WASHINGTON – When it comes to naming babies, celebrities are getting kicked to the curb and more people are favoring family names, according to a USA TODAY report.
On Tuesday, parenting website BabyCenter.com released its annual list of most popular baby names and the 2013 list shows more parents are picking names that have meaning in their families, Linda Murray, global editor in chief of BabyCenter.com tells USA TODAY.
“[Parents] want a name that feels important to them,” Murray says. “Looking back into your own family tree is a way to find a person meaningful to you. We see the search for meaning in this generation really starting to show up in the baby-naming ranks.”
The most popular boy’s name in 2013 is Jackson, followed by eight-year winner Aiden. With the girl’s names, Sophia ranked at No. 1 — its fourth year on top — followed by Emma, which has held the No. 2 spot for three years in a row.
BabyCenter.com asked more than 2,400 mothers or soon-to-be moms about the naming process and 63 percent said they dislike the baby-naming trend of celebrity inspired names. Also, 54 percent of people they know are the inspiration for baby names — 39 percent of which said they used grandparents’ names.
Despite some people’s aversions to celebrity names, many pop culture icons helped influence baby names in 2013, according to BabyCenter.com. Names like Korie, Willie and Silas (“Si”) — names of the stars on A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” — jumped up on the list, BabyCenter.com says. Also, while the royal baby George made headlines around the world, it made news in the baby list too. The name “George” — and its female counterparts “Georgia,” “Georgina” and “Giorgio” — climbed the list.
Celeb names such as Kanye (Kanye West), Miley (Miley Cyrus) and Alec (Alec Baldwin) all saw an increase in popularity, the website says.
Below is a list of the top 10 boy’s names:
- Jackson
- Aiden
- Liam
- Lucas
- Noah
- Mason
- Jayden
- Ethan
- Jacob
- Jack
Below is the list of the top 10 girl’s names:
- Sophia
- Emma
- Olivia
- Isabella
- Mia
- Ava
- Lily
- Zoe
- Emily
- Chloe
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