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Americans Parents Are Ditching The Name 'Caitlyn' In All Its Forms

Americans Parents Are Ditching The Name 'Caitlyn' In All Its Forms
Kevin Winter via Getty Images
Kevin Winter via Getty Images

A fun bit of news circulated across the internet on Friday: Kylo, like Kylo Ren, had become the hottest name for baby boys in America, according to new data released by the Social Security Administration.

Between 2015 and 2016, the name jumped from the 3,269th most popular name for baby boys to the 901st ― making it the name that increased the most in popularity, according to the SSA.

But on the other side of the spectrum, a far uglier trend emerged. Among the names for baby girls that dropped most in popularity, the top four were all some form of the name “Caitlyn.”

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It’s not hard to connect the trend to Caitlyn Jenner’s decision to come out as transgender in April 2015. Three months later, in July, Jenner accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Awards, which caused widespread anger among moderates and conservatives throughout the country.

(Later on, Jenner would anger many on the left-leaning side of the country as well by voting for then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.)

Transgender rights have become one of the most divisive issues in the country in the two years since Jenner came out. In North Carolina, a “bathroom bill,” which required Americans to use the restroom corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate, was applauded as a way to keep young girls safe from transgender women.

But despite those fears, it is actually transgender Americans who continue to face staggering rates of abuse and sexual assault throughout the U.S. According to government estimates, at least half of the transgender community is “sexually abused or assaulted at some point in their lives.” Many more incidents are likely not reported.

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