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Just Your Average Name Of The Year
Filed under: Baby Names
American culture was dominated by politics this past year, and according to Laura Wattenberg, the baby-naming business was no exception.Wattenberg, author of the book The Baby Name Wizard and founder of the website of the same name, tells ParentDish that this year's Name of the Year might come as a bit of a surprise. When she invited readers of he Baby Wizard blog to contribute nominations for the 2008 Name of the Year, many votes were political.
So what was the big winner?
Joe.
Joe the lumberjack, Joe Six-pack, Amtrak Joe Biden, and, of course, Joe The Plumber. Joe made a huge come-back this year.
"Everything was politics, and so many people suggested the name Joe," she says. "This is a name that represents the Everyman. Now that is an anachronism, because your average Joe isn't named Joe anymore."
According to Wattenberg, whose book and website are based on an algorithm that takes into account thousands of pieces of historical and cultural data, the name represents the salt of the earth, the guy next door who always has the right wrench and whose favorite after-dinner libation is a cold can of Budweiser. The guy who lives in, say, Iowa.
However, Joe is less likely to live in Iowa than in New Jersey, Wattenberg adds, pointing out that the name Joe is one of the lowest-ranked names in the Hawkeye state, which is one of the most prominent political barometers in the nation. Joe is a name, says Wattenberg, that suggests a certain comforting nostalgia, a kind of cultural unity that doesn't exist anymore. It ranked 403 in popularity in 2007, according to the list released annually by the Social Security Administration; Jacob and Emily topped as #1 for boys and girls, respectively. In another name survey by Baby Center, Emma and Aiden were most popular for 2008.
Ironically, the name is more likely to be co-opted by the so-called "urban elite," says Wattenberg. So just what is the average Joe naming his kids in Iowa?
"Brayden, Jayden, Cayden," says Wattenberg. "People who used to name their kids Joe are inventing names, to make their kids more special, more unique." People like former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, perhaps, who spoke of small-town American values, but named her kids Trig and Bristol.
"Trig the Plumber" just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?
Despite it's zeitgeist, the name is unlikely to catch on in a big way, although it may take hold in communities where Max, Sam and Jack are popular, Wattenberg says.
What about last year's Name of the Year? What moniker captured the nation's fancy in 2007?
Why, Barack, of course.
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
12-08-2008 @ 10:20PM
Chris said...Stuffiness of education!?!? Are you kidding? Compared to what, Religion!?!?!?!?! Holy Cow! Where did you go to college, BIlly Graham University or something? Higher education opens minds, less education keeps them closed. Knowledge is ALWAYS good, what we do with it comes from within. Colleges and college professors are the farthest thing from stuffy, as opposed to preachers (well, in public anyway, the real freak comes out in private for many of these preachers.) Maybe you're thinking of your kindergarten teacher.
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12-08-2008 @ 10:29PM
Keri said...I named my son Brayden long before it was popular. Now I hear it everywhere.(oh, and I have a post-graduate degree...so there goes that theory). Hey Marcy; my grand other's name was Bertha!!! :-)
oh Dave, Dave, Dave. 190 IQ? THAT explains A LOT about your post!
Einstein himself did not have an IQ that high. 140 is gifted. 150 is genius. 190 is friggin' looney bin.
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12-09-2008 @ 2:34AM
Tabby said...Keri, you might want to check your numbers. IQ ratings between 115 - 124 Above Average, 125 - 134 Gifted, 135 - 144 Highly Gifted, 145 - 154 Genius, 155 - 164 Genius, 165 - 179 High Genius, 180 - 200 Highest Genius AND above 200 Immeasuarable Genius.
50% of IQ fall between 90 - 110, 70% fall between 85 - 115, 95% fall between 70 - 130 and 99.5% between 60 - 140, while 5% fall under 70 and are listed under retardation to certain degrees. Retardation is not a word I like to use, but for the record, it's not my word or choice, but the word given in statistical data.
To all of you: Before you quote data or facts maybe you should use those little keys in front of you to check you facts before you blog. Furthermore, your term, "friggin'" in not a recognized word in any language. Perhaps you mean 'freaking' which is an intensive verb or adverb used for 'damned' or a more vulgar four letter word I'll not type. Perhaps you meant frigged or grigging which are most often vulgar words used for the term copulate but most often used in the present participle as a meaningless intensive. REGARDLESS, it's a horrible word to describe what should be a very pleasant act in the right circumstances. Good night !
