"if you like... you might love" game

[dustthouart.livejournal.com]

Here's an idea for a game.

Look up the top ten (or five or twenty) boys and girls names for your country/area, and suggest a similar, less popular alternative that might appeal to the same person who would pick the original name.

(Fellow Canadians, StatsCan does not have national statistics sadly, but most provinces have stats.)

I'll go first with then top ten for 2011 for British Columbia:
If you like... you might love...
1. Liam -> Declan
2. Ethan -> Eli
3. Mason -> Mercer
4. Lucas -> Nicholas
5. Benjamin -> Benedict
6. Jacob -> Caleb
7. Logan -> Ronan
8. Nathan -> Eamon
9. Owen -> Ewan
10. Alexander -> Xavier

1. Emma -> Gemma
2. Olivia -> Octavia
3. Sophia -> Serena
4. Ava -> Ada
5. Chloe -> Charis
6. Emily -> Cecily
7. Isabella -> Theodora
8. Ella -> Helena
9. Abigail -> Adelaide
10. Sophie -> Lucy

WDYT of my alternatives?

Comments

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

I think most of your alternatives make sense, and I like more of them.

Florida, USA

1. Jayden --> Jordan
2. Jacob --> Corbin
3. Daniel --> Dashiell
4. Noah --> Noam
5. Michael --> Micah
6. Anthony --> Adrian
7. Joshua --> Josiah
8. Elijah --> Elias
9. Alexander --> Alistair
10. Mason --> Harrison

1. Isabella --> Arabella
2. Sophia --> Seraphina
3. Emma --> Alma
4. Olivia --> Oriana
5. Emily --> Mila
6. Mia --> Mina
7. Ava --> Etta
8. Madison --> Adelaide
9. Abigail --> Agatha
10. Chloe --> Claudette

That was hard! Girls were easier than boys but still hard!

[dustthouart.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's surprisingly difficult, isn't it? But it was fun. I think the hardest part was trying to get into the mind of someone who would pick a name that isn't my style at all, like Logan.

[smallandneedy.livejournal.com]

Norway top 10 2011

Girls:
1. Emma -> Embla
2. Nora -> Leonora
3. Sara -> Sandra
4. Sofie -> Savannah
5. Linnea -> Luna
6. Thea - Dorothea
7. Maja -> Marlene
8. Emilie -> Eveline
9. Ingrid -> Ingvild
10. Julie -> Julianne

Boys:
1. Emil -> Eskil
2. Lucas -> Luca (18 people named Luca last year, 282 named Lucas (and more when you add in Lukas)
3. Mathias -> Matheus
4. William -> Wilhelm
5. Magnus -> Morten
6. Filip -> Fabian
7. Oliver -> Olai
8. Markus -> John (not very common here)
9. Noah -> Nicholas (again, not very common, even though I actually am surprised that no more than 54 babies got this name compared to the 350 who got Noah)
10. Tobias -> Thomas

[rorylareina.livejournal.com]

Mason > Miller
Liam > Levi
William > Wilson
Logan > Toby
Owen > Holden
Noah > Noam
Jacob > Adam
Jackson > Jameson
Alexander > Matthias
Benjamin > Bennett

Sophia > Delphine
Emma > Senna
Ava > Nova
Olivia > Livna
Isabella > Isaura
Addison > Aderyn
Ella > Elsa
Abigail > Amity
Evelyn > Eavan
Grace > Greer

[jeweledvixen.livejournal.com]

New York State:

Michael - Gabriel
Jacob - Jason
Jayden - Jasper
Matthew - Luke
Joseph - Jonathan
Ethan - Ellis
Anthony - Marcus
Mason - Milo
Daniel - Devon
Ryan - Roman

Sophia - Louisa
Isabella - Annabella
Olivia - Christina
Emma - Melody
Ava - Anna
Emily - Victoria
Mia - Leah
Madison - Savannah
Abigail - Alison
Chloe - Charlotte

[laminy.livejournal.com]

Nova Scotia (the most recent top 10 list I could find)

Ella -> Arbella
Olivia -> Olive
Ava -> Avery
Emma -> Eugenie
Lily -> Iris
Abigail -> Shoshannah
Sophie -> Sylvie
Emily -> Elodie
Chloe -> Claude
Alexis -> Isla

