Popular Baby Names 2011
Who were you inspired by when it came to naming your child?
My daughter Bella, was named after my aunt despite the fact 99% of people seem to think I was inspired by the Twilight series. Not that there is anything wrong with being inspired by a book character, actor, song or even in the case of one friend a car (his daughter is called Mercedes – his car of choice).
In fact the new list of popular names for 2011 shows that many parents are inspired by what they’re watching and reading and hearing about. Which is probably why in the US – Jacob (another Twilight name) is currently topping the list of boys names alongside Mason (Kardashian grandchild). In the UK Jacob only makes it to number 9, and Mason number 56 but the UK boys list though no surprise at the top (Oliver and Jack) is also full of new names such as Jayden, Logan, and Riley.
Meanwhile on the female front Sophia and Isabella are the top girls names in the US, compared to Lily and Emily in the UK, but again new names are shooting up the list with Layla, Sienna, Esme and Orla all moving swiftly. At the lower regions of the naming chart Celebrities also seem to be have the biggest impact on new parents with Suri (The Cruises), Harper (Beckhams), also rating as parental favourites.
So how do you feel about the popularity of the name you chose? I love the choices we made and it doesn’t bother me when I meet other children with the same name or hear that the name is popular. However, listening to a discussion about names on the radio this morning I was amazed that so many parents were so irritated that the ‘original’ names they had chosen were now trending.
So would you choose differently if you had to do it again? If you’re pregnant are you influenced by the names you hear around you? Let us know.