What Your Baby’s Name Says About You

The Social Security Administration tells us that again, Liam and Olivia top the list of popular baby names.

Popular Baby Names

A Red State Name

However, especially in red states, the name Oaklee, Oakley, or Oakleigh has become more popular. The linguistics professor from Brigham Young University that identified the pattern was (very appropriately) Dallin D. Oaks. As he explained, “Every one of the top ten red states had either an Oaklynne or an Oakley or both, or something in the top 100 names,” he said. “On the other hand, and in comparison, they were only represented in two of the bluest states I sampled.”

Perhaps we associate “Oak” with nature, and deep roots. Or with the name having initially spread among Mormon culture, one person said it suggests “sturdy, steadfast faith.” It also is an example of the unusual names that typically start in Mormon families.

Stress Related Names

As an alternative explanation, according to a 2017 study, parents respond to economic hardship by giving their babies uncommon names. When parents select popular baby names, they are displaying their solidarity with the community. By contrast, an unusual name conveys individualism and perhaps the need to have an offspring stand out.

As a result, our worries about inflation could have influenced our babies’ names:

The 2024 List

Listed by the Social Security Administration, Liam and Olivia have been #1, and Noah and Emma #2, for six consecutive years:

Like Oakleigh, baby names send a message. They can reflect our politics, our consumption patterns, and even our profession.

1. Names sometimes correlate with politics.

Conservative parents use more masculine sounding traditional names with harder consonants and/or fewer syllables. We might have the perfect example from Republican Sarah Palin (2008 VP candidate). She named two of her daughters Bristol and Piper and her two sons, Trig and Track.

Meanwhile, parents who are more liberal tend to select uncommon names that have obscure significance. For example, they might name their children Franny and Zooey because of J.D. Salinger. They also will select names with a more “feminine feel” and softer sounding letters.

2. Names can reveal consumption patterns.

According to researchers at the University of Chicago, our next step could be to hypothesize consumption patterns.  Distinguishing themselves through tradition and wealth, conservative households vote Republican, own small businesses, and occupy managerial positions. Liberals meanwhile like to communicate their cultural prestige by driving a Prius, having solar panels and wearing a Peruvian woven scarf that expresses a social concern for the world.

3. Names have connected to jobs.

Recalling that Usain Bolt has been called the “greatest sprinter of all time,” we can ask if a name relates to what we do. Nominative determinism tells us yes, names can connect to the jobs we select. Studies indicate that people named Dennis or Denise tended to become dentists more than the rest of us. The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England also told us that two urologists were named Splatt and Weedon. Somewhat similarly, one name in geriatric medicine was Dyer and for dermatology, we had Dr. Boyle.

These are some of the examples:

Our Bottom Line: Signaling

While I am not sure about the academic rigor for some of the baby naming research and some of what I cite could be dated, I do believe that many parents say something through their children’s names. They send a signal.

Explained by behavioral economists, signaling can involve a very specific act that conveys a much broader message. Politicians vote for the death penalty to show they are tough on crime. Someone shops at Annye’s Organics to demonstrate concern about the environment. And, you name your little boy Odysseus to display your knowledge of Greek mythology as you nudge him in a literary direction.

Watching how girls’ names evolved, we can wonder about their historical connection:

My sources and more: The Social Security Administration just published its annual list of the most popular baby names. From there, this Psychology article linked to a study on the impact of the Great Recession but it also could have related to the inflation stress described by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve. Next, for more on nominative determinism this paper has the research and NPR told us about Oakley. But if you go to just one link, I recommend this this Washington Post article. And finally, returning to where we began, you could use the SSA data to compare the names selected by “red” and “blue” states.

Please note that parts of today’s post were in a past econlife.