Assessing Predictions

Alright, so back in September I took a chance & made some predictions, based on a change in number of alternate spellings. Time to see how that worked out.....if I have to.....

Names I pegged to keep rising:

• Aiden--this spelling dropped one spot, and a smaller percentage of boys were given the name Aiden/Aidan/Ayden. Fail.
• Kason--from #417 --> 385. Right!
• Josiah--from #80 --> #79. Right!
• Zayden--from #292 --> 229. Right!
• Grayson--from #97 --> 85. Right!
• Amaya--from #211 --> 215. Fail. Maya has been slowly decreasing for a few years now, so I shouldn't be too surprised.
• Adalyn--from #214 --> 197. Right!
• Olivia--still #4, and the percentage was approximately the same, too! I'll have to wait until NameNerds' combined-spelling list comes out.
• Callie--from #221 --> 212. Cali jumped from #389 --> 329, though, so.....almost?
• Kendall--from #124 --> 116. Right!
• Zoey--from #28 --> 20. Right!
• Katherine--from #61 --> 64. The top 4 forms of Katherine all fell, in fact. Major fail!

Names I pegged to fall / keep falling:

• Jayden--from #4 --> 7. Right! Well, tentatively. It's possible enough unusual spellings have  risen to make a gain overall.
• Zachary--from #64 --> 68. Right!
• Brayden--from #37 --> 39. Right!
• Nicholas--from #42--> 49. Right!
• Caleb--still #32, but the percentage dropped slightly. I guess the verdict is still out.
• Elijah--still #13, but the percentage rose slightly. Tentative fail. 
• Damian--from #137 --> 97. Major fail! Is there some cultural reference I've missed?
• Arianna--from #52 --> 49. Fail.
• Kaylee--from #36 --> 34. Tentative fail. Kaylee has more alternates than almost any other name on this list, so I'll have to check again when NameNerds' list come out.
• Makayla--from #56 --> 69. Right!
• Jocelyn--from #70 --> 92. Right!
• Kaelyn--from #386 --> 417. Right!
• Madelyn--from #79 --> 67. Fail.
• Brianna--from #45 --> 51. Right!
• Riley--still #47, but the percentage dropped slightly. However, this is yet another name with many alternates. 
• Hailey--still #32, but the percentage dropped slightly. 
• Kylie--from #58 --> 59. Tentatively right, but I'll have to look at the other spellings.
• Addison--from #13 --> 14. Right!
• Kaydence--from #263 -- >271
• Juliana--still #147, but the percentage went up slightly!. Fail.
• Lillian--from #22 --> 25. Right!
• Isabella--from #2 --> 3. Right!
• Madison--from #8 --> 9. Right!

• Kayden--from #105 --> 99. Fail, tentatively. Kayden has the most alternates of any boys spelling. 
• Giovanni--from #117 --> 119. Right, tentatively. Giovanni has the second-most alternates of any boy name.
• Jaylen--from #206 --> 257. Right!
• Malachi--from #164 --> 168. Right!
• Abigail--still #7, but the percentage went down. Top variant Abbigail also dropped in rank. Right!
• Aniya--from #414 --> 454. Right!
• Kaitlyn--from #100 --> 118. Right!
• Natalie--from #14 --> 17. Right!
• Emily--still #6, but the percentage has dropped. Right!
• Peyton--still #53, but the percentage has dropped. Right!
• Allison--from #40 --> 38. Fail.
• Destiny--from #91 --> 113. Right!

Overall, I'm pretty proud of myself. However, my guesses were based on momentum & only two data points, so maybe next year I can make a few more risky predictions. ;)