Want to name your daughter Jane? Your son Michael? You may find yourself in the minority. In the last ten years, parents are choosing less common names for kids, which, according to experts, is an indicator of a society that is putting more emphasis on uniqueness and individualism.
Today’s kids, now and when they grow up, will stand out whether they like it or not. In the 1950’s, the average first-grade class of 30 children would have had at least one boy named James (top name in 1950), while in 2013, six classes will be necessary to find only one Jacob, even though that was the most common name in 2007.
Analysis of the Social Security Administration’s records of baby names from 1880 to 2007 shows that parents have become less and less likely to choose the most popular names of any given year as the decade passed. At the turn of the 20th century, five percent of babies were named the top common name, while by the turn of the 21st century only one percent of babies had the most popular name of the year.
The biggest decrease in common names came in the 1990’s, results which held up even when researchers accounted for immigration rates and an increasing Latino population, which could bring relatively less common names into the mix. According to Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, “the most compelling explanation left is this idea that parents are much more focused on their children standing out. There’s been this cultural shift towards focusing on the individual, towards standing out and being unique as opposed to fitting in with the group and following the rules.”
Twenge doesn’t think this is a good thing. “It think it is an indication of our culture becoming more narcissistic,” she says, despite the fact that she acknowledges that individualism is also a factor of less prejudice in the culture and more tolerance for minority groups.
Of course, even Twenge has to admit that unique names might not be totally to blame for disobedient and self centered children. “Parenting has become more permissive and more child-focused and [parents] are much more reluctant to be authority figures,” she said. Could it be that kids need discipline more than they need to be pressured to conform? As a person with an unusual name, this writer hopes so.