Owen -> Ioan
Liam -> Rhys
Benjamin -> Sebastien
Ethan -> Emile
Jacob -> Levi
Logan -> Leon
William -> Fitzwilliam
Carter -> Callum
Jack -> Jude
Samuel -> Shiloh

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

Wisconsin, USA

1. Mason (Marcus)
2. Liam (Desmond)
3. William (Simon)
4. Logan (Colin)
5. Owen (Lachlan)
6. Noah (Jude)
7. Jacob (Julian)
8. Jackson (Dominic)
9. Alexander (Malcolm)
10. Benjamin (Martin)

1. Sophia (Irene)
2. Emma (Ruth)
3. Ava (Alma)
4. Olivia (Rosalind)
5. Isabella (Celeste)
6. Addison (Quinn)
7. Ella (Eliza)
8. Abigail (Leona)
9. Evelyn (Anika/Annika)
10. Grace (Rose)

[katsuno-hitomi.livejournal.com]

Utah, USA

1. Mason -> Edison
2. William -> Edward
3. James -> John
4. Jacob -> Carlisle
5. Samuel -> Eli
6. Ethan -> Nathaniel
7. Jackson -> Franklin
8. Isaac -> Abraham
9. Benjamin -> Joseph
10. Liam -> Milo

1. Olivia -> Ella
2. Sophia -> Euphemia
3. Emma -> Julia
4. Lily -> Rose
5. Abigail -> Lucinda
6. Brooklyn -> Arizona
7. Elizabeth -> Mary
8. Lucy -> Sophronia
9. Avery -> Alex
10. Chloe -> Zoe

[hermione-vader.livejournal.com]

They've done this on Nameberry a few times. Your alternatives are great. I especially love Helena for Ella, Octavia for Olivia, and Nicholas for Lucas.

Missouri, USA

1. Mason -> Nolan
2. William -> Vincent
3. Noah -> Micah
4. Jacob -> Josiah
5. Liam -> Lorcan
6. Jackson -> Anderson
7. Aiden -> Callum
8. Logan -> Lance
9. Elijah -> Elias
10. Ethan -> Ewan

1. Emma -> Elsa
2. Sophia -> Sylvie
3. Olivia -> Livia Separate name, believe or not.
4. Ava -> Adeline
5. Isabella -> Mirabella
6. Addison ->Adrienne
7. Abigail -> Abrial
8. Chloe -> Clara
9. Madison -> Magdalena
10. Lillian -> Leonora

[starcrossed.livejournal.com]

I live in Oxfordshire in the UK

Boys:
01. Thomas > Nathaniel
02. Joshua > Seth
03. Oliver > Tristram
04. Jack > Max
05. James > Benjamin
06. Charlie > Mack
07. Samuel > Alexander
08. Harry > Heath
09. George > Nicholas
10. Alfie > Finn

Girls:
01. Olivia > Alivia
02. Emily > Anna
03. Sophie > Saskia
04. Grace > Eveline
05. Jessica > Helena
06. Charlotte > Caroline
07. Evie > Augusta
08. Amelia > Carolina
09. Lucy > Vivian
10. Lily > Ella

[satunian.livejournal.com]

Except for Olivia and Isabella, I like all your girls names better. Boys it's 50/50, but I think they're all good matches

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

I have only lived in Colorado for 7-ish months, so I still consider Georgia my "home state." For replacements, I'm using names which do not appear in the US top 500. I think many of them are in the Top 500-1000 range, which to me is not "popular" at that point, but still not weird or unfamiliar. Here are the Top 10 for Georgia:
1 William -> Wilson
2 Christopher -> Killian
3 Mason -> Edison
4 Joshua -> Jedidiah
5 Jayden (let's be honest, if you like this name you're probably not going to like unpopular names)
6 Jacob -> Gerard
7 Michael -> Matthias
8 Elijah -> Elisha
9 James -> Jamie
10 Aiden -> Egan

1 Emma -> Elsa
2 Isabella -> Mirabella
3 Madison -> Monroe
4 Olivia -> Ophelia
5 Ava -> Eve
6 Abigail -> Abilene
7 Sophia -> Sonia
8 Chloe -> Corinne
9 Emily -> Emmeline
10 Elizabeth -> Lisette