Top 7000 Names in the USA FAQ
For information in general about the origins of the data for and groupings of names, see the Top Names FAQ
What's different about these names?
In previous years I have grouped names by spelling from the Social Security Administration's top 1000 list. This includes names down to around 241 instances for girls, and 174 instances for boys. The long list contains names down to 5 instances. In total, for 2010 there are around 39,000 names.
Why aren't all the years like this?
The SSA just started giving out this information within the past couple of years. Someday I plan on going back through 130 years of data and grouping the names by spelling, but it will take me forever, so don't hold your breath.
Duh. Why don't you put it into a database to make it easier?
My web design stills are state-of-the-art cutting-edge for 2002. Unless I find time to upgrade my skills, I will be doing this by hand.
What's up with the ranking system?
It's difficult to get clear rankings with names down to 5 instances. The lower the number of instances, the more names you will have with that ranking. This is why there are roughly 500 names ranked at #5978 for girls in 2010.