My favorite names

Nathan is an Old Testament name that's ranked among the Top 100 names for boys for 50 years, and could well stay there for another 50. Strong, solid, and attractive, It's a name familiar to every schoolchild through Nathan Hale, the Revolutionary War spy.

For a name related to a Scottish town, a patterned Indian fabric, and a country singer named Brad, Paisley has seen remarkable success. After appearing, seemingly out of nowhere, it is now an American favorite.

Radical Bradley.

New York socialite and reality TV star Tinsley Mortimer introduced this name to the mainstream. Following her Gossip Girl cameo in 2008 and the airing of her own show, High Society in 2010, this once obscure choice began to climb the charts. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016 and though 2023 saw it drop from the charts, it is still given to around 250 girls each year.
Derived from an English place name,Tinsley can mean "Tynni's meadow" or "Field of Council', in reference to a town in South Yorkshire. Also used as a surname, Tinsley is in tune with its more popular sister names: Kinsley, Presley, Oakley, Finley, and Paisley, to name a few. Boosted up by these on trend names, Tinsley's rise might also have been helped along by the character, Dawn Tinsley, from the popular TV show The Office and by child actress and social media star, Tinsley Price, who starred in the first series of Stranger Things. The year following release of the show did coincide with a jump in use of the name.

Western novelist Zane (born Pearl!) Grey made this name famous. Now, it's in tune with the style of our times, retaining that appealing cowboy image.

See the popularity graph below for the name Theo? It's been heading straight uphill since 2010, when it hopped back onto the Top 1000 after a 60+ year absence.