Most Popular Baby Names

Last week, the Social Security Administration released the most popular baby names of 2011. Jacob, Mason, William, Jayden & Noah earned the top five spots for most popular boys names while Sophia, Isabella, Emma, Olivia and Ava were the top five female names. Basically, every girl in kindergarten in five years will have a first name that ends in “A.”

You can easily spend hours searching for names on the Social Security website. While I will neither confirm nor deny that I spent hours searching names on the Social Security website, I will share some observations for you.

- Mitt and Barack are not in the top 1000 names for any year of birth in 2011 or in the last 12 years.

- While Khloe was the 49th most popular girls name, Lamar was only the 721st most popular boys name. Apparently, the E! Network made the right decision in not naming the show Lamar & Khloe.

- Shockingly, Timothy and Tebow did not fall into the top 100 most popular male or female names in 2011 in Colorado.

- While Brooklyn finished #21 for girls, Staten Island was not in the top 1000 male or female names.

- In 2006, Sean finished as the 68th most popular boys name. This went to #76 in 2007; #83 in 2008; #97 in 2009; #102 in 2010; and #125 in 2011. I wonder if this blog is related to the downward trend of Sean across the country.

- Hines was not in the top 1000 names in 2011. I guess winning Dancing with the Stars means nothing in terms of name popularity.

- Troy finished as the 244th most popular boys name in 2011. I feel like this number is much higher in Western Pennsylvania.

- All you need in Wyoming to reach the top 100 names in 2011 is five girls with the same name. Congrats to the five Wyoming girls named Kinley, Payton, Reagan, Emery & Brylee.

If you’re looking for an activity to start your week, I highly recommend checking out the Social Security website.

Baby Names

There’s a lot of pressure in choosing your child’s name. Your kid is going to be stuck with this name for his entire life. Even if he wants to go by a nickname when he gets older, the given name will still be on his driver’s license, tax returns and all other official documents. Fortunately, I’ve enlisted the help of Lisa Shaw’s “The Everything Baby Names Book” featuring over 25,000 names for assistance. Although the book’s copyright is 1997, surely it can help me find the perfect name for my pending child, right? Well, let’s see what I’ve found thus far.

Bronson certainly seems like a candidate for an increase in usage. Actor Bronson Pinchot may help further the cause. Wow, putting the future of the name Bronson in the hands of Mr. Pinchot looks to have been a bad call.

Did you know that Calvin means bald? Do you know any Calvins? If so, do they have hair? Cal Ripken definitely fits this defintion.



Carroll – Famous Carrolls include actors Carroll O’Connor and Carroll Spinney, who plays Big Bird on Sesame Street. Is the actor that plays Big Bird famous? Is Carroll Spinney truly well-known?

Dean was wildly popular back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, probably because of actor Dean Martin, but today no such actor carries the torch for the name. Oooooo, snap Dean Cain.

Egan (or the variation Egon) – How can there be no mention of Dr. Egon Spengler? Carroll Spinney makes this book but not one of the famous Ghost Busters?

Garth – Sure, Ms. Shaw you mention Garth Brooks, but no Garth from Wayne’s World! For shame, Ms. Shaw. For shame!

Grover - Grovers who have been famous include the Sesame Street Muppet and Grover Cleveland. I love the fact that the Sesame Street character gets top billing over an American President.

Hatchootucknee - Although the book indicates that this name is of Native American origin meaning snapping turtle, I believe that this is what you say to a sneezing gymnast or figure skater.

Hines – Not in the book? Hines is not in the book! BOOOOOOOO.

Jaromir – Great spring. In 169 post-season games, Jaromir Jagr scored 181 points (77 goals & 104 assists). Those are many great springs.

Lombard – Latin for long beard. Perhaps we should have nicknamed Brett Keisel, Lombard (or Lombardi).



Luther – The visibility of singer Luther van Dross, however, may make this name more popular as a first name in the next few years. I’m pretty sure that Luther’s last name was one word, not two. I call shenanigans.

Mark – In 1976, of course, Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz and his victories set off a whole new wave of babies named Mark, but it didn’t seem to last as long as the first wave. Um, Spitz’s historic Olympics took place in 1972, not 1976. Did you stop fact-checking sometime after K, Ms. Shaw?

