Comprised of the births that occurred in the U.S. in 2008, the Social Security Administration’s list of the top 100 names of baby boys and baby girls has been released. Take a look to see what topped the charts — then let’s get to predicting what will be in the medal-winning spots next year!
What are the top baby names of the year? The list is out and we see some returning favorites and some new names to the list.
Top 10 names for girls:
1. Emma
2. Isabella
3. Emily
4. Madison
5. Ava
6. Olivia
7. Sophia
8. Abigail
9. Elizabeth
10. Chloe
Top 10 names for boys:
1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Ethan
4. Joshua
5. Daniel
6. Alexander
7. Anthony
8. William
9. Christopher
10. Matthew
Check out the entire top 100 list of baby girl names and baby boy names here!
Name trends for girls
Chloe squeezed her way onto the top 10 list this year. And, since 1996, Emily has been the number one spot on the list of the top 100 names for girls according to
the Social Security Administration. Not anymore! People may love the nickname “Em,” but instead of deriving from the long-standing most popular girl name Emily, Emma has finally knocked
Emily out of the top spot.
It was in 2002 when Emma made her appearance in the top five (perhaps spurred on by the popularity of Rachel from Friends’ baby’s name) and she has steadily risen since then.
The popularity of Isabella, the second spot in 2008, may have also been buoyed by a fictional character – Isabella (Bella) Swan from the Twilight saga. Interestingly
enough, the only-different-by-one-word Isabelle is all the way down at number 93 on the list. Isabella may give Emma a run for her money if 2009 continues its Twilight mania. Though
currently outside of the top 100, the more “old-fashioned” and vampire-inspired Alice, Esme and Rosalie might make an appearance on the list in the
near future as well.
There are also plenty of other pop culture names for girls that are riding the wave of TV and big screen fame. Addison (from Grey’s Anatomy and Private
Practice) is currently number 12 and could easily break into the top 10 as the year progresses. Miley (as in Miley Cyrus, of course) has yet to break the top 100 but she might
appear sooner rather than later on the list – this year she’s up from number 279 to 127! We may even see the popularity of the names of the White House ladies grow –
Michelle, Malia and Natasha (Sasha).
A “y” in a name is still a draw for many parents. Besides Emily at number three, there are Alyssa (16), Ashley (18), Taylor (22),
Lily (24), Hailey (25), Kayla (28), Kaylee (31), Makayla (37), Avery (38),
Riley (39), Aubrey (42), Audrey (44), Brooklyn (47), Destiny (48) and Sydney (49) – and
that’s only in the top 50!
Name trends for boys
The top 10 boy names have gone largely unchanged over the past few years, merely swapping spots with each other every now and then. Jacob, however, has been number one among boy
names for the past 10 years. Michael has retained the runner-up spot for the past 10 years as well… but it previously sat at number one, uninterrupted, from 1961 through 1998
until unseated by Jacob!
The “-den” names still have a strong showing on the top 100 – Jayden (number 11) and Aiden (number 16) are near the head of the pack while their
counterparts are also on the list but further down: Jaden (number 88) and Ayden (number 91). Numbers 95 and 99 are Caden and
Kaden respectively.
Popularity lists are important for the people who want to go with the trends… and for those who would prefer to make their own trends, they do their hardest to select a name that’s far,
far off the list.
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