Happy NYE, friends! As 2019 comes to a close, we’re feeling proud of and humbled by what we’ve started here this year. And we’re excited about the year ahead! Sometimes it’s a mystery to us which posts get traction and which ones seem to fizzle away like the bubbles in a glass of champagne. So we’re sending off 2019 with a roundup of our most popular posts of the year, and those that the two of us liked best.
Our top five posts by page views–in reverse order for dramatic effect–are. . .
#5 Best of. . . Floral Baby Names
Florals were big this year, so this was a natural choice for our first list on the blog. Our “best of” lists are all themed, but they aren’t meant to be exhaustive. We trim them down by dozens to get at the best of the best for each theme. A few of our favorites from the list? Aster, Jacinta, and Ren.
#4 Best of. . . National Park Baby Names
This list was a doozy to compile but also So. Much. Fun. Acadia, Estes, Frederica, Kenai, Thaddeus… who knew that so many great baby names were hiding out in our US National Parks?! It just shows that inspiration can be found anywhere.
#3 Game of Thrones Baby Names No One’s Using Yet
Perhaps no modern show has had more of an impact on baby naming than Game of Thrones. And that’s exactly why this isn’t a “best of” list, like the other ones here. We wanted to dig a little deeper to give you some unexpected, not-so-obvious show-inspired options. Like Khal, Royce, and Valyria.
#2 5 Must Dos Before Choosing a Baby Name
In our “5 Must Dos,” we put it all out there. We give your our most essential tips for baby naming: Consider fit. Track popularity. Research it. Use it. Don’t sweat the small stuff. And we give examples and advice for how to consider each in your naming process. This is the one post we’d encourage all people naming babies to read.
#1 Best of. . . Last Names as First Names
And our most popular post of the year was our surname-inspired baby name list! 2019 parents, celebrity and non-celebrity, were all heart eyes for last names as first names. With endless options, this list could’ve been huge. But we pared it down with favorites like Clark, Hollis, Sutton, and West.
Those were our top posts of the 2019 year! “Top” was determined by page views, which is only a quantitative measure and an imperfect one at that. While the data can tell us where we got the most eyes, we know that numbers only tell part of the story. There are also those posts we just connect with, even if they don’t take the interwebs by storm. So on a more personal note, here are a few of our favorite posts from the year:
Star’s favorites
Well, my name *might* bias me a bit, but I loved the star baby names list, which was all proper names of actual stars. The research was enlightening, and it’s mind blowing to me that there is a committee of people who name stars. I also love MANY of the names on the smart baby names list, like Anselm, Aviva, Helene, Rhodes, Seneca, and Titus. I think it’s fun when a name can nod to something you value but isn’t obvious to anyone but you. And then there’s the fruit list, which has some really exciting and wearable choices! Oh, and the candy-inspired list! Mmm.
Lynda’s favorites
I love writing and I love pop culture, so I loved working on the two Star Wars baby name lists we did (Best of Star Wars Baby Names and Star Wars Baby Names No One Is Using Yet) as well as the first Names in Fiction post, 10 Tips for Picking a Character Name. And I am such a fan of the cornerstone post Baby Name Trends: Use Them to Find a Name You Love, which I recommend any expectant parents read before picking out a name for their baby!
We shared ours, now it’s your turn! Do you have a favorite post? We’d love to know what’s working for you and what isn’t. Do you like the polls? The Ask Ava to Zeke q&as? The longer name advice articles? Let us know in the comments!!
Thank you for coming along for the ride in 2019. Happy New Year! May your 2020 be amazing.
Congratulations on a great 2019! Here’s to the next year 🥂