If you are concerned about choosing a popular name for your baby, know this, the Social Security Administration Popular Name List is a little skewed in how it presents its information. The SSA does not consider that one name can be spelled many, many different ways. Each unique spelling gets its own slot on the chart. So when you look at their list, you might not realize that a name is much more common that what it appears.
Never fear, I've got the answers for which you are looking. On the pages that follow, you can browse through the most recent SSA data on popular baby names, looking at how the rankings change when you group similar sounding names together. You might be surprised to see how much changes when you do that.
A little disclaimer, when putting together a list such as this, the compiler (er, that would be me) had to hazard a guess how some names might have been intended to be pronounced. I fully realize that I may have assumed one pronunciation when another was intended. But at the least, it should give you an idea that if you call your son's name on the playground, how many other boys might also bear a similar sounding name.
Interested in popular girls' names, too? I've got you covered. You can also look at common trends in changed spellings of baby names as well.
