Message: "Occurrence of name per x number of births?"

Occurrence of name per x number of births?

by John (guest)

5/20/2006, 7:35 AM

I was wondering how the popularity ratings translate into how many times a name can be expected to appear per a certain number of births. For example, if we name our son Dylan (current rank 24), how many other Dylans will there be in a group of 100 or 1000 children born in the same year. We like the name Dylan, but we don't want there to be 3 other children in his class with the same name as he's growing up. I (John) and my wife (Jennifer) both had the experience of there always being several kids with the same name as ours in each class.

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- IchHasseMontags (guest) +4

5/20/2006, 5:26 PM

Some quick math tells us that roughly 7 out of 1000 people in the United States currently have the first name Dylan. Given its current popularity, however, I imagine this will rise incredibly quickly.

I can tell you from personal experience that there have been many Dylans in suburban elementary schools over the past six years, in all areas of the country.

- shijin (guest) +2

5/20/2006, 9:08 PM

Not to be a smartass, but roughly 7 in 1,000 (6.504 per 1,000, to be more precise) males born in the United States in 2005 were given the first name Dylan. 1.6 in 10,000 males in the United States (per the Census Bureau) actually have the name.

- IchHasseMontags (guest) +1

5/21/2006, 12:04 AM

Quiet, you :-/

I misread my source, the math was solid ¬_¬

- shijin (guest)

5/22/2006, 8:51 AM

The math was solid! Honestly, though, 1.6 per 10,000 males probably isn't accurate either on account of the fact that Dylan has become increasingly popular since the 1990 Census, which is where I obtained the data. An accurate answer lies somewhere between our responses.

- IchHasseMontags (guest)

5/20/2006, 5:28 PM

Addendum

Sorry, I forgot to specify that that's 7 out of 1000 males. It's gaining popularity as a female name, as well, however.

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