Popularity of First Letters in Names

I found a list on my computer ranking the most popular first letters in names today. I can't remember if I determined this from the 2005 Social Security Administration Top 1000 list or the 2006 one, but either way, it's a good guide.

I went through the 200 most popular names in America and counted how many names started with each letter of the alphabet. The most popular letter was A with 32 names, followed by J, with 27. If you are looking for a name that will stand out among your child's peers, your best bet is to stick closer to the bottom of this ranking.

A: 32 names
J: 27
M: 20
C: 17
S: 13
K: 10
B: 9
E: 9
L: 9
D: 8
N: 7
G: 6
I: 6
R: 6
H: 5
T: 5
O: 2
V: 2
W: 2
Z: 2
F: 1
P: 1
X: 1
Q: 0
U: 0
Y: 0

Next, I broke it down by the two first letter combinations, to get a clearer picture of the most popular sounds of the moment.

The results: There were 11 names that begin with Ma- in the top 200, the most by far. Runners-up were Ja- with 9, and Al- and Jo-, both with 8. Again, if popularity is a concern for you, avoid these letters. Find an little-used first letters combination (Athena instead of Alexa, for example) or go with a less popular letter altogether (Frank instead of Jack).

There are so many wonderful names out there. Look outside of the box!

The First Two Letters List:
Aa: 2 (Aaliyah, Aaron)
Ab: 1 (Abigail)
Ad: 2 (Adam, Adrian)
Ai: 2 (Aidan, Aiden)
Al: 8 (Alejandro, Alex, Alexa, Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis, Allison, Alyssa)
Am: 2 (Amanda, Amelia)
An: 7 (Andrea, Andrew, Angel, Angelina, Anna, Anthony, Antonio)
Ar: 2 (Ariana, Arianna)
As: 1 (Ashley)
Au: 3 (Audrey, Austin, Autumn)
Av: 2 (Ava, Avery)

Be: 1 (Benjamin)
Bl: 1 (Blake)
Br: 7 (Brandon, Brayden, Brian, Brianna, Brooke, Brooklyn, Bryan)

Ca: 7 (Caden, Caleb, Cameron, Carlos, Caroline, Carson, Carter)
Ch: 5 (Charles, Chase, Chloe, Christian, Christopher)
Cl: 1 (Claire)
Co: 4 (Cody, Cole, Colin, Connor)

Da: 2 (Daniel, David)
De: 2 (Destiny, Devin)
Di: 2 (Diana, Diego)
Do: 1 (Dominic)
Dy: 1 (Dylan)

El: 3 (Elijah, Elizabeth, Ella)
Em: 2 (Emily, Emma)
Er: 1 (Eric)
Et: 1 (Ethan)
Ev: 2 (Evan, Evelyn)

Fa: 1 (Faith)

Ga: 4 (Gabriel, Gabriella, Gabrielle, Gavin)
Gr: 2 (Grace, Gracie)

Ha: 4 (Hailey, Haley, Hannah, Hayden)
Hu: 1 (Hunter)

Ia: 1 (Ian)
Is: 5 (Isabel, Isabelle, Isabella, Isaiah, Isaac)

Ja: 9 (Jack, Jackson, Jacob, Jada, Jaden, James, Jasmine, Jason, Jayden)
Je: 6 (Jenna, Jennifer, Jeremiah, Jesse, Jesus, Jessica)
Jo: 8 (Jocelyn, John, Jonathan, Jordan, Jordan (girl), Jose, Joseph, Joshua)
Ju: 4 (Juan, Julia, Julian, Justin)

Ka: 6 (Kaitlyn, Katelyn, Katherine, Katie, Kayla, Kaylee)
Ke: 1 (Kevin)
Ki: 1 (Kimberly)
Ky: 2 (Kyle, Kylie)

La: 2 (Landon, Lauren)
Le: 1 (Leah)
Li: 2 (Lillian, Lily)
Lo: 1 (Logan)
Lu: 3 (Lucas, Luis, Luke)

Ma: 11 (Mackenzie, Madeline, Madison, Makayla, Maria, Mariah, Marissa, Mary, Mason, Matthew, Maya)
Me: 2 (Megan, Melanie)
Mi: 4 (Mia, Michael, Michelle, Miguel)
Mo: 2 (Molly, Morgan)
My: 1 (Mya)

Na: 3 (Natalie, Nathan, Nathaniel)
Ne: 1 (Nevaeh)
Ni: 2 (Nicholas, Nicole)
No: 1 (Noah)

Ol: 1 (Olivia)
Ow: 1 (Owen)

Pa: 1 (Paige)

Q: NONE

Ra: 1 (Rachel)
Re: 1 (Rebecca)
Ri: 2 (Richard, Riley)
Ro: 1 (Robert)
Ry: 1 (Ryan)

Sa: 5 (Samantha, Samuel, Sara, Sarah, Savannah)
Se: 3 (Sean, Sebastian, Seth)
So: 2 (Sofia, Sophia)
St: 2 (Stephanie, Steven)
Sy: 1 (Sydney)

Ta: 1 (Taylor)
Th: 1 (Thomas)
Ti: 1 (Timothy)
Tr: 1 (Trinity)
Ty: 1 (Tyler)

U: NONE

Va: 1 (Vanessa)
Vi: 1 (Victoria)

Wi: 1 (William)
Wy: 1 (Wyatt)

Xa: 1 (Xavier)

Y: NONE

Za: 1 (Zachary)
Zo: 1 (Zoe)