Ninian – Unknown definition. Is the definition of Ninian unknown or does Ninian mean unknown definition?

Oh-oh-e-so-to-who – Native American (Osage tribe) for seven bulls. It may also mean five hyphens.

Radcliff – Mothers who might choose Radcliff may be thinking about their alma mater, Radcliffe. Really? You don’t think they were thinking about Vassar?

Maybe I should try a different book.

Cats and Babies

You remember Ziggy, right? He is our 12-13 pound lovable and mischievous cat (among his many attributes) who often acts like a dog by greeting me at the door and rolling over so that I can rub his stomach. He also seems to be near us at all times and makes his presence known when he is hungry or wants attention. His morning routine begins by coming under the covers to curl–up with me. When he realizes that I’m not getting out of bed, he usually jumps on top of our headboard or bedroom television or bats the blinds. Basically, he does whatever he can to make noise. It is quite effective, though if he does this too early in the morning, he runs the risk of being kicked out of the bedroom. Additionally, Ziggy has a habit of trying to get into places where we don’t want him with the garage being #1 on this list.



I mention all of this since Ziggy will no longer be the center of attention in our household fairly soon. I’ve tried to explain to him that a baby is coming, but I don’t think he grasps the situation. Our primary concern is making sure that he does not get into the crib. In fact, we don’t want him in the baby’s room at all. My question to any parents or cat people out there is how do you handle the cat/baby situation? Is there a way to introduce the cat to the baby? What type of precautions do we need to make sure that Ziggy doesn’t get near the baby? While I’m looking forward to sitting on the couch watching Pittsburgh Penguins playoff games while holding the baby with Ziggy sitting next to me, it’s the other times when I worry how Ziggy will react.

Random Ramblings

* In reading baby books, one important aspect of being an expectant father is prenatal communication. This specifically means talking to my future child (is this a proper term?). I haven’t truly done this because I feel ridiculous talking to my wife’s stomach. I’ve somewhat made an agreement with myself, which I may very well break, that I’m going to wait until I feel my child’s kick to start my conversations. At that point, I probably won’t shut up talking about my day, what it means to be a Steelers fan, the joys of California Tortilla, etc.

* For the first time since my junior year in college, I am growing a beard. I haven't shaved since Christmas Eve, and I have to admit that my beard looks good. It probably won't last long, but in the meantime, I look like a young Don Johnson!


(Don or Sean?)

* I learned last weekend that I’m pretty good at Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I dominated the vocals of Styx’s Renegade, Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me and Muse’s Uprising.

* If you live in the DC area and have younger kids, I highly recommend attending the Frostival taking place at the Dulles Expo & Conference Center on December 30th through January 2nd.

* Pitt’s basketball team looked really good against soon-to-be formerly #4-ranked UConn on Monday night. I’m not sure if this is the year that Pitt finally reaches the Final Four, but at a minimum, they’ll get 25 wins and be fun to watch.

* When we first moved to Northern Virginia, we were friendly with a couple in which the wife worked on weekends as a meteorologist for a local news station. They moved to Boston several years ago, and I hadn't heard from them since. On Monday, I saw her on Good Morning America filling in for the regulary guy. Apparently, she's now a full-time meteorologist at an ABC affiliate in a major US city and big enough that GMA wanted her. Good for her! Nice person.

* Speaking of meteorologists, I don't expect the guy on the NBC station in Jacksonville to appear on GMA. The station interrupted Meet The Press to announce that there were flurries spotted in the Jacksonville area. He essentially said, "Although snow is not sticking, YOU SHOULD TOTALLY FREAK OUT BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN A SNOW SIGHTING IN FLORIDA. PANIC PEOPLE! PANIC!" (or something like that.)

Fancy High Chair

We went to a few baby stores for the first time this weekend. Holy crap am I overwhelmed! I knew that there are cribs, strollers and car seats, but I honestly didn't know that babies need to go in special bath tubs instead of, well, grown-up bath tubs.

Anyway, while walking around the store, we noticed high chairs, specifically the Bloom Fresco Loft High Chair pictured below. Doesn't this look like a barber chair? I don't know how much a barber chair costs, but it's possible that it is less than the $500 cost for this high chair. I obviously have no idea what I'm doing, but I think I'll pass on purchasing this particular product.



Now excuse me as I go stretch my car.