We don’t particularly think of Woody Allen as a cutting-edge filmmaker, but there is one area in which he has been—if unwittingly—prescient, and that is in giving some of his characters names that would later become trendy choices for babies.  (Though there are no babies in his films—children hardly exist in Woody’s World.)

For those characters he created for himself, he chose, with a few exceptions, pretty ordinary, sometimes nicknamey names—Alvy, Sandy, Mickey, Lenny, Larry, Jerry, Sid, Gabe, Sheldon, Isaac.  But for others, he did come up with some inspired choices:

Alfie—You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger, 2010 (Anthony Hopkins).  A fittingly British choice for a British character—but it’s doubtful if Woody knew that Alfie was the fourth most popular name for UK baby boys born in 2010.

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For The Nameberry Nine this week, Abby Sandel of Appellation Mountain looks at Superbowl names, the Facebook effect, and the casts and characters of some upcoming TV shows.

If football games were decided on the basis of players’ names instead of points scored, I’d hand the Super Bowl victory to The New York Giants and their quarterback Eli Manning. Eli is on the rise, reaching #65 in 2010 before considering boys named Elijah, Elias, Elliot, and Elliott who might answer to Eli, too.

Brady, on the other hand, was boosted by long-time New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, plus Miranda’s adorable red-haired son on Sex and the City. But the football star has had a long career, and Miranda’s kiddo is growing up in infrequent movie sequels. The stylish Irish surname is fading, falling to #125 in 2010.

Of course, it really works the other way around. While Eli will likely rise regardless of the game’s outcome, would a big win for the Patriots reverse Brady’s slide?

We’ll have to wait and see. For now, here are this week’s nine newsiest names:

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