Name trends tend to fluctuate. There are classics like Katherine, Henry, Charles, Marie, Alexander, as well as names that have a distinct time period, such as Betsy, Joanne, Todd and Robert.

A look at Los Alamitos High School’s student roster reveals some clear naming trends that have carried through the late 2000s and early 2010s. 

Freshmen, most born in 2010 and 2011, are dominated by variations of Sophia for girls and Aiden for boys. Sophomores follow a similar pattern, with Isabelle and its many spellings topping the girls’ list and Ryan standing out for boys. 

For juniors, Isabelle reappears as the most common girls’ name, while Luke/Lucas/Luca leads among boys. Seniors shift slightly, with Sophia reclaiming the top spot for girls and Ethan becoming the most popular boys’ name.

Across campus, other names that consistently rank in the top twenty include Chloe, Alexander, Olivia, Emma, Ellie/Ella, Jacob/Jake, Logan, Noah, Matthew, Caiden/Kayden, Madison, Ethan and Riley.

As imagined, it can be challenging to share a name with so many people. Having common names can take away from individuality. In contrast, people with these names may feel special or connected to the large group they share their name with.

“It doesn’t bother me that I have a common name. I think mine is very pretty and it doesn’t take away from who I truly am,” freshman Isabella Domanchich said. 

Some names only appear once on the LAHS registry, such as Giulietta, Shritan and Ayelet. For many years, women were not allowed to name their children after themselves, hence why middle names are passed down through generations. Because of this, people have shifted to gifting their children a unique first name and having a traditional middle name. 

Just like having common names, having a unique name has its advantages and disadvantages. Unique names are cool because the majority of the time, those with unique names do not meet people with the same name. It is challenging because people may mispronounce the untraditional name or make fun of it. After all, it is different.

“Yeah, (I like having an uncommon name). My name gets really mispronounced, like, for example, today a sub called me Sheratin, but my name is actually Shritan,” Shritan Reddy Yelal, a freshman, said. 

Both common and uncommon names create small challenges in everyday life. Teachers or substitutes can find it hard to pronounce really different names, but it may also be challenging if there are multiple students with the same name in the class. This difficulty may push kids to go by a nickname, their middle name or sometimes a completely different name.

“I wonder if some of these Ellas and Ellies are actually Elizabeths,” said Dr. Coriaty, an English teacher at LAHS of 33 years.

The names that were common among high school students now may differ from the names that were popular 10 years ago, or even kids who are in elementary school today.

“Allan used to be a name I saw in boys…Natalia was kind of a popular name back in the day,” Dr. Coriaty said.

No matter how unique it may be, every name has its own special beauty. Even when a person chooses not to go by their given first name, it remains important to appreciate and respect the name chosen by their parents.