As soon as a couple discovers they are expecting a baby, the race begins to find just the right name for the family's newest arrival. There are a variety of factors that can influence what makes up popular baby names. Classic names such as Robert and Sarah seem to be popular from one generation to the next. The names that celebrities give their offspring can also influence what regular folks call their new baby girl or boy. Naming a child after a respected or well-liked relative in the family such as a grandfather, great-uncle or aunt also makes one name more popular than another.
According to the Social Security Administration, the top 10 baby names for boys at the start of the 21st century in America were, in descending order of preference, Jacob, Mason, Ethan, Noah, William, Liam, Jayden, Michael, Alexander and Aiden. For girls, the most popular monikers bestowed at their christening were Sophia, Emma, Isabella, Olivia, Ava, Emily, Abigail, Mia, Madison and Elizabeth.
According to researchers who actually study the trends of naming a child have discovered that popular names can last for as long as a century when suddenly new names seem to overtake them and move to the top of the hit parade list of baby names. Within the past 30 or so years, popular names seem to have more staying power and the list of the most popular names given to children contains some of the same names for several years running. In the past, it was not unusual for a name at the top of the popularity list one year to be completely absent during the next.
Baby names popular in one state are usually different from another state or even another part of the country. The popularity of baby names also differs from one country to the next. While Ella and Jack may be the most popular baby names chosen in Australia, Grace and Jack top the list of popular names in Great Britain, with Sofie and Maximilian among the top picks for babies born to parents in Germany. More parents are also much more comfortable within the past several decades with giving their children ethnic names.
Leave it to celebrity couples to buck the trend of selecting a name that is considered popular in the traditional sense in order to provide their offspring with a name that not only has unique meaning but in all likelihood also unique spelling. From Cricket Pearl and North West to Rumour and Milan Pique, celebrity children are given the most unique monikers to establish their VIP status in society, thus starting a whole new cycle of names that can potentially become very popular among the general populace. Today's expectant parents, whether celebrities or not, are definitely influenced by the names most popularly given to other boys and girls during that same year. But whether or not they select a popular name depends upon how much they want to emulate others rather than bestow a one-of-a-kind name for their newborn.