Author

Ivy Hung
Data Journalist
Based in Arizona, USA
Ivy is a data journalist based in Arizona, United States. A business school graduate now working her way into tech, she spent her early career in product marketing, project management, and marketing strategy — roles where reading a name the same way you read a brand became second nature.
She joined NamesPop because the name datasets sit at exactly the intersection she cares about: consumer behaviour, cultural identity, and what numbers tell us about decisions families make quietly, one at a time. Her writing leans on SSA and municipal pet registries the way a marketer reads a segmentation report — looking for the audiences hiding inside the aggregate.
Cross-cultural naming is her main beat, with a particular interest in how Hispanic, Asian-American, and bicultural families navigate the tension between heritage and assimilation in the American Southwest.
2,409
Total pieces
140
Articles
1,119
Baby commentary
1,150
Pet commentary
Ivy Hung's contributions
- Baby commentary
Lael
Lael is a Hebrew name meaning "belonging to God" — one of the quieter, less-traveled names in the Biblical canon. With 1,010 SSA records and a 2024 peak, it's a name at the very b…
- Baby commentary
Lailani
Lailani is a Hawaiian name, a close variant of Leilani, meaning "heavenly flower" or "royal child of heaven." It peaked in 2021 and carries 2,400 SSA records, making it the rarer…
- Baby commentary
Laken
Laken is an Old English-origin name — likely connected to "lake" or a place name meaning "stream" — that has been used for both boys and girls in contemporary American naming. Wit…
- Baby commentary
Landry
Landry is a French-origin name derived from the Germanic Landric — combining land (land, territory) and ric (power, ruler), giving it the meaning "powerful ruler of the land" or "…
- Baby commentary
Layne
Layne is a Middle English name — from lane (a narrow road or path), used as an occupational surname for someone who lived near or worked on a lane. With about 5,522 SSA records an…
- Baby commentary
Lenny
Lenny is a diminutive of Leonard — a Germanic name combining leon (lion) and hard (strong, brave), giving it the meaning "brave lion" or "lion-hearted." With 8,170 SSA records and…
- Baby commentary
Linus
Linus is a name with roots in both Greek mythology and, from the Greek linon (flax) or from linos (a type of song or lament), carried by a figure in Greek mythology who taught mus…
- Baby commentary
Liz
Liz is the short form of Elizabeth — from the Hebrew Elisheba , meaning "my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance" — given as an independent name. With 10,045 SSA records and a…
- Baby commentary
Louella
Louella is a German-rooted compound of Louise and Ella, two names individually fashionable right now, fused into a single name with a 1932 peak and 13,809 SSA records. It's a name…
- Baby commentary
Lucie
Lucie is the French and Czech form of Lucy — from the Latin lux , meaning light. With about 7,538 SSA records and a 2024 peak, Lucie is currently rising in American naming culture…
- Baby commentary
Luther
Luther is an Old High German name — from Hlodhar or similar forms, combining elements meaning "famous" and "army" or "warrior" — that found its way into English naming largely thr…
- Baby commentary
Madisyn
Madisyn is an alternate spelling of Madison — the Old English surname meaning "son of Maud" or "son of Matthew's son," originally from the Germanic Mathild , meaning "strength in…
- Baby commentary
Magdalene
Magdalene is a place-name turned personal name — from the Hebrew Migdal , meaning "tower," the name of a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee. It became a personal name because of M…
- Baby commentary
Malikai
Malikai is a Hebrew-rooted name, another spelling variant of Malachi — the prophetic name meaning "my messenger" or "my angel." With 1,954 SSA records and a 2022 peak, Malikai is…
- Baby commentary
Marcela
Marcela is a Latin name — the Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of Marcellus, itself derived from Mars, the Roman god of war — that carries a classical Roman heritage filtered…
- Baby commentary
Mari
Mari is a Hebrew-rooted name — a compact form of Mary or Maria, meaning "beloved," "sea of bitterness," or possibly "wished-for child" — that functions simultaneously as a Scandin…
- Baby commentary
Marissa
Marissa is a Spanish-influenced elaboration of Maris — meaning "of the sea" — that reached its American peak in 1994 with 120,711 SSA records, making it one of the defining names…
- Baby commentary
Marlow
Marlow is an Old English surname from the place name Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England — from mere (lake or pond) and lafe (remnants, leavings), meaning something like "the remai…
- Baby commentary
Mars
Mars is the Roman god of war, the fourth planet from the sun, and — increasingly — a baby name that feels like it belongs to the next decade rather than the last. With a 2023 peak…
- Baby commentary
Maxim
Maxim is the Eastern European form of Maximus, the Latin name meaning "greatest", used across Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Balkans as the standard form rather than as a dimin…
How we work
Editorial policy →
Topic selection, verification, corrections.
How we gather data
Methodology →
Sources, processing pipeline, limitations.