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
- Pet commentary
Ronin
Ronin ranks #3327 in our dataset with 25 male-identified uses, and it's one of the more conceptually loaded names in this tier. A ronin was a masterless samurai in feudal Japan —…
- Pet commentary
Shannon
Shannon ranks #3330 with 25 female-identified pet uses, part of a pattern where Irish place-derived names — names that came to humans first through geography, then through persona…
- Pet commentary
Spade
Spade ranks #3334 in our dataset with 25 male uses — a short, hard-edged name that belongs to the same family as Ace, Blade, and Club: single-syllable, tool-or-card-adjacent, proj…
- Pet commentary
Tahoe
Tahoe sits at rank #3337 with 25 uses distributed evenly across genders — one of those rare pet names that works as well for a female dog as a male one, partly because place names…
- Pet commentary
Tinka
Tinka ranks #3340 with 25 female pet uses — a name that straddles the line between nickname and full name, landing on small, quick-moving animals with a frequency that suggests th…
- Articleculture
Why American Parents Are Suddenly Comfortable With Slavic Names: A Eurovision Aftermath
Bulgaria's Eurovision win didn't just introduce DARA to American ears. It opened a door to an entire phonetic and cultural world of Slavic names.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano on Netflix: What Ronda and Gina Tell Us About 90s Girlhood
Netflix's historic MMA broadcast resurfaces two names that defined a specific register of 90s femininity — and their very different trajectories today.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Princess Charlotte Just Turned 11: The Royal Name Effect, Revisited a Decade Later
Charlotte has been a top-3 US girls' name for nearly a decade. Princess Charlotte's 11th birthday is the right moment to audit the royal name effect.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Zoë Kravitz, Harry Styles, and the Met Gala Ring: What Celebrity Engagements Do to Name Shelf Life
Celebrity engagements don't just trend on social media — they extend a name's cultural shelf life. Zoë and Harry are the latest proof.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Cannes 2026 Honored Peter Jackson, John Travolta, Barbra Streisand: Three Generations of Hollywood Names
Cannes 2026's honorary honorees span 60 years of cinema. What do Peter, John, and Barbra tell us about names that outlast their moments?
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Ella Langley Just Won 7 ACM Awards: The Country-Music Pipeline of Baby Names
Ella Langley swept the ACMs with 7 wins. The name Ella has been a top-10 fixture for a decade — and country music is a big reason why.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Memorial Day's Forgotten Naming Power: Honoring Veterans Through Names
Memorial Day carries a naming legacy most Americans overlook. From Valor to Grant, discover how patriotic and honor names are quietly surging.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
The Double-Name TikTok Discourse: Why Mary Love Just Re-Lit a 200-Year Southern Tradition
Mary Love, Lily Grace, Anna Kate — double first names are trending on TikTok. Here's the 200-year Southern tradition behind the trend and why it's spreading beyond the South.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Luminous Names: Why Soleil, Solana, and Lumi Are the Names of a Sun-Starved Generation
Soleil, Solana, Lumi, and their light-bearing kin are among the fastest-rising names of 2025. Here's the cultural and data story behind a generation reaching toward the sun.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
The Joybait Baby Name Trend Has Gone Mainstream: Why Truce Just Jumped 11,000 Spots
The "joybait" naming aesthetic — names that project wholesomeness and hope — has crossed from TikTok niche to mainstream. Truce's 11,000-spot SSA jump is the data proof.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Alexandra Capitanescu Made Romania Cool Again: Romanian Names for an American Audience
Romania finished third at Eurovision 2026. Alexandra Capitanescu's performance has opened American curiosity toward Romanian names — here's what's actually worth considering.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Noam Bettan, Michelle, and Israel's Second-Place Eurovision Heartbreak
Israel finished #2 at Eurovision 2026 with Noam Bettan's performance of "Michelle." The name Noam — ancient Hebrew, meaning pleasantness — is having an unexpected American moment.
·9 min read
- Articleculture
Bulgaria Won Eurovision With Bangaranga: What DARA Does for Bulgarian Names in America
Bulgaria's DARA won Eurovision 2026 with "Bangaranga," sending Bulgarian name searches surging. Here's what this means for names like Dara, Ivanka, and Boyana in America.
·10 min read
- Articleculture
Paco Lopez Won the Preakness: The Most Charming Spanish Nickname Americans Ignore
Paco Lopez rode Napoleon Solo to Preakness glory. His name is a case study in how Spanish naming culture operates — and why 'Paco' deserves more recognition in the U.S.
·9 min read
- Articleculture
The European Name Gap: Why Americans Are Finally Ready for Mats, Sigrid, and Aino
For the first time since the 1920s, American parents are genuinely open to European names that don't feel Anglo — Nordic, Iberian, and Finnish names are all gaining ground.
·10 min read
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