Top Baby Names of 2008

[underpants]

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/family-parenting/articleab.aspx?cp-documentid=16069975>1=32001

Top 10 Girl Names of 2008

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

For a complete list of the Top 50 Girls' Names of 2008, click on the "Top 50 Girls' Names of 2008" link at left.

Top 10 Boy Names of 2008

1. Aidan
2. Jayden
3. Jacob
4. Michael
5. Ethan
6. Caden
7. James
8. Caleb
9. Andrew
10. Matthew

The Britney Comeback Effect
Parents are embracing the first and middle name Britney Spears chose for her second son, Jayden James. Jayden is #2 and James is #7.

The Influence of TV
The boob tube can affect baby names - witness the popularity of Aidan (#1), Carrie's loveable boyfriend on Sex and the City, or Addison (#8), the name of the Grey's Anatomy doc who got her own spinoff, Private Practice, this year.

[emilyg]

1. I'm still in top 3 - Wheeee!

[underpants]

3. The End of Emily?--from the article. Sorry.

The End of Emily?
According to the Social Security Administration, Emily has been the top name for baby girls since 1996. But it only came in third on our list for 2008, with Isabella and Ava snagging the #1 and #2 spots, suggesting the reign of Emily may be over. Isabella and Ava are also popular names with celebs (Isabella was chosen by Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Matt Damon, while Reese Witherspoon and Jason Priestley picked Ava).

[emilyg]

26. Shucks.

In my very younger days - Emily was the crazy relative you kept in the Attic. We've come a long way.

[MillieJo]

36. ditto

..... It was unusual when my mother picked it for me.

[TahitiNut]

28. My first AND middle names are in the Top Ten ... again.

It's just a matter of setting an example, I guess. :evilgrin:


:hide:

[Mz Pip]

2. Addison??

That's kind of weird IMHO for a girl's name. The first thing that crossed my mind was "Addison's Disease." :shrug:

[surrealAmerican]

24. That is a strange one to be so popular.

Other than the street in Chicago, it rings no bells for me.

[camera obscura]

37. Addison is the main character of Private Practice (popular Grey's Anatomy spinoff)

[FLAprogressive]

4. Why do people give their children horrible names like "Aidan" and "Cayden"

Or any other name variants that end with "den".

[Doctor Cynic]

5. The same reason why they give them Piper, Willow, Track, Trigg, etc.

[FLAprogressive]

7. Yeah but at least those aren't on the Top 50.

[tabbycat31]

17. Dylan is in the top 50

wouldn't strike me as unusual if it was on the boy's list. But it's on the girl's list. I don't know of any girls named Dylan.

[Lex]

8. Aiden, Caden, Jayden,

Banana Fo-Fanna.

[FLAprogressive]

10. Just sad a "den" to anything and apparently it's a good name to some.

Barackden
McCaiden
Sashayden

[last_texas_dem]

9. A few years ago, 5 of those "-den" names were in the Top 50 boys' names

Maybe that obnoxious trend has died down a bit, but who knows? I don't mind "Hayden" so much (though I don't like it all that much, either) as it at least is an actual name and not just a misguided, cutesy creation, but "Cayden," "Jayden," and, perhaps the worst offender, "Brayden," are pretty horrible, IMHO.

EDIT: In all fairness, I was shooting off my mouth a little with the "misguided, cutesy creation" part. Those names may very well all be "real" names- they just sounds like misguided, cutesy creations to me.

[Lex]

13. Brayden?

Maybe a good name for a donkey?

[Fleshdancer]

14. I like Aiden. It's Gaelic and means fire. n/t

[anigbrowl]

30. Well, not exactly

the Irish for fire is 'Tine' (pron 'ti-neh'). Aodh was an early god of fire, not unlike Apollo in Greece. Aodhan is a diminutive of that.

[KittyWampus]

19. you realize Aidan is a very old Gaelic name, right?

[Berry Cool]

22. Yeah, old Gaelic/Celtic names seem to be perpetually rediscovered and popular.

Take Caitlin and all its many variations. Thirty years ago it was a rarity. Now every other girl is named Caitlin, Kaitlin, Katelyn, etc.

It was even happening years ago. Brian didn't become a huge name for American boys until the '50s and '60s. It's been big ever since and so have its variations.

[anigbrowl]

31. That one does irritate me...

There's no word in Irish that sounds like 'Katelyn'. 'Caitlin' is pronounced in Irish like 'Kathleen'. Anyone the 'Kate-lynn' pronunciation is like moving to Japan and calling your offspring 'Lobert' or 'Wirriam'.

[anigbrowl]

29. 'aidan' is a very popular Irish name meaning 'bard' (a combination poet/musician)

'-den' is the English transliteration of '-dhan', which indicates the personal noun in Irish, much as '-or' does in English (doctor, sailor, tailor, etc.). Aidan (or 'aodhan') is considered a quite fortuitous name in Irish culture, evoking musical or oratorical talent.

[applegrove]

6. I saw at the gift shop that they have piggy banks with kid's names on them.

But no Margaret, Margot.... no Peter. Also missing Fatima. Lots of Kelsies and Madisons though.

