A baby by any other name...

Fun with names - this is your rare and special opportunity to find the perfect name for your baby.  Just remember, he or she will be using this for a long, long time so think about all the implications such as likelihood of misspelling or mispronunciation by others, how it sounds with the last name, what associations people make with the name, its popularity, strength and "mature" vs "cutesie" style.  What is perfect for a two month old may not feel so good at 50, or even 16.


Looking for ideas?  Steal from the celebrities!  Well, some of them you may want to avoid, but some have a nice sound.  On the radio the other day I heard of a celeb couple who plans to name their baby Santa.  A little weird for us these days I think - hopefully the little girl won't hate them for it one day.   The Early Show online highlights a few of the good ones.

You can also check the popularity of names based on Social Security stats.  You can do it for the whole U.S. for a particular year (after 1880) or by state.  So for fun, check this site:  SSA.gov They have the numbers for 2009 but 2010 have not yet been released.  It may not surprise you that the top names were Isabella and Jacob, though Jacob makes the number one boy's name for the entire decade.  You can also search the popularity of a particular name (enter your desired years you wish to analyze).

I have a very common name for my generation so I checked Debra and Deborah.  From 1949 through 1966 Deborah made the top 20 every year and Debra was also on the list each year from 1956 through 1962 landing the number 2 position in 1956 (Deborah was number 2 in 1955 and these numbers don't even include the Debbies, Debbys, Debis and Deboras).  When you consider the cumulative totals of these names it's no wonder there are so many of us in the boomer generation!

You can watch some really good videos here on Baby Center from a case of twins through baby name trends.  Check it out.

2009 Popular Name Results

It always takes a while after the end of the year to compile the list from birth certificates, but here are the most popular baby names for 2009:   Baby Center has published the list of the top 100 for boys and girls.  Some people want a popular name; others want to avoid it.  The delay makes it a little hard to predict since a new one can pop up out of nowhere overnight and be a sensation - kind of like what happened following the release of Twilight with Isabella (and Bella). 

It's always interesting to see trends.  A few years ago I started noticing lots of baby boys with the following names of similar (rhyming) sounds: Aiden, Brayden, Caden and Hayden (along with variations of each).  All appeared in the top 100 for '09.

If you're doing something "creative" with your baby's name, try to think of him/her as an adult.  How will it fit?  What about the school teachers - will they be able to pronounce it?  It's a good idea to follow the basic rules of phonics or the child will live with a mispronounced name forever (or settle for a nickname).  I once knew a child named Dylan which the parents pronounced as "Dallen".  The mom would get upset each time I (the nurse to many patients) would mispronounce it because it looked like Dylan (as in "Dillon) to me every time I read the chart.  I finally had to add my own spelling so I would say it right.  Poor kid!

Top 20 names for girls and boys (2009)

Girls' names

1. Emma
2. Isabella
3. Emily
4. Madison
5. Ava
6. Olivia
7. Sophia
8. Abigail
9. Elizabeth
10. Chloe
11. Samantha
12. Addison
13. Natalie
14. Mia
15. Alexis
16. Alyssa
17. Hannah
18. Ashley
19. Ella
20. Sarah

Boys' names

1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Ethan
4. Joshua
5. Daniel
6. Alexander
7. Anthony
8. William
9. Christopher
10. Matthew
11. Jayden
12. Andrew
13. Joseph
14. David
15. Noah
16. Aiden
17. James
18. Ryan
19. Logan
20. John

This is from the U.S.Census and does not reflect local naming trends; just U.S. in general. Check here for some commentary on this year's naming trends.

The Name Game

One of the first questions you are asked after the big announcement is, "Have you picked out names yet?" The truth is you probably started thinking about it as soon as you saw the results on the little stick. It's a dilemma and an important decision since your child will live with this name for a long time and you may go down in infamy for a thoughtless choice! Then again you might get the nice reward that two of my adult children gave me, "I've always liked my name and I'm glad you chose it."

