When we wrote our first book, Beyond Jennifer & Jason,  we hit on the idea of grouping unisex names into percentage categories–which were used more for girls and which for boys. These ranged from 90% feminine (Shannon and Tracy) to 75% feminine (Kim and Jan) to 50-50 (Ricky, Nicky) to 75% male (Kirby, Kyle) to 90% masculine (Addison, Glenn).

Most of those names have fallen completely off the radar (though long before Grey’s Anatomy, Addison was the nickname/surname of Bruce Willis’s macho character in Moonlighting), but the release of the new Social Security figures provides a good opportunity to check up on which side of the gender line unisex names are falling right now.

UNISEX NAMES GETTING MORE FIRMLY FEMININE

ADDISON
ALEXIS
ARIEL
BAILEY
EMERSON
HARPER
JORDYN
LONDON
MARLEY
PAYTON
REAGAN
REESE
RILEY (though still strong for boys)
SKYLAR
TAYLOR
TEAGAN

UNISEX NAMES MORE MALE

ANGEL
CAMERON
CHARLIE
DYLAN
HAYDEN (though the gender gap is narrowing)
JADEN, JAIDEN, JAYDEN
JAYLEN
JORDAN
MICAH
PARKER
PHOENIX
SAGE
ZION

UP FOR GIRLS AND DOWN FOR BOYS (in 2008)

ALEXIS
ALI
BAILEY
DEVON
FINLEY
HAYDEN
JUSTICE
KENDALL
LOGAN
QUINN
REAGAN
SAGE
TAYLOR

UP FOR BOYS AND DOWN FOR GIRLS

JAIDYN, JAYDEN
KENNEDY
PEYTON
ROWAN
SKYLER

UNISEX NAMES RISING FOR BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS

AVERY
CHARLIE
EDEN
EMERSON
EMERY
HARLEY
HARPER
JAYLEN
KAYDEN
LONDON
MARLEY
MICAH
PARKER
PAYTON
PHOENIX
RILEY
RORY
RYLEE
ZION

AND THOSE FALLING FOR BOTH SEXES

ANGEL
ARIEL
CAMERON
CASEY
DAKOTA
DYLAN
JADEN, JADYN
JAMIE
JORDAN
REESE
RYAN
SIDNEY
SKYLAR
TYLER

Thanks to all of you for entering the Nameberry Mother’s Day Contest. Now that the SSA lists are in, we are able to declare the winners–which turned out to be more complicated than we expected. Largely due to Emma jumping into first place–and not Isabella, which most of you predicted– and the surprise appearance of wild-card Chloe at #10, no one was able to come up with a perfect list.

In fact, very few of you made the Emma- Jacob combo your top picks. The two entrants who did (and are coincidentally evidence of the wide range of the nameberry world), and who also successfully predicted a large proportion of the other Top 20 names are:

CATHERINE, a 19-year-old Pennsylvania college student already obsessed with names (her current favorites are Rufus, Johannes, Daphne, Lucy and Alice),  and

DIANE, a volunteer doula living in Florida, who is a ’self-proclaimed name nerd’ and grandmother to boys named Jordan and Ian.

The winners get an advance copy of our brand-new book, Beyond Ava & Aiden, along with signed copies of three other name guides.  Runners-up are  the five perceptive people who picked 18 of the 20 top names (though not necessarily in the proper order)–their names will be posted shortly.

Wondering what  the most common sticking points were? On the girls’ list, it was including Addison, Hannah, Madeline, Lily, and/or Grace; and for the boys, Noah, Andrew, and triplets Aiden, Brayden, and Jayden.

But if we want to affirm our baby naming acumen: in last week’s poll, 71% correctly predicted that Jacob would stay on top and Emily would not.

And in the unlikely event that you somehow missed  the official list, here are the Top Ten for each sex:

GIRLS:

EMMA
ISABELLA
EMILY
MADISON
AVA
OLIVIA
SOPHIA
ABIGAIL
ELIZABETH
CHLOE

BOYS

JACOB
MICHAEL
ETHAN
JOSHUA
DANIEL
ALEXANDER
ANTHONY
WILLIAM
CHRISTOPHER
MATTHEW

There are some names that, even now, after writing so much about the subject, I hear and think, “Wow, that’s a great name.  I wonder why people don’t use that one more often?”

Sometimes, the answer is that a name was just too popular too recently for parents to appreciate its intrinsic wonderfulness: the lush Biblical Deborah is one that might fit in this category, though I didn’t include it in my ten examples.

Other times, a name carries an unappealing association for enough people to keep it from becoming popular.  And there are a dozen other reasons why a perfectly wonderful name just might not make it big – which can be good news for the parent in search of a name that’s both topnotch and undiscovered.

Here, ten names we think are underrated right now:

BARNABY – This name scores high by virtue of feeling both energetic and classical, a rarity among boys’ names.  The medieval English form of an ancient Aramaic name that means “son of the prophet” or “son of encouragement,” Barnabas was given as a surname to a biblical missionary named Joseph.

BRIDGET – The original Brighid was the ancient Irish goddess of poetry, fire, and wisdom, and the name in its many versions has been borne by a host of saints, servants, and one extremely curvaceous French actress.  An Irish immigrant maid was commonly called a “Bridget,” an epithet that caused many young women to change their names to something more acceptable, like Bertha.  But today, the original Bridget or Brigitte or Brigid or Birgitta is much more appealing.

DINAH – The Old Testament Dinah – pronounced dye-nah – was the daughter of Jacob and Leah whose story was popularized by the novel “The Red Tent.”  The beauty of this classical name was obscured by so many similar and more popular versions: Dena and Deena and Diane and Diana.  But Dinah, if you can get people to say it properly, remains a relatively undiscovered gem.

