It's an old rant of mine, and apparently it's getting worse.
For reasons likely to puzzle baby name experts around the world, American parents have become infatuated by names, particularly for their sons, that rhyme with the word “maiden.” These names for boys include: Jayden (No. 18); Aiden (No. 27); Aidan (No. 54); Jaden (No. 76); Caden (No. 92); Kaden (No. 98); Ayden (No.102); Braden (No.156); Cayden (No.175); Jaiden (No.191); Kaiden (No. 220); Aden (No. 264); Caiden (No. 286); Braeden (No. 325); Braydon (No. 361); Jaydon (No. 415); Jadon (No. 423); Braiden (No. 529); Zayden (No. 588); Jaeden (No. 593); Aydan (No. 598); Bradyn (No. 629); Kadin (No. 657); Jadyn (No. 696); Kaeden (No. 701); Jaydin (No. 757); Braedon (No. 805); Aidyn (No. 818); Haiden (No. 820); Jaidyn (No. 841); Kadyn (No. 878); Jaydan (No. 887); Raiden (No. 931); and Adin (No. 983).
Well, Zayden and Raiden are new to me... for some reason I've now run into 2 or 3 little BOYS named Jaylynn... Seriously? Anything with lynn in it is a girls name, people...
Posted by: Jen | 27 May 2008 at 19:22
Some days I despair of my children's future peers. It turns out that odd naming choices are only the tip of the "parenting as an expression of my individuality" iceberg. When we saw the movie "Juno" a few months back, I was grateful for the ending (semi-spoiler alert...) because when Aprilynne was teaching childbirth education classes at the Florence Crittenton in Phoenix, an overwhelming number of girls were choosing to keep their illegitimate children and single-parent their way through life as a way of "standing out." It was an increasingly popular way to be different.
A dozen alternative spellings of the same name exposes this sort of thing for what it is. Everyone wants to be different, together.
Posted by: Kenneth Pike | 27 May 2008 at 21:56
I blame our linguistic heritage. When you get to the point where every name actually comes from another language (German, Gaelic, Latin, and Hebrew being the primary culprits,) people stop thinking names actually *mean* something.
Posted by: Cory | 28 May 2008 at 00:03
If you can have a Zayden and Raiden, how long till you see a kid named Ninja Gaiden Smith?
Posted by: Dan | 29 May 2008 at 18:59
Now that has just the ring I was looking for with such a vanilla last name like Smith! :D
Posted by: Jen | 31 May 2008 at 12:59