given names by states (2010 map) & common names by races (total)

[Colbert]

yellow : anthony
blue : ethan
brown : daniel
grey-blue (NM) : Isaiah
grey-dark (TX) : José
green : william
pink : jayden
light blue : michael
red : alexander
orange : jacob
vermont : noah
wyoming : james
dakota du nord : carter

[Colbert]

methodology :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_North_America

% by race and surname divided by (total of % for the 100 surnames/100)


more white than black common names :

1   Wood    1,57
2   Sullivan    1,56
3   Peterson    1,5
4   Myers    1,51
5   Miller    1,49
6   Murphy    1,48
7   Fisher    1,47
8   Cox    1,47
9   Long    1,43
10   Cook    1,45
11   Baker    1,43
12   Nelson    1,4
13   Hughes    1,4
14   Kelly    1,4
15   Russell    1,38
16   Roberts    1,38
17   Martin    1,35
18   Phillips    1,37
19   Bennett    1,37
20   Morgan    1,36
21   Rogers    1,35
22   Ward    1,35
23   Anderson    1,35
24   Clark    1,34
25   Campbell    1,33
26   Adams    1,32
27   Morris    1,32
28   Price    1,32
29   Hall    1,31
30   Bailey    1,3
31   Collins    1,29
32   Reed    1,28
33   King    1,27
34   Smith    1,28
35   Thompson    1,26
36   Foster    1,25
37   Ross    1,24
38   Stewart    1,25
39   Parker    1,24



more black than white common names :

1   Jackson    2,71
2   Williams    2,38
3   Robinson    2,25
4   Harris    2,13
5   Thomas    1,95
6   James    1,94
7   Jones    1,93
8   Green    1,85
9   Jenkins    1,84
10   Carter    1,79
11   Brown    1,76
12   Walker    1,74
13   Lewis    1,73
14   Johnson    1,73
15   Richardson    1,67
16   Brooks    1,67
17   Scott    1,65
18   Sanders    1,63
19   Bell    1,62
20   Mitchell    1,61
21   Butler    1,57
22   Davis    1,57
23   Edwards    1,54
24   Turner    1,5
25   Howard    1,46
26   Hill    1,45
27   Barnes    1,44
28   Taylor    1,41
29   White    1,4
30   Wright    1,4
31   Moore    1,37
32   Watson    1,37
33   Powell    1,33
34   Wilson    1,29
35   Cooper    1,29
36   Allen    1,28
37   Evans    1,28
38   Perry    1,24
39   Gray    1,24
40   Young    1,21
41   Lee    0,89

[Bacon King]

Oh wow, that link is very interesting.

There's not a single last name that's between 5% and 85% Hispanic, and only a couple between 2% and 90%.

[realisticidealist]

I see the orange states are where the Twilight fans are.

[jimrtex]

Oh wow, that link is very interesting.

There's not a single last name that's between 5% and 85% Hispanic, and only a couple between 2% and 90%.

The most common name that is not readily distinguishable is Silva, 214th most common overall  but  is only 58% Hispanic.

Moran is 362nd, 23.7% Hispanic.
Barron 678th, 34.7%

Gabriel 1482nd, 60.4% White, 17.3% Black, 7.5% Asian, 11.4% Hispanic

[Sibboleth]

Jayden?

[Χahar]

It's always interesting to see lists of most common first names because invariably the Anglo names are names that barely anyone I know actually has.

[jimrtex]

Jayden?

From Wikipedia entry on Jayden


The name was the fourth most popular boys' name in the United States in 2010, according to the Social Security Administration.[2] Altogether, nine variant spellings appear in the top 1000.[2] The name in this form was not a top 1000 name in the United States until 1994, when it ranked 851 and was associated with 159 births in the United States. By 1999, the rank had risen to 254 and by 2009 number 8 with 17,082 births[3]

Fictional people

    Jayden, the name given to the android Data in Thine Own Self, a 1994 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
    Jayden the leader and red ranger from the children's TV series Power Rangers Samurai

[dpmapper]

yellow : anthony
blue : ethan
brown : daniel
grey-blue (NM) : Isaiah
grey-dark (TX) : José
green : william
pink : jayden
light blue : michael
red : alexander
orange : jacob
vermont : noah
wyoming : james
dakota du nord : carter

Massachusetts?

[jimrtex]

yellow : anthony
blue : ethan
brown : daniel
grey-blue (NM) : Isaiah
grey-dark (TX) : José
green : william
pink : jayden
light blue : michael
red : alexander
orange : jacob
vermont : noah
wyoming : james
dakota du nord : carter

Massachusetts?

Ryan.

