Every year, the Social Security Administration releases a list of the most popular baby names from the previous year. There is a list for names given to baby girls, and another list of names given to baby boys. In general, the lists change – even if only slightly – from one year to the next.
The Social Security Administration uses specific qualifications regarding the names that end up on the list. Names are restricted to cases where the year of birth, sex, and State of birth (50 and District of Columbia) are on record, and where the given name is at least 2 characters long. Different spellings of the same name are counted as separate names. Names that are given to both boys, and girls, will have two separate entries (one for each gender).
The top ten girl’s names for 2016 were:
* Emma
* Olivia
* Ava
* Sophia
* Isabela
* Mia
* Charlotte
* Abigail
* Emily
* Harper
The top ten boy’s names for 2016 were:
* Noah
* Liam
* William
* Mason
* James
* Benjamin
* Jacob
* Michael
* Elijah
* Ethan
Some of these names are as popular in 2016 as they were in 2015. Emma and Olivia were the top two names for baby girls in both years. Isabella and Mia placed fifth and sixth in both years. The name Harper, for baby girls, was the tenth most popular name in 2015 and in 2016.
Noah and Liam were the top two names for baby boys in both years. The rest of the 2016 list of baby boy’s names, however, are different from last year.
Things get even more interesting when you view the list of names that increased in popularity in 2016. For boys, the top name on the list is Kylo. This choice was undoubtedly inspired by Kylo Ren from the “Rogue One” movie. The name Kye also made the list, which could be an alternative version of Kylo (for parents who didn’t want to name their son after a Star Wars “bad guy”.)
The name Zayn increased in popularity in 2016. Parents named their sons after Zayn Malik, a singer-songwriter who was once part of One Direction. The girl’s name that increased the most in popularity in 2016 was Kehlani, a singer-songwriter who was once part of Poplyfe. An alternate spelling, Kaylani, also rose in popularity.
The boy’s names that dropped the most in popularity from 2015 to 2016 were: Jonael, Aaden, Triston, Freddy, and Yaakov. For girls, the names that dropped the most in popularity from one year to the next were: Caitlin, Caitlyn, Katelynn, Kaitlynn, and Neriah.
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