BIG-NAME STAR
Baker Mayfield's name gains popularity for babies in Oklahoma, nationwide
Stephen Shomo picked a name before he and his wife, Bailey, knew they were expecting their third child.
As t hey watched Baker Mayfield play in an Oklahoma football game, Stephen jokingly told her his plan.
“If we have another baby," he said, "we're gonna name it Baker."
Bailey didn't take her husband's idea seriously at first, especially when she realized she was pregnant with a girl, but the former OU quarterback's name grew on her.
I n December, s he gave birth to Baker Lou, one of many babies contributing to the Baker boom. As Mayfield ascended from walk-on to Heisman winner to No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick, the name climbed the baby names lists.
Among boys' names, i t had the third-largest leap in nationwide popularity from 2017 to 2018, according to data from the U.S. Social Security Administration. Its rank jumped 431 spots to No. 712.
The Shomos, who live in Durant, put a spin on the trend when they named their daughter Baker, but they aren't alone.
Bailey said a friend who went to OU with her named her daughter Baker May, making the Mayfield reference especially obvious. The moniker might seem like an unusual choice to some, but Bailey reminds people about her baby's namesake.
“They're kind of confused, and then I kind of explain to them, I'm like, `Yeah, we're big OU fans,'” Bailey said. “And they're like, `Oh, Baker Mayfield.'”
The number of Bakers born in Oklahoma has increased each year from 2014 to 2018, according to information from the Oklahoma State Department of Health's Vital Records Service.
Although it is unknown whether all of these infants were named after Mayfield, the jump correlates with his rising fame.
In 2014, the year Mayfield left Texas Tech for OU but couldn't play because of transfer rules, no Bake rs were born in Oklahoma, per state records. During his first year as the Sooner s' starting quarterback, there were 10. The number escalated to 48 in 2018, when May field made his NFL debut with the Cleveland Browns. These statistics include baby boys and girls.
This year, the Baker population is still growing.
Abbie Payne, a Tulsa resident, gave birth to a son named Baker in April. She and her husband, Sam, had considered the name for their 3-year-old son Greyson. When they had another child, they debated between Baker and another OU-related name: Lincoln, a nod to football coach Riley.
For these Sooners who are also Browns fans because of Mayfield, the quarterback defeated the coach in the name contest.
“My husband wanted to get him a Browns onesie to wear in the hospital," Payne said ." But they didn't make it in his size."
Payne said if it weren't for May field, she likely wouldn't have selected t he name. None of her friends have chosen Baker for their babies, and she didn't think of it as a first name before May field gained prominence.
"But I know when I was in the hospital, they had said that they had seen it becoming a more popular name,” Payne said.
Derek House, a Yukon resident, is aware of the national trend because of social media. He and his wife, Karis, named their son Everton Baker.
“We actually had his first name settled on for a while, but we couldn't really find any middle name that went well with House,” he said.
Derek, whose first football memories involve Bob Stoops' initial season as the Sooner football coach in 1999, had joked about choosing Baker. After he and Karis spent about an hour brainstorming middle names at dinner, he mentioned Baker again, and they decided it would work.
Through acts such as planting a nO U flag in the center of the “O” on Ohio State's football field, Mayfield has become a polarizing figure, and the name is guaranteed to draw different reactions from rival fans than from Sooners. House said his father-in-law, who roots for the Longhorns, humorously made a Hook `em Horns gesture when he heard Everton's middle name, recognizing the OU reference.
“He didn't really say anything too negative about it, but he was just happy to have a grandson,” House said.
Bailey S homo works in Texas, but despite the boos she might receive from Longhorn fans, baby Baker fits in her family.
Her two older kids also share names with professional athletes.
Her daughter Harper's name is a reference to popular MLB outfielder Bryce Harper, a nd her son is K ins le rafter the former Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler.
After initially dismissing Stephen' s choice, Bailey decided the name Baker was right for her younger daughter just before watching a Browns game in September, but she didn' t realize she would see the baby' s name sake play that night. When Cleveland faced the New York Jets, quarterback Tyrod Taylor left with a concussion and May field replaced him. Mayfield snapped Cleveland' s 19- game losing streak with a 21- 17 victory, a sign for Stephen and Bailey as they awaited their little Baker's debut.
"We were like, `OK, it's meant to be,'” Bailey said. “So it was pretty cool.”