# what is the most common name not found in gift shops?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 10, 2002, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242 "2002-06-10T13:13:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/1 "2002-06-10T13:13:42Z")
My wife has a somewhat less than common name (but not rare by any means), and ever since she was a kid has been disappointed when she enters a gift shop and they’d have those little license plates, keychain, or things like that with first names on them. Her name was never there (mine always is, as one of the most popular names in the US). This happened again recently, and I tried to think of a way to console her by finding an even more common name that doesn’t appear. It got me thinking: there must be some sort of list that these manufacturers use, since they all seem to have more or less the same names. That list could be matched against a list of first names by frequency, and then the most unfortunate kids name could be found.
Any ideas?
(And please don’t tell me Bort 😉 )
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### Author:  [@whiterose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterose)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/2 "2002-06-10T13:41:39Z")
i can never find my first name either, and it’s anita. i never thought that name was rare but apparently it is.
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### Author:  [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/3 "2002-06-10T15:23:32Z")
“Carla” is rarely found in gift shops.
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### Author:  [@DonJorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonJorge)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/4 "2002-06-10T15:24:59Z")
Those manufacturers probably use lists of most popular names (as provided by the SS). I guess they will create objects for only the top 100 names in the list… Of course, gifts will be created based on different lists according to age group.
Thus, name number 101 would be the ‘most common name not in the list’.
Here is a site with listings of the most popular names in each decade (for he US). [http://www.babycenter.com/babyname/popnames.html](http://www.babycenter.com/babyname/popnames.html)
and here is the official SSA site: [http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html](http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html)
Just in case, the names ranked 101-110 for Girls born from 1960-1969 are:
Anna, Shirley, Tamara, Betty, Penny, Stacey, Victoria, Peggy, Ruth, Jean
(The top three in that decade were Lisa, Mary, Karen)
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### Author:  [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/5 "2002-06-10T15:26:27Z")
I very rarely find Dawn.
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### Author:  [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/6 "2002-06-10T15:26:30Z")
I can almost never find “Russell”…not even “Russ” or “Rusty” !
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### Author:  [@DonJorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonJorge)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/7 "2002-06-10T15:27:42Z")
and something else: Anita shows up as number 83 in the sixties, but drops to 158 in the seventies… Carla shows as 119 in the seventies…
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### Author:  [@DonJorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonJorge)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/8 "2002-06-10T15:32:08Z")
… finally, nor Russell nor Dawn make it in the top 1000 in the seventies. They show up in the 80’s as 119 and 145 respectively
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### Author:  [@Fyodor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fyodor)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/9 "2002-06-10T15:37:31Z")
I’ve got a little cranberry glass cream pitcher that says “World’s Fair 1897” on one side and “Martha” on the other. I think my mother’s aunt Martha got it at the Chicago world’s fair when she was a little girl. Kinda MPSIMS for GQ but it shows it’s not a new marketing concept.
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### Author:  [@DonJorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonJorge)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/10 "2002-06-10T15:38:55Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by DonJorge \*
> \*\*… finally, nor Russell nor Dawn make it in the top 1000 in the seventies. They show up in the 80’s as 119 and 145 respectively \*\*
sorry, both of you… your names DO make it in hte top 100 in hte seventies, as number 80 and 27 respectively.
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### Author:  [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/11 "2002-06-10T15:41:34Z")
My name nor my girlfriends are ever there. Except once, when I got a pencil with my name on it - I was well chuffed!!
(Aaron & Heidi)
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### Author:  [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/12 "2002-06-10T16:15:34Z")
You never find Aaron on pencils and whatnot? My, I see “Aaron” stuff constantly! My name, though, is hit or miss. Quite often I see “LindsEy”, but my name is “LindsAy”.
Perhaps the names are regionally tailored? i.e. certain names are more likely to be found in one area than another.
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### Author:  [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/13 "2002-06-10T16:27:39Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by curwin \*
> **(And please don’t tell me Bort 😉 )**
Damn! Didn’t even _know_ there were _Simpsons_ fans in Israel…
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### Author:  [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/14 "2002-06-10T16:49:10Z")
I don’t usually find “Victor.”
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### Author:  [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/15 "2002-06-10T16:52:07Z")
It seems to me that which names are included on a given trinket do vary. For one thing, the number of names offered varies quite a bit. Some racks of stuff include a lot more names then others. Presumbably, a manufacteror first decides how many names to offer, and will it be both male and female names. Then, a list is drawn up or chosen from some source or other. Seems likely that they try to choose a list based on popular names for the age group they think will want the item in question.
I sometimes find my real name (which isn’t Hazel), but most often it isn’t there. It was at one time quite popular (there were three of us in my elementary school class (in the '50s), but has since become less common. I guess they don’t expect adults to want the various keychains, date books, etc.
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### Author:  [@knarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knarf)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2002, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/16 "2002-06-10T17:52:28Z")
My wife and I rarely find ours, and I wouldn’t think they were that uncommon - Frank & Penny
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### Author:  [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2002, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/17 "2002-06-12T03:49:20Z")
Well, I never found a keychain that said Jin, but I have run across some stickers and t-shirts that said Wicked on them from time to time.
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### Author:  [@robinc308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinc308)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2002, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/18 "2002-06-12T03:54:09Z")
I rarely find Robin. Robyn, sometimes, but not Robin with an ‘i’.
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### Author:  [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/19 "2002-06-12T03:59:04Z")
I can only very rarely find Bryan, although there is nearly always a Brian.
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### Author:  [@VDarlin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VDarlin)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2002, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-common-name-not-found-in-gift-shops/113242/20 "2002-06-12T04:11:08Z")
Finding my name(the most common middle name for a girl in the US) is hit or miss, I usually find the variations with either a **y** or an **a** at the end. My oldest son’s name is everywhere, as is the name that my baby goes by(his middle name). I’ve never looked for his first name, but according to a post already in this thread, I guess it’s not common, no big surprise. The one that I have a hard time finding most, however, is my daughter’s name, Veronica.
~V
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