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The Most Popular New Name Of 2017 Was Inspired By A Car

Parents can't get enough of unique names.
Cultura/Sofie Delauw

There's a reason unique baby names are so popular among parents. Not only do they help their child stand out in the classroom (and not get confused with the three other Liams or Emmas in class), but they also reinforce the idea that their child is special. (Even though we know all our kids are special.)

"Parents are pushing the envelope in a lot of ways in terms of choosing names that will be different," Nameberry creator Pamela Redmond Satran told Yahoo Parenting in 2015. "They're looking for names that their child won't share with anyone else."

Ke Yu

In 2017, more than 1,000 newly-invented monikers showed up in U.S. Social Security data, Quartz reports, proving parents' love of distinct names. And it turns out, the most popular breakout moniker of 2017 was inspired by a car.

Camreigh (pronounced like Camry) tops the list of new names for 2017. While the traditional Camry has been around for just over two decades (it first showed up in U.S. data in 1997), its new counterpart has never entered the system until now.

Names ending with "-eigh" or an "e" sound have become increasingly popular — take Kayleigh or Rileigh, for example — which could be a reason why Camreigh was given to 91 babies born last year, while its variation, Kamreigh, was given to 18 babies and ranked as the ninth most popular new name.

DJ Khaled and Asahd Khaled at the 2018 Rookie USA Show on Feb. 15, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
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DJ Khaled and Asahd Khaled at the 2018 Rookie USA Show on Feb. 15, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

Asahd was the second most popular new name last year, given to 58 infants. If this moniker sounds familiar to you, it's because DJ Khaled chose it for his adorable son, who was born in October 2016.

Asahd is an Arabic name meaning "lion" and is an alternate spelling of Asad and Assad, Mental Floss notes.

So what other names rounded out the top five most popular new monikers? That would be Taishmara (38 babies), Kashdon (30 babies), and Teylie (23 babies).

The full list of new names that appeared on U.S. Social Security data in 2017 also showed that parents are still big fans of "Game of Thrones" as 11 infants were named Cersei and 9 were named Olenna (as in Olenna Tyrell) last year.

Additionally, parents love unique spellings as new variations like Cahlani (9 babies), Khyro (9 babies) and Iveigh (8 babies).

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