The Social Security Administration has just released the top baby names of 2011. If you’ve been keeping track of the most popular baby names you shouldn’t be too shocked by this year’s list, but there are a few surprises.
For one, Isabella, which was the most popular girl’s name in 2010, was knocked out of its first place spot by Sophia. Jacob, however, retained his long running spot at the top of the list for the boys According to MSNBC , Jacob has been the most popular boys name for the last 13 years.
The big surprise on the boys list was the name Mason. Mason jumped up to the number 2 spot, knocking Anthony out of the top 10. According to Yahoo, the surge in Mason babies may be attributed to Kourtney Kardashian, who named her son Mason in 2009. Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard book, said that Kourtney may have contributed to more Mason babies, but the true cultural phenomena behind Mason happened 25 years ago. Wattenberg writes:
“Yes, having a little Mason on tabloid covers in every supermarket in the country makes a difference. But the critical spur to Mason’s rise happened 25 years earlier, when the name first appeared in the soap opera “Santa Barbara.” The national Mason rate rose ten-fold during the soap’s run, and it’s been climbing ever since.”
Here are the 10 most popular baby names for boys.
- Jacob
- Mason
- William
- Jayden
- Noah
- Michael
- Ethan
- Alexander
- Aiden
- Daniel
Here are the top 10 baby names for girls.
- Sophia
- Isabella
- Emma
- Olivia
- Ava
- Emily
- Abigail
- Madison
- Mia
- Chloe
In addition to the top baby names of 2011 list, the Social Security Administration also created a trending baby names list. These names are quickly growing in popularity, even if they don’t have the overall numbers to be named the most popular baby names in America.
Here are the top trending names for boys.
- Brantley
- Iker
- Maximiliano
- Zaiden
- Kamden
- Barrett
- Archer
- Declan
- Atticus
- Nico
Here are the top ten trending names for girls.
- Briella
- Angelique
- Aria
- Mila
- Elsie
- Nylah
- Raelynn
- Brynlee
- Olive
- June
What do you think? Will Nylah replace Sophia at the top of the girls list? Will Atticus become the next Mason? What do you think of the top baby names?
