Contemporary baby names have gone from celebrity cardinal directions like North West to social media labels like Hashtag. Yes, #really. It seems people think odder names are more creatively cool.
However, if you want your little Georgia-based bundle of joy to break into enterprising fields in the future, you may want to avoid giving him or her any names that are too “creative.”
Academic studies such as Marquette University's "The 'name game': affective and hiring reactions to first names" claim staying common counts to nailing professional posts. From the study:
Results indicated that Common names were seen as least unique, best liked, and most likely to be hired. Unusual names were seen as most unique, least liked, and least likely to be hired.
Names like Elizabeth, Edward and Michael may not stand out, but they'll help your kid get hired.
According to the Social Security Administration, these are some of the most common baby names given to children born in 2014 in Georgia:
1. William: From Germanic Willahelm, meaning “will” and “helm” (helmet). Subtle way to make sure your son wears a helmet on his bike?
2. Mason: English, meaning stoneworker.
3. Noah: Derived from a Hebrew word meaning “rest.” Great for ensuring your child becomes a shipwright.
4. James: Descended from the Hebrew word Ya’aqov, the name of two apostles in the New Testament.
5. Jacob: Another descendent of the same Hebrew word for James.
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For girls:
1. Olivia: First used in this spelling by Shakespeare in “Twelfth Night” for a noblewoman character. As the most common female name of 2014, it may help your daughter in the job market but it will probably not make her a noble as well.
2. Ava: A variant of Eve. Also used for suspicious AI creations.
3. Emma: A Germanic mainstay of Jane Austen novels.
4. Madison: Rarely used as a woman’s name until after the 1984 film “Splash,” in which the female protagonist takes it as her name off of the sign for Madison Avenue in New York City.
5. Isabella: Common among medieval royalty. As the number-five most common girls’ name in Georgia, though, it seems the people have taken it back.
The SSA list also categorizes some less common names at the bottom of the list. These aren’t the least common names in all of Georgia — that list would be names that literally only one person has, making them difficult to track — but they are slightly less common names that may not give your kid as big a “commonality boost” in the workplace as those in the top 10. The bottom five, for boys:
95. Xavier: Gets to share a name with an X-man!
96. Jase: Related to Jason and Jay.
97. Julian: Roman, common among the early saints.
98. Sawyer: Think Mark Twain, or Lost. Means “sawer of wood.”
99. Brody: From an Irish surname descended from a Gaelic word for “ditch.”
100. Cayden: Variant of Caden, an Irish surname.
Girls:
95. Ryleigh: Different spelling of Riley, which comes from the Irish name Reilly and an English name meaning “rye clearing” in English. Good for a career in… clearing rye?
96. Eleanor: Popular among queens and First Ladies. Not the most popular name for Georgia babies but recommended if your baby seems interested in charity work.
97. Paris: Also works for boys, though the Paris of Greek mythology isn’t exactly hero material.
98. Melanie: An old French name that was revived by “Gone With the Wind.”
99. Harmony: Will do nothing to stop fighting among siblings, sadly.
100. Brianna: A variant of Briana, which is the feminine form of Brian.