And some of you didn't like my choice of names...

[rkold]

So in the last week or so, Social Security finally introduced the top 100 names of 2009 and on Friday we got the top 100 names by State. I always find the top 100 by State somewhat more interesting since sometimes a name can be super popular in one state and not in the country as a whole. (In NY you can find: Chaya, Chana, and Moshe in the top 100 and none of them appear anywhere else and in CA there are lots of hispanic names in the top 100) Some states have few children, so just 2 or 3 parents naming their baby the same thing is enough to get a name on the list. One thing I have learned from this is Violet is waaaay too popular to use as a first name as is Lucy. Both are definitely making inroads even though neither has broken 100 in the country yet.

There are a few names becoming popular I think are either quite pretty or were surprising: Julian, Sebastian, Xavier, Camila, Daisy, Eleanor, Evelyn, Lydia, Melanie, Ruby, Sadie, and Valeria come to mind.

Other popular names are just well... atrocious to me. Sometimes because they have a neu spelling which makes me wonder what crack the parents are on. It's one thing to spell a name Ariana or Arianna it is completely different to decide to spell Jackson, Jaxon. And it's one thing for one person to think Jaxon is unique, it's completely different when over 100 babies end up with that name.

Other names have forever been influenced by TV for me. Jayden==YugiOh GX, Tristan==My voice gives me super strength, and Giovanni==The bad guy in Pokemon, Genesis==A Rock band Phil Collins was in.

So now some of the popular baby names aka at least 50 babies in 2009 were named this somewhere in the US. I am not including any names which are obviously ethnic and I am not going to include all the gosh awful waspy last names as first names or the new trend of Irish Catholic names as first names. (I'm just waiting for babies named things like Goldberg, Tanaka, and Ngyuyen.)

Kaylee
Brooklyn
Peyton (girl's name)
Khloe
Payton (girl's name)
Kayleigh
Rylee
London
Aspen

Kaden
Kaleb
Caden
Braylon (..is this like the bad guy in a new SciFi series???)
Jaxon
Kayden
Hudson
Ryder (...like the truck rental company)

Comments

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Makes me feel like those names in Seed aren't so off as I once thought lol

Aiden and its neu variation Ayden are both hugely popular.

I'm sure there are people who do get their child's name by combining names, and it is something I am loathe to do. Kechel is just not in the running XD;

[codename-windy.livejournal.com]

Aw, sad to hear Violet is no longer in the run for the baby's name. I thought it was a quite nice one; not too out there, yet not super common *and* with pleasant mental association to a pretty flower.

... the Top 10 names baffle me. Truly. o.O Sure, I probably find some of them peculiar simply because of my different cultural background, but I would like to believe some of those names are just downright odd. *sweatdrop*

[spazzygirl19.livejournal.com]

I'm confused. Is the 'list' at the bottom the names you guys are actually considering?

Caden & Ryder are popular out here. I do have a friend who's daughter is named Kaylee (but she's in college now).

[dilettantka.livejournal.com]

SO MUCH DO NOT WANT adslkjad;fljadfjadf ;__; yuckkkk

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I guess so, because Khloe is rather popular.

Just because someone is famous does that mean one ought to copy them, at least to me.

[bramblyhedge.livejournal.com]

*is laughing*

For some reason I'm suddenly reminded of the side-story in X where some guy wants to name his kid "Kamui" and Yuuto is like "DON'T. Seriously, just don't." LOL!!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Violet is becoming more common and I expect it to start working its way into the top 50 in the near future.

Really, most of the top 10 names to me seem pretty nice, they're just overused. The only ones I don't particularly care for are Madison and Jayden. The names listed above are not the top 10 anywhere, they're just awful names that are a lot more popular than I think they ought to be.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

No, I would never use ANY of those names on the bottom list. I think they're all categorically awful! For one thing, I like names that are not gender neutral.

I do like: Julian, Sebastian, Xavier, Camila, Daisy, Eleanor, Evelyn, Lydia, Melanie, Sadie, and Valeria. But all are becoming way too popular to consider and/or don't begin with a letter I have available to me. Once we know the baby's sex, I'll probably narrow the field a lot more. However, my first choice for a girl is a name starting with A and for a boy a name starting with S.

I don't like Kaylee or Kayleigh, I really dislike the neu spelling trend.

Caden and Ryder are popular a lot of places and I think they're both terrible names.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Personally, I prefer little old lady names like Sadie, Rose, Esther and Faith to Brooklyn, Rylee, Khloe, and Payton in a second. Though of course the former are all too popular for me as well lol

[rkold.livejournal.com]

..I don't know Kamui Koldewyn does have a nice ring XD;;; But yeah, it's a big don't lol

I am sure Yuuto would agree on some of these other names as well.

[spazzygirl19.livejournal.com]

O.k.

I like gender neutral names too -- the only thing about that is when they get older (& if this actually still happens when they're adults) -- is having people address letters incorrectly to the wrong gender.

One of my nephews is named Cameron. They didn't know if he was going to be a boy or a girl - but either way, that was going to be baby #3's name. He's now 12.

[reynardine.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ha!! That's IT! Kamui!!! ;-D

[cc-lemon.livejournal.com]

Khloe with a K sounds and reads like a disease. Some of these names are incomprehensible and annoying. Strange people - their kids won't thank them.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Eheheh, I don't know the Gackt one, only the one from X XD;;;

I actually sort of enjoy looking at names, even train wreck ones, it's been a hobby of mine for many many years. Because Ashkenazi Jews name their kids after dead relatives, I've known for years what letters and potential letters I'd have to work with. My challenge is just finding names that work for my very picky considerations.

And ohhhh congrats! I need to still find mine >>;; I'd totally stock up those were a huge winner in Japan and actually vanished right away.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Eheheheh, no I'm quite the opposite, I only like gender specific names. ^^;; I find babies under 2 tend to look like babies/toddlers and unless they are naked or in clothes that are obviously meant for one gender over another, names are one of the only way you can tell gender. And parents seem to get rather annoyed when you can't tell the sex of their babies to boot! So I personally feel a more gender specific name is a lovely clue-in. Baby Jordan could be either but baby Solomon is obviously a boy.

I'm quite old fashioned and prefer little old people names like Irving and Gertrude to Cameron and Addison.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

sumeragiskank has been campaigning for that long before I ever got pregnant lol

It's one of those things funny in concept but I wouldn't actually do it... If picking a character to name your child for, it shouldn't be one whose life sucks. lol So Subaru and Suzaku are right out.

BTW was going to respond to your post on fan-fic as Ive been thinking muchly on it, but have not had time ;;_;;

[rkold.livejournal.com]

They're not my style at all and fortunately little Ryu-chan is not gong to end up with any of them. :)

[bramblyhedge.livejournal.com]

*hahaha* Yes! *g*
(Kamui Koldewyn is actually a really cute-sounding name...^^;;;)

Yuuto would surely never allow anyone to name their child "Aspen". Eeesh!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

And see the Kamui I was thinking of has it as a given name. lol I actually think it sounds too similar to my SiL's name, Kami. Where her mom got it from I've no idea since they don't know any Japanese. I guess they were looking for a K version of a nickname for Camila? My husband's family picked weird names.

I lose track of the ones I've seen. I did find my chocolate soda and my shiso soda LEs. I would love more Sakura gingerale but that is long gone. LE Kit Kats are very very popular in Japan much more so than any other type of candy/snack right now. I was sad I missed the baked sweet potato.

I don't know, we only carry on the Hebrew name not necessarily the exact same English name, but we do have that connection to the past. I like it because it's an easy way to remember the names of your deceased relatives.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Yuuto would never allow "Jaxon" either XD;

It's actually a little too close to my Sister in Law's name, Kami as well. No idea how my in-laws came up with that. My parents went the much more conventional route.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Well, if you thought they tasted gross, I'm probably not interested in trying them. The concept just sounded appealing since I love baked sweet potatoes in Japan. I have no idea what is in season in Japan when I will be there since I prefer Fall for my trips.

In general right now, I'm not feeling sweets and most of the time the weird flavor KitKats (just like usual flavor ones) just don't do it for me. The dark chocolate, raspberry passion fruit ones surprised me because they were just that good. :)

The Shiso was put out by Pepsi! And the Sakura Ginger Ale was some big brand as well. The Chocolate was some weird small one. I tend to just always look because I like weird LE things. >>;;;

I rarely feel in the mood for pastry now, which is probably good since I'm happy to gain weight, but would rather gain it from healthy things right now.

[twotone]

Hahaha! I know that Hudson and Brooklyn are probably intended as placename-names, but the Gargoyles-geek in me is ridiculously pleased.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

..I know me too on that level but I want to know when people are going to use Lexington and lets face it Goliath lol sumeragiskank thinks parents should just go for Xanatos already. In UT people are naming their sons Ryker... Though I guess in NG it was spelled Riker lol

In Hawaii, Trinity, Zion and Keanu were all popular names and all I could think was those are parents who really love the Matrix XD;

[twotone]

Daniel has forbidden the use of Lexington for our hypothetical child. (Well, I was going to go with "Alexander", and just call the kid "Lex"/"Lexington", but apparently Lex Lipkowitz is way-too Supervillain-y and tongue-twister-y. It's too bad... he could have been Kal-El Cage's arch-nemesis!)

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Kennis forbid Kamui Koldewyn which is probably for the best. XD; About as Japanesey as I am likely to go is Aya since it is also Hebrew. (Though I rather like the name Akira, it always reminded me of Akiva >>; ) Kennis has also forbidden my pet Japanese names of Yukihiro and Yuzuriha.

...I sort of like Lex Lipkowitz, even if it does sound like a villain, it has nice alliteration. What about Lionel Lipkowitz? Would you and Daniel follow the Ashkenazi tradition of using family names or? I don't think my brother plans to, he currently loves Golda and Yonatan. I am not sure how I feel about Golda/Goldie Goodstein.

