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
Meir
Meir is a Hebrew name meaning "one who illuminates" or "one who shines" — and it has the same light-root ( or ) as the more common Maor and Uri. Ranked #916 with a 2024 peak and 4…
- Baby commentary
Melvin
Melvin peaked in 1928 and has 244,676 SSA records, a century of steady American use. At rank #872 today, it's in the same territory as Eugene and Leroy: a name that was thoroughly…
- Baby commentary
Mercy
Mercy is a Puritan virtue name with a specific theological resonance: it means the same in a naming context as in a theological one, namely compassion, clemency, and the willingne…
- Baby commentary
Mordechai
Mordechai is a deeply biblical name with a Babylonian backstory that has never left the Jewish naming tradition and is currently seeing its highest modern SSA numbers. Ranked #966…
- Baby commentary
Nataly
Nataly is the streamlined Latin spelling of a name rooted in natalis , meaning born on Christmas Day or relating to birth. It ranks 866 in the SSA data with 15,164 total records,…
- Baby commentary
Neil
Neil peaked in 1954 and holds 104,581 SSA records. A name that was genuinely mainstream for a generation and has quietly receded since. At rank #863 today, it hasn't vanished. It…
- Baby commentary
Neo
Neo is three letters, one syllable, and one of the most culturally loaded names in modern cinema. Ranked #969 with a 2022 peak and 2,906 SSA records, it exists at the intersection…
- Baby commentary
Paloma
Paloma is the Spanish word for dove, and as a name, it carries all of the bird's symbolic weight: peace, grace, spiritual purity, and a particular kind of gentle beauty. At rank 9…
- Baby commentary
Rebekah
Rebekah is the oldest attested spelling of this name, closer to the Hebrew Rivkah than the more familiar Rebecca, and it carries the weight of that difference. With 75,482 total S…
- Baby commentary
Rene
Rene is a French name meaning "reborn" that has been part of the American male naming landscape for most of the twentieth century, peaking in 1970 with 50,740 total SSA records. R…
- Baby commentary
Ricky
Ricky peaked in 1958 and carries 222,882 SSA records — one of the largest totals in this entire ranking tier. It's a name that belonged emphatically to one American generation, th…
- Baby commentary
Robin
Robin peaked in 1956 and currently sits at rank #810 with 46,562 SSA records. That peak year is the first thing to understand about this name: Robin was a mid-century American sta…
- Baby commentary
Rohan
Rohan peaked in 2004 and holds rank #840 with 11,796 SSA records. It's a name with a genuine double identity — deeply rooted in Sanskrit and South Asian naming tradition, and simu…
- Baby commentary
Romy
Romy is short in letters but long on personality, a punchy, Continental name that manages to feel both vintage and effortlessly current. Its 2024 peak and current rank of 926 sign…
- Baby commentary
Rosalee
Rosalee is one of those names that feels like it was stitched together from the warmest parts of two beloved names. Rosa and Lee, and the result is something sweeter than either o…
- Baby commentary
Rudy
Rudy peaked in 1960 and holds rank #822 with 49,862 SSA records. It's a vintage nickname name that's been simmering for decades, and the question for parents today is whether it's…
- Baby commentary
Saanvi
Saanvi is one of the most popular names among South Asian-American girls, a Sanskrit name carrying divine significance that has become a staple in Hindu families across the US. At…
- Baby commentary
Salvatore
Salvatore peaked in 1927 and carries 57,110 SSA records — nearly a century of Italian-American naming history encoded in a single name. At rank #902 today, it's far from mainstrea…
- Baby commentary
Shepard
Shepard is the occupational surname spelling of Shepherd — someone who tends sheep — and it's finding its way onto birth certificates as parents discover that this particular vari…
- Baby commentary
Sky
Sky is among the most minimal nature names in American use: one syllable, three letters, a direct noun transfer from English. With 9,465 SSA records and a peak in 2021, it's been…
How we work
Editorial policy →
Topic selection, verification, corrections.
How we gather data
Methodology →
Sources, processing pipeline, limitations.