Isabella and Jacob Still #1

Isabella and Jacob are still the top names in the U.S., according to the official statistics for 2010 released this morning by the Social Security Administration.

With a Top 10 list that was extraordinarily stable — Aiden was the only name that moved on, with Joshua falling off — most names even retained the rankings they held last year. The biggest change was Sophia, a name some berries thought would take first place this year, jumping up to Number 2.

The Top 10 for girls are:

1. Isabella2. Sophia3. Emma4. Olivia5. Ava6. Emily7. Abigail8. Madison9. Chloe10. Mia

The boys’ Top 10:

1. Jacob2. Ethan3. Michael4. Jayden5. William6. Alexander7. Noah8. Daniel9. Aiden10. Anthony

In sheer numbers, about 500 more little girls were named Isabella in 2010 than in 2009 — 22,731, while the number of boys called Jacob fell by about 800.

The fastest-rising names for both girls and boys were inspired by the show Teen Mom: Maci and Bentley. Other hot names for girls include Tiana, Quinn, Adalynn, and Kinley, and for boys, Kellan, Knox, Enzo, and Karter.

Most popular twin names continued the taste for alliteration. Most popular names for girl twins were Ella and Emma, for boys Jacob and Joshua, and for a girl-boy pair, Madison and Mason.

If pop culture, particularly Twilight, propelled names up the popularity ladder, it also was responsible for their fall. Celebrity names Rihanna and Kimora were two that fell the most precipitously for girls, along with dog-inspired Marley and variations. Elvis fell off the Top 1000 for the first time since the King reigned in 1954.

About the Author

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond is the cocreator and CEO of Nameberry and Baby Name DNA. The coauthor of ten groundbreaking books on names, Redmond is an internationally-recognized baby name expert, quoted and published widely in such media outlets as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, CNN, and the BBC. She has written about baby names for The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, and People.

Redmond is also a New York Times bestselling novelist whose books include Younger, the basis for the hit television show, and its sequel, Older. She has three new books in the works.

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Introducing the Nameberry App

Nameberry App
Find your perfect baby name together with our new mobile app.
  • Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
  • Names you match on are saved to your shared list
  • Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
  • Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
  • Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.
Sign up to be notified when the app launches and to receive a discount on full access.
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