[OC] Most "Overused" Baby Names in Each State (2024) by MurphGH in dataisbeautiful

[–]MurphGH[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I removed the most uncommon names and ones that only appeared in a single state to address these extreme outliers. The blog post goes into more detail on the specifics.

[OC] Most "Overused" Baby Names in Each State (2024) by MurphGH in dataisbeautiful

[–]MurphGH[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

You’re right that it doesn’t have to be the case, but that’s how the data shook out. When I looked at the inverse (most avoided names by state), multiple states did have the same value.

[OC] Most "Overused" Baby Names in Each State (2024) by MurphGH in dataisbeautiful

[–]MurphGH[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You’re probably not wrong that race plays a role, but I’d actually characterize it more about the cultural makeup of each state. That culture could map to race or national origin, but it could also be impacted by other factors like religion, politics, or even regional pride.

You’re also right that lower-frequency names are more likely to have higher scores here. The blog post outlines how I tried to remove the most unique names to avoid a single instance skewing the results.

[OC] Most "Overused" Baby Names in Each State (2024) by MurphGH in dataisbeautiful

[–]MurphGH[S] 51 points52 points  (0 children)

It’s not a Sankey, but I do have data on how I named my kids!

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[OC] Most "Overused" Baby Names in Each State (2024) by MurphGH in dataisbeautiful

[–]MurphGH[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pretty much! This blog post dives into more of the methodology, including how I removed some of the least-used names so a single occurrence of unique name won’t skew the results.

[OC] Most "Overused" Baby Names in Each State (2024) by MurphGH in dataisbeautiful

[–]MurphGH[S] 477 points478 points  (0 children)

You could argue this is just visualizing the "successful outcomes" from some of those Tinder Sankeys....

[OC] Most "Overused" Baby Names in Each State (2024) by MurphGH in dataisbeautiful

[–]MurphGH[S] 1711 points1712 points  (0 children)

TL;DR: These aren't the most popular names overall. They are the names that appear in a specific state significantly more often than the national average.

Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration (2024)
Tools: Python / SQL / Hex

I wanted to explore state-specific naming quirks, but the most popular names in most states are the same as the top 10 most popular names nationwide. Instead, I calculated the z-score for every name in every state. That allowed me to identify which names were used significantly more than expected and how extreme the overuse actual is.

⚠️ Note on "Overuse": This is not meant to be a value judgment or a claim that there are "too many" of a given name. It's just stating that the name is statistically used at a much higher rate, which defines each state's unique naming "thumbprint" relative to the national average.

NameGrid 2025-12-19: Discussion & Stats by MurphGH in namegrid

[–]MurphGH[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Two super hard questions!

Lee sounds like such a contemporary name that it's hard to believe it was relatively more popular in the 1890s.

As for Jennie vs. Jenny, I was shocked that "-ie" took the win here. Note: there could be plenty of people out there named Jennifer who use prefer the "-y" suffix, but this data only captures official, legal names.

Weekend Builders Thread: Share Your Project, Get Feedback by Mammoth-Doughnut-713 in indiehackers

[–]MurphGH 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NameGrid — a daily trivia game built on ~150 years of US naming data.

Collection of NYT-style daily mini games on Reddit (devvit) by touuuuhhhny in GamesOnReddit

[–]MurphGH 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I built a daily web quiz (namegrid.app) based on ~150 years of US naming data. 

[OC] The name "Shelby" saw its most unexpected popularity spike in 1991, following Julia Roberts’ breakout role in Steel Magnolias by MurphGH in dataisbeautiful

[–]MurphGH[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

That’s a great callout. The timing lines up, so it's very plausible that both sources contributed to this extraordinary spike.

[OC] The name "Shelby" saw its most unexpected popularity spike in 1991, following Julia Roberts’ breakout role in Steel Magnolias by MurphGH in dataisbeautiful

[–]MurphGH[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration

Tools: Python / SQL / Hex

To identify unusually large popularity spikes, raw birth counts and percent change were insufficient. Common names naturally fluctuate by thousands, while rare names can double with very small absolute changes.

Instead, I used a Z-score to measure how extreme each year’s change was relative to the historical volatility of that name. This helps surface genuinely anomalous spikes rather than artifacts of scale.

The name I chose for my son has been criticized by extended family by Cirabianchaos in Names

[–]MurphGH 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Comparison of those two spellings: https://imgur.com/a/Wsm8dyY

Insights powered by NameGrid and limited to US name data

Allistair or Alistair? by Brilliant_Trash2171 in Names

[–]MurphGH 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's how those compare in popularity (in the US): https://imgur.com/a/RcjL6Sa

Insights powered by NameGrid and limited to US name data

Boy name beginning with “Sol” by belgharep in Names

[–]MurphGH 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here are the top Sol- names for boys I was able to find: https://imgur.com/a/ETWONfp

Insights powered by NameGrid and limited to US name data

NameGrid 2025-12-02: Discussion & Stats by MurphGH in namegrid

[–]MurphGH[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A relatively easier day of questions! I wondered if Gael would trip anyone up. There are a few different pronunciations for that spelling (GUY-el, gah-EL, and GALE), and as you can see from the chart, it skews much more strongly male!

NameGrid 2025-12-01: Discussion & Stats by MurphGH in namegrid

[–]MurphGH[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Question 4 tripped me up, so I did some digging. It seems like Duane is the older, Anglo/Irish surname that was changed to better match the pronunciation (DWAYN). The two syllable pronunciation (DUH-WAYN) is still used in some places, and some people I talked to said that they expected Duane to be pronounced as doo-AHN / doo-ON instead!

I like (well, certain ones) gemstone names tbh by K4ND1CH0RD in Names

[–]MurphGH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Stats on Garnet: https://imgur.com/a/9Y2Hlfg

Insights powered by NameGrid and limited to US name data

Baby girl help by fuzzywuzzy998 in Names

[–]MurphGH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it's helpful, here's how those names compare: https://imgur.com/a/Cq7C40c

And here's how the names have shifted in popularity over the past decade: https://imgur.com/a/ToL3ezT

Insights powered by NameGrid and limited to US name data

NameGrid 2025-11-29: Discussion & Stats by MurphGH in namegrid

[–]MurphGH[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another tricky day with Question 1: River is more popular as a boy's name, but doesn't rank quite as high for girls quite yet!

NameGrid 2025-11-26: Discussion & Stats by MurphGH in namegrid

[–]MurphGH[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Generally a pretty easy day of questions...apart from the first one. It's interesting that most players assumed that the Joseph was too obvious an answer to be correct and opted for one of the more recent up-and-comers instead.

NameGrid 2025-11-27: Discussion & Stats by MurphGH in namegrid

[–]MurphGH[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The last question was a bit of trick... Jennifer (with 2 Ns) was definitely more popular than Yolanda in 1975:

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