What are some names, either male or female, that you perceive for some or any reason as being very “American?” I know that we Americans often perceive various names as very stylistically indicative of another culture, even if in reality that’s way off base to actual practices.
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Hudson
Jackson
Wyatt
Lincoln
Jordan
Kinsley
Mackenzie
Everleigh
Kennedy
Courtney
Madison
Elliott on girls
Actually many boy names on girls
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There are several!
Girls:
[name_f]Britney[/name_f], [name_f]Brittany[/name_f], etc.
[name_f]Deborah[/name_f]
Lindsay/Lindsey
[name_u]Courtney[/name_u]
[name_u]Madison[/name_u], [name_u]Adison[/name_u], etc. for girls
[name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u] (and other surnames as first names)
[name_u]Kennedy[/name_u]
[name_f]Trinity[/name_f]
Boys:
[name_u]Brett[/name_u]
[name_m]Brock[/name_m]
[name_m]Chad[/name_m]
[name_u]Chase[/name_u]
[name_u]Dale[/name_u]
[name_u]Drew[/name_u]
[name_u]Logan[/name_u]
[name_u]Sawyer[/name_u]
[name_m]Thatcher[/name_m]
[name_u]Tyler[/name_u]
I also feel like Americans use Hebrew names much more than we do here! Like [name_m]Samuel[/name_m], [name_f]Rachel[/name_f], [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f], Gabriel… Of course they are used, but they just seem so common in the US compared to just familiar here.
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[name_u]Kimberly[/name_u]
McKenna
[name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u]
[name_u]Hayes[/name_u]
[name_f]Jennifer[/name_f]
[name_u]Hunter[/name_u]
Joe(y)
[name_u]Kennedy[/name_u]
[name_f]Leah[/name_f]
[name_f]Adalynn[/name_f]
[name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Hope[/name_f], [name_f]Faith[/name_f]
Aubree/Aubrey
[name_m]Cole[/name_m]
[name_u]Taylor[/name_u]
Any name ending in -leigh
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Pretty much all the trendy, made up or kr8ively spelled names.
Things like Tyler, Jaxon, Everly, Mikayla, Princess, Maddox, Kennedy, Ryleigh, Nevaeh, etc.
EDIT: also, very biblical names like Ezekiel and Zebediah
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As an [name_f]English[/name_f] person…
Madison/Addison (actually, most -son names eg [name_u]Jackson[/name_u] etc)
Most biblical names (especially boys ones - eg. [name_u]Levi[/name_u], [name_u]Ezra[/name_u], Ethan)
Most surname names
[name_u]Harper[/name_u]
Ariel/Aria/Ariana brigade
[name_u]Aubrey[/name_u]
[name_u]Paisley[/name_u]
[name_f]Lainey[/name_f]
Hailey/Kaylee etc
[name_u]Quinn[/name_u]
Brielle/Briana etc
[name_m]Wesley[/name_m] (idk why)
[name_u]Emmett[/name_u]
[name_m]Justin[/name_m]
Largely just any surname names, biblical names or Hispanic names that are less popular over here I guess
Also lots of names that were trendy in the 90s (probs from the movies I grew up watching)
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[name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u]
[name_u]Holden[/name_u]
Kayla/Kaylee
[name_f]Karen[/name_f]
[name_u]Jackson[/name_u]
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u]
[name_m]Franklin[/name_m]
[name_u]Lincoln[/name_u]
imo …
- [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] and other southern/western-feeling names
- Basically all the -son names like [name_u]Grayson[/name_u], [name_u]Jackson[/name_u], [name_u]Mason[/name_u]
- -leigh ending names like [name_f]Hayleigh[/name_f] or [name_f]Bryleigh[/name_f]
- Some occupation names, especially [name_u]Hunter[/name_u]
- Definitely Courtney/Kourtney
- -den ending names like [name_u]Jayden[/name_u], [name_u]Hayden[/name_u], [name_u]Aiden[/name_u]
- [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], for some reason
- Some virtue names, like Royal/Royalty or [name_u]Dream[/name_u]
- A lot of -ley ending names, like [name_u]Paisley[/name_u], [name_u]Marley[/name_u] or [name_u]Briley[/name_u]
- [name_u]Maverick[/name_u], definitely
- Most -lyn ending names such as [name_f]Addelyn[/name_f] or [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f]
- [name_u]Tyler[/name_u] and [name_u]Kyler[/name_u]
- [name_u]Bradley[/name_u] and [name_m]Brendan[/name_m]
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[name_m]Chad[/name_m]
[name_u]Hudson[/name_u]
[name_m]Brent[/name_m]
[name_u]Brett[/name_u]
[name_u]Bryce[/name_u]
[name_u]Shane[/name_u]
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Omg I agree with [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] when it’s that spelling! So American for some reason. In [name_f]England[/name_f] I’ve only really met Sophies and Sofias
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Most trendy surnames-turned-first names have an American ring to my ear. Especially when used for girls (e.g. Madison, Cameron, Kinsley). Also the nicknames Chuck for Charles and Hank for Henry - in Britain they just wouldn’t be used.
