Survey Says....

A few weeks back, I put out the baby name survey for friends and family to comment on. And boy, were there some funny responses! Mostly the survey confirmed things I already had in mind, but it was just fun and interesting to read each of the responses. I thought I would summarize some of them now. Hope you get a laugh out of the first question.

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the name....
Alton: an alter, Brown (food network), Elton John, alternator, old, Walton, the movie Clueless, Altoids, Dalton, how is it pronounced?
Ansel: Adams the artist, hammers, my lake friend, Hansel and Gretel, a wicked witch and a candy house, Eisel, Hansel from Zoolander,
Brenton: is that a real name?, interesting, thought it was a little highbrow but could get used to it, Brendon, Yuck, nothing comes to mind
Carver: meat, president, knife, sandwich from Boston Market, wood, peanuts,  beef
Cooper: a dog, Bradley Cooper, spunky, mini cooper car, my dog, my mom's dog, rowdy, pooper, tire, Winey Cooper from the Wonder Years
Everett: a bird, Washington, mountain, old fashioned, I like it- the outdoors, old man, an egret, Mt. Everett, Mt. Everest, vampire, some kid I knew in school with no hair
Gareth: ehhh, earth, unusual, a warrior, good name in a Gothic novel, trying to hard, garish, Garett, nerd, he care-ith for me, shareth, knighthood/garth, too old, ...., what?!?!? lol, never heard it before
Garrow: very different, ehhh, a ditch, arrow, Celtic warrior, "Old Irish" story, Robin Hood, bone marrow, doesn't really seem like a real name, Eragon's father/uncle, wheel barrow, narrow, gallow, what in the world?, tomorrow, never heard of it, a vegetable
Matthew: classic, Bible, Matt, saintly, traditional, solid, Mark Luke John, strong
Roran: a lion, a dino, fantasy hero, ?, loin, Vikings, character from an action movie, odd, sounds like a made up name, roaring lion, hard to say, Eragon brother/cousin, Irish-ish?, roarrrr
Silas: ehh, sidekick, Marner-classic, old bald man with a cane, Bible, manly, Silas Magee, remind me of a silo, Siruis from Harry Potter, annoying kid I knew, love it, Duck Dynasty, jail
Thorin: Thor, a thorn, superhero, mythical god, roman, strong, unusual, comic book name, god of thunder, hulk, the Hobbit, Oakenshield, Norwegian god, ouch,
Trey: cute, Vahn, the third, athletic, tray, fun, poker, modern, gangster movie, DOG KILLING, Ohio State player, three, for my food, rapper

What's your favorite name based on the following choices?
Matthew and Silas tied at 16% each
Everett, Cooper, and Brenton tied at 13% each
Trey had 11% of the vote.
Other names were under 10% of respondents

Indicate how many people you know personally with the follow names:
Over 80% of respondents didn't know anyone with the name Alton, Ansel, Carver, Gareth, Garrow, Roran, or Thorin personally.
About 40% of respondents knew 6 or more people with the name Matthew personally.
Between 15% and 50% of respondents knew 1-3 people with the name Alton, Brenton, Carver, Cooper, Everett, Matthew, Silas, and Trey personally.

Indicate how many people you know in popular culture with the following names:
Over 50% of respondents didn't know anyone with the name Alton, Brenton, Carver, Everett, Gareth, Garrow, Roran, or Thorin in popular culture.
At least 50% of respondents knew 1-3 people with the name Alton, Ansel, Cooper, Silas, and Trey in popular culture.

What name has an intellectual vibe?
Matthew and Everett ranked the highest (36% of respondents each), with Alton and Silas following close behind (33%). Brenton came in close after with 30% and Ansel with 25%.

What name has an adventurous connotation?
50% of respondents said Cooper was adventurous, and 41% said Thorin was adventurous.

What name gives off a creative, artsy vibe?
Ansel won this category easily with 63% of respondents saying the name was artsy.

What name has a masculine connotation?
Matthew (54%) and Silas (45%)  topped out this list, with Everett and Roran following after (37%).

What name sounds virtuous and trustworthy?
Matthew (77%) and Silas (37%) were at the top of the list again, and I'm guessing it's from the Biblical connotation associated with the names.


So, are we any closer to picking a name? I think so! But we won't tell until he's born, sorry! I really appreciate all of the responses though, they were very helpful!! My readers are the best!!