[jimrtex]

yellow : anthony
blue : ethan
brown : daniel
grey-blue (NM) : Isaiah
grey-dark (TX) : José
green : william
pink : jayden
light blue : michael
red : alexander
orange : jacob
vermont : noah
wyoming : james
dakota du nord : carter

The map appears to be based on 2008 data:

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

By 2010:

Ethan: Eliminated, "Ethan is, like, so 2008"

1689 lives on in the USA.

William: Spreads from SE core +AR, +UT, +ID, +AK

Jacob: Spreads west +NE, +OK, +TX, +CO, +AZ, +NV, +CA, +OR, +WA

Noah: +IA, +HI (was Ethan in 2008).  It would be interesting to know if there is some connection between the sound of the state name.  Noah is 4th in Ohio.

Jayden: FL, +LA

Michael: -RI, but retained in CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE

Alexander: IL, -CO

Elijah: NM, +IN

Ryan: MA

Some new names:

Mason: +WI, +MN, +ND
Logan: +VT, +NH, +RI
Owen: +ME
Wyatt: +MT

A blast from the past:

James: WY

[jimrtex]

John was most popular until 1923.

In following years it dropped to 3rd (1930, 1940, 1950), 4th (1960, 1970), 8th (1980), 12th (1990), 14th (2000), 26th (2010).

Robert was most popular from 1924-1939

By years since: 2 (1940) 2 (1950) 5 (1960) 5 (1970) 9 (1980) 13 (1990), 29 (2000), 54 (2010)

James was most popular from 1940-1952

Since: 3 (1960), 2 (1970), 5 (1980), 8 (1990), 18 (2000), 19 (2010)

Michael was most popular from 1954-1998

Before and since: 50 (1920), 54 (1930), 18 (1940), 9 (1945), 4 (1950), 2 (2000), 3 (2010)

Jacob has been tops since 1999-

Previous (very interesting):

39th (1880), 66th (1890), 101st (1900), 117th (1910), 143rd (1920), 212th (1930), 234th (1940), 318th (1950), 352nd (1960), 253rd (1970), 43rd (1980), 35th (1985), 20th (1990), 4th (1995)

Some contenders:

Jason: 2nd from 1974-1978   It had risen from 111th in 1965 and dropped to 47th by 1990.  It has had some holding power since and remains aroud 60th.

Christopher: 2nd from 1972-73 and 1979-1994.   195th in 1942,  57th in 1952, 26th in 1962, and 13th in 2010.

Matthew: 3rd from 1981-2001, 2nd in 1995 and 1996.   153rd in 1951, 59th in 1961, 19th in 1971, and 16th in 2010.

Joshua: 3rd from 2002-6, 5th or better from 1983-2008.  Now 11th.  42rd in 1973, 417th in 1963.

Ethan: 2nd in 2009-2010, 37th in 1999, 87th in 1989, 290th in 1979, 531st in 1969.

Spread of Ethan:

2000 (top 5): ID, UT, WY, ND, SD

2001: +AK, +WA, +OR, +MT. +NE, +KS, +OK, +IA, +AR, +IN, +KY, +VT, +ME

2002: +HI, +CO, +MN, +MO, +WI, +MI, +OH, +WV, +VA, +NH, +RI, +LA

2003: +TN, -CO, -VA, -RI, -NH

2004: +NC, +CO, +NH

2005: +RI, -ME, -VT, -NH, -NC

2006: =ME, -MT

2007:+MT, +NH, +NC, +RI

2008: +VA, -ND, -WY

2009: +NY, +PA, +MD, +DE, -CO, -ME, -NE, -NH, -NC, -RI

2010: -AK, -DE, -KY, -LA, -MO, -ND, -OR, -PA, -SD, -TN, -WV

2010: HI, WA. ID, UT, MT. KS, OK, MN, IA, AR, WI, MI, IN, OH, NY, MD, VA

You'd hardly expect the interior northwest to be the trendsetter, but it is showing signs of becoming passe in those areas.   May still be on rise outside the original area (In 2005 and 2010:  CA 16th and 6th; TX 12th and 8th; FL 11th and 6th).

[nclib]

I wonder if William's SE strength is due to blacks or Southern whites. It would be nice to see which first names are predominantly black or white. For the last names, it would be interesting to see frequency by state.

[The Head Beagle]

Is this just most common *male* first names, or are girls just given a sufficiently more diverse set of names that the most common single name in every state is a boy's name?

[homelycooking]

The only surname held by a greater percentage of blacks than whites on that list is: Jackson. The legacies of slavery in America are still very real.

[Snowguy716]

I see the orange states are where the Twilight fans are.

Jake was the most common boy's name for most of the 90s and 2000s.  I really doubt it has anything to do with Twilight

[jimrtex]

I wonder if William's SE strength is due to blacks or Southern whites. It would be nice to see which first names are predominantly black or white. For the last names, it would be interesting to see frequency by state.

