Want the hottest baby name trends for 2012? Check out our baby names 2012 story.

Baby names 2011 signal a new lighter feel in the air and more optimistic outlook for our offspring.   Here, our predictions for the top trends for baby names 2011.

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Nameberry intern Danielle Miksza, who wrote for nameberry last Halloween on vampire names, turns her attention now to names inspired by the new popular monster in town — werewolf names.

Last year the world was falling into the icy clutches of the vampires. The Salvatore brothers of L.J. Smith’s The Vampire Diaries were fighting over the beautiful Elena Gilbert, lethally handsome Edward Cullen once again rescued his mortal love, Bella Swann from a gruesome death in the new Twilight movie, Eclipse, and a vampire child by the name of Abby has been terrifying audiences in Matt Reeve’s new film Let Me In.

Unfortunately, not all of us are lucky enough to escape the bite of immortality, but fear not fellow name lovers! There is hope for us mortals yet, a hope that comes in a very furry form.

This Halloween goes to the wolves. The vampire reign is in danger of coming to a close as the popularity of werewolves quickly rises. The vampire-werewolf rivalry is one of the oldest feuds in existence, so it’s no wonder that we humans have been caught in the middle once again. At least the wolves will get the vampires off our backs for a bit. Right?

Okay. You may be thinking that werewolves are just as bad as vampires, but let’s think about this. Unlike vampires who have absolutely no escape from their condition, unless they go a day without sunscreen, werewolves only change during a full moon. So if someone you love is carrying the curse of the Lycan, it’s best to take a little vacation from them once a month. After all, we all need a little me time. Also, werewolves aren’t constantly craving your blood. They’re actually quite normal in human form (I should know because I used to date one), whereas vampires obsess over the sound of blood pumping through your veins. Hence, werewolves are the lesser of two evils.

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The Social Security Administration has just released its list of Top Names of 2009, and, as predicted by many nameberryites, Isabella has dethroned Emma for first place.  Jacob remains the top name for boys, as it has been since 1999.  One of the ayden boys has finally cracked the Top 10, with Jayden in at number eight, and Noah is also new in the golden circle at #9.  For girls, the newcomer was Mia, moving up from #14 to #10.

Biggest jumps were for Maliyah, a take on the First Daughter’s name, and for boys, the Twilight influence was reflected in the spurt of Cullen, surname of Edward.

Top twins were Isabella and Sophia–a real move away from the matchy-matchy first initial names.

More coming, but in the meantime, here is the official press release from the SSA which has a link to the Top 1000. http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/pr/baby-names2009-pr-alt.pdf

We’ve spent much of the day blogging for the Daily Beast and for USmagazine (soon to be posted in their Moms & Babies section.

In the meantime, we’ve been wildly impressed with the astute comments you’ve been posting on the blog and hope everyone is following them!!

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It all started with Emily, this current passion for names beginning with Em.  When Emily became #1 in 1996, ending the 25-year reign of Jessica and Jennifer and Ashley, it officially inaugurated  the Era of Emily and Emma and offshoots.

EMILY was a perfect name for the 90s—feminine but strong, vintage but not Victorian valentine.  A classic, it has not been off the popularity lists since they began being recorded, and the lowest it ever dipped was to #273 in 1962.

But when Emily became epidemic—with close to three million of them born in the ten year period between 1996 and 2006 (not counting all the Emelys, Emilees, Emillies and Emmalees), parents began visualizing their potential Emily as being one of four in her class, and so starting seeking a substitute.

What could be more perfect than EMMA, especially in the midst of a Jane Austen craze?  A very old royal name (not related to Emily), with several literary namesakes, Emma had substance as well as style and a sweet sound, somewhat softer than Emily.  It too had been a stalwart on the popularity charts, being in the top ten (as high as #3) in the last years of the 19^th century.

Many of the Emilys and Emmas were nicknamed EMME/EMMY, which made it not much of a leap for them to start being used on their own.  With award-winning associations, and celebrity links (to the model Emme, the Jennifer-Lopez-Marc Anthony daughter Emme), Emmy-with-a-y  moved onto the list in 2007.

The twin mega-franchises of our time, Harry Potter and Twilight, brought some other Em- names into the spotlight:

EMMELINE, from HP, is a very old name with a history distinct from both Emily and Emma,  introduced to Britain by the Normans in the 11^th century.  It can also be spelled Emeline or Emmaline and has a choice of pronunciations, rhyming with keen, kin or fine.  Though it hasn’t reached the list yet, it’s very much a Hot Topic on the nameberry boards, along with cousin Clementine.

Also from HP is the somewhat eccentric EMERIC, in the quirky Cedric, Alaric, Roderic mode.

Despite the fact that EMBRY is a Twilight werewolf character, it has potential via its upbeat, unisex appeal.

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Stephenie Meyer‘s Twilight series has been one of the biggest influencers of baby name trends in recent times, propelling Bella, Edward, Cullen, Esme, and a host of other names up the charts.  Here, nameberry intern DANIELLE MIKSZA, a Twilight fan, analyzes the Twilight baby names.

There’s been a vampire epidemic going on ever since Twilight hit theatres. Everywhere you look there’s Rob Pattinson’s face or Taylor Lautner’s abs, not that I’m complaining. But what’s even more interesting are the names author Stephenie Meyer chose for all the characters.

Although Bella is a klutzy, plain, and moody teenager, Stephenie Meyer chose a name for her heroine that means beautiful. Also, she gave her the elegant surname, Swan. It’s difficult to see why a powerful and handsome vampire like Edward would fall in love with a boring human when he’s surrounded by immortal beauties like Rosalie and Tanya.  I guess aside from the floral scent of her blood, Edward sees something lovable in Bella that no one else sees.

The name Edward is suitable for Meyer’s other main character because it is an old-fashioned name that means “wealthy guardian.” Edward, Bella’s immortal love, is so protective of her that it becomes annoying. He sneaks into her room at night and once followed her all the way to the bookstore to make sure she was safe. He sees himself as a dark version of her guardian angel and tries to buy her lavish gifts like a new car. I guess being over a century old and never having to worry about buying groceries, he has a few bucks stocked away.

Esme is another name that seems to be from a more elegant age. It means “beloved,” which is perfect when paired with Edward’s sweet and charming foster mother.

Bella’s mother, Renee, became fed up with her mundane life and left in search of a more exciting one. Renee left her husband, Charlie, and took off to Phoenix, where she married a young baseball player man named Phil. The name Renee fits the character’s personality because it has a young and spunky feel to it. Bella’s mother may have a few laugh lines here and there, but her spirit is anything but ancient.

Jacob Black is my all time favorite Twilight character. The only thing I wasn’t too fond of was his name: too good boy for a motorcycle rider whose sole purpose is to kill vampires. But after learning that the Jacob means “supplanter,” I once again applaud Stephenie Meyer for choosing an appropriate name. A supplanter is something that takes the place of something else, fitting for a human who changes into a wolf.

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