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#26: J |
Juniper |
Jonael |
Jaylah |
Jase
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While J is still a hugely popular initial, it’s sliding as parents turn away from the familiar standards of recent generations, like Jason, Jacob, Justin Jennifer and Jessica. |
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#25: B |
Bexley |
Bodhi |
Brooke |
Blake
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The Brandon/Brittany/Brianna generation is receding, and there aren’t enough Bentleys and Bellas to keep up. |
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#24: K |
Kehlani |
Kylo |
Kaitlyn |
Kevin
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K names exploded in popularity starting in the mid-20th Century. Even in decline, this initial is still three times as common as it was as a century ago.
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#23: D |
Dalary |
Daxton |
Destiny |
Drake |
D was the hottest letter of the 1950s, in names like David, Donna, Douglas, Diane and Deborah, but it has been slowly declining since then. |
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#22: T |
Thea |
Tobias |
Taylin |
Tyler |
You could spell the fresh sound of the 1960s with T’s: Tina, Tammy, Tracy, Tim, Todd. Today’s T names like Teagan and Titus are much less common. |
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#21: C |
Charleston |
Conor |
Caitlyn |
Colin |
C has been one of the steadiest initials over time, even as style has shifted from Clarence to Christopher to Chase. We’re now waiting for the next hot C names. |
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#20: U |
Una |
Umar |
Unique |
Urijah |
It’s hardly even fair to track the overall trend for America’s single least-favorite initial, which can rise and fall dramatically with a single modestly popular name. |
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#19: I |
Indie |
Ibrahim |
Isis |
Izaac |
I is sliding a bit, but remains near its recent historic peak thanks to antique-styled hits like Isabella and Isaiah. |
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#18: Y |
Yusra |
Yasir |
Yaretzi |
Yahir |
The initial Y is virtually absent in English naming tradition. Every Y name currently common in America is Latin American (e.g. Yamileth), Hebrew (Yehuda) or Arabic (Yahya). |
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#17: S |
Saylor |
Saint |
Sophia |
Skyler |
S is holding steady, though still significantly down from the glory days of Scott, Stephanie and Shawn. |
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#16: G |
Giulietta |
Grayson |
Gabrielle |
Gavin |
The #1 most stable letter over the past three years, G is uncommon but has entries in a wide range of categories from Gabriel to Giovanni to Greyson. |
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#15: M |
Meilani |
Matteo |
Miley |
Mason |
With M, we turn the corner from falling letters to those that have risen over the past three years. And yet, if you add up ALL the M names in the girls’ top 1000, from Maci to Myah, they don’t equal the popularity of the name Mary back in the 1880s. |
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#14: N |
Nova |
Niam |
Nicole |
Nathan |
The initial N leans traditional, with plenty of familiar names (Noah, Nicholas, Natalie, Nathan) and unusually few modern inventions. |
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#13: Z |
Zelda |
Zabdiel |
Zooey |
Zachary |
Z names are at their all-time historic peak today. Their relatively modest rise reflects the fact that parents are simply running out of Z options. |
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#12: X |
Ximena |
Xander |
Xochitl |
Xavi |
X is rising as an initial but is even hotter as an ending letter, lending its snap to names like Max, Lennox and Phoenix. |
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#11: A |
Aitana |
Adriel |
Alexis |
Ayden |
A is the country’s most popular baby name initial, and it’s not even a close contest. The alphabet’s first letter leads names as traditional as Alice and Alexander and as new as Aspen and Axl. |
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#10: P |
Paislee |
Princeton |
Payton |
Peyton |
The letter P entered a long slump for girls after the heyday of Peggy, Patty and Pam, but Paisley, Penelope and Piper are leading it back. |
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#9: V |
Vera |
Viaan |
Vanessa |
Victor |
V powers elegant hits like Violet and Vivienne from the initial position, and you’ll find lots more v’s in the middle of fashionable choices like Everly, Oliver, Levi and Ava. |
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#8: Q |
Quinn |
Quinn |
Quorra |
Quintin |
The rare initial Q had been totally male-dominated for decades, but its recent rise reflects Quinn taking off as a girl’s name. |
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#7: L |
Luna |
Legend |
London |
Landen |
L is a hot letter in many countries today, with fashionable names like Lucas and Luna crossing borders smoothly. |
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#6: H |
Hazel |
Hendrix |
Haylee |
Hunter |
The recent rise has brought the initial H to its highest point since the 1930s, but it still has a long way to go to match the era of Helen, Harry and Howard. |
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#5: E |
Everly |
Ezra |
Emily |
Evan |
E has been rising steadily for more than 50 years now, in a succession of hits from Erin & Eric to Emily & Ethan to Everly & Ezra. |
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#4: W |
Willow |
Wilder |
Whitney |
Westin |
W had been slowly dropping since the 19th Century, when one boy in every twelve could be named William. The biggest factors in its recent rise are Wyatt, Willow and Weston. |
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#3: F |
Freya |
Finnick |
Farrah |
Fabian |
Thoroughly unfashionable for half a century, F is finally showing new signs of life. It boasts no major hit names, but a number of quieter favorites like Fiona and Finley. |
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#2: R |
Royalty |
Riaan |
Rachel |
Riley |
R was the hot letter for 1930s-40s boys like Richard, Ronald and Robert. Most of the new hot R names pair the initial with a long vowel sound: Reign, Rowan, Ryder, Roman, Ryleigh. |
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#1: O |
Oaklyn |
Oliver |
Olyvia |
Omar |
Meet America’s hottest initial. Back in the 1960s only one baby in a thousand received an O name. Now, thanks to hits like Olivia, Owen and Oliver, this letter is a player. |