Reply To: Most Common Frum First Names?

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#671360
MYM
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The NYC department of Vital Statistics publishes the top one hundred (plus ties) baby names broken down by race/ethnicity. In terms of frum names this would cover neighborhoods like Williamsburg, Crown Heights, Boro Park, etc. and will give a good idea of popular frum names.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/public/press09/pr076-09-babynames.pdf

Looking at the non-Hispanic white male list for 2008 and selecting for the obviously frum names we get:

Moshe, Chaim, Menachem, Yehuda, Shimon, Yosef, Mordechai, Yisroel, Shmuel, Shlomo, Yitzchok, Asher, Tzvi, Yaakov, Meir, Yakov, Shulem, Zev, Eliyahu, Mendel, Yechiel, Ariel, Eliezer, Yehoshua, Dovid, Avrohom, Naftali, Ari, Aryeh, Alimelech, Noam, Akiva, Pinchas, Dov, Efraim, Eitan, Hersh, Hershy, Shaya, Shia, Naftuli, Simcha, Hershel, Baruch, Cheskel. Shlome, Yisrael, Binyomin, Ilan, Mendy, Moishe, Zalmen, Binyamin, Boruch, Yoel, Aharon, Gavriel, Nachman, Benzion, Chesky, Lipa, Shimshon, Mordche, Shloma, Shraga.

I left out names like Eli, Levi, David, etc. which could come from any kind of family.

In 2008, the non-Hispanic white girls’ frum names are

Esther, Sarah, Rachel, Chaya, Leah, Miriam, Sara, Chana, Rivka, Faigy, Malka, Malky, Raizy, Devorah, Shaindy, Gitty, Naomi, Rivky, Baila, Chava, Shira, Dina, Hindy,Noa, Talia, Yitty, Nechama, Goldy, Rochel, Blimy, Bracha, Blima, Yocheved, Perel, Pessie, Shoshana, Yehudis, Yael, Ahuva, Chany, Esty, Sima, Tamar, Brucha, Mirel, Raizel, Zissy, Acital, Lea, Rifky, Shifra, Batsheva, Bruchy, Devora, Elizheva, Fraidy, Avigail, Faiga, Idy, Liba, Ruth, Zippora, Zipporah, Breindy, Etty, Frady, Hadassah, Menucha, Freida, Gittel, Michal, Miri, Rifka, Rivkah, Ruchy, Shaina, Chavy, Fraida, Tehila, Zahava.

For the girls I had to make more judgment calls, like whether a particular spelling was more likely to be Muslim than frum, and whether Suri was a form of Sarah or named after the celebrity baby.

This certainly gives a good idea of which names are popular in NYC frum families. Anyone who is interested can scan the list for themselves. One thing the list makes very clear: frum Jews make up a very substantial percentage of NYC’s non-Hispanic white population.