2014 Top 100 Analysis

With the release of the name data for 2014, I will need to update Name-alytics and get it out as soon as I can. (Those who have purchased the book will receive the updated version for free via email. Those who want to buy the book, keep an eye out and I will let you know when the updated version is available!) In the meantime, here is an analysis of all the captivating information!

• Changes in the Top 100... 

NEW GIRLS: Alice, Eleanor, Hadley, Isabelle, Jasmine and Vivian.
NEW BOYS: Asher, Leo, and Ryder.

GIRLS ON THE OUT: Jocelyn, Kayla, Makayla, Morgan, Nicole, and Sydney.
BOYS ON THE OUT: Damian, Jase, and Tristan.

Alice returns to the Top 100 at #97 after an absence of 58 years. Even more impressively, Eleanor returns at #78 after an absence of 72 years. Hadley is brand new to the Top 100, and enters at #99. Reentering at #96, Isabelle was previously in the top group for five years ending in 2009. Jasmine just left the Top 100 after 2012, so it's appearance at #100 is somewhat of a surprise. And Vivian continues its rise upwards by returning at #98 after 80 years of absence.

Asher is new to the Top 100 at #93. Leo returns to the list at #97 after an absence of 77 years. And Ryder returns at #95, after previously being present for just one year, 2012.

How fascinating that both Kayla and Makayla dropped out of the Top 100! And not only was I wrong about Jayce entering the Top 100, Jase tumbled as well. That leaves only Jace in the Top 100, but he decreased in numbers as well, so it looks like that trend is on its way out. Jason, on the other hand, went up by 18 boys.

• Want to know some justification for why I was shocked Emma moved into the #1 spot? She actually fell in terms of popularity in numbers and in percentage. 77 less girls were named Emma in 2014 than in 2013 and her percentage of use fell from 1.0881% to 1.0729%. As you will see later, Emma was able to rise to #1 due to the significant decrease in the use of Sophia.

• There is a decrease in the percentage of use for the #1 girl name in 2013 (Sophia at 1.1022%) versus Emma's percentage 2014 (1.0729%). 

• The opposite happened on the boy side. Noah remained in the #1 spot and increased in number and in percentage. 965 more boys were named Noah in 2014 than in 2013, and his percentage of use rose from 0.9040% to 0.9431%.

• The names in the Top 10 are more widely spread out in use in 2014 than in 2013. The total percentages for the Top 10 boy names are 7.9979% in 2014, versus 8.1538% in 2013. For girl names: 7.7266% in 2014 versus 7.9076% in 2013. This would suggest parents are looking at more of a variety of names for their children. To give perspective on this, take a look at the top names in the past... in 1880, 8.1546% of boys were named John and 7.2384% of girls were named Mary... and those are the percentages of just ONE NAME.

• Interestingly, Oliver and Olivia were the biggest jumpers for boys and girls in the Top 100! Parents of boys and girls alike are loving the "Oliv-" beginning. The following are the top 10 jumpers for each gender (*including those new to the list):

Oliver +2,116
Sebastian +1,707
Logan +1,256
Carter +1,044
Grayson +996
Noah +965
Luke +885
James +799
Lincoln +761
*Asher +581

Olivia +1,308
Harper +1,296
Nora +1,206
Ariana +1,065
Evelyn +1,045
Skyar +957
Scarlett +918
Paisley +878
Annabelle +791
Aria +789

• The Top 100's biggest droppers were Jayden and Sophia! Jayden fell out of the Top 10 and Sophia fell out of the #1 spot. Here are the top 10 droppers for boys and girls (*including those that fell off the list):

Jayden -1,834
Jacob -1,360
Joshua -997
Christian -905
Brayden -873
Justin -858
Tyler -833
*Jase -826
Ryan -824
Gavin -820

Sophia -2,657
*Nicole -827
Samantha -810
Addison -762
Hannah -748
*Makayla -711
Isabella -623
Kaylee -588
Alexis -568
Nevaeh -556

• Trend-watching by observing the numbers of the Top 100 names (not the ranks)... 

While Sophia fell, Sofia rose. Sophie fell along with Sophia. While Isabella fell, Isabelle rose right into the Top 100. Both Ariana and Arianna rose. Zoey rose, but Zoe fell. Both Chloe and Khloe fell. Both Aubrey and Aubree fell. Both Lillian and Lily fell.

Jaxson, Jack, and Jaxon rose (in the order of most to least increase), while Jackson fell. Aiden, Ayden, Brayden and Jayden all fell. Only one -ayden name rose and that was Kayden.

• The boys had quite a few more Top 100 names go down in number than the girls.

So much information to take in in such a short time! Do you see any other interesting tidbits?