Jacob and Isabella Rule the Crib Again

May 5, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Jacob and Isabella have topped the Social Security Administration’s Most Popular Baby Names list for another year – the 12th year in a row for Jacob and the 2nd for Isabella.

Joshua has fallen out of the top 10 list for boys, while Aiden moved into the top 10. In addition, Elvis has left the building – the name slipped out of the top 1,000 for the first time since 1954.  

The Top 10 most popular boys and girls names are: 

  • Jacob, Isabella; 
  • Ethan, Sophia; 
  • Michael, Emma; 
  • Jayden, Olivia; 
  • William, Ava; 
  • Alexander, Emily; 
  • Noah, Abigail; 
  • Daniel, Madison; 
  • Aiden, Chloe; 
  • Anthony, Mia. 

 

The SSA said a recent trend in the top girls’ names is a return to names that were popular in the early to mid-1900s.  Names like Isabella, Ava, and Chloe, which had disappeared almost completely from the top 1,000 girls’ names, have surged in popularity in recent years, which suggests a trend in naming newborn girls after their grandmothers.    

A reality star celebrity has boosted the popularity of Maci and Bentley – which the SSA reports had the biggest jumps in popularity.  Maci Bookout and her infant son, Bentley, were prominently featured on the show “Teen Mom” and its predecessor, “16 and Pregnant.”   

The second fastest riser on the boys’ list is Kellan, the name of actor Kellan Lutz, best known for playing Emmett Cullen in the “Twilight” series.  Coming in third is Knox, one of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s toddler twins.  

The SSA’s baby name Web site is at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/babynames/.

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