GREGORY – Gregory is one of those names that, like Deborah, was so popular in recent decades that parents tend to bypass it now: It peaked in 1962 and remained in the Top 50 through the late 1980s, though now it’s down to number 223.  Greek for “vigilant” or “a watchman,” Gregory remains a name that’s both strong and friendly.  The highly respectable name of popes and saints, it also carries the earthy short form Greg.

MARGARET – Margaret was so widely used for so long – it remained in the Top 25 from 1880 well into the 1950s – that it came to be seen as one of those quintessential old lady names, but not in a good way.  Greek for “pearl,” Margaret has a rich, classic feel and was the name of many queens and saints.  Another plus: a raft of great nicknames, from older choices like Peggy, Meg, and Maggie to new spins such as Maisie or Molly.  The French Marguerite is very fashionable.

OLYMPIA – Why has Olivia achieved megapopularity while Olympia has languished?  The mythological connection might be a negative, or is it something about that “limp” sound?  Whatever: It’s a name of champions and the fewer people that realize that, the better it will be for the selective few discerning enough to choose it.

REUBEN – The sandwich connection may be what’s holding back this Old Testament name from catching up with megapopular brothers like Jacob and Benjamin.  The stylishness of sister Ruby may give this name a boost.  It’s a treasure for adventurous yet classical-minded namers….and it can even work for girls.

ROY – This name that means king has a mid-century cool-guy feel, thanks to Roy Orbison and Roy Rogers.  It’s short, it’s simple, yet it stands out: What more could you want from a boy’s name?  The next Ray.

TABITHA – Forever Samantha’s daughter on Bewitched, this exotic choice from the New Testament never became as popular as her mother.  Like Keziah or Lydia, Tabitha is that rare Biblical girls’ name that remains distinctive yet feels totally appropriate for modern life.  The nickname Tabby is cute, but the name really blossoms in its full form.

THOMAS – Thomas is not exactly an underused name, but it is an underrated one.  So plain as to fade into the background, Thomas and Tom are masculine names that manage to be at once soft and strong, modern and traditional.  Originally used only for priests, Thomas is Aramaic for “twin” and comes attached to many appealing figures, including Thomas Edison and Jefferson, Tom Sawyer and Hanks.

Agree?  Have some other ideas?  Let us know.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and to baby name fanatics that means one thing beyond cards and flowers: that the release date of the latest figures from the Social Security Administration is only a few weeks away. We’ll soon know whether or not Emily and Jacob have finally been overtaken for first place and which names have made the biggest leaps and suffered the greatest drops. Will some of the Classic Boys be replaced by newer choices? Who will win the Ava-Isabella-Olivia-Sophia race?

Nameberry’s First Mother’s Day Contest wants to know what you think. Send your rankings for the Top Ten Girls and Top Ten Boys to contest@nameberry.com, and the first person to get it right will be rewarded with a quartet of personally signed book prizes, including an advance copy of our newest, not-yet-published BEYOND AVA & AIDEN.

Just to remind you of last year’s top names:

1. EMILY………..JACOB
2. ISABELLA…… MICHAEL
3. EMMA………. ETHAN
4. AVA…………. JOSHUA
5. MADISON…… DANIEL
6. SOPHIA……… CHRISTOPHER
7. OLIVIA……….ANTHONY
8. ABIGAIL………WILLIAM
9. HANNAH……..MATTHEW
10. ELIZABETH…. ANDREW

THE PRIZES

First and foremost, the winner will get the very first look–six weeks ahead of publication–of BEYOND AVA & AIDEN: THE ENLIGHTENED GUIDE TO NAMING YOUR BABY, with our latest assessments of what’s hot, what’s cool, and what’s new for the coming years, with all-new, up-to-date lists and trends, personally signed by both Pam and Linda.

In addition, you will receive autographed editions of three of our classics:

THE BABY NAME BIBLE
COOL NAMES FOR BABIES
COOL IRISH NAMES FOR BABIES

THE RULES

Only one entry per contestant.  Contest closes at midnight PST on May 7, 2009.   Winner must list the 2008 U.S. Top Ten Girls’ Names AND the Top Ten Boys’ Names in the correct order, according to the Social Security Administration list.  If no one guesses the correct order, Pam and Linda will choose a winner from the entires that come closest. Nameberry reserves the right to announce the name of the winner.

So enter today—and good luck!!

Last week we talked about the la-la part of oo-la-la names, but it seems that a large proportion of currently hot names have the cool oo sound as well. Maybe it’s because the names do share the sound with that c-word (not to mention oomph, and it’s also just a stone’s throw away from cute),  but in any case, as namiacs who parse these trends down to a single syllable, we offer a list to prove our point.

The oo sound can be reached via several vowel routes: oo, u, ou, ew, eu and ue. Here are some examples of oo names that are currently in favor or possible comers:

GIRLS

ANOUK

BIJOU

DOONE/DUNE

DJUNA

FINULA

JULIA

JULIET

JUNE

JUNO

LILOU

LOUISE/LOUISA/LUISA

LUCIA/LUCIANA

LUCIENNE

LUCINDA

LUCY/LUCIE

LOUELLA/LUELLA

LULU

LUNA

OONA/UNA

PRUDENCE

RUBY

RUTH

SUSANNA

TALLULAH

TULIP

UMA

BOYS

BOONE

CLOONEY/CLUNY

CREW

CRUZ

DOUGAL

DREW

ELIJU

JUDAH

JUDE

JULIAN

LEWIS (hot in Scotland and England)

LUC/LUKE

LUCAS

LUCIAN/LUCIANO

REUBEN

ROONE/ROONEY

RUFUS

ZEUS

ZUMA

EITHER

BLEU, BLUE

LUCA

PERU

RUDY

TRUE