Choosing a name for your baby is one of the most exciting and truly exasperating jobs a new parent-to-be has to face. Because there are quite often two people choosing the name, agreeing on one or two choices is difficult. What is worse, both parties usually change their minds several times during this process.
In addition to the two primary name givers, there are usually several 'pressure wielders' for each of the primary name givers. (Pressure wielders can be anyone with a strong enough relationship with one of the primary name givers to hold sway over them - think parents and close friends.) As you might imagine this further complicates the process.
Do you give your child a family or traditional name, a biblical or ethnic name, a more modern or popular name, or do you throw caution to the wind and name your child after the place you honeymooned or your favorite celebrity? Will your child live up (or down) to their name? Or are you trying to shape and mold your child's life with the name you chose? (A boy named Sue.)
The ten most popular boy names over the last 100 years have been Charles, James, John, Joseph, Mark, Michael, Richard, Robert, Thomas, and William. Unfortunately finding the ten most popular girl name over that same time period was much more problematic. Girl's names are much trendier and there are fewer clear winners. The top girl's name for the past 100 years was Mary, with the name Elizabeth in a somewhat distant second.
Because of tradition, boys are often named after their fathers or grandfathers, which is why there will probably always be more name patterns among boys than girls, but even that is changing. Baby names usually ride a wave of popularity and then dissipate never to be used again.
So without a crystal ball, nobody can truly predict the most popular baby name for any year, but statistics do help us out. Though some of these names can be used for both boys or girls, the most popular name for this year will be: Asher, Benjamin, Braden, Elijah, Emmett, Gavin, Grayson, Hank, Isaac, Jackson, Jake, Jonah, Judah, Jude, Logan, Mason, Max, Owen, Ryder, and Rob for the boys, and Addison, Elizabeth, Ella, Faith, Hannah, Hayden, Helena, Isabelle, Isla, Kendall, Kendra, Khloe, Kourtney, Peyton, Rebekah, Riley, Rose, Ruby, Scarlett, and Taylor for the girls.