I was always one of many with the same name. Even so, I managed to name three of my children top ten names (for the years they were born). I guess there's a reason they're popular - we just LIKE them!

Because we tend to fall in love with names of book or film characters, heroes, great leaders, role models, superstars, or not-so super stars, we gravitate to common names in a given time (I was born in the Debra era when Debra Paget was a big star (I know, you're saying, Debra who?). Any new Debras are likely to be named for family members, Debra Winger or Debra Messing but a big boom in the name hasn't yet been noticed - maybe because it was so well-used by the previous generation. After a while a name goes out of vogue as "old fashioned" only to make a resurgence in popularity in future generations because it becomes "novel" again (like Grace).

I suspect with the popularity of the Twilight series of books and the movie we will be seeing a host of Isabellas, Bellas, Alices, Jaspers, Esmes, Rosalies, Jacobs, Edwards, and, yes, Renesmee on coming lists. Of course Jacob is already number one (has been popular for many years) and Isabella is number 2 - after all the book has been out for a while.... The name, Emma, zoomed to the top along with the Friends character, Rachel's baby's birth. But, did Rachel choose Emma because it was becoming popular, or did Emma become popular because Rachel picked the name? The chicken and the egg, once again.

Combining family names to form a new one is not uncommon. I have a friend named, Glenae, after her parents, Gleno and Renae (I wonder if Gleno was a combined name?). Needless to say when she did a name search she was the only one with that name in the U.S.

So, be unique if that's your desire, but I would recommend not spelling the name so strangely that nobody can pronounce it, much less spell it. I once had a pediatric patient named Dylan - seems easy enough, but the parents pronounced it "Dallin". They were always annoyed when I would call him to see the doctor and mispronounce it as I read his chart. With hundreds of patients it can be hard to remember these little details. I also know a Khase (they pronounce it "Chase"). At least in English where c and k are sometimes interchangeable, ck still does not make the "ch" sound - thus, he's often called "Kase."

Why make life tough for your child? It's OK to be creative, but probably a good idea to follow basic pronunciation rules for the language. Some creativity might be better left to other ventures. In the name of humor, some names are downright mean. Do you really want your child to be the butt of the jokes? I knew someone with the last name LeBaron, who wanted to name his son Chrysler. Fortunately for him, his mother had the last word. Check this out for some interesting name commentary such as the fruity names Gwyneth Paltrow chose (Apple) in 2004. Some more crazy celeb names are noted here.

In the "Hippie" era, people were naming their babies after nature (like Sunshine, Peace, and Love Child) or Zodiac sign names (like Gemini or Libra). After all, it was the "Age of Aquarius." Now you're apt to see Lexus and XBox or other high-tech names. Texting is creating a whole new spelling so you might see some creativity along those lines as well. We'll see how the name lists look in this century.

Traditional names from the Bible and history books have always been popular (David, Michael, James, Matthew), especially with boys. Besides the feminization of previously masculine names and surnames means there are fewer boy specific names in general. These days you certainly can't presume gender based on the name alone.

For fun ~The ten most popular U.S. baby names last year according to the Social Security Administration are:

Boys Names

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

Girls Names

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

Utah's list varies just a bit but Jacob and Emma are right up there (Isabella takes the number 11 spot)...

Boys Names

1. Ethan
2. Jacob
3. Joshua
4. Benjamin
5. Samuel
6. William
7. Mason
8. Isaac
9. James
10. Andrew

Girls Names

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

Have fun naming your child and be unique if you like, but think it through carefully first - it will stick for a long time, even after the popularity and interests fade.

Thanks to About.com and Social Security Online. Click here to see the most popular twins' names. Click to see Top 100 boys names and Top 100 girls names if you want more info and some food for thought on naming your baby can be found here.

Looking for a list of some strange baby names? Check out Wiki More odd celeb names here.