[kirby]

11. Where is JoyceLynn Adolph Hitler? n/t

[FLAprogressive]

12. Don't give over-"creative" moms (& dads) any ideas. Adolphden maybe? lol

[underpants]

18. No no no it's JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Adolf Hitler Campbell

and OF COURSE Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3648098&mesg_id=3648098

[Lex]

15. No "place" names: Austin, Dakota, Phoenix, Sahara?

I lurve those. :rofl:

(Well, maybe "Madison" counts in that category.)

[CTyankee]

45. My paternal grandmother and aunt were named Arizona and Nevada.

They were shortened to Zona and Vada (pron. vaydah). I never knew them as they were quite old and died before I was born (I'm in my late 60s).

[tridim]

16. At least Cole is finally off the list

Sorry Coles. :)

[Peregrine Took]

20. WHAT? Again, no "Margaret" the most beautiful woman's name ever???

It was my mom's name.

When she first emigrated from Ireland she roomed with 3 other "Margaret's" so their apartment was known as the "Margaret's."

[ZombieHorde]

21. My kids names...

My daughter: Demeter Nuit

My son: Dionysus Pan

Perhaps those names will be on next year's lists.

[brentspeak]

23. Interesting that there's no 3-syllable boy's names

[anigbrowl]

33. It happens that shorter names correlate with economic success, for men.

At least, at this point in history. Growing up in Ireland, we were mystified at how so many Americans seems to have named like 'Brad' and 'Chet' and so on. I remember holding a theory when I was small that they were poorer than us and couldn't afford multisyllabic names.

[Lyric]

25. Yuck. Very few girls names there that I like.

I don't know why all these old-timey names are suddenly stylish again, but it's icky. When I hear "Madison" and "Olivia," I think of old grannies--not pretty young girls.

Each to their own, I guess. But if "Maude" or "Agatha" start creeping onto the lists, I'm gonna protest in the streets, lol.

[blue_onyx]

35. I don't like the girl names either

I don't mind them being old-fashion names but they just don't stand out as names I would choose. I'm hoping to see the names Myrtle, Winifred, and Prudence make a comeback, lol.

The boys list was better....I like Aiden, Jayden, and Ethan.

[Fearless]

27. In the words of George Carlin...

Where are all these goofy fucking boys names coming from?!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2NEzmzfXho

[alcibiades_mystery]

44. ROFL: "I'll bet you that 10 times out of 10, Nicky, Vinny, and Tony

will beat the shit out of Todd, Kyle, and Tucker..."

:rofl:

Of course, it's funny because it's a disguised argument about social class, where the "real boys names" that he references were common names among immigrant and working class people, while the "new names" are the names of the suburban and re-gentrified urban bourgeoisie. Nicky, Vinny, and Tony beat the shit out of Todd, Kyle, and Tucker because they're poor, and live in tough neighborhoods, and grow up in a working class culture that experiences violence much differently from a suburban culture. We still get it implicitly. Funny.

[Contrary1]

32. Way back in 1976, we had a baby girl.

I had wanted to name her Maria, but she was born with red hair. I couldn't picture that name on any female that did not have long, dark, flowing hair.

And so, we decided on the runner up name: "Marisa" (Ma-ree-sa) which means star of the sea. We were about 20 years ahead of the times. Her daddy was a sailor, and had once dated a girl from France with the name. And I attended high school with a girl from Cuba with the same name and spelling. I thought it was beautiful.

I couldn't understand why everyone frowned and said "Huh?", when we told them.

Marisa forgave us when she was about 15, and started getting positive comments about it. I can still remember her at 3 years of age, giving phonics lessons on how to pronounce it to adults, who to this day, still do not get it right.

She is 32 years old now and has long, dark, flowing hair. Go figure.

[Kat45]

34. It figures that the weird names I've never heard before are from celebrities.

Which begs the question, why do so many people always want to copy celebrities--get the kind of dog they have, drive the same cars they do, name their babies the same names as their babies? Where did Caden come from? I never heard that one.

There are a number of ugly names in this bunch, names that don't sound like names. When I was a kid, the names Mary and Ann were among the most common names. When I was in college, mothers were naming their kids Jennifer and Jason. And now this...

[treestar]

38. And to top it off, celebrities go out of their way to pick something

unusual!

[treestar]

39. I bet next year we will see some Baracks

[-..__...]

40. Urban legend has it...

that shortly after "Roots" aired, Kunta Kinte became a popular name for African American newborns.

30+ years later, and I have yet to meet or hear of a person with that name.

[bdamomma]

42. Baracks and Michelle's

[Shine]

41. My name and my kids' names ain't NEVER gonna be on no Top 10 list!

and I LIKE it that way!

Unique, special, and one-of-a-kind.....that's our style.

:D

:hi:

[bdamomma]

43. Jacob or Jake

always liked the name, it was my dad's name.

[Bucky]

46. Aidan, Jayden, and Caden are paradin' cause William & John are fadin'

Not only is Jayden not a real name... it's not even a real word!

Fuck everyone under the age of 30.

[CTyankee]

47. Lucinda (Lucy), Miranda, Alexandra for girls. Zane, Timothy, and Jeremy for boys

Those are currently my favorite baby names (if/when I have another couple of grandkids and I hope that willhappen soon).

[Ohio Joe]

48. #40? Sheesh...

People just don't know the best name anymore :rofl:

[a la izquierda]

49. Blech! Mostly bad names except

Abigail and Emily for the girls and James for the boys.
If I ever have kids, I like Lucy for a girl and Jack Timothy for a boy. My husband's name is Tim, so he won't go for having a Junior...