Saturday's Sampling of Names

GIRLS



BOYS

Bayliss -French, meaning "bailiff".

Below are 25 names that were among those most frequently used for babies last year in the U.S.

116	Damian	3,474	Delilah	2,706
117	Carlos	3,400	Andrea	2,699
118	Max	3,398	Natalia	2,686
119	Harrison	3,316	Lauren	2,677
120	Weston	3,305	Morgan	2,670
121	Brantley	3,282	Rylee	2,668
122	Braxton	3,278	Sydney	2,647
123	Axel	3,229	Adalynn	2,612
124	Diego	3,218	Mary	2,602
125	Abel	3,216	Ximena	2,591
126	Wesley	3,213	Jade	2,549
127	Santiago	3,202	Liliana	2,545
128	Jesus	3,166	Brielle	2,519
129	Silas	3,153	Ivy	2,489
130	Giovanni	3,118	Trinity	2,485
131	Bryce	3,114	Josephine	2,477
132	Jayce	3,105	Adalyn	2,450
133	Bryson	3,088	Jocelyn	2,441
134	Alex	3,085	Emery	2,409
135	Everett	3,032	Adeline	2,391
136	George	3,032	Jordyn	2,362
137	Eric	3,028	Ariel	2,332
138	Ivan	3,028	Everly	2,315
139	Emmett	3,026	Lilly	2,294
140	Kaiden	3,006	Paige	2,278

Trends here that I like:

X appropriateness

--- not everyone minds their ps and qs these days when it comes to spelling or how to overdo something in a stylish way versus in a 'gauche' way. Max, Alex, and Ximena are examples of doing things appropriately.

One syllable wellness

--- sometimes people make very poor choices of which one syllable name to use. One syllables can draw a lot of attention or be demure, depending, and either is a fine reason for using a one syllable name for your child. If you do it well. Paige and Max are great examples. I've come to appreciate Bryce, also (spell it wrong and now you've done the name and your child a disservice. Yes, Brice is fine. It's the odd stuff to stay away from). Please remember to pair the one syllable name well also. Paige Simone, very cool. Max Tex --- oh God NO!!

Handsome to the end

--- the surname trend is still going quite strong. I like typical use of surnames as first names, such as Harrison, but also names you might not have thought to use (Ellington comes to mind). But do steer clear of surnames that are unattractive as first names, or as first names on the wrong gender. Bryson on a boy is fantastic, but on a girl, horrible. Braxton as a first name is just a bad idea. I can't guess where this trend got started. It would do well to stop.

Sunday Best

--- The Bible is a great resource for baby names and I'm glad to see some of the better ones this high on the SSA list. Mary, Abel, Ariel, and Delilah.

Some want a place in the sun, and some prefer the shade

I thought it would be good to look at the 15 names that hang just below the top 100 baby names from 2015.

They are:

101	Tristan		Alexandra
102	Roman		Hadley
103	Leonardo		Eliana
104	Camden		Sophie
105	Brody		London
106	Luis		Elena
107	Miles		Kimberly
108	Micah		Bailey
109	Vincent		Maria
110	Justin		Luna
111	Greyson		Willow
112	Declan		Jasmine
113	Maxwell		Kinsley
114	Juan		Valentina
115	Cole		Kayla

I rhink these are mostly good names. I would match them up in combos like this:

Tristan Cole
Justin Miles
Vincent Micah
Maxwell Brody

Sophie Valentina
Maria Kimberly
Jasmine Luna
Elena London
Willow Alexandra

Making Use of the SSA Top 100 Baby Names of 2015

The 10 best combos I could come up with (boys and girls) using the bottom 50 names of the top 100 names from last year:

Thomas Blake
Robert Aaron
Jeremiah Adam
Brayden Josiah
Ian Theodore
Zachary Easton
Nathaniel Ezra
Hudson Leo
Adrian Sawyer
Jordan Elias

Katherine Julia
Lucy Autumn
Annabelle Cora
Clara Isabelle
Sarah Naomi
Madeline Aurora
Alice Eleanor
Sadie Alyssa
Faith Vivian
Hazel Caroline

NTMN - 6

GIRLS

Abelona

Anina

Aninta

Athy

Cleary 

Eleason

Rhodey

Williamtina




BOYS

Armwell

Bartle

Gerkin

Godardus

Hastings

Hynaman

Langhorn

Lynford

Merchant

Mifflin

Nace

Pekah

Theobald