More Videos
- Lance, Please Back Out Of Tour
- Singh Not Wearing Stanford At Tournament
- Companies Behind Murray Have a Lot To Gain
- Hall Of Fame Suit Lists Revealing Numbers
- Sports Poker Event Trying To Buck Recession
- Billy Mays — He Left the World Knowing He Sold It
- NBA Draft: By The Numbers
- Vijay Singh Offers To Pay Stanford's Bail
- Is "The Big Pierogi" Next For Shaq?
- Singh Will Continue To Stick By Stanford
RSS FEED
|
CNBC'S MOST SHARED
- 'We're in the Middle of a Crash': Black Swan
- The Rising Mountain of Debt May Be the Next Crisis
- SEC May Reinstate Rules for Short-Selling Stocks
- Latvian Banker Taking Souls as Collateral
- Malaysia PM Speaks to CNBC
- Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Will Resign
- The Worst Expected 2010 State Budget Gaps
- Cuddle Parties Heat Up
- Best Cities For New Grads
- Fireworks At Pharma's Market
- Value of Warren Buffett's Annual Gift to Gates Foundation Falls Along With Berkshire's Stock
- Michael Jackson: The Music And The Money
- Five Stock Picks for This Market
- Realities of the New Obama Refis
- Weak Dollar Means Gold at $1,040: Strategist
- Court Ruling Could Mean Trouble for TiVo
- Lance, Please Back Out Of Tour
- TeleMedicine Gets An Apple App Store Facelift
- Top Videos: From the Black Swan to the Bond King
- Property Tax Appeals Take Toll on Governments
- Obama Plan Would Trim Back Financial Powerhouses
- Schwarzenegger Signals Key Budget Concession
- Car Dealer Determined To Fight Chrysler Over Franchise
- For Banks, Wads of Cash and Loads of Trouble
- Biden: 'We Misread How Bad The Economy Was'
- The Rising Mountain of Debt May Be the Next Crisis
- For Australian Winemakers, More Turns Out to Be Less
- Top Videos: From the Black Swan to the Bond King
Text Size 
The Social Security Administration released its top baby names and there are some telling signs coming from the sports world.
Not surprisingly, Kobe seems to be back. In 2003, the name Kobe was the 265th most popular male name in the United States. After Kobe Bryant was accused of sexual assault, parents stopped naming their kids Kobe with as much frequency and the name fell to No. 417 in 2004, No. 544 in 2005 and leveled out at No. 543 in 2006.
But Bryant's resurgence could be the only factor--I mean what's really happened with the beef?--in the name Kobe rising to No. 472. Worth noting is the fact that before Bryant was drafted into the NBA, the name wasn't ranked in the top 1,000.
The name Roger had its worst year in recent memory, falling to the 467th most popular male name. All Roger Clemens' fault? Maybe not, the name has been on a steady decline from No. 253 in 1993. (In fairness, Roger Federer won the Grand Slam.)
Perhaps thanks to Eli Manning's great season, the name Eli had its best year since at least 1993. Eli was ranked the 130th most popular male name in 2007, up from No. 136 in 2006. But by the time 2007 ended, Eli hadn't yet gone on his run and the Giants didn't yet have a ring.
The defending champs at the time were still the Indianapolis Colts, which is probably why his brother's slightly more obscure Peyton name ranks ahead of Eli at No. 125 in 2007, also a recent high. (Peyton also ranks at No. 121 for young girls.)
But sports stars can only do so much. LeBron still isn't in the top 1,000. Either is Dwyane from Dwyane Wade (his name is intentionally misspelled.)
The same can be said for sports business reporters. The name Darren has been hovering in the 360 range for the past two years, its worst numbers on record over the past two decades.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes