Names Of The Year 2013

This year my predictions for the 2013 list is a little late, but as long as it's before the list is out, it still counts, right? Anyway, the year 2013 has brought us some interesting and buzzworthy celeb baby names, but little (as far as I can see) in terms of new character names on tv shows - the same old same old are being used instead. But enough about my disappointment in tv names, let's go to the predictions.

For boys:

- I think this will definitely be the year Jacob finally loses its crown after a long and snoozeworthy 14 year reign. The battle will be between Mason, who lost out by a tiny margin last year, and the new "hear it everywhere" name Liam. I wouldn't be surprised if Liam leapfrogged Mason and ended up at #1, but I'm still sticking with Mason being at the top, at least for a year.

- Aiden and Jayden should continue their downward trend, with possibly Aiden dropping out of the top10, but I wouldn't bet on that just yet. There really is no new name I see climbing into the top10 for 2013, maybe Elijah, but my prediction is the top10 will consist of the same names as last year, with a little shuffle between them.
- I expect Isaac, Carter, Henry, Eli, Levi, Oliver, Jaxon, Jace, Grayson and Hudson to ascend sharply inside the top100, they are inescapable right now.
- Dont expect any "classics" to drop out of the top 100 anytime soon. After following birth announcements in various sites the past year, I've noticed that about 80% of the kids named Michael, Christopher, John, James, William, Joseph, Charles and Robert are named after their fathers. The biggest culprit? Christopher - I'd say that one is above 90%. It's too bad that this practice is still so widespread, it's the main reason why the male rank is still very stale and predictable.
- My best bet for top 100 debuts are: Jaxson and Miles, with a smaller chance of Axel, Lincoln, Camden or Brantley getting there too, but definitely not all four.
- It's very hard to predict what the biggest climbers inside the top 1000 will be, but I think Cash, Jase, Maverick, Kayson, Remington, Cyrus, Major, Jaxton, Ace, Zayne, Flynn, Brentley and Graeme will get significant boosts for a variety of reasons.
- I'm not entirely sure how much of a lift George will get after becoming the newest royal baby name. I think certainly a rise is on the cards, but not a top 100 status. At least not yet. The name is still in the "dated" category for a lot of american parents, unlike in the UK where it's a reliable classic and much more popular amongst newborns.
- Predicting the top 1000 debuts is always tricky because the numbers at the end of the list are quite small, with many names being close to the threshold and therefore the list of potential debuts is enormous. After some digging I think the following have a very good chance of making a splash: Baylor, Brantlee, Royal, Gionni, Grey, Jayceon, Trayvon, Jordy, Ares, Zayn. A lot of these are easy to see why.

For girls:

- Sophia will definitely keep it's number 1 status, but I don't think the numbers will increase that much this time around. The gap between her and the #2 will still be quite big though.
- I believe Elizabeth will get booted off the top 10, and be replaced by Avery. Aubrey may get in there but I think it'll just miss out, mostly because there are some very popular alternative spellings masking it's true popularity.
- Making big gains in the top 100: Harper, Genesis, Aubree, Scarlett, Aria, Naomi and Violet. I wouldn't be too shocked if Harper actually made it all the way into the top 10.
- Since the girls rank moves at such a fast pace compared to the boys (having less number of babies getting a top 100 name helps increase the fluidity up and down the chart), I expect there to be at the about 4 new debuts inside the top 100, but I wouldn't rule out even more. It's just that last year was very busy, so I don't expect this years turnover to be quite as impressive. Still, I see Paisley, Nora, Penelope and Mila as certain. Fighting for a the last seats available, if there are any, will be Brielle, Alice, Hadley, Elena and Cora.
- Names I will keep an eye on as possible big movers outside the top 100 are: Aurora, Kinsley, Tessa, Journey, June, Sloane, Malaysia, Elsa, Nova, Pearl, Winter, Everly, Monroe and Collins.
- Top 1000 debuts and returns will probably include the following: Wren, Carter, Ivory, Sutton, Mabel, Nala, Selene, Margot, Kataleya, Batsheva, Rosie, Penny. So something for everyone it seems.

So do you agree with my predictions? Are yours similar to mine? What names do you think will shine that I haven't mentioned? Let me know in the comments or on facebook