but Brent doesn't like nicknames. Of course, while the name Rachel doesn't have any official nns, she can be called Rach, or as in the case of my daughter, Ray-Ray, or Ray Jo. Brent doesn't seem to mind, probably because she is still considered Rachel... those other names are just terms of endearment. ;) The only other name we were seriously considering was Elaina. But it turns out Brent has a cousin by that name, so it worked out best in the end that we chose Rachel. We were on vacation in Tampa, Florida, swimming in the pool of our hotel, when I turned to Brent and said, "So... do you want to go with Rachel?" And he said yes.

So, our daughter became Rachel Joyce. And from the moment we finally decided firmly on that name, I have loved it more and more. Some say that Rachel is boring and safe, but if you ever meet my Rachel, you will think differently. I am a firm believer that the name does not make the person, but the person makes the name. So, if you like a name that some people find "stuffy" or "old," use it anyway. Once they meet your special little one, they will see the name differently. :)

There's my story. How did you come up with your children's names?

Quick Pick #1

Which of these names would you consider using, would you recommend to a friend, or do you just like better? And why?

Juliana or Juliet

About Names

As you all may know, I love names. It's an obsession actually. It's the first thing I wonder when I hear someone is pregnant (what names are they considering?), when a child is born (what did they name him/her?), when I meet a new family (I wonder how they chose those names?), or when I just see children on the playground (I hope their moms yell out their names), or well, anywhere! I actually think it's more exciting than finding out the gender when having a baby. I spend a lot of time on baby name message boards and looking up names for myself, for others, or just for fun... I guess I would consider it a hobby. :)

So, what does that have to do with this blog? I need an outlet for this obsession! I thought I would post at least once a week depending on what comes up or my free time. It may be a discussion, or it may be a short request for a comment such as Quick Pick, a Poll, Rankings, or something similar (will be explained when I post). It would be great to get a lot of comments, to keep the discussion going or just to see what everyone thinks. You can even comment anonymously if you prefer.

On the sidebar there is information where you can reach me if you want any naming help. I've been successful in helping someone name their child on 3 occasions so far. I LOVE doing this, and would love to turn it into a job (in my dreams) especially after someone shared this article with me. But reality is allowing me to help my friends and my friends' friends just because I really like to do the research. Brent laughs at me when I either get a request or hear that my research resulted in a name choice (whether they choose a name I suggested or not, maybe my research helped their decision). I get so excited... and that's why I'm a freak. :)

Well, that's it for now. I would love to know who is out there (if anyone is), so let me know if this captures your interest!

DISCLAIMER: Because this blog is an outlet for me, I will be talking about names that I like, names that I don't like, trends, styles, and anything else I want to talk about. PLEASE NOTE: I do not mean to offend anyone by my opinions. They are just my opinions and are worth just as much as anyone else's. I encourage people to share their opinions as well and hopefully no one will get hurt. I know that to most people, the names of their children are very personal and sensitive, and to those people I want to say: the names you chose or choose are beautiful and precious, no matter what anyone thinks of them. In the end, my opinion is that someone should name their child whatever they want to. I just want to give guidance in whatever way is accepted. :)