Names that Peaked in 2012

Kenia debuted on the US Top 1000 list in 1992. Even though it currently ranks higher than original spelling Kenya, this is a hard sell as it alters the spelling of the African nation.

In all its iterations, this name is on the rise. Ariana and Arianna are both highly popular choices in the US, and as with other popular appellations, creative spellings are inevitable. The trendy y in place of the i might be tempting, but anyone bearing this spelling will constantly be correcting people who assume one of the two dominant versions.

Needlessly confusing; stick with Bailey.

Similar to Malaysia, except completely invented.

Elijah is in the US Top 10 and is popular across New Zealand, The Netherlands, and The UK. Spelling variation Alijah however only appears in the US charts, where it has ranked in the Top 1000 since 2001. Given to 700 boys in a recent year, for every one baby Alijah, there are 16 Elijahs.

Jaylee belongs to the family of names including Haylee and Caylee, all of which experienced their greatest popularity five to ten years ago.

This car name is made even worse by the trendy -ee suffix. If you've got your heart set on this name, consider going with the original spelling.

Addison has been a wildly popular surname name, mostly for girls, for a few decades now, and Addisyn is one of its many spelling variations.

Variation of Aubrey.

A spelling variation of the Hispanic Jovanni, itself a variation of the Giovanni, the Italian form of traditional John. This form may also be used by English speaking parents, hoping to make the pronunciation of Giovanni clear.

The rise of Ayla seems to have revived this variation.

Aubriana, along with Aubrianna and Aubriella, is an elaboration of a perfectly-good if too-trendy name, Aubrey. The final anna or ana or ella does not improve on the original. But A names of all kinds continue to appeal.

No, adding a Y does not do enough to separate this name from the ever-popular Jacob.