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10 Best Weirdly Popular Baby Names
What counts as a weird name these days?
Reader’s Digest asked 1,100 readers to vote for their favorite unusual baby names and here is what they came up with:
For girls, the top uncommon baby names were: Sadie, Astrid, Harper, Flannery, and Ursula.
For boys, Zane, Quincy, Silas, Jasper and Calvin were tops.
Given the trend towards unusual names, these names don’t strike me as so weird. I know several girls named Sadie, a name I considered for both of my daughters. We know a boy named Harper and we have met a couple of kids around our neighborhood named Zane. On the other hand, I have yet to meet a Flannery or an Ursula.
When I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, my girlfriends were named Amy, Lisa, Jennifer, and Michelle. The boys were David, Mark, Michael, and Steven. Now my daughters’ friends are named Anisia, Jakai, Inessa, and Wilehmina.
Originality is key in baby naming these days. In Babble’s recent baby name poll, 90% of those who responded said that a name’s popularity would make them less likely to choose it for their child. And nearly 90% said that as long as they liked a name, they wouldn’t mind if it was ”out of style.”
Those responses are in keeping with the national trend towards unusual names.
An analysis of 325 million baby names recorded by the Social Security Administration from 1880 to 2007 found that as time passed, parents became less likely to choose popular names for their babies.
For instance, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, about 5 percent of babies were named the most common name. More recently, that dropped to 1 percent.
The researchers who analyzed baby name trends attributed the increase in unusual baby names to a cultural shift from encouraging conformity to emphasizing difference.
Strollerderby’s Sierra Black recently wrote about her decision to name her daughter Rio.
“There are actually a lot of perks to having an unusual name,” wrote Sierra. “It’s memorable, which is useful at cocktail parties and as a professional writer. I never have to remind people of my name after we’ve met, and no one ever mixes me up with some other Sierra they know.”
What’s your favorite unusual baby name?
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottemorrall/ / CC BY 2.0
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14 Comments
Elizabeth commented on May 20 10 at 9:52 amYeah, I know a ton of Sadies. Not unusual at all. I also know a few Harpers, one Silas, a couple Jaspers, and an Ursula.
One of my best friends has a daughter named Sonnet. That might be my favorite unusual baby name. And I have to admit that I really like the name Apple, even though I find Gwyneth Paltrow highly irritating.
Susan Blumberg-Kason commented on May 20 10 at 9:53 amMy best friend’s son’s name is Jasper. When they were still living in NY, there was another baby in their building named Jasper. My husband had the name Martin picked out before we were even engaged. I wasn’t so sure about it, but when we had a baby boy last year, that name seemed to fit him perfectly. I love the names Sadie and Astrid, by the way. Esme is another favorite girls name.
Ri-chan commented on May 20 10 at 10:27 amI knew a girl named Tree Kiki. I kind of like the name Tree, actually. It’s breezy.
PlumbLucky commented on May 20 10 at 10:47 amI don’t consider Sadie to be that unusual either…there’s several of them in my family tree!
MomofBeans commented on May 20 10 at 10:58 amI love the name Sonnet! I’ve never heard it before. I’m trying to find cool “S” names right now, as I am prego and having a hard time finding a name.
Jen commented on May 20 10 at 11:00 amSince I’m a Jennifer I knew I would not name my sons a top 10 name. But they arent uncommon by any means. I really dont think those names listed are uncommon eaither. I think its just impotant to keep in mind the child has to live with that name through childhood into adulthood. The worst name I ever heard is Gaylob…horrible name, poor kid.
Marilyn commented on May 20 10 at 11:19 amThe most unusual one I can remember from my childhood is, Pearl Ruby Diamond. I hope she married a Sapphire and named her first child, Gem.
Ariel Trost commented on May 20 10 at 12:50 pmI’m always fascinated by the regional differences in naming. In Oakland, I know a lot of sadies, harpers, willas, rubys…but I’d be surprised to hear any of those names in Texas.
Dave commented on May 20 10 at 1:06 pmGo Sadie! I think of it as more common among Jews–at least in my family it is. I wonder if it has a Yiddish equivalent or something.
I know an adult Sonnet–I assume it was a 60s thing.
Elyse commented on May 20 10 at 5:04 pmOn my recent visit to Western Mass. I met a Sora:
http://www.babynames.com/name/SORA
carefree childhood commented on May 20 10 at 7:06 pmMy grandmother was a Sadie. It was short for Sarah.
nutterbutter commented on May 20 10 at 8:51 pmSadie..the Cleaning lady… Google it! Australian popular song from the 60-70s. That association isn’t considered bad by the way.
Tricia commented on Aug 02 11 at 9:36 pmSpeaking of sounding breezy… I met a girl named Breezy when I was younger and never forgot it. Probably the most unusual name i ever encountered, in addition to my friend Danique who hated her name.
I also just met a Sadie last week and really liked it!
Jennifer commented on Dec 08 11 at 7:33 amcoming from a jennifer born in the 80′s we will NEVER name a child from any of the names on the top 100 list from the previous 5 years. in our group of 20ish friends growing up there were 5 jennifers. it has always bothered me and i won’t do that to my children.
-oh and i do know a little girl with the middle name of flannery.
-please we need to stop with the names from Twilight already
-worst name i’ve ever heard – syphilis
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