SSA Most Popular Names released

[Deleted]

The top 20 baby names of 2011

Girls
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Madison
9. Mia
10. Chloe
11. Elizabeth
12. Ella
13. Addison
14. Natalie
15. Lily
16. Grace
17. Samantha
18. Avery
19. Sofia
20. Aubrey
Boys
1. Jacob
2. Mason
3. William
4. Jayden
5. Noah
6. Michael
7. Ethan
8. Alexander
9. Aiden
10. Daniel
11. Anthony
12. Matthew
13. Elijah
14. Joshua
15. Liam
16. Andrew
17. James
18. David
19. Benjamin
20. Logan



Sophia is the new most popular baby name for girls, while Jacob is the top name for boys for the 13th straight year in a new list of popular baby names in the U.S. heavily influenced by religion and reality TV.

Isabella, which had been the top girl’s name for two years, dropped to second place in 2011, according to the list released Monday by the the government’s Social Security Administration. Emma, Olivia and Ava rounded out the top five.

Mason, as in Mason Kardashian, jumped 10 spots to become the second-most-popular name for newborn boys last year, knocking Michael out of the top five for the first time in 63 years. Kourtney Kardashian, the reality TV star, gave birth to Mason in December 2009 following a heavily publicized pregnancy.

Rounding out the top five: William, Jayden and Noah. Michael came in sixth, his lowest ranking since 1948.

The Social Security Administration provides lists of baby names dating to 1880 on its website. The top two names that year were John and Mary. The list, which includes top baby names by state, draws millions of people.

The agency hopes that people go to the website to see the baby names and stay to learn about other services, said Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue.

Top girl names tend to be more volatile — changing from year to year — while the top boy names are more stable, Astrue said. William, for example, has been a popular boy’s name for more than 100 years, never falling out of the top 20. Mason is the exception, entering the top 100 for the first time in 1997.

On the girls’ side, Sophia first cracked the top 100 in 1997. Isabella dropped off the list altogether from 1949 to 1990.

Social Security also tracks which names increase in popularity from year to year and which ones drop.

The fastest-rising name for girls: Briella, which jumped 394 spots, to No. 497. Briella Calafiore stars in Jerseylicious, a reality TV show about battling stylists at a beauty salon in New Jersey. She’s also in a spinoff called Glam Fairy.

Brantley was the fastest-rising name for boys, jumping 416 spots to No. 320. Brantley Gilbert is a singer who had a No. 1 country hit called “Country Must Be Country Wide.”

[Deleted]

Jayden is the only one that strikes me as really bad.

Brantley sounds like the name of a st. bernard.

[IIOY]

Briella and Brantley are just terrible.

I can't believe Madison continues to be popular.

[ssmjlm]

Dang, the two girl ones we can agree on are on there.

Thankfully the boy one isn't.

[futurepivko]

I saw this on tv yesterday....I knew Jacob, Isabella and Ava would be on there.

And Sophia...maybe because of Teen Mom?

[womet]

May 15, 2012 6:56:54 GMT -5 v said:

Isn't it Mason Disick?

Yup, but most people have no idea who Scott Disick is.

[juris11]

Brantley is a horrible name.

[Deleted]

Jayden? Seriously?

[thedutchgirl]

I can't believe Jayden is in the top 10. That's horrible too. Brantley is totally a dog's name, as Sept points out.

[Deleted]

May 15, 2012 7:31:47 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

Jayden? Seriously?

I feel like every third kid I see is named Jayden.

[bunch]

I think jayden started after will smith's son?

[womet]

May 15, 2012 7:27:25 GMT -5 v said:

May 15, 2012 7:14:03 GMT -5 womet said:

Yup, but most people have no idea who Scott Disick is.

But there are so many ways to convey that without being wrong about the name! For instance, "Kourtney Kardashian's son, Mason,..."

You're absolutely right.

[whitepicketfence]

Both of my girls' names made the list - #7 and #8 to be exact, LOL.

[je55]

Unpopular opinion: don't pick a top ten name for your kid.

[laurasean]

I'm very surprised Dd's name didn't move up to the top 10 considering it was name involved in a big positive world event. We chose it before then and decided we were sticking to our guns though.

[Deleted]

May 15, 2012 8:37:14 GMT -5 je55 said:

Unpopular opinion: don't pick a top ten name for your kid.

I wouldn't pick a top 10 name for a girl, but for some reason I have no problem and actually prefer top 10 names for boys.

[BeagleMama]

May 15, 2012 8:37:14 GMT -5 je55 said:

Unpopular opinion: don't pick a top ten name for your kid.

:Y: (but I'll give exceptions for classics like Elizabeth, William, Matthew, James, David, etc.)

[jaylea]

DS is a Mason, but after Mason Jennings. I didn't know about Mason Disick until after we'd already settled on DS's name.

It was the only name we could agree on, so it works. He's the only kid in either of our daycares with the name Mason.

The other options we considered are on the list as well (Will, Alexander, Noah).

[Deleted]

May 15, 2012 8:46:00 GMT -5 @septimus said:

May 15, 2012 8:37:14 GMT -5 je55 said:

Unpopular opinion: don't pick a top ten name for your kid.

I wouldn't pick a top 10 name for a girl, but for some reason I have no problem and actually prefer top 10 names for boys.

ITA. I find 6/10 of the top boys' names to be quite classic and pleasant.

Our girl name is not in the top 500, but our boy name (undecided thus far) may be something like Michael.

[CloudBee]

I'm sad. I love the name Emma, and have for years and years. It's only increased in popularity as of late. ugh

[krystee]

I am really surprised that Jack/Jackson isn't on there for boys. I have been seeing that name all over the place lately.

[pugz]

our daughter's name doesn't crack the top 1000

[victoria0993]

The only Brantley I have ever heard of is Brantley Gilbert who is a country singer. Never thought it would be a popular name.

[pinkeggs]

Gah! When we picked DD1's name in 2007, it was 101; now it's 27!

She would have been Emma, but that names has been super popular for years now.

[HoneySpider]

I actually really like several of the top girl names but don't want to name any future daughters anything super popular, so might consider it for a middle name, not a first name.

[monpetitchou]

May 15, 2012 9:07:43 GMT -5 krystee said:

I am really surprised that Jack/Jackson isn't on there for boys. I have been seeing that name all over the place lately.

I was thinking the same thing! Maybe it's because they all spell it differently, it dilutes the popularity of any one spelling.

[mrs.spunky]

May 15, 2012 8:46:31 GMT -5 BeagleMama said:

May 15, 2012 8:37:14 GMT -5 je55 said:

Unpopular opinion: don't pick a top ten name for your kid.

(but I'll give exceptions for classics like Elizabeth, William, Matthew, James, David, etc.)

Yep!

[definitelyO]

whew - at least DS's name is no longer #1.

[milkrations]

When I was in high school I loved the names Sophia and Isabella. Now that they've become popular, I don't want to use them for my future hypothetical child.

[max88]

DH's cousin had a baby last year and named him Brantley. Guess that's where she got it from.