Congratulations to Trista and Ryan Sutter (from the “Bachelorette”)! They welcomed daughter Blakesley Grace on Friday, April 3rd. Blakesley has a big brother, Maxwell Alston! You can read more over at MSNBC.
Blakesley is a really interesting name for a little girl — I think we can all agree on that. It’s also a good example of two popular naming trends right now:
- Using surnames as first names AND
- Using traditionally male names (or male sounding names) for girls
Surnames as First Names
Using surnames as first names is pretty popular these days. I bet we all know at least one baby out there with a surname-name. Here are some examples of surname-names from the Top 100 names in the US, according to Social Security:
GIRLS
Madison, Addison, Taylor, Morgan, Avery, Riley, Mackenzie, Haley, Bailey, Jordan
BOYS
Tyler, Dylan, Jackson, Mason, Austin, Landon, Cameron, Connor, Hunter, Hayden, Chase, Carter, Blake, Cole, Carson, Brady, Cooper
I think Madison is the best example of the surname-name trend — it has been in the Top 10 list of girl’s names every year since 1997 after first reaching the Top 100 in 1993. And not only is Madison popular, but so is Maddison, Madisyn and Madyson. Alternative spellings for names is a different topic altogether that I’ll save for another day!
Male Names for Girls
I don’t think Blakesley has ever been on the top of any naming charts, but it does have a distinctly “male” feel to it. Blake is similar to Blakesley and it has been a steady favorite in the Top 100 list of boy’s names for two decades now — very impressive! Anyhow, using boy’s names for girls is quite a popular trend, according to the Social Security database. Here are some examples of popular girl’s names that were once reserved for boys:
Addison, Taylor, Morgan, Riley, Bailey, Jordan, Reese, Cameron, Rowan, Logan, Ryan, Harley
What do you think about these trends? Love them? Hate them? I’d love to hear from some readers out there who have strong feelings one way or the other. Don’t be shy!
♥ Amanda
