Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Double Trouble

So, I was browsing the SSA database, wishing that the 2012 stats were out (three more weeks?!? GAH.), and came across the most common twin names. I know I've seen this before, but I never really looked too hard. I mean, statistically, the most common names for kids overall are still going to be pretty common for twinsies, too, right? Partially.
What I failed to consider is the common proclivity towards "matchy" names. What seems to happen quite frequently is for one twin to get a popular name, and the other to get an uncommon "match". Names that are quite uncommon overall are disproportionately more common for a twin.
Now, the data isn't perfect, of course--it only shows most common twinsets.  So, a name like Kaylee, which has dozens of spelling in use, doesn't rank highly at all. Also, a name could theoretically be in use frequently, but not paired with any one name particularly often. It wouldn't show up in these rankings either.
So, with those limitations in mind, here're some interesting stats:

The most common twin pairs are: Olivia & Sophia, Madison & Mason; Daniel & David.
However, if you break the pairs up:

G/G Names B/G Names B/B Names
Olivia 142 Mason 70 Jayden 120
Sophia 142 Madison 60 Logan 98
Emma 120 Ethan 49 Ethan 91
Isabella 91 Emma 44 Joshua 90
Ava 74 Isabella 39 Jacob 89
Abigail 60 Olivia 39 Isaiah 85
Madison 58 Abigail 38 Andrew 69
Ella 57 Jayden/Jaden 37 Alexander 67
Makenzie/Mackenzie 88 Jada/Jayda 36 Benjamin 67
Gabriella 48 Addison 26 Nathan 66
Faith 46 Aiden 25 Matthew 65
Makayla 40 Alexander 25 Daniel 58
Emily 34 Sophia 24 David 58
Hope 33 Emily 22 Jordan 53
Hailey/Haylee 31 Chloe 21 Noah 53
Heaven 29 Jacob 20 Elijah 52
Nevaeh 29 Ava 19 Michael 52
Mia 26 Michael 19 Isaac 47
Addison 24 Andrew 18 Nicholas 46
Elizabeth 22 Owen 18 Aiden/Ayden 42
Hannah 18 Zoey 18 Evan 39
Avery 15 Zachary 17 Lucas 39
Arianna 14 Isaiah 14 Jeremiah 33
Brianna 14 Jackson 14 Anthony 31
London 14 Ella 12 Jaylen 26
Paris 14 Taylor (g) 12 Mason 26
Grace 13 Tyler 12 Justin 25
Kaylee 13 Landon 11 Kayden 25
Samantha 13 London 11 Landon 25
Anna 12 Morgan 11 William 24
Chloe 12 Oliver 11 Caleb 23
Evelyn 12 Benjamin 9 James 23
Reagan 12 John 9 John 23
Riley 12 Mackenzie 9 Josiah 21
Zoey 12 Matthew 9 Luke 21
Sarah 11 Michelle 9 Chance 20
Jayla 10 Adrian 8 Chase 20
Katherine 10 Adriana 8 Hayden 20
Kayla 10 Charlotte 8 Hunter 20
Morgan 10 Elizabeth 8 Gabriel 19
Mya 10 Henry 8 Joseph 19
Natalie 10 Isaac 8 Samuel 17
Nicole 10 Jayla 8 Christian 16
Serenity 10 Samuel 8 Christopher 16
Trinity 10 William 8 Brandon 15
Autumn 9 Blake 7 Bryan 15
Sophie 9 Brooklyn 7 Liam 15
Summer 9 Caleb 7 Jason 13
Valentina 9 Colton 7 Maddox 13
Valeria 9 Connor 7 Garrett 12
Jack 7 Gavin 12
Jordan (b) 7 Henry 12
Natalie 7 Jeremy 12
Nathan 7 Jonah 12
Robert 7
Trinity 7
Tristan 7
Zane 7
Austin 6


Most of the names aren't too surprising. Logan, however, is ranked either #20 or #26 (depending on whether you prefer the SSA ranking or the NameNerds rankings). Why is it so much more popular for twins? Because of its matchy-ness with other names--particularly Landon, Lucas, Luke, & Liam. Hope is down in the 200s, but it's commonly paired with Faith. Jayda/Jada is fairly uncommon as well, but is frequently paired with Jayden/Jaden & Jordan.

David & Daniel are the most common twinset for boys...but they only appear paired with each other! There are a few of these sets--Heaven & Nevaeh, London & Paris, Reagan & Riley, Jayla & Kayla, Summer & Autumn, Valentina & Valeria; Blake & Brooklyn, Taylor (g) & Tyler; Chance & Chase, Hayden & Hunter, Christian & Christopher. Unsurprisingly, "matchy" names are more common for g/g sets.
(It's a bit depressing, actually.)

I also find it interesting that of all the unisex names, only Jordan shows up as only male. Jordyn is a fairly popular name, so I'm at loss as to why it doesn't appear in twin-sets often.

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