Sophia

But what’s even more interesting are some of the names that made the top 5 in some states, but aren’t even in the top 10 in the U.S. Washington DC had some unique girls’ names, Charlotte and Genesis. Harper was also #4 in Montana, Nebraska, Iowa and North Dakota, and #2 in South Dakota—I’m already predicting that it hits the top 10 next year. Some unique names in the number 5 spot include Aaliyah (New Mexico), Avery (Minnesota), Lily (Utah) and Ella (Vermont).

The boys’ names were even more varied. Henry’s making major inroads—it may be only #43 overall, but it hit the top 5 in Washington DC, Minnesota and Oregon. Logan was in the top five in Hawaii, Idaho, Vermont and Wyoming, while Wyatt continued to be red-hot in the West—it was #3 in Montana and #5 in Wyoming. Some other unique names included Gabriel (#4 in Alaska), Ryan (#3 in Massachusetts), Carter (#3 in Iowa and #5 in Michigan), and Bentley and Hunter, both in the top 5 in West Virginia.

Of course, if you take into account the variety of ways baby names can be spelled—like Sophia/Sofia, Aiden/Aidan/Ayden and other creative spellings, the top names may look pretty different across the board. (Take a look at this top baby girls’ names, compiled by listing all the variant spellings—and you’ll see a different picture of the top baby names.)

What baby names are you hearing a lot where you live?

Image: Baby names by Amir Ridhwan/Shutterstock.com

MY HITS

Atticus This red-hot Romanesque name (most famous for the upstanding lawyer/dad in To Kill a Mockingbird) is still on the rise, climbing nearly 50 places in 2012—where it’s about to break into the top 400.

Brantley This surname-name jumped around 175 places, and is now angling for the top 100 names in the country. (Looks like -ley names are falling out of favor for girls, but gaining favor for boys!)

Briella A mashup of Brian and Ella leaped 125 spots on the latest list. I expect it and sister name Brielle to make big strides this year, thanks to the fierce warrior Brielle on Game of Thrones. 

Camden I think I went a little too early on this one—it only rose four spots last year. But the celeb push this name received came all in the latter part of the year, with a pair of fall babies. Expect the name to make a bigger leap this year.

Carter was another modest mover—only up four slots. But it’s still squarely in the top 50 names in the country. I’ll be intrigued to see where it lands in some parts of the Midwest/Mountain areas, where the name was making big headway last year (it was tops in Iowa).

Declan moved up another 30 spots, after moving nearly 100 places between 2011 and 2012. I think as the -den names start to lose favor, this will move in to take the spot.

Olive got a big boost up about 50 spots on the charts, likely thanks to the influence of Drew Barrymore—and the fact that it’s a less-popular variation on the uberpopular Olivia.

Penelope moved nearly 50 points itself—I still credit Tina Fey’s baby naming prowess for this classic’s resurgence!

MY MISSES

Angelique looked like it was poised for a continued rise, but it actually dipped nine points over the course of 2012.

Merida I guess it isn’t a Brave new world for baby names—the feisty princess’s moniker didn’t crack the top 1000, as I had predicted. There’s always next year, though, right?

What names are you predicting to rise this year?

This garden flower has been steadily in the top 200 names since the 1990s, a fresh choice like Violet, Lily and Rose. Daisy is considered a nickname for Margaret, which makes it a nice choice in homage to a relative who bears the name. Daisy has a few other pop culture associations, beyond the Gatsby heroine. There’s Daisy Duke (of Dukes of Hazzard fame), Daisy Duck (Donald’s girlfriend), and Daisy Miller, from Henry James’ novel.

The name’s been relatively popular with celebrities—actors Jon Cryer, Lucy Lawless and Anthony Stewart Head all picked it for their daughters. Often, it’s paired with wordy middle names: Meg Ryan’s daughter is Daisy True, and chef Jamie Oliver named his daughter Daisy Boo. I like it with Bell, Claire, Kate and June.

And it’s a perfect choice for a baby born this time of year, when gardens begin to bloom. What do you think of Daisy? Is it a name you’d want to use for your daughter?

Check back later this week for more analysis of the top baby names of the year!

