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ArchivesQuestion about Michael
Michael is still number 2 in popularity in the US. However, I have worked at numerous childcare centers and do not know many children with the name Michael. Do you think it could be that children are being named after family members and then being called by a middle name or something else? In my generation (born in the early 80s) I don't know alot of guys that go by Michael either. I was wondering if you smarties could provide an explanation!
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It is certainly probable that a much higher % of young boys with the first name of Michael on their birth certificates are actually being called by their middle name in everyday life than are the % of boys with newly popular first names such as Jacob or Ethan. So this may be part of the explanation.
However, you have to factor into this both the greatly reduced % of children who are getting the "most popular" names (a generation ago over 4% of boys in the USA were named Michael, today only a bit over 1% are named Jacob, or Michael) and the fact that the popularity of individual names will differ in different social and ethnic groups. What sorts of neighborhoods have the "numerous childcare centers" you have worked at been located in? Could they simply have a clientele which would be less likely to include Michaels than the general population?
However, you have to factor into this both the greatly reduced % of children who are getting the "most popular" names (a generation ago over 4% of boys in the USA were named Michael, today only a bit over 1% are named Jacob, or Michael) and the fact that the popularity of individual names will differ in different social and ethnic groups. What sorts of neighborhoods have the "numerous childcare centers" you have worked at been located in? Could they simply have a clientele which would be less likely to include Michaels than the general population?
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