Every year the Social Security Administration releases statistics on the most popular names in the United States according to social security card registrations.
It's an amazing resource and without it, it would be nearly impossible to write with any authority on baby names. Read more about name rank here.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Top Ten of 2008
Big news this year! We have two new names in the top 10, and Emily fell from the number one spot, which it held for 12 years.
| Rank 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. | Boys Jacob Michael Ethan Joshua Daniel Alexander Anthony William Christopher Matthew | Girls Emma Isabella Emily Madison Ava Olivia Sophia Abigail Elizabeth Chloe |
Changes to the top ten
- Emma and Emily switched places
- Andrew fell out of the top 10
- Madison rose while Ava fell, both by one spot only
New top 10 names
- Alexander rose 5 places to #5
- Chloe rose 6 places to #10
- Both Alexander and Chloe have never been in the top 10 before!
Standout Names in top 1,000
Biggest Changes in Popularity
Rising names that became dramatically more popular
Female names
- + 469: Khloe A unique spelling of a name that’s already very popular, inspired by reality t.v. star Khloe Kardashian
- + 426: Marlee (spellings Marley and Marley also rose dramatically) Look for a feature on this name soon!
- + 354: Audrina A beautiful name that rose 354 places, most likely due to the reality star Audrina Patridge of MTV’s The Hills
- + 353: Adalyn This name got its inspiration from Madeline
- + 221: Jaslene The name of America's Next Top Model winner, 2007
Male names
- + 200: Jacoby Pronounced jah-KO-bee more often than JACK-ah-bee
- + 198: Kane
- + 184: Beckett
- + 140: Paxton
- + 131: Kale
- + 126: August A truly vintage name
Falling names that became much less popular
Girls: Angelique, Yoselin, Jaden, Kirsten, Anahi, Alissa
Boys: Aldo, Branden, Osvaldo, Leland, Billy, Noe
Names I’ve Featured
Since last year at this time, there are a few I’ve written about that stand out in their rank change.
- Adelaide gained 161 places, to number 551. It's one of my favorites.
- Elsie is now at 740, gaining 146 places. That’s huge!
- Harper gained 142 places and is now at 297.
- Rihanna gained 104 places.
- Raphael gained 70 places.
- Graham gained 60 places to number 323.
- Violet gained 45 spots.
- Sadly, India fell by 128 places. Yikes!
I first heard the name Audrina when I read the V.C. Andrews novel "My Sweet Audrina." Its a rather disturbing book, but I was instantly attracted to the name. Its melodic and dramatic. I still wonder if its an invention of V.C. Andrews.
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