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Top Baby Names of 2007
Published 06.05.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (6)
A couple of weeks ago while at a friend's birthday party, I found myself making small talk with the screenwriter for the hit 80s movie, Splash. Bruce Jay Friedman had no idea (seriously) that the name Madison had risen to be one of the most popular girl's names of the 90s and this century, having been in the top ten since 1997. Only now is the name falling in popularity with a current rank of five rather than *cough* number three.
As a tween, I remember watching Splash in the theater and hearing Madison for the first time. Being a New Yorker, it was extra bizarre to accept it as a name. Now, though Madison is as ubiquitous as the data suggests. And, not just literally on the streets of New York.
Looking at the social security data, Madison was not even in the top 1000 girls' names in 1984, the year the movie was released. By 1985, the name was ranked at 628, followed by a ranking of 366 the next year. In baby name terms, that kind of jump is very impressive, and according to Wikipedia, it's phenomenal. And Splash is the sole reason attributed to the name's meteoritic rise, which apparently was a very popular name amongst boys until the early 50s.
According to the Social Security Administration, here is the most recent list of popular baby names:
Top 10 Names for 2007
Female names
1- Emily
2- Isabella
3- Emma
4- Ava
5- Madison
6- Sophia
7- Olivia
8- Abigail
9- Hannah
10- Elizabeth
Male names
1- Jacob
2- Michael
3- Ethan
4- Joshua
5- Daniel
6- Christopher
7- Anthony
8- William
9- Matthew
10- Andrew
You may also like to peruse:- Our Baby Names Database
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I'm the founding mom and the CEO of Alpha Mom. I'll be discussing the goings-on of this business or anything else that strikes my fancy. Yep, topics will run the gamut. If you have any questions, you can contact me at isabel@alphamom.com.
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Comments (6):
Mich79 said:
Ahhhh...the power and influence of Hollywood.
Posted on June 9, 2008 15:14
Izzy said:
I realized after the fact that both of my kids' totally-not-popular names are also names of cartoon characters.
Patrick = Patrick, that pink starfish thing from the inexplicably popular cartoon, Spongebob
Natasha = Baby Natasha from Sesame Street AND Natasha of "Boris & Natasha" on Bullwinkle.
Oh well, at least they don't rhyme with anything teaseworthy...
Posted on July 16, 2008 13:50
feefifoto said:
I absolutely. Cannot. Deal with: Tabitha.
Posted on July 22, 2008 00:33
AmyMaybe said:
And this is why we "only" have 6 kids. We couldn't possible agree on a "good" name again. We tried to pick not particularly popular names and standard spellings, but it was hard. Much harder than getting pregnant!
We almost messed up, hadn't decided between Monica and Madeline (or Steven). She was born the day the Monica Lewinsky story broke - thankfully the nurses kept turning on CNN - she is Madeline!
And when people ask how we chose Grayson, well, the truth is, it was the first not stupid name he said. So I latched on to Grayson just in case it was a passing moment. But, at church when he was a few days old, I went totally blank when someone asked me what we'd decided to name him. I stood there....holding...him....and had absolutely....no...idea!
Posted on July 28, 2008 06:17
rachel beto said:
Up until 3 days ago, I thought choosing one of the top 10 names was the worst.crime.ever. Then I came across an article about a couple who named their girl Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii. Enjoy my lively commentary about it at http://mrsmouthy.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!C48DB47FC79C0C2C!234.entry
It just may cause a resurgence in the use of Madison.
Posted on July 29, 2008 22:23
Thrifty Karen said:
I had no idea that the name came from Splash. Interesting for sure. My hubby and I stayed away from the most popular names when we had kids. I didn't want my child to be in a classroom and have 5 other Emilys in her class.
Posted on August 4, 2008 11:14