What Is In A Baby Name?

In the book Freakonomics, a study of baby names is discussed. [Freakonomics blog.] The point of the study was to see if giving your kids a really stupid name would interfere with his or her long term economic prospects in life. Actually, the study was about the rise of distinctively black names in the late 1960's and 1970's, through the modern day. The state of California had a lenghty, well documented set of birth records from which to draw information. They concluded that there was no negative relationship between having a distinctively Black name and later life outcomes after controlling for a child's circumstances at birth.

Aside: I recommend the book, though I would argue with a few of the various studies control factors absent additional evidence. Some though, are really neat and outstanding. I won't nitpick right now. It is a fun, quick read.

Anyway, below are a collection of some of the names and their categories. Humor fact: I have some friends in which the momma is named Ebony and the daughter is named Amani. Guess their race.

BABY NAMES:

Girls, by income-

Most Popular High-End White Girl Names in the 1990s

1. Alexandra 2. Lauren 3. Katherine 4. Madison 5. Rachel

Most Popular Low-End White Girl Names in the 1990s

1. Amber 2. Heather 3. Kayla 4. Stephanie 5. Alyssa

Boys, by income-

Most Popular High-End White Boy Names

1. Benjamin 2. Samuel 3. Jonathan 4. Alexander 5. Andrew

Most Popular Low-End White Boy Names

1. Cody 2. Brandon 3. Anthony 4. Justin 5. Robert

WHITEST AND BLACKEST GIRL NAMES-

The 20 Whitest Girl Names

1. Molly 2. Amy 3. Claire 4. Emily 5. Katie
6. Madeline 7. Katelyn 8. Emma 9. Abigail 10. Carly
11. Jenna 12. Heather 13. Katherine 14. Caitlin 15. Kaitlin
16. Holly 17. Allison 18. Kaitlyn 19. Hannah 20. Kathryn

The 20 Blackest Girl Names

1. Imani 2. Ebony 3. Shanice 4. Aaliyah 5. Precious
6. Nia 7. Deja 8. Diamond 9. Asia 10. Aliyah
11. Jada 12. Tierra 13. Tiara 14. Kiara 15. Jazmine
16. Jasmin 17. Jazmin 18. Jasmine 19. Alexus 20. Raven

WHITEST AND BLACKEST BOY NAMES-

The 20 Whitest Boy Names

1. Jake 2. Connor 3. Tanner 4. Wyatt 5. Cody
6. Dustin 7. Luke 8. Jack 9. Scott 10. Logan
11. Cole 12. Lucas 13. Bradley 14. Jacob 15. Garrett
16. Dylan 17. Maxwell 18. Hunter 19. Brett 20. Colin

The 20 Blackest Boy Names

1. DeShawn 2. DeAndre 3. Marquis 4. Darnell 5. Terrell
6. Malik 7. Trevon 8. Tyrone 9. Willie 10. Dominique
11. Demetrius 12. Reginald 13. Jamal 14. Maurice 15. Jalen
16. Darius 17. Xavier 18. Terrance 19. Andre 20. Darryl

MOST POPULAR RACE-NEUTRAL NAMES-

Most Popular Girl Crossover Names

1. Andrea 2. Whitney 3. Alicia 4. Kendra 5. Alexandria
6. Natasha 7. Tiffany 8. Brittany 9. Amber 10. Talia
11. Erika 12. Brianna 13. Ariel 14. Gabrielle 15. Veronica
16. Alana 17. Kyra 18. Ashley 19. Breanna 20. Erica

Most Popular Boy Crossover Names

1. Vincent 2. George 3. Troy 4. Christian 5. Martin
6. Corey 7. Brandon 8. Eric 9. Craig 10. Frank
11. Cameron 12. Shawn 13. Micah 14. Gregory 15. Nathaniel
16. Marc 17. Aaron 18. Dominic 19. Theodore 20. Isaac