The 90s Called.....(Part 2)

Time for another round of childhood nostalgia, this time looking at names that have changed gender.

First up, the names (from 2017's Top 1500) that have changed most strongly from masculine to feminine:

1. Emerson
2. Monroe
3. Collins
4. Reese
5. Finley
6. Landry
7. Leighton
8. Hensley
9. Kairi
10. Henley
11. Charlie
12. Quinn
13. Arya
14. Dakota
15. Justice
16. Lennon
17. Palmer
18. Skyler
19. Briar
20. Riley

This isn't in order of popularity, but in order of biggest gender-swap. Emerson, for instance, went from a ratio of 114 boys for every girl to about 3 girls to every 2 boys; Reese from 18 boys per girl to 5 girls per boy; Briar from 3 boys per girl to 2 girls per boy.

[all of my calculations are based on changes in percentages, which weights the results toward more popular names. So above, Hensley goes from 6 boys/girl to 26 girls/boy, which seems to be a much larger shift than Leighton, which goes from 7 boys/girl to 3 girls/boy. However, Leighton, given to 115 boys in 1992, was much more popular than Hensley, which was only given to 8]

Next, the names that have made the largest shifts from boy --> unisex (but are still more common on boys):

1. Reece
2. Dylan
3. Ryan
4. Elliot
5. Elliott
6. Kingsley
7. Spencer
8. Blake
9. Parker
10. Cameron
11. Baylor
12. Rylan
13. Quincy
14. Drew
15. Lennox
16. Sawyer
17. Hayden
18. Remington
19. Karter
20. Denver

Reece had the largest change of any name, going from 206 boys per girl to only 3 boys per girl. Ryan, easily the most common of these names in 1992, dropped from 68 boys per girl to 9 boys per girl. 

While there are a lot fewer of them (and they were all a lot less common to start with), there are quite a few names that went from feminine --> masculine. Here are the ones that shifted most:

1. Yael
2. Kallen
3. Ayan
4. Santana
5. Brecken
6. Joan
7. Kyrie
8. Kyrin
9. Karsen
10. Tristin
11. Carsen
12. Lian
13. Elisha
14. Amari
15. Callan
16. Onyx
17. Mikah
18. Kamari
19. Jensen
20. Ashton

The biggest girl-to-boy shift, Yael, given to 61 girls in 1992 and not on the boys' list at all, was given to 197 boys and 116 girls last year. Elisha (presumably seen more as an Alicia knockoff in 1992, not a Biblical prophet) went neatly from 2 girls per boy to 2 boys per girl. Joan I again assume has gained usage more as a Catalan boys' name than as an "outdated" English girls' name. 

There were also a few girls' names that have made strides toward being unisex (well, again, in most cases):

1. Lyric
2. Karsyn
3. Tatum
4. Kelly
5. Alexis
6. Aspen
7. Ariel
8. Wren
9. Eden
10. Jael
11. Morgan
12. Jamie
13. Robin
14. Shea

Alexis, the most common of these in 1992, has dropped from about 11 girls per boy to about 3 girls per boy (mostly, I assume, to it falling out of fashion as an English girls' name, but remaining popular as a Spanish boys' name). 

Interestingly, Jamie and Robin, both names "stolen" in previous generations, were both about 4x most common for girls in 1992, but are now both more popular by a ratio of only 3 girls for every 2 boys. 

There is hope for reclamation yet. ;)

If you want to see the whole list of gender-shifts, it is here, on Google Sheets. 

The 90s Called....(Part 1)

Time for a bit more time-travel! I thought it'd be fun to see how much naming has changed since the 90s.
First off, here are the names from 1992's Top 1500 that aren't on the full 2017 list at all, with their 1992 rankings (why 1992? because it's exactly 25 years, that's why):

Boys:

• Keifer, #1210
• Tou, #1396
• Naquan, #1417
• Kramer, #1472

Girls:

