In fact if you haven’t already read the book, I’d recommend it for all researchers. Levitt applies a data driven analytics approach to challenging popularly held notions. It is a fascinating perspective even if you aren’t interested in baby names, Roe v. Wade, sumo wrestling, or KKK … which happen to be some of the topics he “analyzes” in the book.

My first was a boy and I found choosing a name very difficult. There seems to be less variety when it comes to boys names (although I think that is changing). I didn’t want something really common, but I didn’t want something really “out there” either. I came up with Wyatt and my husband agreed.

Our second child was a girl and I had a couple of rules in addition to avoiding the top ten. I wanted a feminine name (no gender neutral names) and I did not want a name that people would constantly misspell. I also assumed that the process would be very similar, i.e. I would choose a name and my husband would agree. That, however, is not how it worked out. My husband got stuck on the name Kacey and would not budge…and it broke both my rules!! In the end, I relented and we named her Kacey. It has grown on me.

I am now expecting another girl and I told my husband that I would have the final say on the name. I bought a book with 60,000 names and spent hours on the internet searching for names. My husband didn’t like any of the names I picked and, frankly, I wasn’t crazy about them either. One day he suggested the name Savannah. I liked it and it met my requirements, but I was still determined that he was NOT going to name this baby, so I continued my search. But I couldn’t get the name Savannah out of my head and it was a name we both liked, so this baby will be Savannah after all.

P.S. If I were going to choose a name from the top ten…for a girl it would be Emma. I think that is a great traditional, simple, feminine name. For a boy, Logan.

At least Puma, Seven, Coco, Apple, Banjo, Tallulah Bell, and Pilot Inspektor didn’t make the list.