Philadelphians have a knack for naming their children after their sports heroes. A fairly recent example was when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, which is when the name "Chase" started to become more popular. It shot up from 24th (574 boys named Chase) in 2008 to 9th (668 boys named Chase) in 2009 after Chase Utley helped bring the Phillies their first championship since 1980. A smaller increase also happened for the name "Cole", which was 374 (45th for boys) in 2008 and jumped to 407 (37th for boys) in 2009 as some baby boys were named after World Series MVP Cole Hamels.
Now in 2019, Eagles fans have taken a similar path by naming their boys after franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. According to data released by the Social Security Administration, the name "Carson" went from being the 81st most popular name for boys (181 boys named Carson) in Pennsylvania in 2015 to the 11th most popular name in 2018 (484 boys named Carson). 2015 was the year before the Eagles drafted Wentz, when hardly anyone in the entire country knew who the North Dakota State quarterback was.
Pennsylvanians weren't the only ones naming their boys Carson, as New Jersey and Delaware also joined in. In New Jersey, the name wasn’t even on the top 100 in 2015. Now in 2018, Carson became the 77th most given name for boys. Down the I-95 corridor in Delaware, the name went from 71st in 2015 (17 boys named Carson) to 10th in 2018 (36 boys named Carson).
If he is able to avoid injuries and play at the same level he did back in 2017, you can count on the name Carson to continue becoming even more popular in Eagles country.
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