Ten Predictions: Top Baby Names of 2018

The Social Security Administration will release data from 2018 in May, listing the names given to babies in the United States last year. This is an exciting time for namers, and to think that just over a year ago we didn't know this was a thing. We got super into naming in March of 2018, so we started a youtube channel, spent our time designing instas and pins, and joined a community of namers that we had no idea existed! We use the hashtag #namingbaby and try to keep our finger on the pulse of all things names.
Just about two months into our journey, we saw a tweet about the SSA release and clicked to their website for the first time. Who knew? Some of you, I'm sure. But we were new to naming and the thrill that came with name searches, sorts and data analysis motivated us to explore naming even more. Originally it was all about a youtube channel that offered "no opinions, just names." But the more we got into it, we couldn't resist finding a place to ponder, fuss, share a bit more about us and yes, offer an opinion. But this blog post is about predictions. We make ten.

1. Liam isn't going anywhere. Logan is.
2. Isla cracks the Top 100, significantly.
3."W" Nature Names rise as well, think Wren, Willow, Waverly & Winter.
4. Evelyn and Abigail drop out of the Top 10. They are replaced with two more names that end in -a.
5. Everly jumps from #82 to something in the 50's.
6. Golden cracks the Top 1,000 on the boy's side.
7. Oak- names will (again) have significant increases in popularity.
8. Names for boys that end in -ic & -ick increase. Think Merrick, Emeric and Alaric.
9. Gender neutral names will finally rise on the girl's side. Examples are Elliot and Ryan.
10. Wilder takes another big leap. Top 300 or better.

Who knows though? We are new to this. If anything, it will be exciting to check out the data, see how we did, and do better next time. What are your predictions for the 2018 stats?

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