Are name preferences regional?

Cryssteen · May 2014

Sorry if you've talked about this before. I'm a new poster to this board, but I've lurked around for several weeks. Many of the names that are very popular here seem odd to me. Do you ladies every get any regional push-back on names? I live in the NYC metro area, and while I see and hear many names of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, I'm not really talking about those. Some of the more "American" names I see here that most of the regulars love, sound strange to me. I'll be specific if you want, but I don't want to offend anyone. Just wondering if anyone else has come across this reading some suggested names here.

chapstix7 · May 2014

I'm curious, what are some examples?

chapstix7 · May 2014

Without examples I would say to a degree they are regional. You can look on the SSA site and see the rankings by state. Where I live (the south) we have a lot of names with the "lee" endings such as Brinley, paisley, Kinley, etc. that trend while getting popular everywhere may not be a as predominant elsewhere. As for this board I believe it's fairly diverse in location, but many of the regulars seem to have a similar style maybe? In general I feel that they (including myself as well) like traditional, or at least names with history, not really trendy dated, or made up names.

Ineedmorecoffee · May 2014

Probably. Where I live, my favorite names are super popular because the vintage, quirky, spunky names are in. Which sucks for me.

Cryssteen · May 2014

Some I've seen very recently, which receive all sorts of praise are:

Callen/Callan

Kieran

Harvey

Octavia

Magdalene

Esmerelda

Emmanuelle

Philippa

Georgiana

Wilhelmina

Rowan

Niamh

Juniper

Rhys

Lavinia

Prudence

Bram

Truthfully, this may not be a regional thing, so much as a "me" thing. But, I am a pediatric nurse in NYC and come across hundreds of kids' names every week. When I see names like those listed above, and the "ee" sounding names that @chapstix7 mentioned, most of the time the families are not from the NY area. For the record, I don't think anything is inherently wrong with any of these. They're just not for me, and seem almost foreign. I like the idea of using a name that is traditional and less common, as well. Maybe I don't know what I like...

Many of the suggestions I'm reading are just so outside of my frame of reference. I don't have any kids yet, so I'm just starting to think about names as a FTM. Since you ladies have been at this a long time, I really do appreciate your opinions and the reasonings behind your thoughts. Just wondering if anyone else feels unfamiliar with so many of the suggestions.

Also, I have a dog named Westley. I wish I'd have saved that for a son!

Also, I have looked at the NYS SSA name list. NY is a BIG state. Some of it touches Vermont, some touches Jersey, some Pennsylvania, some Canada. It's very diverse regionally. So, the NYS list doesn't really illustrate my point because, as a whole, it's almost the equivalent to top 100 names in Kansas, for example. And those two states are quite different. But I appreciate the suggestion.

chapstix7 · May 2014

I understand about the rankings. I would imagine some states (such as NY) to be especially diverse. The name we picked out for my DD on the way is Violet, not an uncommon name in the country or my state but locally it's an unheard of name. Names such as Isabella and Sophia interestingly enough are very uncommon where I live as well. So yes, I'd say name preferences can be localized.

I will say when you are ready to think names this board can be awesome for suggestions. I found DD's name here. I think most would give suggestions even if it's not their own style to suit yours.

plunderb · May 2014

Yes, name preferences are regional.

There is a link in my siggy to some lists of names that are disproportionately popular in various states. For example, the modern Br- names for boys (Brantley, Braxton, Brody, Bryson, etc.) are hugely popular in Appalachia and other states with a high proportion of rural and white residents.

A lot of the names you listed above are pretty rare anywhere, so it's no surprise you haven't met many. In 2013, there were only 44 girls named Niamh (it's Irish and most popular in Massachusetts, where there are lots of Irish people - only 5 Niamhs were born in NY). Similarly, there were 51 girls named Emmanuelle, 43 Philippas, and 74 Prudences. In the whole country. Some of the names are more regionally popular — Juniper is a top-300 name in VT, ME, OR, UT, KS, WA, and CO, basically a lot of states where you might expect people to love nature names. Names like Esmeralda are obviously more popular in CA, NV, NM, AZ, TX, and other states with lots of Spanish speakers.

