2013 Most Popular Baby Names

So the new list is out, and Jacob is finally off the top spot after a 15 year reign. Thank god for that. However, that is pretty much the only great news I have, at least from my perspective. Most of my favorite names aren't taking off, and the "same old same old" names are still hogging pretty much most of the boys rank.

The top 10:

BOYS

1. Noah
2. Liam
3. Jacob
4. Mason
5. William
6. Ethan
7. Michael
8. Alexander
9. Jayden
10. Daniel

Name In Trend: Paisley

The unisex name Paisley is of scottish origin and it means "church". Paisley is actually a place name, of a scottish town near Glasgow. The paisley pattern, which involves a persian inspired design, originated in that town, famous for its weaving industry in the 19th century. Now of course everyone will immediately think of the fabric, rather than the town, but I guess it's not a terrible association. The name in recent years has been embraced by parents of little girls, maybe because the design is quite girly, and it has even been used by celebs like Jennie Finch.

Names In Spotlight: Space Names

Don't you just love to gaze into space, or look at some of it's beautiful pictures? Well, space also possesses some incredible names, that could perfectly be used on a child. A lot of space names are inspired by mythology, so they are old names that were then applied on space objects. A few are just modern space names and terms that have some serious potential as baby names, and a few have space related meanings. Overall, there are hundreds of them, so I had to pick and choose and select some that I think are ready to use, and some that I feel are too interesting to go unnoticed. So sit back, and enjoy the ride, because it's a long one!

GIRLS

Andromeda - Surely you've heard this one before. Andromeda is of course, our nearest galaxy, it is of greek origin, and means "leader of man". It's quite a grand name for a little girl, but if you want a strong legit girl name, this one is perfect.

Astrid - This was the name used by two swedish microsatellites to study some space features. Astrid is of scandinavian origin and means "beautiful goddess". I adore this name, there aren't many female names ending with the letter "d", and I feel this is one of the most usable ones.

Aurora - Some of the most beautiful space pictures feature the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere, with its sci-fi green lights, truly magical. Aurora of course means "dawn", and is the name of the roman goddess of sunrise. This name has a lot going for it, from its roman roots, to its nature and space meanings, to its Disney connection, to its many possible nicknames. You really can't go wrong.

Name In Trend: Declan

Declan is an irish names that means "full of goodness". It is the name of a saint, and it's the birth name of singer Elvis Costello.

America has always been a country that loves to import exotic names from other countries, especially Irish names. Could the rising star Declan be the latest irish import to make a big impression for the next couple of decades? Perhaps. Let's see how it's been performing so far in the SSA ranking:

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.

Name In Spotlight: Bodhi

Bodhi is a sanskrit name that means "to awaken or become enlightened". It is also a nature name, thanks to the Bodhi tree, which has a spiritual connection to Buddhism - it is believed that the Buddha sat under this tree to reach enlightenment, where you obtain full comprehension of life, especially your own.

It has a very mystical feeling, one of those religious names that sounds very intriguing, but modern and appealing at the same time. This week, Bodhi has been on the spotlight alot - two celeb baby boys were given this name, and both children had some unusual middle names too: Rain and Ransom.

Celebrity Baby Names of 2013 - Review

Another new year rolls in, and as usual, I start off with my review of the celeb baby names from the previous year. 2013 did brought an interesting mix of names, some trendy choices, some unexpected ones too, as well as the obligatory boy names on girls. Overall, I did like them more than the 2012 choices.

BOYS

Ellis James - Like I always say, if you have two names you wanna use, one of them is part of the unexpected underrated category, and one is part of the overused classics category, and you're unsure in which order to put each name, I'll tell you: keep the most interesting name first, the more common one second. It's such a waste when great underused names are wasted in the middle. I do love Ellis.

Milan - Often thought of as a place name, which it can be, but it is also a hebrew name, with a different pronunciation than that italian city: MEE-lan. I didn't know what to expect from Shakira, but I do approve of this choice.

Greyson James - Greyson seems to be the new rising star over the past years, and one I like quite a bit (preferably spelled Grayson). James is the typical filler middle (and first) name, so don't really care for it.

Knox Addison - Ever since the Jolie's used Knox, the name has spread like wildfire, but yet is not at a point where your hear it everywhere everytime. It's that familiar face you don't see too often, one that you enjoy encountering. Addison is a male name that has made a switch to the female side, so I'm always surprised yet thankful when they make the reswitch, even if it's as a middle name. I love the flow of the name too.

"Witches Of East End" Names

So there is a new supernatural show airing on Lifetime called Witches Of East End. Its based on a book series of the same name, and it a good show for fans of cheesy tv fodder like Charmed.
Like any name nerd, the first thing I notice whenever I watch something new are the names each character has, and Witches Of East End certainly has a few good ones.

The main characters:

Joanna - Joanna is the mother of the two younger women of the show, and also a big sister. Personally I feel Joanna is a bit dated and not ready for a comeback, but give it a few more years and and it might be the right time. It's definitely not one of those names that I feel is gone forever, it has potential to return.

Wendy - Wendy is Joanna's spunky and funny younger sister. She has a great relationship with her nieces and is kind of the heart and glue of the show, for me at least. Wendy is a cute name, and while I feel it is a tad dated, I can also picture it on a little girl, therefore I do think its usable for those of you who want to choose this name for a daughter.

Freya - She is the emotional and romance-driven daughter of Joanna. She struggles to choose between the 2 main guys of the show, and her storyline revolves around that. Her name was appropriately given, since in norse mythology she was the goddess of love and fertility. I'm starting to hear this name more and more these days, its a popular choice in the UK, and its only a matter of time before it becomes common in the US too.

Name In Spotlight: Jaxley

So I got asked by my best friend to do a search on a family name of his: Jaxley. I thought, wow, that is quite a cool name. But as I was trying to find info on this name, I realized this wasn't just a rare name, but almost non-existant. There are no records of it on any baby name sites, and there are only a few people that have it as a surname (and even less as a first name). Determined not to let my best friend down, I had to find at least something I could tell him about the name, and I did. A very likely source is that this name is related to or a variant of the place name Yaxley, which is also a Harry Potter name. Yaxley means "cuckoo wood", and during the 19th century, the county of Yaxley in Suffolk, England, was written as Jacheslea. It is very likely that from Jacheslea, people eventually arrived at the more pronounceable Jaxley.

2013 List: Mathematical Prediction: Girl Edition

After some demand on making a girl edition, I spent the last few weeks compiling the future girl ranking - that is, if names during this year had the same increase / decrase as last year. I know that isn't really the case with most names, but it does give us some sort of preview of what could happen.

But enough of that, let's get to the juicy part, here is the possible top 20 for the 2013 list:

01 Sophia (=)
02 Emma (=)
03 Isabella (=)
04 Olivia (=)
05 Ava (=)