Also, certain names that seem to be more common in America than anywhere else, like Tiffany and Jared.
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Ok Im an American, but Id guess that Black/African-American names would fit this category.
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[name_u]Hudson[/name_u], [name_u]Hudson[/name_u], [name_u]Peyton[/name_u], [name_u]Madison[/name_u], [name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u]
Seconding/thirding, etc. [name_u]Kennedy[/name_u], [name_u]Harper[/name_u], [name_u]Madison[/name_u], and [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] for girls. I also think of [name_u]Scout[/name_u] and [name_u]Genesis[/name_u] as very American names. And, [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] - every [name_u]Abi[/name_u] / [name_u]Abby[/name_u] I’ve met has been American!
For boys, [name_u]Remington[/name_u], [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m], [name_m]Rhett[/name_m], [name_u]Maverick[/name_u], [name_u]Hunter[/name_u], [name_u]Wyatt[/name_u], and [name_m]Nash[/name_m] come to mind first.
Agree with everything everyone has said so far…
Would add [name_f]Sienna[/name_f], [name_u]Sierra[/name_u], [name_u]Indiana[/name_u], [name_f]Virginia[/name_f]. Basically all place/state names as names, and occupation names like [name_u]Harper[/name_u], [name_u]Baker[/name_u], [name_m]Coleman[/name_m], [name_u]Taylor[/name_u], [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] etc (although they’re quite well used in commonwealth countries too).
For me, it’s a lot of unisex/surname names:
Paxton
Austin
Kennedy
Reagan
Lindsay
Tierney
Brady
Anniston
Logan
Oakley
Parker
Collins
Wyatt
Kinsley
Brittany
Aubrey
Hayes
Tatum
Paisley
Emmett
Addison
Tyler
Mackenzie
Peyton
Kendall
Skyler
Neveah
Camden
Avery
Dakota
Carson
Emerson
Greer
Ryder
Delaney
Reed
Sawyer
Tanner
Sloane
Paige
Truett
Whitney
Madison
Everly
Beckett
Some of these are solely used as feminine names obviously (Brittany, Whitney, Paige, Greer) but most are unisex and commonly used as such from what I can tell. Almost all of these, apart from a few, are quite rare here.
- presidential surnames
- [name_u]Aiden[/name_u] variations that are not Aidan/Aiden
- -son names
- -an/en and -son variations for girls but spelled -yn
- -leigh names
- boys names on girls > [name_u]James[/name_u] & [name_u]Elliot[/name_u]
- Mc/Mac names as first names
- unusual word names
- Br- names > [name_f]Britney[/name_f], [name_m]Brad[/name_m], [name_u]Bradley[/name_u], [name_f]Brianna[/name_f]
- biblical names ending in -ah > [name_m]Isaiah[/name_m]
- unisex names on girls
- surnames as first names
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[name_m]General[/name_m] categories: Surnames as firsts (especially Irish surnames?); boys names on girls; suffix and prefix names (as in, add and change suffixes to get a slightly different but not really name); occupational names.
Specific names - lots of repeats:
[name_u]Everly[/name_u]
[name_f]Savannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Kinsley[/name_f]
[name_u]Kennedy[/name_u]
[name_u]Reagan[/name_u]
[name_u]Sydney[/name_u]
[name_u]Madison[/name_u] & [name_u]Addison[/name_u]
[name_f]Paige[/name_f] & [name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_u]Delaney[/name_u]
[name_u]Emerson[/name_u]
[name_u]Jackson[/name_u]
[name_u]Hudson[/name_u]
[name_m]Jedidiah[/name_m] / [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m] / [name_m]Zephaniah[/name_m] / [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] - any other very OT name
[name_u]Hunter[/name_u]
[name_u]Wyatt[/name_u]
[name_m]Gunner[/name_m]
[name_u]Logan[/name_u]
[name_u]Blake[/name_u]
[name_u]Archer[/name_u]
[name_u]Sawyer[/name_u]
[name_u]Carter[/name_u]
[name_u]Chase[/name_u]
[name_u]Ryder[/name_u]
[name_m]Cole[/name_m]
It’s not that the names are only popular in the US but that I always imagine they either started on white Americans and then emigrated out or saw an uptick in popularity in that group before emigrating out. African-American and Hispanic names obviously fit the trend too but in a cultural way that doesn’t tend to emigrate out - just like the Polish and Arabic names in the UK don’t tend to emigrate out.
I’d say the opposite! To me [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] and [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] feel very [name_f]English[/name_f] whereas [name_f]Sofia[/name_f] seems more American.
That’s interesting! [name_f]Sofia[/name_f] might just feel so [name_f]English[/name_f] to me because there’s a big Italian community in my area which is why I’ve met so many !
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