I’ve long thought humans face two basic choices: try to remake the world to fit how we think it should be, or accept our smallness and meet the world as it is. I’m often guilty of the first approach, as many of us are. Writing about names, though, has nudged me toward the second—observing how people actually use names instead of insisting they must be used the way we prefer.
Case in point: last week a commenter insisted Payton is strictly a boy’s name and that it would be awful for a girl to be named Payton. Data disagree. The U.S. Social Security Administration’s raw figures show Payton is given to girls far more often than boys—better than six to one—while Peyton is roughly four times more common for girls. Creative spellings like Paitynn and Peightyn tilt almost exclusively female, with only occasional use for boys. Personal dislike won’t change the numbers.
I’m also still thinking about virtue names and their twenty-first century descendants—the dramatic, aspirational names I sometimes call “epic” names. Names such as Legacy carry a lot of weight. Yet Legacy appears in the girls’ Top 1000 and sits near the boys’ rankings as well. Last year, 48 boys were named Champion and another 33 were called Champ. Thirteen boys received the name Prodigy. These choices suggest parents hope their child will stand out—sometimes with a wink toward flamboyance or nostalgia, sometimes out of genuinely grand expectations.
Naming boldly can be a lovely thing. But one tip I appreciated from a recent post was to check your motives. Many parents want a name that feels cool or distinctive, and that’s fine. Still, a name can’t guarantee that a child will become a superstar athlete, a musical prodigy, or anything other than who they will grow into. Names like Star (99 girls last year), Winner (15 boys), or Rebel (57 boys, 106 girls) don’t confer success by themselves.
Wishing doesn’t make it so.
Elsewhere online:
- Tonight a new Lifetime series premieres called American Princess; one character’s name, Joanntha, caught my eye. I sense the ‘th’ sound becoming more prominent in contemporary naming trends.
- A curated list of names beyond the Top 1000 highlights unexpected and interesting options for parents seeking less common choices.
- Have you thought about holding a baby naming ceremony? While many families rely on religious rituals such as baptism, a secular naming ceremony can provide a meaningful alternative for those who want a distinct rite of passage.
- I like the name Alessi Ren, recently used by alums of The Bachelor for their newborn daughter; it feels modern and melodic.
- Could Avila gain traction? It’s a place name with saintly associations and a stylish middle V, which gives it distinctive appeal.
- The story of Alexa—once a popular name, later complicated by the rise of the voice assistant—offers a case study in how products and technology can affect name popularity and perception.
- Tulip’s list of easy, breezy baby names is a fun resource for parents who want names that feel light and approachable.
That’s all for this week. Thank you for reading, and have a great week!