There has been a huge increase in dispersion of names.

In 1960, the top 20 were 41% of all names; in 2010 the top 20 were 14% of all names.

In 1960 David at 3.97 and Brian at 1.02 were 1st and 20th
In 2010 Jacob at 1.08 and Joseph at 0.67 were 1st and 20th.

William has declined in frequency, while declining in the ranks and lately recovering:

1960 2.28% 7th
1965 2.11% 6th
1970 2.04% 7th
1975 1.58% 10th
1980 1.38% 14th
1985 1.28% 16th
1990 1.16% 16th
1995 1.00% 20th
2000 0.99% 11th
2005 0.89% 11th
2010 0.83% 5th

So it is higher ranked in 2010, while almost 1/3 as frequent.  It has generally been more frequent in the South.  But if you go back to 1960, its highest ranking was in KY, TN, NC, and GA.  So I suspect it is more of British/Protestant naming convention that has been adopted into the Black community as well.  More general social conservatism in the South, would mean fewer parents would adopt trendy names like Logan or Mason or Ryan or Ethan.  And because of the overall dispersion of names, a name like William will re-emerge in rankings where there are fewer trendy names.

Since around 2005, William has started showing up in areas outside the SE.  For example in 2010, it was in the top 5 in AK, WA, ID, UT, CO, NE, KS, MO, MN, VT, MA, DE

in addition to AR, KY, TN, MS, AL, GA, SC, NC, VA.

[Platypus]

Jayden?

Jayden is the sterotypical Bogan boys' name down here, and has been for decades. Female equivalent was XYZ-lene, then Maddison/Madysyn/Madasen etc, and is now Micaela/Mikaylah/Mi'ikhaylah.

[jimrtex]

Is this just most common *male* first names, or are girls just given a sufficiently more diverse set of names that the most common single name in every state is a boy's name?

Male.   If you went by most common name the gender would vary quite a  bit.  It could probably show you areas where a name was very popular, vs just above the others.

If you go back far enough 1900, female names were less dispersed.  There were a lot of Mary's 5.5% in 1910 (vs 0.15% in 2010, ranked 109th).  Initially female names became more diverse and now male names are catching up.

Depending on where you are in the overall ranking, female or male names may be more common.

In 2010, the top 4 female names Isabella, Sophia, Emma, and Olivia are slightly more common than their male counterparts of Jacob, Ethan, Michael, and Jayden.

But at 10th Anthony is 40% more common than Mia
20th Joseph is 88% more common than Alyssa
50th Justin is 48% more common than Alexa
100th Brian is 21% more common than Rachel
200th Shane is 15% more common than Penelope
500th Kenley (F) is 21% more common than Dorian (M)
100th Dania (F) is 35% more common than Crew (M)

So the frequency curves cross twice.  The very top female names are more concentrated, while the top males names are more concentrated, but it appears that there are more male names.

Isabella is fairly pervasive across the US.

Sophia is #1 across northern states AK, WA, OR, ND, SD, MI, VT, NH, plus MD, DE.

Emma is scattered: MT, AR, AL, NC, IN, ME

Olivia is somewhat western: ID, UT, NE, VA

Ava is Mississippian: MN, IA, LA

Madison is possibly Black: MS, SC, DC

Isabella was not in the top 1000 from 1949-1989, emerging as 896th in 1990, 174th in 1995, 45th in 2000, 6th in 2005, and became #1 in 2009.

Isabelle is 105th, Isabel 116th, and Izabella 140th.

Sophia is still on the rise.

Emma had been somewhat more common and became more frequent, #1 for 2008.

Ava had a sharp rise similar to Isabella, but seems to have stalled around 5th.

Female names appear to be much more trendy.

The top 10 names in 2000, Emily, Hannah, Madison, Ashley, Sarah, Alexis, Samantha, Jessica, Elizabeth, and Taylor, are now 6th, 22nd, 8th, 27th, 30th, 16th, 15th, 92nd, 52nd, and 36th.

The top 10 names in 2010, Isabella, Sophia. Emma, Olivia. Ava, Emily, Abigail, Madison, Chloe, and Mia were 31st, 42nd, 17th, 16th, 180th, 1st, 14th, 3rd, 38th, and 93rd in 2000.

This is a very interesting site:

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

[Colbert]

Oh wow, that link is very interesting.

There's not a single last name that's between 5% and 85% Hispanic, and only a couple between 2% and 90%.

i had not use hispanic names

[Colbert]

yellow : anthony
blue : ethan
brown : daniel
grey-blue (NM) : Isaiah
grey-dark (TX) : José
green : william
pink : jayden
light blue : michael
red : alexander
orange : jacob
vermont : noah
wyoming : james
dakota du nord : carter

Massachusetts?

oops, I forgot it!