Photo: Pregnant woman via Ronald Summers/Shutterstock.com

For girls, the name Dulce means “sweet,” but apparently, American parents aren’t that sweet on it anymore—it was the biggest loser, dropping 160 places on the chart. (I’m thinking it might make a pretty middle name, though!)

Estrella, a Spanish name that means star and has that hot -ella ending, and Danna, a mashup of Donna and Dana, both fell more than 120 places as well. Mikaela, a feminization of Michael, fell 140 spots, and Mikayla, its creative spelling cousin, also fell 45 points. The more traditional spelling, Michaela, fared much better. Maybe the creative spellings are starting a slow decline?

Adding fuel to that theory—Jakob was among the big decliners for the year, while Jacob continued to reign supreme. For boys overall, some of the -den names started to head . Leading the charge to the bottom was Braeden, which fell 105 points—and alternative spelling Braden also fell 45 points. (Zaiden and Zayden, however, are on the rise—combining that cool “Z” initial with the mega-popular “aden” sound.) Apparently, parents aren’t on Team Cullen anymore (is the Twilight effect finally over?)—the baby name Cullen dropped almost 80 spots.

A few other interesting tidbits: Some sports stars’ names are on a big decline (we’re looking at you, Lance, Jacoby, and Kobe!). For girls, “ey” names didn’t fare so well—Lindsey, Courtney, Tenley and Kiley were among the big droppers.

What do you think of this list? Are some of these names unfairly maligned—and are any of them on your baby name list? And would you rather pick a name that’s rising quickly, or fading fast?

Keep reading for more analysis of the baby naming trends next week! And keep up with the latest posts by liking In Name Only on Facebook!

Photo: Cute baby by postolit /Shutterstock.com

Messiah is currently the #4 mover and shaker, having moved up nearly 250 spots in the past year alone. (And it wasn’t even in the top 1000 before 2005!) It’s an interesting choice, which seems to follow a mini trend of choosing “powerful” royal/leader names for boys—also on the rise are names like King, Prince, and Kingston.

Raelynn and the sister spelling Raelyn were both on a major uptick, thanks to Season 2 Voice contestant RaeLynn. It’s been new on the list since 2008.

Here are the top 5 names on the rise for boys and girls:

BOYS

1. Major
2. Gael
3. Jase
4. Messiah
5. Brantley

GIRLS

1. Arya
2. Perla
3. Catalina
4. Elisa
5. Raelynn

Keep watching for even more analysis of the top 1000 baby names in the country—and follow In Name Only to keep up with the latest in baby names! (P.S. If you need some baby name advice, feel free to drop me a line at lamilbrand@gmail.com!)

Image: Baby names by Amir Ridhwan/Shutterstock.com

There are subtle little shifts in the top ten lists: Isabella slots back down to number three and Emma moves up to take the number two spot, while William heads out of the top three names for boys—making it Jacob, Mason and Ethan as the top three most popular names for boys. New to the top 10 this year for boys are Liam a red-hot name which jumped from #15 in 2011 to #6 in 2012, and Elizabeth, which traded spots with Chloe.

And here’s the top 10 in all their glory! Keep watching all this week and next as I analyze the heck out of the lists and see what big changes have occurred over the past year. (Like In Name Only on Facebook to keep up with the latest baby name scoop!)

BOYS

1. Jacob
2. Mason
3. Ethan
4. Noah
5. William
6. Liam
7. Jayden
8. Michael
9. Alexander
10. Aiden

GIRLS

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

Want some more insight? Read about the biggest movers and shakers on the baby name list, or check out which baby names are falling out of fashion—fast!

Another interesting insight was that informal nicknames trumped their more formal roots—so going by Bill instead of William, or Debbie instead of Deborah could help you earn more cash. My thought? Short, one-syllable names like Rob, Marc and Lynn are easy to pronounce, simple and straightforward. And who wouldn’t want a colleague (or leader), who was straightforward?

Admittedly, some of the names among the top earners, especially on the ladies’ list, felt a little less-than-fresh. Denise, for instance, is on a steep trajectory out of the top 1,000 names, and Cindy is following on Denise’s heels. On the boys’ side, Wayne recently had a sharp spike in popularity, but it’s still near the bottom of the top 1,000 names for boys.

