Changing Demographics in Monsey and Rockland County (Data)

by rabbifink on July 26, 2010 · 18 comments

I am visiting my hometown of Monsey NY this summer. My family still lives in Monsey so I always keep tabs on some the news and goings on in Monsey. This morning a fascinating post on LoHud.com (the Rockland County newspaper’s website).

The post confirms what everyone in Monsey and Rockland already knows, there has been a severe demographic shift over the last 30 years. You can see it with your eyes if you visit Rockland County and in particular Monsey. But seeing the data as presented by the post really drove home the stark reality.

According the post these are the most popular baby names over the last 30 years:

The 5 most popular names in 1990:

Males: Michael, Christopher, Daniel, John, Matthew
Females: Jessica, Amanda, Nicole, Samantha, Sarah

This represents a strong Anglo community. The names are typical of Christian families and middle to upper class Americans.

The 5 most popular names in 2000:

Males: Michael, Matthew, Joseph, John, Nicholas
Females: Sarah, Samantha, Jessica, Nicole, Julia and Kayla (tied)

Again, a very typical list that is still consistent with a diverse community.

The 5 most popular names in 2008:

Males: Joseph, Michael, Moshe, David, Abraham
Females: Esther, Rachel, Rivka, Chaya, Leah

Wow! All the names are consistent with Orthodox Jewish baby names. There are 0 Christian names. There are 0 female names that are not HEBREW! And there are 0 non-Jewish names for males.

Again, it just confirms what we all know. But the data makes it even more powerful.

Link: What’s Rockland’s most popular baby name?

Related posts:

  1. The Shelo Asani Isha “Discussion” (or does changing the liturgy remove one from orthodox Judaism?)
  2. Take A Smile Break | Another Cute Baby Post
  3. Some Highlights from posts 300-500

Tagged as: baby, LoHud, Monsey, names, Rockland County

  • Izzy

    Based on your choice of words (“severe,” “stark reality”), I take it you don’t see this shift as a positive development?

    • http://finkorswim.com rabbifink

      Yes. It annoys me.

      • Snagg

        Then feel free to stay in Calli, land of the fruits and nuts. And leave us (who want to be in our ‘ghetto’) alone.

        • Snagg

          ביטע מוחל מיר. אלול איז באַלד געקומען

          I guess I was having a bad day at work, wherein I constantly hear sniping and put-downs about Monsey and היימישער yiden (thus myself by extension) and so I lashed out viscerally at your post.

          While Monsey is far from perfect, it is a מחיה
          compared to other היימישער hoods like BP and WillyB. Its also a lot more diverse and tolerant.

          But in any event, I hope you’ll accept my apology.

          PS, pecans are not nuts, nor are they native to California…

          “The pecan (pronounced /pɨˈkɑːn/, /pɨˈkæn/, or /ˈpiːkæn/), Carya illinoinensis or illinoensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz,[1][2] in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and western Tennessee, south through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Florida, and west into New Mexico.

          Pecans, like the fruit of all other members of the hickory genus, are not true nuts but technically a drupe (fruit with a single stone or pit).”

          • Snagg

            woops, i didnt attribute that to Wikipedia…sorry

          • http://finkorswim.com rabbifink

            Wow. Apology totally accepted. Plus an invite to grab some sushi while I am marooned in monsey sometime over the next few weeks.

            As to your points, Monsey is better than most places. I like it. I just like LA so much more.

            But ya gotta admit that giving the yiden more and more political power has not contributed to a better quality of life for Monseyites…

          • http://finkorswim.com rabbifink

            Also, I am in Monsey and I heard the pecans ad on the radio just as I saw your comment on my iPhone…

  • Izzy

    Why is that?

  • http://finkorswim.com rabbifink

    I left years ago and don’t intend on returning. My only regret is that I’ve lost the chance to meet eloquent and insightful people like yourself.

    Now if you’ll excuse me
    while I enjoy my mango and pecans.

  • http://myweirdkids.blogspot.com/ tesyaa

    Are these names just for Monsey? I can’t imagine that this is true for all of Rockland.

  • http://finkorswim.com rabbifink

    Tesyaa:

    First of all, this is data from Rockland County, not a town or neighborhood.

    Second, therefore there are much broader ramifications. When we are a “majority” it does not bode well.

    • tesyaa

      When we are a “majority” it does not bode well.

      Well, those of us who feel that way are clearly in the minority, ha ha.

  • http://finkorswim.com rabbifink

    Yes ROCKLAND. Not just Monsey.

  • Izzy

    Count me among the minority, then.

    • http://finkorswim.com rabbifink

      Interesting. Care to share why?

  • http://twitter.com/MarkSoFla Mark

    Rockland County has about 300,000 residents. It has about 22,500 children under age 5. Well, there ya go, of those 22,500, New Square probably accounts for a goodly number, then add all the Wesley Hills folks, Monsey, New Hempstead, Spring Valley, and Suffern (?) and you can easily explain all the Jewish names of the kids. I bet non-Jews in RC aren’t having as many kids, or are older and their kids have already moved out. Who wants to live with a bunch of Jews anyway, especially when you can sell your house and buy an identical one a few miles east or west for 2/3 the price?

  • tesyaa

    Thinking about this, I now wonder if our naming conventions don’t have something to do with this. Imagine that there are 10,000 fairly common names Americans tend to choose from, and only 100 “frum” names. (Obviously these are just examples). Especially among Chasidim and very traditional Jews, the vast majority choose from a relatively small set of Biblical names, with some Talmudic and Yiddish names thrown in. [In modern Israel there are more Hebrew names available.] So even if an equal number of frum and non-frum/non-Jewish kids are born, there is likely to be skewing to the Biblical names simply because the non-frum/non-Jews are choosing their kids’ names from a larger, more diverse set. Anyway, given current trends, there are bound to be a large number of Michaels, Rachels, and Josephs even among the non-frum/non-Jewish pop.

  • Izzy

    I have lived in Monsey (I have since escaped, although I visit often), and I would agree that the demographic shift, and all its ramifications, illustrate the broader point that you made. I dont want to get into greater detail than that in a public forum, to avoid chilul hashem. The school board circus (who’s goals I am somewhat sympathetic to) is a case in point. I will say, that the eventual issues, conflicts, that such a demographic shift creates are not one sided, and that anti-semitism (I know you will disagree with me here) often plays a role, as it did to some extent with the Preserve Ramapo folks.

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