Episode 52 – Jennifer and Mallory tabulate and discuss the trending names of 2020 (so far), Elon Musk’s new baby boy named X Æ A-12, and take fascinating questions from our listeners on name and naming.
Bonus: Irish native Elizabeth McLoughlin helps us with our pronunciation from the Irish Names episode.
Names Mentioned in this episode: Thaïs, Thalia, Talia, Darcy, Oliver, Aidan, Ethan, Charlotte, Ava, Amelia, Luna, Ronan, Roman, Josephine, Juniper, Apollo, Arlo, Milo, Gideon, Malaysia, and more!
Top 20 Trending Names of 2020:
| RANK | BOYS | GIRLS |
| 1 | Oliver | Charlotte |
| 2 | Liam | Ava |
| 3 | Ethan | Amelia/Emilia |
| 4 | Aiden/Aidan | Olivia |
| 5 | Gabriel | Aurora |
| 6 | Caleb | Violet |
| 7 | Theodore | Luna |
| 8 | Declan | Hazel |
| 9 | Owen | Chloe |
| 10 | Elijah | Aria/Arya |
| 11 | Henry | Scarlett |
| 12 | Jackson/Jaxon | Isla |
| 13 | Grayson/Greyson | Abigail |
| 14 | Levi | Freya/Freja |
| 15 | Benjamin | Adeline |
| 16 | Finn/Fynn | Sophia/Sofia |
| 17 | Miles/Myles | Nora/Norah |
| 18 | Alexander | Adelaide |
| 19 | Sebastian | Emma |
| 20 | Leo | Mila |
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Sources:
Melissa Rauch’s article on being a Pandemama: I Never Thought I’d be Giving Birth During a Pandemic
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/
www.sabrizain.org/malaya/malays4.htm
California Department of Public Health Vital Records Birth Registration Handbook
Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.
Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.
