This baby name has become shockingly unpopular in the U.S.
The Social Security Administration in the U.S. released their annual list of the top 1,000 baby names and one surprising name has become quite unpopular.
Photo: iStockphoto
The Social Security Administration (SSA) in the U.S. recently released their list of the top baby names in the country, and while the most popular names come as no surprise, one name really took a hit: Caitlyn.
In fact, every variety of the name—Kaitlyn, Caitlin, Katelynn, etc—dropped in popularity. In one year alone, Caitlyn dropped 542 spots to number 1,151—that's the biggest decline in popularity of all ranked names for 2016.
The SSA doesn't really provide any reasons for the name's decline in popularity, but people are already jumping to the conclusion that it's plummeted because of Caitlyn Jenner. However, baby name maven and founder of The Baby Name Wizard, Laura Wattenberg, says that's totally NOT the case.
The baby name was already declining in popularity, she told The Associated Press. She went on to say that the drop has nothing to do with transphobia, rather that parents stay away from any name that has "controversy" attached to it.
“Even parents who are huge Donald Trump supporters are unlikely to name their child Donald,” Wattenberg told The Globe and Mail. “In part, we just want to avoid controversy in picking names.”
Donald dropped 48 spots in 2016 and Hillary fell out of the top 1,000 in 2009.
So what names came out on top?
The most popular name for girls was Emma (no big surprise there), followed by Olivia, Ava, Sophia and Isabella. As for the boys, Noah took the lead, followed by Liam, William, Mason and James.
Here's how they compare to Canada's top baby names:
Girls 1. Emma 2. Olivia 3. Charlotte 4. Sofia 5. Emily
Click here to see the full list of top girl names
Boys 1. Liam 2. William 3. Noah 4. Benjamin 5. Jacob
Click here to see the full list of top boy names in Canada
Unlike Caitlyn, the names Abigail and Elijah cracked the top 1,000 for the first time ever. Old-school, grandparent-esque baby names are so trendy right now!
Did your baby's name make the SSA's top 20?
Read more:
You'll never guess the baby names parents regret the most
Uh oh! These baby names might be on the verge of extinction
Why are we choosing such ridiculous baby names?
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Emily is a content and social strategist, writer, editor and producer based in Toronto, Ontario. Her work can also be found in Chatelaine and on FLAREdotcom.