Top Baby Names of 2008
On May 8th, The Social Security Administration released the TOP Baby Names for boys and girls in 2008.
Jacob and Michael were the #1 and #2 for boys and
Emma and Isabella, the #1 and #2 for girls.
See table below from the SSA
| Rank | Male name | Female name | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob | Emma | ||
| 2 | Michael | Isabella | ||
| 3 | Ethan | Emily | ||
| 4 | Joshua | Madison | ||
| 5 | Daniel | Ava | ||
| 6 | Alexander | Olivia | ||
| 7 | Anthony | Sophia | ||
| 8 | William | Abigail | ||
| 9 | Christopher | Elizabeth | ||
| 10 | Matthew | Chloe | ||
| Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth. | ||||
What’s even more interesting is this table which shows the Top 5 Names Over the Last 100 Years.
Is it just me, or do you guys notice a pattern here?!?!?? What is it with people? Why do we all insist on naming our children the same name?
I don’t know about you guys, but every time I hear a unique name, I get so jealous! For example – Tiger!!! I love that name but I don’t think I have the balls to name my child that. I get so jealous of people who do and their child actually fills those shoes out! (Is that even an expression?)
But anyway, a name like Madonna, for example is one of a kind.
Which brings me to my next point – does the name you give your child determine the person they are destined to become? In other words, does a unique name = unique person?
If you name your child Jacob and he grows up with 100 other Jacobs in his school, does that lead him to want to blend in or stand out? If you grown up with a name like Tiger, I guess you face ridicule and you may become an outcast OR you might always know you are different and/or special and eventually OWN your name. Is that a risk you want to take with your child?
My brother grew up with a relatively foreign name and was harassed and ridiculed his entire junior high and high school years. He was named after my grandfather as he was the only grandson the man had and it was quite an honor. Children in school didn’t think so.
20 years later, my sister is having a baby boy and she refuses to name her child anything different because of our brother’s experience. (They are twins and witnessed each other’s misery quite often.)
I, on the other hand, believe your child should get a name that means something to the family. I named my daughter after part of my grandparents’ last name. Although I liked names such as Morgan, Madison, Meghan, Isabelle, etc., I stuck to my guns and gave my daughter a link to her heritage (as small as that may be). In some ways, I wanted her to have a guardian angel.
What is your experience? Did you name your child a name you liked or after someone you love?
Do you believe the name of a child in some way shapes the personality they grow into?
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Whattadya know, another site to add to my reader! Google blog search has you pretty well indexed! Kim