Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks for any future parent is finding the ideal name for the upcoming baby. Since your child is going to be perfect, you need a special name that reflects his or her uniqueness; however, you don’t want to make it too special either, as you could end up choosing a very strange option.
Some parents want to value their family traditions, while others want something entirely new. Over the decades, many names have gone in and out of style. Sometimes, these rankings are also influenced by what’s going on with the world around us, as we tend to associate names with people we already know.
The one name that’s rapidly decreasing in popularity right now? Donald.
‘Donald’ drops in popularity
Data collected by the Social Security Aministration (SSA) shows that the name of our current U.S. President, Donald Trump, fell 27 places in rankings between 2018-2019. More precisely, this name dropped from 526 to 553rd position overall.
What’s more, the name ‘Donald’ is now at the lowest position it’s even been since the SSA started collecting data… which was in the 1880s.
If we look at 1934 recordings, Donald was the sixth most popular boy name in the United States. It also increased in popularity in 2017, the first year of presidency for Donald J. Trump.
A global phenomenon
Although Donald Trump’s critics might say these statistics are due to his poor management during the last years of presidency, the phenomenon is far more common. Many presidential names have decreased in popularity over the course of their term, including Richard, Ronald, Reagan or George.
Furthermore, things seem to go similarly in many modern countries around the world. Recent U.K. polls showed that Boris (the same name as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson) is the least popular boy’s name in the country. Precisely, 76% of the poll respondents said they would never give this name to their child.
The same goes for Meghan Markle, whose name entered on the least-popular choices for baby girls. More than 61% of respondents agreed that they would never name their child this way.
Impactful events make the difference
Cleveland K. Evans, PhD, name expert at Bellevue University in Nebraska, explains that any significant historic event can influence parents’ decision for naming their child in a certain way. Positive events can create a better view on some names due to the people involved, while negative ones might make people associate a name with negative emotions.
If you’re interested in finding out which are the most beloved names in the U.S., the most popular boy’s names list published by the SSA in 2019 includes:
- Liam
- Noah
- Oliver
As for baby girls, American parents seem to love:
- Olivia
- Emma
- Ava
Of course, being so heavily influenced by current events might seem silly if we think about it. After all, what should matter the most is whether the name literally means something (whether in English or another language) and how much it fits into your family’s culture and traditions.
Still, there are no judgements here. What’s your favorite (or least favorite) name right now?