Jaiden

Jaiden is an interesting name that seems to have simply been invented sometime in the 1980's or 1990's. It may ultimately derive from the Hebrew name Jadon ("thankful,") but it's more likely that it is inspired by the popularity of the name Jade, with spelling possibly inspired by the Japanese word gaiden. Jaiden is being used in the U.S. to name both boys and girls, but seems to most often be used as a masculine name. In both cases it appeared on the U.S. top 1000 lists in 1999, and has risen steadily in popularity for both boys and girls since then.

Makayla

Makayla is a respelling (variant form) of the name Michaela, which is a feminine form of Michael. This version is a fairly recent invention, and first appeared on the U.S. top 1000 list in 1990. It has gained popularity quickly since then, making it into the top 50 in 2004. Why has this name gotten so popular so fast, and is it likely to remain popular? The reason for its popularity has a lot to do with the fact that not only is it a respelling of Michaela, it is also simply "Kayla" with a "Ma" at the beginning. Kayla is an extremely popular name; it has been in the top 20 consistently since 1990, which is also when the "deluxe" version, Makayla, appeared. By now, Kayla is becoming somewhat overused, and should soon begin to drop in popularity, and most likely, Makayla's popularity will fall too. Although many people love the name, obviously, and have given it to their daughters, to many other eyes it appears awkward and misspelled. With so many Makaylas now in the world, that attitude may fade as the name begins to seem more familiar and normal.

Jayda

Jayda is another way to spell Jada. Both names come from the gem name Jade. This particular spelling appeared in the U.S. in the mid-to-late 1990's and has been working its way up the popularity charts ever since.

Janessa

Janessa can be considered a more fancy version of Jane or Janet, or it can be considered a respelling of Vanessa. Either way, Janessa is a fairly rare name. It has been used some since the late 1980's, and has gained some popularity, but many many people aren't even aware this name exists yet. Will it gain more popularity and become common? It could. It's a pretty name, and it is potentially very versatile, as a girl named Janessa could choose to be called Jan or Jane or Nessie or Essie or even Jessie. It's a little like Vanessa and a little like Jessica, and really all this name needs is one super-famous bearer to push it into the spotlight and it could easily take off. If your name is already Janessa, there's a website, Janessa.com, just for you and the other Janessas of the world.

Kandi

Kandi is one of several variant spellings of Candy that appeared around the 1950's. This particular was used a little--unsurprisingly--in the 1960's and 1970's. Most parents today hopefully have more sense. Fiction writers might have uses for this name, and it probably wouldn't damage a cat or dog to be named Kandi, but your daughter probably wouldn't thank you for it.

Malinda

Malinda is Melinda in disguise. This variant spelling has been used often enough to have appeared consistently in the top 1000 names for girls from the beginning of the 20th century through the 1980's. Since then it's been more rare. People may be turned off the name by the association with the "mal" prefix, meaning "bad, badly." (Malady, malfunction, malice, malpractice, etc.) Since Malinda is a variant spelling of Melinda, I'll mention that Melinda itself has no real meaning; it's an invented name, possibly a combination of the "mel" prefix, as in Melissa, and the popular "inda" ending, or it could be just a re-spelling of Belinda.

Cheryl

When I hear the name Cheryl I think of Cheryl Ladd, and that's probably a dead giveaway as to my general age group. Or, maybe not. According to one source that I have, Cheryl is an old diminutive form of the name Caroline. According to another source, Cheryl is a name that was invented in the 1920's. Behind the Name agrees that it was a 1920's invention, having possibly evolved from Cherie and stolen its spelling from Beryl. Since everyone seems to be guessing here, I'm going to suggest that it could just easily have been invented to rhyme with Carol--the Beryl spelling influence theory seems okay. According to a commenter on the Behind the Name site, though, at least one Cheryl was born in 1902. A few other internet sources--most of which I don't really trust--list the name as either English, or French. Those that say it's French give it the meaning "beloved," which suggests they're just tapping into the "Cherie" theory. I think we ought to just decide that "Cheryl" is derived from absolutely nothing and means "mystery." Popularity-wise, the name leaped out of nowhere in the 1930's, rose to a high point of 19th most popular name for girls in the 1950's, then started sinking steadily and very quickly in popularity, dropping out the top 1000 altogether after 1997. Sort of a shooting star of names, really. Will it make a comeback? On this one, your guess is as good as mine. It's not a classic, has no proven staying-power, and after all the Cheryls from the 1900's are gone and forgotten, the name could be forgotten as well. On the other hand, if a Cheryl became hugely famous, and in a good way, bringing good associations to the name that would last in public consciousness past the lifespan of that actual person, the name could see a resurgence in popularity. History shows us that it's even possible that a name like Cheryl could regain popularity through a fictional character (like Scarlett O'Hara,) or even a song (like Layla.) In any case, it's probable (or I think so anyway) that the name will be kept marginally alive for a while because of babies being named for their grandmothers or great-grandmothers. Only time will tell. Things I'd like to know for sure--or at least for probable: Where did Cheryl really come from? Why did it shoot to such popularity so fast, and why did it fall from favor so quickly afterwards (overuse, maybe.) This entire post (currently, at least) falls almost completely into the category of "notes to myself."