I admit, even if one never has a baby, I think it's fun to think about names. Once we know the baby's sex next week I'll probably be making another poll as we settle more on names. I'm also thinking of making a poll to guess the sex lol

[twotone]

I'd like to follow the Ashkenazi tradition if we can. But I also want to keep in mind how the name will sound in Japanese and whether my relatives will be able to pronounce it. :p

Golda Goodstein is *such* a great comic book name! Like, I don't know, she could be Richie Rich's girlfriend or something. :D

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I would think that is possible? There are always names like Naomi (if its open to you) that are a twofer or well Aya lol I have noticed that there are certain names that just do not sound right in Japanese. Kennis, is pretty easy since it's tennis with a K, and even Rachel isn't so bad, though I think it would be better if Japanese speakers just ignored the "l" at the end and pronounced it like "Raicho" vs "Raichulu" But Charles....

She's either Richie's girlfriend or possibly his rival.

I still like Arthur and Vivian

[aboutallmydolls.livejournal.com]

and Lucy is very cute but not really rare enough. Still cute.
What about Lillian? It is suitably old fashioned and female and uncommon I think. Lily is common. Also cute.

hope you're feeling great! or good!

btw, I will slip in some breast feeding "advice" - as in how to tell if a book/resource knows their stuff -

ok, once I was reading a book and it said about sore nipples, "offer the LESS sore side first" and I'm thinking... oh, oh... less, as in both are sore? this is not sounding good...

but it is a good way to assess a resource (class/teacher/book/guide)

check out what they suggest to do about a sore breast vs a sore nipple

For sore breast - offer that side first (you want to empty it and want hungry baby and vigorous suck to do the job)

for sore nipple(s) - offer less sore nipple first - you want to baby it and avoid the initial vigorous suck of hungry baby

so it is the opposite depending on what part is "sore"

makes sense and I hope neither of this issues ever bother you much!

best advice I ever got about any sore breast - is nurse more, empty it. If baby is sleeping, just use the pump enough to take the edge off, otherwise you may stimulate it more than you intend (and make more milk) of course it all depends and you will figure out what works for you

because of circumstances & stay at home mom-dom - I was a nursing mom for more than 8 years and yes I have three children - 2 yrs, 6 mo; 2 yrs 10 mo; and 3 yrs 3 mo; it is hard to imagine now but it seemed so totally natural and obvious at the time - no big deal - but only can happen when moms have total access to their children (or children have total access to their moms you could say)

have you found that Bradley Method book yet? it is sexist but has good exercises and massages and ideas

take care

almost forgot! the other piece of "easy to remember advice" is "tummy to tummy" re positioning baby - so baby's head is not turned toward you in an uncomfortable way - the mom and baby are tummy to tummy - I expect that is common advice - but sometimes if it seemed something was off - I would look at baby's position and realize it was not tummy to tummy and shifting a bit to the tummy to tummy place made it a lot better

also skin to skin when you can

my children do have fairly common names - but not Jacob or Emily, and not "plain" names like Jane or Mary

personally, I would stick with a normal spelling for sure and maybe go for easy to spell - as in name all your kids Joe, that way in kindergarten it is not a problem - just write Joe, or maybe Sam...

Sebastian and Julian are great names... Sebastian is hard to spell for Kindergartners

and Julian, while clearly male, almost seems to me to be the male form of Julia, rather than the other way around - not sure why. and Julius sounds very old for a baby.

can you pick anything you want for a middle name?

Re: I still like Arthur and Vivian

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Personally, I have a hard time spelling Vivian and all its variations so for me that name is not likely choice for anything. ^^;;; (Particularly Vivienne which I really need to keep double checking myself on to make sure I spell it right, and I don't think Kennis is going to like the name at all.)

Lilian and Liliana are both becoming quite popular as a variation on the very popular Lily. It makes sense, it's a bit how you keep seeing Boy's names than end in "den" (Jayden Kaden, Aiden, etc.) and all the Girl's names with "lyn" I wonder if some of the Brooklyn fans are thinking Brooke+Lyn vs the place where my brother currently lives.

I am actually finally seeing some improvement in how I feel but I don't want to jinx it. I'm nearly to my record of puke-free days, and I finally got my APS or was it ASP results which means at this point Ryu-chan seems healthy.

I'll try to remember that about breast feeding. I think both the hospital/birthing center and stand alone birthing center is offering classes on breast feeding as well. The big advice I read on-line was to make sure to empty at least one breast per feeding.

My siblings and I all have very common and very popular names. I like that at least they're classically popular names. Not surprisingly my brother Michael's finacee is Emily.

Our last names is going to be trouble as it stands with spelling. A good portion of my family already doesn't seem to know how to spell since I see them misspell it all the time.

Sebastian and Julian are both out. They're becoming trendy and I want to beat the trend not be a follower.

Actually all the names I'm considering are combination first and middle names (ex. Alana Violet) Those are the letters we have to use pretty much, unless I want to go searching back further on the family tree. I'll probably pick a first name using a letter from one side of the family and a middle based on a letter from the middle.

Once I know the gender, I'll drop off one part of the list and then start adding and narrowing things down. It's funny, I know to some people my requirements and strictures seem very restrictive, but they don't really bother me. I like having those restrictions, otherwise the choices I think would be too overwhelming.