Top Baby Names 2009: The Miley and Khloe Effect

The U.S. Social Security Administration has released its annual list of the top baby names for 2009. The list — which, though released this year, actually looks at baby names from 2008 — shows Jacob holding the top spot for boys for its 10th consecutive years. On the girls’ side, Emma jumped up to the number 1 spot.

Top Baby Names 2009 List

Some interesting points from the list:

• The name Barack blasted up a full 10,000 spots on the list, making it to number 2,409. The SSA expects it to crack the top 1,000 by next year.

• The name Khloe some strong growth, too, catapulting 469 spots from number 665 to number 196. Chloe with a “C” has also broken into the top 10 for the first time ever. Sadly, the SSA ties the surge in popularity to Khloe Kardashian’s growing fame.

• Another pop culture effect can be seen with the name Miley, climbing 152 spots to become the 127th most popular name. The name was never on the list at all until last year.

• Some unusual names that debuted on the list this year: Isla, Mareli, Dayami, Nylah, and Jazlene for girls; and Aadon, Chace, Marley, Kash, Kymani, Ishaan, Jadiel, and Urijah for boys. (There is a Marley brother named Kymani, by the way. Coincidence?)

Top Baby Names: The Top 10 Breakdown

Here’s the top 10 breakdown of most popular baby names for boys and girls.

Boys:

1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Ethan
4. Joshua
5. Daniel
6. Alexander
7. Anthony
8. William
9. Christopher
10. Matthew

Girls:

1. Emma
2. Isabella
3. Emily
4. Madison
5. Ava
6. Olivia
7. Sophia
8. Abigail
9. Elizabeth
10. Chloe