Analysis of what the naming record actually shows — written, not generated.
The SSA releases new name data each May. Here is how to read it — and why the published top ten is not quite the top ten.
May 16, 2026 · 7 min read
Names that peaked in the 1910s and 1920s are returning now. The timing is not random, and the data shows why.
April 2, 2026 · 6 min read
The data shows a consistent pattern: names that cross over rarely settle in the middle. They pass through.
March 10, 2026 · 6 min read
Two names can sit at the same rank and mean completely different things. The difference is in the shape of the curve.
February 18, 2026 · 5 min read
Parents increasingly register the short form itself. The data shows when that shift happened and what it changed.
January 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Across 145 years of records, biblical names behave differently from every other group. Here is what that looks like.
December 8, 2025 · 6 min read
Hannah, Ava, Otto. The category feels bigger than it is, and the reason is worth knowing.
November 14, 2025 · 4 min read
Most sibling name advice is aesthetic. Here is a method you can check against the record.
October 20, 2025 · 7 min read
Official rankings count spellings. Grouping them by sound changes the picture substantially.
September 15, 2025 · 6 min read
If you could know only one thing about a name beyond how common it is, this would be it.
August 25, 2025 · 5 min read