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Opinion

Popular baby names: How Canada and US match up

The results are in! Check out how Canada and the US compare—and differ—on popular baby names.

baby-names-2014-emma Photo: iStockphoto

It’s name day for all you name nerds!

Today’s Parent has compiled a 2014 list of the top 100 baby names of in Canada, which means everyone is currently scouring the list to find where their kids’ names—not to mention their own—rank. Did you feel a little bit of glee when you realized your kids' names don’t break the top 10? Are you even more smug if their names didn't even crack the top 100? Or are you happy your kid has a popular, recognizable name so every Starbucks barista will know how to spell it?

To make it even more interesting, compare the list to the top 1,000 names in the United States. The most recent list from Social Security is dated 2013, but it shows a lot of similarities, as well as some notable differences.

In the US the top 10 girls names are: Sophia Emma Olivia Isabella Ava Mia Emily Abigail Madison Elizabeth

At first glance, the list is very similar to ours in Canada. (The Social Security list doesn’t combine spellings like the Today’s Parent list, so names like Mia/Maya and Zoe/Zoey may have ranked higher in the States.) One of the things that jumped out at me from the American list is the high ranking of Elizabeth which only ranks 25 in Canada. Since she is our Queen, I thought it would have been more popular here. But maybe the royal connection is a disincentive? Abigail and Madison are more popular south of the border, though they are in our top 25.

The top 10 American boy names are: Noah Liam Jacob Mason William Ethan Michael Alexander Jayden Daniel

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At number one in Canada and two in the US, we know that Liam is definitely popular no matter what side of the border you're on. Lucas is in the top 10 here, but only as high as 23 in the States. Michael and Jayden are more popular in the US. Sometimes the interesting names hover down at the bottom of the list. In Canada, Muhammad ranks at 96 but in the US, Muhammad ranks further down the list at 422.

There's also evidence of Canada’s French roots, especially in the girls’ names. Leanne, Marianne, Justine, Romy, Melodie and Adele are all on this list between 90 and 100. None of them even rank in the US list’s top 1,000—the closest is Marianna at 922. I assume there's a much stronger Spanish influence on the American list overall.

In case you were looking for some names on the less popular end of the chart—Tess, Tinley and Collins were 998,999 and 1,000 on the US names chart for girls (love Tess!) and Princess was 982. Broderick, Clyde and Darien round out the bottom of the chart for American boys.

Have fun reading, fellow name nerds!

Where do your kids rank? 

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Emma Waverman is a writer, blogger and mom to three kids. She has many opinions, some of them are fit to print. Read more of her articles here and follow her on Twitter @emmawaverman.http://www.babynamewizard.com/the-top-1000-baby-names-of-2013-united-states-of-america

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This article was originally published on Dec 19, 2014

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