Kenai and Kodiak
Local favorites from the Western USA
In this week’s blog post on names distinctive to the American West, I mentioned Rainier, as in the highest peak in Washington State. It’s a firm local favorite: 2% of Americans live in Washington, but 20% of baby boys named Rainier in 2023 were born in the Evergreen State. (That’s eight out of 41 nationally.)
Here are five more boy names with special local connections out West.
Kaladin
An archetypal fantasy name with a cool “Cal” sound, Kaladin is a character in The Stormlight Archive by Utah resident Brandon Sanderson. Westerners are early adopters: of the 97 baby Kaladins born in 2023, almost half were in the Western States, including 20 in Utah.
Kenai
This Alaskan place name — and Disney name — is soaring up everywhere, but is especially popular all along the West Coast.
Kodiak
Wilderness names don’t come much wilder than this. Kodiak didn’t actually make the charts in Alaska, but it was given to the highest proportion of boys in Washington State.
Morrison
The Morrison Formation is a group of fossil-rich rock layers running under many Western states, especially Colorado. 30% of the nation’s baby Morrisons were born in Colorado and California.
Rockwell
Porter Rockwell was a companion of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. His last name is still going strong in Utah. In 2023, 66 baby boys in the US were named Rockwell, of which 20 were in the Western States, of which 14 were in Utah.
Which is your favorite?
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