• Shaniqua, #419
• Brittni, #550
• Kirstie, #558
• Brittanie, #610
• Deidre, #631
• Shanae, #662
• Lakeisha, #700
• Katlin, #715
• Krystle, #782
• Shanika, #804
• Dominque, #806
• Tyesha, #816
• Felisha, #826
• Shanequa, #856
• Brittaney, #864
• Marquita, #874
• Britni, #878
• Cassondra, #878
• Brittny, #885
• Shameka, #1011
• Shanique, #1016
• Martika, #1037
• Shannen, #1037
• Shantell, #1042
• Tanesha, #1042
• Brittnee, #1053
• Lashonda, #1064
• Brittnie, #1072
• Keshia, #1072
• Britny, #1090
• Laquisha, #1109
• Magen, #1138
• Shamika, #1146
• Meranda, #1149
• Shanay, #1149
• Shakiyla, #1169
• Ashlea, #1172
• Tkeyah, #1172
• Chiquita, #1184
• Felecia, #1194
• Laquita, #1207
• Shaquana, #1207
• Shari, #1207
• Tosha, #1207
• Kanisha, #1215
• Myesha, #1215
• Chante, #1223
• Tawny, #1223
• Markita, #1231
• Shakia, #1242
• Ceara, #1247
• Shanise, #1247
• Tameka, #1247
• Magan, #1255
• Shaquita, #1255
• Tiesha, #1260
• Tonisha, #1273
• Phylicia, #1284
• Kenyatta, #1302
• Nicollette, #1311
• Britnee, #1322
• Keosha, #1329
• Lakisha, #1344
• Shaneka, #1344
• Tamra, #1344
• Cassaundra, #1351
• Uniqua, #1357
• Sharonda, #1368
• Tenisha, #1376
• Latesha, #1381
• Ronisha, #1381
• Brittnay, #1391
• Chantell, #1410
• Latia, #1416
• Dannielle, #1433
• Shanee, #1433
• Chelcie, #1442
• Ieshia, #1442
• Kanesha, #1463
• Crysta, #1474
• Lakendra, #1486
• Tanika, #1486
• Meghann, #1500

So, I saw the boys' list was only 4 names, and I had high hopes that the girls' list would be similar in length. Obviously, I was mistaken! Wow. Let's play a fun game called "Count the Brittany Variations". :p
(still not as unmanageable as the 1970s list I did a while back, though)

As to the inverse--here are the highest ranking names in 2017 that don't appear on the full 1992 lists at all, and their 2017 rankings:

Boys:

• Ayden, #99
• Maddox, #136
• Zayden, #189
• Maximus, #200
• Jax, #222
• Legend, #255
• Iker, #280
• Beckham, #284
• Jayceon, #313
• Caiden, #327
• Atlas, #329
• Zayn, #341
• Hendrix, #349
• Jaxton, #370
• Raiden, #400
• Finnegan, #410
• Zaiden, #421
• Ronin, #519
• Kobe, #531
• Aarav, #536

Girls:

• Nevaeh, #77
• Everly, #82
• Adalynn, #116
• Adalyn, #134
• Emerson, #150
• Finley, #159
• Brynlee, #218
• Emersyn, #241
• Daleyza, #245
• Journee, #262
• Amiyah, #266
• Briella, #286
• Adelynn, #306
• Paislee, #311
• Gracelynn, #369
• Addilyn, #376
• Everleigh, #387
• Harlow, #390
• Maliyah, #394
• Yaretzi, #404

I almost didn't put these next lists in because the names are comparatively "boring", but here are the names that have dropped the most in usage since 1992 (by % of babies given that name):

Boys:

1. Michael, -1.95%
2. Christopher, -1.6%
3. Joshua, -1.31%
4. Brandon, -1.23%
5. Matthew, -1.21%
6. Tyler, -1.18%
7. Nicholas, -1.05%
8. Andrew, -1.04%
9. Zachary, -0.99%
10. Justin, -0.97%
11. Ryan, -0.9%
12. Kyle, -0.89%
13. Cody, -0.88%
14. Robert, -0.87%
15. David, -0.84%
16. Joseph, -0.8%
17. Daniel, -0.8%
18. John, -0.77%
19. Kevin, -0.74%
20. Jonathan, -0.69%

Girls:

1. Jessica, -1.85%
2. Ashley, -1.78%
3. Brittany, -1.22%
4. Amanda, -1.2%
5. Sarah, -1.02%
6. Samantha, -0.99%
7. Stephanie, -0.92%
8. Megan, -0.86%
9. Jennifer, -0.83%
10. Chelsea, -0.76%
11. Lauren, -0.75%
12. Nicole, -0.73%
13. Kayla, -0.71%
14. Rachel, -0.71%
15. Danielle, -0.65%
16. Amber, -0.65%
17. Courtney, -0.61%
18. Taylor, -0.6%
19. Rebecca, -0.58%
20. Emily, -0.57%

Yes, the names that have dropped the most by straight usage as opposed to ranking are mostly still pretty common. There are a few reasons for that:

a) There are a lot more names in use today than in 1992,

b) There were fewer babies born last year than in 1992,

and (way more difficult to explain)

c) A name can't lose popularity it never had. The most popular names can decrease by hundreds or even thousands of babies and not drop a single place on the charts, but if the #500 name decreases by 50 births it might drop 50 places or more. 

Next time: gender-shifts. Dun dun duuuunnnn.....