This is one of my favorite days of the year! The Top Names of 2009 are out. Social Security has finally crunched all the numbers and revealed the results. 

Here’s the Top 10:

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

ISABELLA

EMMA

OLIVIA

SOPHIA

AVA

EMILY

MADISON

ABIGAIL

CHLOE

MIA

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

JACOB

ETHAN

MICHAEL

ALEXANDER

WILLIAM

JOSHUA

DANIEL

JAYDEN

NOAH

ANTHONY

The girl’s list consists primarily of feminine names with an old-fashioned feel. Madison is the notable exception – it’s unisex and sounds very modern and trendy.

The boy’s list is made up primarily of classic, traditional boys’ names, many dating back to the Bible.

Here are highlights:

NEW #1

There’s a new #1 for girls . . . Isabella knocked Emma out of the top spot. Just like Emma did to Emily last year.

MORE SHAKEUPS AT THE TOP

Mia entered the Top 10 for the first time at #10. It ranked #14 last year. Elizabeth was knocked out as a result. Elizabeth ranked #9 in 2008 and on the 2009 list it’s #11.

There are a couple new names on the boy’s list. Jayden ranked #8 – up from #11 in 2008. Noah ranked #9 – up from #15 in 2008. Christopher and Matthew dropped out of the Top 10 to make room for the newcomers. They didn’t go far though. Christopher dropped to #11 and Matthew dropped to #13.

TWINS:

We could all use more faith and hope

Social Security ranks the top names for all combinations of twins: two girls, two boys and one girl/one boy.

The top names for twin girls are Isabella and Sophia. These names are a good style match and are both in the Top 10 overall.

What’s more interesting to me is the #2 pair, Faith and Hope. These names are definitely a “match” stylistically, but individually they aren’t overly popular. Faith ranks #80 and Hope ranks #233. Could our economy be the inspiration? In tough times, maybe a baby’s name really can inspire.

Unisex names for girls

For twin sets with one girl and one boy, the top 3 sets feature traditionally boys’ names for the boy twin and unisex names for the girl twin. The parents have definitely gone with a similar sound with each pair, but other than that I’m not sure what to make of it. Reading the names you might guess these are sets of boy twins or wouldn’t be sure one way or the other.

Here are the top 3:

Madison (g) and Mason (b)

Taylor (g) and Tyler (b)

Addison (g) and Aiden (b)

TWILIGHT

The Twilight effect is real and here’s proof. The top mover for boys was the name Cullen – it jumped almost 300 spots. Cullen is the surname of the good vampires in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, including heartthrob Edward Cullen. Other top movers were Emmett and Jasper, also members of the Cullen family.

Of course, Isabella and Jacob are the #1 names this year. Isabella is the main character’s name, but she goes by Bella. Jacob is the third part of the love triangle. Both names have been popular for awhile though. Isabella has been in the Top 15 since 2002. Jacob has been the #1 boy’s name for a decade. So, did Twilight have an impact on the #1 names? It’s hard to say since they already started out so popular. We can definitely agree that the character’s popularity didn’t hurt the name’s popularity.

Will the Twilight-inspired names continue to rise? Only time will tell. I’ll be curious to see what happens with Esme and Rosalie next year. They’re also part of the Cullen family and both names have that old-fashioned charm parents are looking for these days.

Why have these Twilight names become popular?

Some are saying that these names have become popular because fans of the story are using the names for their babies. That’s probably a little true. But not in all cases. Because of the books and the movies we’re all hearing the names Emmett, Jasper and Cullen a lot, even people who haven’t read the books or seen the movies. There are a lot of parents who like fresh-sounding names, even if they don’t know where they’re from. So just hearing the name Cullen over and over again will inspire some parents to choose it because it sounds different.

Another good example of this phenomenon is Miley. Are all the parents who are naming their daughters Miley huge Miley Cyrus fans? Probably not. Most of her fans aren’t having babies yet. The name Miley has gotten popular because parents hear the name a lot in the press, like the sound of it because it’s new and different and then decide to use it for their baby. A lot of these parents end up surprised when they meet other kids named Miley at preschool.

We’ll know the true power of the Twihards if the name Renesmee ever makes the list.

Tell me what you think.

MORE LITERARY INSPIRATION

Romeo and Juliet were both top movers in 2009. Romeo jumped 54 slots and Juliet more than doubled that by jumping #134 slots. Juliette rose 112 spaces.

MORE READING

Read the Twilight books for yourself. Read at your own risk though. Before you know it, you might get the urge to name a baby after one of the characters:

Stephenie Meyer Mania

MORE STATS

Social Security List

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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