Name Predictions: The Top 1000

Finally, my general top 1000 predictions!  At first I thought that the 2015 baby name data would be released on May 8, but since that’s a Sunday, I think it’s more likely that the new data will be released either tomorrow the 6th or Monday the 9th in keeping with morning television schedules (the initial announcement is always on the Today Show, I think?). 

I can’t pretend to know all the names that will be popular, but these are many of the ones I personally predict will enter the top 1000:

• Girls: Honesty, Calliope (maybe), Persephone, Noor, Ellery, Carina, Royal, Avalyn (maybe), Vienna, Lyra, Belle, Nathalia, Raylee, Brisa (maybe), Poppy, Saanvi (maybe), Cecily, Aadhya, Vivien, Elissa (maybe), Romina, Sylvie, Ophelia, Lennox, Elodie (maybe)
• Boys: Achilles, Gerard, Sutton, Garrison, Abner, Cormac, Menachem, Merrick, Braylin (maybe), Boone, Bishop, Robin, Canaan, Alistair, Cairo, Aries, Ulysses (maybe), Wesson, Gatlin (maybe), Ruger (maybe), Diesel (maybe), Alaric

Leaving the top 1000:

• Girls: Isis, Jaylin, Belen, Kai, Yaritza, Samiyah, Mercedes, Patience (maybe), Micah, Jocelynn, Aubrianna, Abril, Bryn, Paulina, Maliah, Mercy (maybe), Alyvia, Tabitha (maybe), Zion (maybe), Kiana (maybe), Sherlyn, Mckayla, Joslyn, Estrella, Natalee, Amya, Miley*, Emilie (maybe), Courtney (maybe), Joselyn (maybe)
• Boys: Reagan (maybe), Jair, Bridger, Chace, Valentin, Teagan, Kale, Deangelo, Kamryn, Camren, Semaj, Zaid, Quintin, Coleman, Dominique, Jovanni, Vaughn (maybe), Harlan, Cristopher, Craig, Frankie (maybe), Davin, Clinton (maybe), Johnathon, Jamarion, Dwayne, Tristian, Jaydon, Lamar, Clay, Amare, Chaim

Commentary:

• If Ophelia doesn’t reenter the top 1000 in the 2015 data, expect the song to boost it for 2016!
• If you’re interested, I’ve already written prediction-articles on Achilles and Honesty
• Royal will likely enter in conjunction with the meteoric rise of Royal as a boys’ name. 
• Calliope and Persephone are in here because they are both rising in usage and because another name from Greek Mythology, Ariadne, pulled a wild-card last year and entered the top 1000 faster than expected.
• Wesson, Ruger, and Gatlin – Gun names are a sub-trend of the currently popular “violent names” trend.
• Robin – if this rises, Robin Williams (R.I.P.) is the likely namesake.  The year he passed away (2014) there were more male Robins than the year before.
• Miley dropped over 400 uses between 2013 and 2014.  There’s almost no way this name is staying in the top 1000, considering it’s currently ranked #795.  Particularly faddish names will sometimes do this.  However, both the rise and fall of this name are attributable to an individual rather than a trend – to Miley Cyrus.  I suppose she started off as a sort of Disney role model, but I think her adult years have really perturbed people.  I have no strong opinions on that matter, except that children eventually grow up.  Note 1: if parents more seriously considered their children’s eventual adulthood, naming might be very different. Note 2: Miley Cyrus’s name was originally Destiny.
• Isis – This name was on the rise until it became known as a terror organization.  And, even though at times IS and ISIL were more accurate names, the media insisted on sticking to the human (rather, Egyptian deity) name with several thousand years of history.  I guess people’s names are easier to remember than random acronyms?
• Patience and Mercy are maybes for leaving because despite their drops, old names are ‘in’ and similarly Puritan Temperance has been getting more popular.
• Courtney is dropping fast enough that it may fall out of the top 1000 this year, but there’s no guarantee.  It was ranked #680 in 2014. 
• Mercedes – I imagine this will be replaced by Tesla within a few years. 
• Jocelynn, Joslyn, and Joselyn – When 3 spellings of one name are losing steam, you know there’s something going on. 
• Clinton actually increased in usage, but I think a certain someone within the American political cycle might deter parents from naming their boys’ this.  I imagine it’ll be the opposite for related female names. 
• Kamryn and Camren – Quite frankly I was surprised that Kamryn charted as a boys’ name.  However, Cameron is actually stable as a top 100 name for boys while it’s Cameron that’s falling out of fashion for girls. 
• Semaj – James backwards.  The male Nevaeh?

If you’re interested in my predictions for the top 10 and top 100, you can read them here and here, respectively.