Though of course, you’ll have to take all of this number crunching with a grain of salt. The pool of people in their sample is skewed toward high-level business folks (I’m sure there are plenty of Denises and Robs who have less than 6-figure salaries), and I can say with authority that despite our short-and-sweet names, my husband and I aren’t C-level executives.

But maybe this is food for thought as you pick your baby’s name. Look for names that are short and sweet, or that can be lopped off to a simple nickname.

What do you think? Could your name (or your baby’s name) be holding you back?

(Want to keep up with the latest in baby names? Follow In Name Only on Facebook for the latest!)

Image: Baby names by Amir Ridhwan/Shutterstock.com

What’s new in the latest version? You’ll find, of course, updated stats on each name, but also new naming maps of the United States show the distinctive styles of boys’ and girls’ names you’ll find in each state, from “Preppy Cowboys” to “Romantic Flourish” names. A name that’s rare in the rest of the country can be surprisingly common in your own backyard. Each name entry also includes a new section called “In the World” that lists the associations most likely to come to people’s minds when they hear a name. Those associations could be people, like reality tv judge Simon Cowell, but also phrases, products or titles, like “Simon Says.” That real-world context helps paint a fuller picture of each name.

(Want to know more? Check out our Mom Must Read blogger Kristin Kemp’s review of the updated version of Baby Name Wizard!)

I interviewed Laura to get a few pointers for anyone looking for a little help in the baby naming department:

So many parents today are worried about picking a name that’s too popular. How can parents avoid that?

We all wish we had a crystal ball to predict the next hot name. Unfortunately, the sad reality is that the only way to make sure that the name you choose won’t become popular is to choose a name you don’t like, that feels really boring to you.

Rather than just looking at a ranking, you should look at Name Voyager, to see in what direction a name is going. If it’s been pretty steady for past decade, or if it’s already heading down, it will probably keep going that way.

What’s your take on the creative spelling trend? (We’re talking Aiden, Aidan, Ayden, etc.)

It’s easy to fall into trap that if you spell it differently, it’s going to be different. But it’s still going to be the same spoken out loud. Some kids love having creative spellings, but most just end up frustrated that everyone gets their name wrong.

What baby name advice do you think is most important for parents to consider?

Choosing a name has become more difficult. The more choices you have, the harder it is to know that you’ve chosen right. But as long as you love the name you chose and it brings a smile to your face, it doesn’t matter that there’s another name out there.

It’s important to stay positive, and focus on what you love rather than getting too caught up in the competitive drive to choose a unique name. That’s easier said than done, though! Once you have a short list, try to “narrow up” to a choice by thinking about what delights you about the names, rather than “narrowing down” by finding fault. (You can read more about her baby name strategies here.)

Keira’s a lovely Gaelic name, a variant on Ciara, and the name of a 7th century saint. It means “dark-haired,” and it’s held relatively steady in the top 200 for the past seven years.

It goes beautifully with Claire, Belle, Jane and Maeve—though Keira Knightley has the longer Christina as a middle name. And it’d work wonderfully with a sibling set that includes some of the other Celtic classics, including brothers with names like Liam, Aidan or Gavin.

What do you think of the name Keira? Is it a name you’d consider for your daughter?

Don’t forget to like In Name Only on Facebook to keep up with the latest news in baby names.

Photo: Pregnant woman via Ronald Summers/Shutterstock.com

Plus, I have so many baby names I love, that I won’t ever get to use—unless it’s for a future kitten or puppy. If I had another daughter, she’d be Adeline Mary, after two of my great-grandmothers. (After our daughters each got family names, we can’t just go with something we happened to see in a baby naming book, can we?)  Boys are a little trickier. We’d probably give a son the middle name Kenneth, after my dad. But I’m not sure about the family name options. I never met my great-grandfathers, so I don’t have much attachment to their names. There’s a Walter, and I think a Louis and a Charles—both names that were given to my grandfathers. I still love Alexander and Nicholas, which were the two names my husband and I were hashing out before we found out our second child was a girl. And of course, now that I’m deeply immersed in baby names on a daily basis, I’ve found new ones to love: names like Dixon, James and Nolan. And I can’t forget Luke.

Do you have a baby name you love that you’ll never get to use? Share it here!