Social Security Baby Name Census 2005

[jupitershana]

They released the list for 2005 for the USA. I enjoyed looking through the list as it gave me new ideas for names for my sims, and I got to find out how popular some of my sims names were. Kind of fun, figured I might share it will all of you. Lynet, do you know what name your grandbaby is going to be named yet?

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

[Lynet]

I think they're going to name the baby Jasmine, like the flower or the tea. Must be a California thing. They are already referring to the baby by name. What my daughter knows and her SO does not is that there is a long family tradition (going back at least 150 years) of changing your first name to something else as soon as you are old enough to argue with your parents. Researching the family history was quite difficult because of that.

[surprised_by_witches]

Hey, my husband did that! Half his family still calls him by John, his original name. Kind of confusing for me when we first started dating ...

Anyway, it's kind of weird because I had a vision that I was going to marry someone named John! I know that makes me sound like a kook but I have had four such visions in my life and they've all come true.

I knew I was going to have a little girl and that one day I'd be bathing her and she'd give me this cute, pissed-off expression, her long dark hair streaming down her back ... and she did. I knew my sister was going to find a nice man who liked to cook and had a great, deep voice, and that he and I would be friends ... and she did.

And I knew we'd have a white puppy even though Tibetan Terriers are almost never white.

And we did.

OK, enough of that.

I like the name Jasmine, though I agree it's quite Californian.

Congratulations, Grandma!

[jupitershana]

I was curious, as I don't know anyone named Jasmine myself, as to how popular of a name it was. Apparently it's more common of a name than we thought, or else those Californians just really use the name a lot. Here is the list for the past 15 years as to what rank it was as far as popularity. I was impressed, I didn't think it would always be below the 30 range.


Year of birth/Rank
2005 29
2004 26
2003 27
2002 26
2001 25
2000 27
1999 26
1998 26
1997 24
1996 28
1995 25
1994 23
1993 23
1992 28
1991 24

[Lynet]

I'm going to pass this information on to my daughter. :D

[ManagerJosh]

Hm...I'm surprised I made the list...

[jupitershana]

Hm...I'm surprised I made the list...

LOL, yes, Josh (or perhaps Joshua?) is such a RARE name!

Now Shana on the other hand...the most popular it was was 175 in 1984. And it fell of the list after 1999. Oh, and I should add that most people pronounce Shana like Shau-nah, but I pronounce it like Shay-nah, so that a deceiving number for my name...Shayna or Shaina is much less common, and it's how my mother should have choosen to spell my name, but alas, I'm stuck without my y or i and will always be called Shauna by those who just read my name before me saying what my name is.

[MegRen]

Hmmm. See, I wouldn't pronounce it either way. I would pronounce is Sha-na, without the "ee" sound after the a. Does that make sense? So instead of a long 'a' vowel, I would pronounce it with a short 'a' (like the 'a' in 'and').

[jupitershana]

I get that quite often too...

[ManagerJosh]

I would have guessed your name was pronounced "shawn-na" or "sha-na" :P

[babewithbrains_14]

'Shay-na' was my guess.

My name is pronounced 'Eeeeeeeeemma' or in Japanese, 'Heeeyah-sujiklau-medilikaah-yew.'

[jupitershana]

'Shay-na' was my guess.

DING DING DING!!! She got it right! You get a cookie!

[babewithbrains_14]

Only one!?!

I'm always right. You should remember that. Emma is ALWAYS right.

[Flameback777]

What?! I was beaten by Josh? Just wait till next year Joshy.:devious:

[alliekat]

Wow 414! Nice to know my name's so popular! Though if you go by Allie I'm actually 256.

Mind you my favourite girls name was number 4. I always said if I was to have a daughter her name would be Abigail.

[MegRen]

Quick question. How would you guys pronounce "Megan"?

This could be interesting.

[surprised_by_witches]

Meg-en. Emphasis on the Meg. Short "e".

Though I did know a girl named Mee-gen once, spelled the same way.

[jupitershana]

I also know of a girl who pronounces it May-gan (gan having the an as in can sound).

[AlisonSBurke]

259.... Alliekat beat me! Quick everyone, call your kids Alison!

My sister's name is pronounced Mee-gen or Mee-gin although it's spelled Megan... I thught that was how every Megan's name was pronounced.

I was going for Shah-na...

BTW SBW (Ok, that was weird...) I had such a vision, but it hasn't came true.... yet....
Although, I have had a true dream. :)

PS Number 58 for the most popular twins names, thats practically my sister and I, although we're not twins. And number 102, I know twins of that name! http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/babynames/twins.html

[MegRen]

Short 'e' sound is correct!! meh'.gin

I met Ingo Rademacher once (Australian hunk on General Hospital) and he was signing a picture of himself and said my name was pronounced Mee-gan. I personally think if you want the name pronounced May-gan, it should be spelled Meagan. It's kind of annoying when people call me May-gan. My name is Meh-gan!

Okay. Off the soapbox.

[Sylla]

Seems I was most popular in 1971 getting into the top 10 yay!
My 2nd son Lachlan doesn't even register... must have just been popular here in Australia...

[Lynet]

My real name, Louise, is not very popular, even going back to the 1950s, when it's a little more popular but still comes after more than 100 other names. I never meet anyone else named Louise except for one lady in her 80's who's having a birthday party next weekend. Some people at work call me Weezy. It's an awful nickname but I've gotten used to it. Don't know why people think some nicknames are clever and original and amusing, when they're clearly not.

Looked at list one more time. In 1949 when I was named, Louise was 104 on the list. It became progressively less popular until in 2005 it past 1000.

[babewithbrains_14]

My middle name is Louise, and so is one of my best friend. I got a friend called Louise.

I think it's a really cute name!

[Lynet]

So do I, which is why I don't like any nicknames people dream up to replace it when talking to me. :rolleyes:

[surprised_by_witches]

I like it too. My mother's name is Susan and she hates the nicknames that go with that name. She's definitely not a Sue or a Suzie. She also gave up trying to correct people and now just lives with it.

But people who know her well call her Susan.

She purposely gave both of us girls names that aren't easily abbreviated, LOL.

My brother's is, though. Wonder what was up with that ...