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You have arrived at the web home of Noah Brier. This is mostly an archive of over a decade of blogging and other writing. You can read more about me or get in touch. If you want more recent writing of mine, most of that is at my BrXnd marketing x AI newsletter and Why Is This Interesting?, a daily email for the intellectually omnivorous.

May, 2009

Naming Your Baby Something Unique

MarketingCharts (which I must admit has become one of my favorite sites) points to a study about the increasing uniqueness of baby names:
Researchers found that in 1955, nearly one-third (32%) of boys received one of the ten most popular names, but by 2007, less than 10% got a common name.

For girls, the percentage receiving common names is even lower. In 1955, about one in four (22%) girls received one of the ten most popular names. By 2007 it had dropped to only 8%.
The article (and study apparently) go on to make some assumptions about what effect this shift may have (including increased narcissism). While I'm not sure I agree with those, it's fun to think about why this shift has happened and what effect it may have.
May 29, 2009
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Noah Brier | Thanks for reading. | Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk.