[england vs. the fifty states - which state is the most english?]

General Name Discussion
1

quick note: i will be referring to “england” here, when i mean england and wales. i’m very sorry
quick note ii: i only analysed girl names because this took me a very long time and i am lazy xx

hello, everyone.

i really like data. i also really like names. recently (and by that i mean like two months ago because this took me forever) i found myself wondering: which us state is the most similar in naming style to england? it’s no secret that england and the usa have different styles on the whole, but also that the usa on the whole is, on behalf of being enormous, has many different styles cramped into it. some of these variations are to be expected (e.g. states with high hispanic populations using lots of spanish names) and some of them are very confusing (look up alaska’s top 100 and you’ll know what i mean).

my methods:

using some very clever algorithms (shoutout to my excel skills and to my dad who explained to me very slowly how excel works), i extracted five pieces of data from each state’s top 100:

  • the number of names it shares with the usa’s general top 100
  • the number of names it shares with england and wales’ top 100
  • the number of names it shares with the usa’s top 100, but not england’s - names that could be described as “distinctly american” in style
  • the number of names it shares with england’s top 100, but not the whole usa’s - names that are “distinctly english”
  • the number of names on its list that are not shared with either country’s top 100 - i have branded these “individual spirit” names. some of them - often names just outside the us top 100 - aren’t actually especially individual, but they still give an insight into that particular state’s flavour !

for your convenience, here are the full lists of each piece of data:

england and wales' top 100 girl names

olivia
amelia
isla
ava
mia
isabella
sophia
grace
lily
freya
emily
ivy
ella
rosie
evie
florence
poppy
charlotte
willow
evelyn
elsie
phoebe
sophie
sienna
alice
sofia
ruby
isabelle
harper
matilda
daisy
emilia
jessica
maya
eva
luna
millie
eliza
chloe
maisie
penelope
aria
esme
scarlett
imogen
thea
ada
layla
harriet
mila
violet
eleanor
bella
erin
elizabeth
rose
molly
hallie
emma
lola
lucy
bonnie
ellie
nancy
robyn
zara
lottie
hannah
maria
aurora
arabella
holly
jasmine
gracie
georgia
delilah
darcie
orla
amber
amelie
iris
anna
abigail
ayla
maryam
lilly
annabelle
sara
edith
beatrice
clara
summer
heidi
margot
martha
zoe
lara
lyla
mabel
felicity

the usa's top 100 girl names

olivia
emma
ava
sophia
isabella
charlotte
amelia
mia
harper
evelyn
abigail
emily
ella
elizabeth
camila
luna
sofia
avery
mila
aria
scarlett
penelope
layla
chloe
victoria
madison
eleanor
grace
nora
riley
zoey
hannah
hazel
lily
ellie
violet
lillian
zoe
stella
aurora
natalie
emilia
everly
leah
aubrey
willow
addison
lucy
audrey
bella
nova
brooklyn
paisley
savannah
claire
skylar
isla
genesis
naomi
elena
caroline
eliana
anna
maya
valentina
ruby
kennedy
ivy
ariana
aaliyah
cora
madelyn
alice
kinsley
hailey
gabriella
allison
gianna
serenity
samantha
sarah
autumn
quinn
eva
piper
sophie
sadie
delilah
josephine
nevaeh
adeline
arya
emery
lydia
clara
vivian
madeline
peyton
julia
rylee

all names on the usa's top 100, but not england's (the "distinctly american" names)

camila
avery
victoria
madison
nora
riley
zoey
hazel
lillian
stella
natalie
everly
leah
aubrey
addison
audrey
nova
brooklyn
paisley
savannah
claire
skylar
genesis
naomi
elena
caroline
eliana
valentina
kennedy
ariana
aaliyah
cora
madelyn
kinsley
hailey
gabriella
allison
gianna
serenity
samantha
sarah
autumn
quinn
piper
sadie
josephine
nevaeh
adeline
arya
emery
lydia
vivian
madeline
peyton
julia
rylee

all names on england's top 100, but not the usa's (the "distinctly english" names)

freya
rosie
evie
florence
poppy
elsie
phoebe
sienna
isabelle
matilda
daisy
jessica
millie
eliza
maisie
esme
imogen
thea
ada
harriet
erin
rose
molly
hallie
lola
bonnie
nancy
robyn
zara
lottie
maria
arabella
holly
jasmine
gracie
georgia
darcie
orla
amber
amelie
iris
ayla
maryam
lilly
annabelle
sara
edith
beatrice
summer
heidi
margot
martha
lara
lyla
mabel
felicity

i ranked the states by the number of “distinctly english” names in their top 100, as these made the state “more english”, as opposed to just more in-line with general trends. any states that had the same number of “distinctly english” names were ranked by the total number of names they have in common with england’s top 100.

without any further babbling, i can reveal that the most english state is… minnesota !!

are you surprised? i was. some quick polling of the nameberry populace prior to posting showed that a lot of other berries would be surprised as well.

here are all of the states in order of englishness:

state number of “distinctly english” names total number of names shared with england’s top 100
minnesota 9 52
utah 8 50
maine 7 46
new hampshire 7 46
wyoming 7 41
massachusetts 6 49
idaho 6 46
oregon 5 47
alaska 5 45
kentucky 5 45
connecticut 5 44
south dakota 5 44
north dakota 5 43
vermont 5 41
west virginia 5 39
DC 4 44
indiana 4 44
montana 4 41
nebraska 4 41
washington 4 41
new mexico 4 40
ohio 3 46
wisconsin 3 46
kansas 3 45
missouri 3 43
nevada 3 43
new jersey 3 43
delaware 3 41
hawaii 3 40
colorado 2 45
pennsylvania 2 45
california 2 44
michigan 2 44
arizona 2 42
iowa 2 42
new york 2 42
florida 2 41
oklahoma 2 41
arkansas 2 40
illinois 1 45
virginia 1 43
tennessee 1 41
maryland 1 40
north carolina 1 39
rhode island 1 39
south carolina 1 39
texas 1 39
alabama 1 37
mississippi 1 34
georgia 0 38
louisiana 0 38

and here is a nice map - the darker the state, the more english its naming style:

image
image2048×1354 116 KB

some more fun facts:

  • the most american state is virginia, with fifty “distinctly american” names, but only one “distinctly english” one, and seven “individual spirit” names !
  • the most “individual” states are hawaii and mississippi, with thirty-three “individual spirit” names each ! hawaii’s are (predictably) mostly hawaiian names or names that fit into hawaiian pronunciation conventions. mississippi’s are very southern, and tend towards the “kreatyve”, with lots of alternate spellings. i’ve attached each state’s below.
hawaii's "individual" names

malia
kailani
leia
mahina
kaia
leila
liliana
kalea
alana
leilani
bailey
athena
emi
khloe
aliyah
charlie
hope
kaila
kaylee
kira
lilinoe
kiara
mikayla
amaya
brielle
elliana
faith
kiana
kylie
mackenzie
sage
alina
amara

mississipi's "individual" names

mary
ryleigh
londyn
taylor
khloe
everleigh
raelynn
journee
aubree
harmony
trinity
kaylee
paris
kylie
harmoni
adalyn
faith
hadley
jordyn
remi
kayleigh
kennedi
mariah
london
amari
kali
malaysia
adalynn
brooklynn
callie
charleigh
eden
makenzie

anything that surprised you? do you have any thoughts - or maybe possible explanations? because this project has given me a pretty comprehensive knowledge of each state’s style, i am happy to answer any questions! this has taken me a really long time, and i’m very proud to share it with you !

sappho x

54 Likes
2

This is amazing! Thank you for sharing :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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3

Definitely did not expect [name_u]Utah[/name_u] to be that high up !!!

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4

These are fantastic! There were definitely some surprises and insights. Thanks for doing this!

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5

This was so interesting!! Thank you! :blush:

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6

This is fun to see :laughing: thanks for doing this!

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7

Fascinating! Thank you so much for analyzing all of this! I really thought one of the [name_u]New[/name_u] [name_f]England[/name_f] states would be most similar – I’ve never been to that region, though, so maybe it was just the name [name_u]New[/name_u] [name_f]England[/name_f] that had me thinking that :joy:

[name_f]My[/name_f] own state is right around the middle, which doesn’t surprise me but was still interesting to learn!

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9

This is so interesting! Thank you for doing this [name_f]Sappho[/name_f]! Minnesota definitely surprised me!

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10

Wow MN representing :joy: look at that

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11

sappho this is super cool!!! i am so impressed at the effort that went into this. the results are really interesting–minnesota is definitely a surprise to me! i’m not terribly surprised that there are a few new england states near the top, but utah and wyoming are pretty interesting wildcards for me there. then again, i guess i’m not sure on what basis i find them surprising? i definitely want to go browse some of these state popularity charts now! thank you for sharing!! :yellow_heart:

2 Likes
13

This is so cool! I always love to see the effort people put into posts like this.

Some things that surprised me:

  • [name_u]New[/name_u] [name_m]York[/name_m] being so low on the list
  • [name_f]Kennedi[/name_f] & [name_f]Charleigh[/name_f] in Mississippi’s “individual” names. I had no idea they would be in the top 100 anywhere!
  • [name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u] only being popular in [name_u]Hawaii[/name_u]
  • [name_u]Utah[/name_u] being so high on the list
  • Only 52 shared names between the top state and [name_f]England[/name_f]! I’d have predicted closer to 60 or even 70.
  • No [name_f]Stella[/name_f] in the US top 100
  • [name_f]Alaska[/name_f] being so high on the list

Some things that didn’t surprise me:

  • Lousiana & [name_f]England[/name_f] having the least names in common
  • [name_u]Maine[/name_u] having a lot in common with [name_f]England[/name_f]
  • The difference between Isla’s popularity in [name_f]England[/name_f] compared to the US
2 Likes
14

I’m surprised Hawai’i is so low down on this list!!!

15

It’s so intriguing!! Thanks for doing this

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16

Actually Stella is in US top 100, but not England!

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17

Oh, well, other way around then! I’d expect it to be in both. It’s #30 or something here!

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18

Thanks for sharing! I find these types of comparisons so interesting. I’m always looking at US vs UK popularity as someone who is in New Zealand where our top 100 seems to reflect a mixture of both sides of the pond!

Me too :joy: Although in my case, maybe it’s because I’ve been to Boston and it felt decidedly English/European to me (well, at least compared to LA and New York which are the only other places I’ve been in the US).

3 Likes
19

Fascinating!! :smiley:
Thank you for sharing this. I never would have guessed Minnesota!

What makes a name “distinctly English” or “distinctly American” by your definition? I have my own idea, but I’d like to know what standard you used with this data. (If you said, I missed it.)

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20

those are the names that appear on the usa’s top 100 list but not england’s (or vice versa) !

e.g. nora is “distinctly american” because it’s on the american top 100 but not the english one, and rose is “distinctly english” because it’s on the english top 100 but not the american one:)

2 Likes
21

Interesting! I love your map! Which software did you use to make it?

Utah and Maine have the highest percentage of Americans of English descent so it makes sense that they rank so highly. I’m not sure how to explain Minnesota at #1 though.

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22

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this, that’s so cool!

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