It's a bit more surprising that you haven't met a Rhys or a Kieran — those are top-500 names in New York.

New York is a bit tricky — as you say, it is big and diverse, so the top 100 names in NY are actually fairly close to the national averages. But look again at the NY and Kansas top 100. There are actually some pretty big differences. For example, Kinley is #75 in Kansas, #710 in NY; Braxton is #68 in Kansas, #499 in NY. Plenty of names in NY's top 100 aren't used at all in Kansas. And some states are even further from NY style — check out HI, UT, OK, and AL.

macchiatto · May 2014

They are definitely regional to a degree.

Also, this board isn't necessarily a representative sample of what the general public in the US will think. Some names that are quite popular nationally are disliked here and vice-versa. I think name aficionados tend to have somewhat different taste than the average American who doesn't spend too much time thinking about or researching names. It can lead to embracing names that are more unusual, names with a rich history that haven't been used much, and also stronger preferences for names with original spellings, recognition of the meaning, etc.

lauralew · May 2014

plunderb said:

Yes, name preferences are regional.

There is a link in my siggy to some lists of names that are disproportionately popular in various states. For example, the modern Br- names for boys (Brantley, Braxton, Brody, Bryson, etc.) are hugely popular in Appalachia and other states with a high proportion of rural and white residents.

A lot of the names you listed above are pretty rare anywhere, so it's no surprise you haven't met many. In 2013, there were only 44 girls named Niamh (it's Irish and most popular in Massachusetts, where there are lots of Irish people - only 5 Niamhs were born in NY). Similarly, there were 51 girls named Emmanuelle, 43 Philippas, and 74 Prudences. In the whole country. Some of the names are more regionally popular — Juniper is a top-300 name in VT, ME, OR, UT, KS, WA, and CO, basically a lot of states where you might expect people to love nature names. Names like Esmeralda are obviously more popular in CA, NV, NM, AZ, TX, and other states with lots of Spanish speakers.

It's a bit more surprising that you haven't met a Rhys or a Kieran — those are top-500 names in New York.

New York is a bit tricky — as you say, it is big and diverse, so the top 100 names in NY are actually fairly close to the national averages. But look again at the NY and Kansas top 100. There are actually some pretty big differences. For example, Kinley is #75 in Kansas, #710 in NY; Braxton is #68 in Kansas, #499 in NY. Plenty of names in NY's top 100 aren't used at all in Kansas. And some states are even further from NY style — check out HI, UT, OK, and AL.

I love where I live...but there are a few things that make me really ashamed to be from Kansas. And the bolded is one of them. Braxton...blech.

Helenahhandbasket · May 2014

Hi there!

I am also a NYC metro mom (Long Island) but I grew up in Brooklyn.

Yes, names are highly regional-- even between areas that are such a close proximity such as Brooklyn to LI. Where I live now is about 30 miles from where I grew up.

Most of my LI friends tend to pick names that are pretty popular and in line with a lot of current trends-- so in that group, there are two Emmas, one Isabel, one Ava, one Jack, one Jackson, one Avery and two Olivias.

My Brooklyn friends chose more ethnic names (majority are full blooded or at least mostly Italian heritages) we have two Giannas, a Francesco, a Santino, a Massimo, two Sofias, a Luca and one Ana-Sofia.

What's funny is that most of my LI friends also have Italian heritage, but have chosen more mainstream names.

Helenahhandbasket · May 2014

Also, and I am sure other places are similar, but remember NY is very well known for pretty ethnically segragated neighborhoods.

So Bensonhurst Brooklyn will have very different names than, say, Flusing Queens. Or Boro Park Brooklyn or Jackson Heights.

plus12012 · May 2014

I think it's definitely regional. I'm from NY and live in the midwest now and there is a definite difference.

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