12-09-2008 @ 9:13AM
Keri said...Tabby, you are too freakin' funny!!!! So are you implying you fall into the "Highly genius" category??? All the better for ya. Me? I am in the nice "high average" range and happy w/ it. Make a decent living, have a loving family. I have fun and don't take myself too seriously ;-)
12-08-2008 @ 10:30PM
Jaime said...When my son was born two years ago, we fell in love with the name Aidan. We liked the traditional spelling of Aidan. We also liked that it reflected our Irish heritage without sounding too off-the-wall. Little did we know Aidan was going to be such a popular name. My friend works in a daycare, and there are four Aidans in there! It is nice however, to be able to find things like ornaments with his name on them. None of that stuff ever had my name spelled right on it. It was always spelled Jamie instead of Jaime.
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12-08-2008 @ 11:26PM
Chris said...I think Jesus is still the number one name for a boy.
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12-08-2008 @ 11:39PM
Julie said...I don't know where they get their erroneus information, but the name Joe or Joseph is still a popular name for boys----just like Micheal. When I was sub teaching for the past 9 yr. I saw a lot of little boys in the school system named Joe or Joey , or Joseph. It;s a noble name. It was my late husband's name.
In fact, wherever you have a large concentration of Italian / Americans like in N J , N Y, W. Virginia, L.A. ,L .V. etc., you have a lot of Joes .
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12-09-2008 @ 12:23AM
Aiden Brown said...Sarah Palin is a twit. Using her as a barometer for anything is to akin to using a stick to find water. Might work, but really not likely to accomplish anything with that stick but to make a fool out of yourself. McCain learned the hard way.
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12-09-2008 @ 12:24AM
Devon St. Cloud said...Dave 190 was the score you got on your SATs ..Thats not genius level!
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12-09-2008 @ 12:59AM
Diane Reid said...Jack 12-08-2008 @ 10:08PM
why would any one ever name their kid aiden or what ever i think it is great joe is number one again
TIS A GOOD IRISH NAME, JACK.
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12-09-2008 @ 1:46AM
Tabby said...Okay ! I swore I wasn't going to get into this topic, but you people are horrible. You jump on Dave who claims his IQ is 190. You claim people with a 190 IQ don't have a need to 'hang out' on a blog. Well apparently all of you are walking around with blinders on. Just what do you think our newscasters, leaders, FBI, CIA, etc do? How do you think they find information? They 'hang out' on the Internet, just like the average 'Joe' anywhere may do. On the other hand. You are also quickly dismissing plenty of reasons Dave with an admitted IQ of 190 may be 'hanging out' here. Do any of you realize there are many people who are on the Internet because this has become a very valuable piece of equipment for those with agoraphobia, panic attacks (some don't separate the two), depression and other diseases? Are most of you so totally self centered you can't imagine someone with intelligence needing a 'place to socialize, share, read, listen, write, etc? I am a member of MENSA, but my IQ is not 190, but I do have agoraphobia, suffer from anxiety and panic and have come to rely on my computer to read news, do research and sometimes even read the whimsical nonsense that is put on here. Many of you need to lighten up. I've been on the computer for three hours tonight doing research on Alzheimer's and Dementia and the recent clinical paper to come out relating cold sores (Herpes simplex) to Alzheimer's and dementia. I just happen to see the tag of 'year's favorite name' and took a break to read something light and I find you people attacking someone you don't know for being on a blog. Well, wake up and smell the coffee. There are many people, intelligent, average and some just plain ignorant, not to mention mean spirited, who may tag along and read a blog. Some of you need to get acquainted with reality. Perhaps too many of you are already watching too many of those so called 'reality' (not so) shows on television when you aren't attacking strangers on a blog. Okay, so much for my input. Back to my purpose for being on the computer in the first place, researching Alzheimer's.
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12-09-2008 @ 2:32AM
John said...Dave, 190 ? I'll make it simple. I don't believe you.
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12-09-2008 @ 4:47AM
Ann said...When I named my son Aiden it was sort of by accident. His name should originally have been Adin, but I have a neighbor named Adina. I just felt like I needed to change the name to something else, so I figured, Aidan/Aiden would be the nearest thing phonetically. Although I hear the name quite frequently I must say that I still like that better than having a name that makes you stick out too much. As to the name "Joe"...what comes to mind is every other guy in NJ. Bada-bing, bada-boom!
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12-10-2008 @ 6:08AM
amanda said...i'm going to be very sarcastic for a minute... can i get you alls approval for the names i picked for my kids? tristen and katrina is that okay with you?
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12-22-2008 @ 8:25AM
CHARLES SCHMIDT said...Why the run around. Just give usw the top three names or a quick link to them. Using on line information should be quickly avaqilable. So I think Obama is the top boy bane but i would have to be aq rocket scientist to find the next 9 and the same information on girls. Hey AOL, keep it simple.
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