Emma Knocks Emily Off Her Throne

Posted May 8, 2009, 9:30 pm in News


For the first time in a dozen years, there's a new girl in charge. Well, a new name, at least.

Emma has dethroned the mighty Emily from the top of the most popular names for baby girls list, according to the Social Security Administration. Jacob was still able to onto his spot on top the boys list for the 10th consecutive year.

But some of the classics are getting some new competition. In honor of the new president, the name Barack has risen a record 10,126 spots to No. 2,409. And Miley, as in teen superstar Miley Cyrus, moved up 152 spots to No. 127. But her alter ego Hannah fell from No. 9 to No. 17.

The Social Security Administration released its annual list of most popular baby names in honor of Mother's Day.

What are the biggest trends in baby names these days?

"The biggest trend is two syllable names that end in 'n,'" Pam Satran, the co-author of "The Baby Name Bible," told CNN Radio. "We see names moving up like 'Owen' and 'Logan.' The name 'Aaden' is also soaring up the charts."

But the real story is the toppling of Emily. After 12 years on top, Emily slipped to number three, behind Emma and Isabella.

"The girls names we see moving up most quickly tend to be quite feminine," Satran said, "names starting with a vowel and ending in 'a.' "

Here are the names you'll be hearing yelled at grocery stores and parks near you:

Boys Top Ten:
1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Ethan
4. Joshua
5. Daniel
6. Alexander
7. Anthony
8. William
9. Christopher
10. Matthew

Girls Top Ten:
1. Emma
2. Isabella
3. Emily
4. Madison
5. Ava
6. Olivia
7. Sophia
8. Abigail
9. Elizabeth
10. Chloe

Rising to the top of the list isn't an easy feat. Satran also told CNN that only 13 names in recorded history have held the top spot for either boys or girls, that the favorites do not change often. "Once a name gets popular enough to get to that top spot it tends to hold onto it for dear life," she said.

Emma wasn't the only one having a big year. Chloe cracked the top 10 for the first time with the common spelling of the name, while an alternate spelling "Khloe" made the largest leap of any name in the top 1,000, jumping from 667 to 196 last year.

The Social Security Administration theorized that reality TV star Khloe Kardashian was the reason for the Khloe climb.

The fastest rising boy name in the top 1,000 was "Jacoby," moving up hundreds of spots to become the 423rd most popular name in the United States last year.

While many of the names on the boys list are the same as 50 years ago, not a single name on the 2008 list of girls names cracked even the top 20 in 1958. Some baby naming experts say girls' names tend to more closely follow pop culture while boys' names still have strong Biblical roots.

To see how your name did or to get a year-by-year breakdown of the most popular names, click here to visit the Social Security Administration's baby names page.

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