Veronica: Nickname-Rich Name of the Week (August 2)
She's recognizable but has never been overly popular in the U.S., but has plenty of history and is semi-common among Catholics: Veronica. Being a bit long though some may want to shorten it: I like...
View ArticleIs Nancy the new Emma?
As most name enthusiasts know, Emma is currently (and has for at least the past decade) been one of the hottest names for girls in the US, hovering near the top in that time-frame. The name is also a...
View ArticleSullivan: Nickname-Rich Name of the Week (August 9)
Although most of the names I'm covering in this series are more classic, since Sullivan is one of the surname-as-first-name names that I like for a boy (and is rising on the charts) I thought I'd...
View ArticleDorothy: Nickname-Rich Name of the Week (August 16)
Quite popular during the first half of the 20th Century, she now has "old lady name" status, though she did re-appear in the U.S. SSA Top 1,000 after being out for several years: Dorothy. Since at her...
View ArticleSaecular Seasons and Generations' Career/Economic Prospects
For those who follow generationaltheory, it's been said that (among today's living generations) that Silents have had the best when it comes to careers and economics, while Xers have had it worse (and...
View ArticleAnalogy for those who don't "fit" their generation
There is a discussion going on at The Fourth Turning forums about a Millennial who doesn't seem to "fit" into the generation. Of course not everyone follows along with their archetype, but a good way...
View ArticleCharles: Nickname-Rich Name of the Week (August 23)
This week's name is another English classic that's been on the downhill slope for a few decades, but is now leveling off and may soon be due for a comeback: Charles. The most fashionable nickname (for...
View ArticleIsabella: Nickname-Rich Name of the Week (August 30)
Here's another name that is much more likely (at least in English-speaking countries) to be seen on a child than an adult, yet has plenty of history: Isabella (and other related forms such as Isabel,...
View ArticleCharlotte: An example of an early comeback name?
In the name-enthusiast community, it's often been said that for a name to come back in style it has to wait until the prior cohort group it was popular with has died out. On the other hand, there are...
View ArticleNicholas: Nickname-Rich Name of the Week (September 6)
For the last boy's name (there will be one more girl's name next week) in this series I'm covering one that had his U.S. peak in the 1990s, but is classic enough to work on a boy or man of any age:...
View ArticleInitial Letters and Name Fashions
There is a game on The Baby Name Wizard'sforums going on where a list of names featuring the most popular one from each of the letters of the alphabet is given, and you guess which birthyear it's from...
View ArticleMelissa: Nickname-Rich Name of the Week (September 13)
Note: Today's post was originally going to be another name and the last one, but since my original plan for this series I've come up with two more names to cover. The other name (a boy's name) that was...
View ArticleHenry: Nickname-Rich Name of the Week (September 20)
For the second "added" name here's another name found throughout history that's seen a recent revival: Henry. Although he's very nice on his own, it has spun off nicknames like Hank (currently in...
View ArticleMargaret: Nickname-Rich Name of the Week (September 27)
For the final name in this series we're covering another more-or-less classic: Margaret. In recent decades she's been in fashion limbo though, but some hipster namers are reconsidering her. Here's some...
View ArticleBoy's Names Inspired By Their Feminine Forms
At Nameberry, Pamela Redmond Satran has commented on a sign that there is more upcoming "gender equality" in naming: a popular girl's name inspiring the use of its masculine form(s), such as the...
View ArticleHow Individualism in Naming Has Increased Over Time
Anyone who has taken a good look at the SSA's name popularity list knows how in recent years the share of babies given one of the top-ranking names has decreased quite a bit. What is not obvious from...
View ArticleThe Gender Factor in Name Individuality
In my last blog post I discussed both the short- and long-term factors in how the name pool has diversified and far fewer babies are being given one of the standard classics. There is also the gender...
View ArticleBabyCenter's Name Statistics
Generally I take name popularity lists compiled by non-government sources (e.g. babynames.com) based on what their members like and/or choose for their children with a grain of salt. However, there is...
View ArticleWhat's In a Name: The Obamacare "Mandate" and "Penalty"
No, this isn't on my usual subject of baby names. Rather, it's about the so-called mandate and penalty in the PPACA (aka Obamacare). The authors of the law knew that part of making the law work was to...
View ArticleGenerations and Foreign Languages, Part 1: Spanish - The (Once) Top Language...
This is the first in a three-part series discussing the past, present, and predicted future popularity of various foreign languages among Americans.If you're an American Xer or Millennial, chances are...
View ArticleGenerations and Foreign Languages, Part 2: French - (Not) a Dying Language
A few months ago someone wrote about how French is supposedly becoming a "mostly pointless" language, while someone else rebutted his argument with ways that the language is still a useful one to know....
View ArticleGeneration X: The Most Francophobic Generation?
In recent years, especially those surrounding the Iraq war around 2003 or so when they refused to help us in the crusade, Americans have become more anti-France after them being our friends for much of...
View ArticleWhy I am opposed to birthright citizenship
Donald Trump's recent comments on how he would end the practice of giving anyone born on U.S. soil (unless doing duties for a foreign government) automatic citizenship has led me to voice my opinion on...
View ArticleWhy isn't Oliver as popular in the U.S. as other English-speaking countries?
On the 2016 list of top names from the SSA, Oliver came in as the 12th most popular boy's name. While that's high, and the name has been on a sharp increase in recent years (as recently as 2008 it...
View ArticleSelf-Centered vs. Group-Centered vs. Society-Centered People
People often talk about those who are selfish and only care about themselves vs. those who care more about others than themselves. When dealing with the current COVID-19 crisis and the debate on when...
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