Top Baby Names for 2012 Revealed

What's in a name? 

Pop culture, population trends, and tradition may be part of the answer, based on Social Security's Most Popular Baby Names List for 2012. The agency released the information this week:

It's the 14th consecutive Jacob takes the top spot for the boys, and the second year in a row for Sophia. Elizabeth and Liam are taking the place of Chloe and Daniel, a change that could have something to do with Liam Neeson appearing in several recent movies.

Social Security folks weighed in what sorts of influences are behind the name choices:

Many pop-culture naming trends appear in a popular feature of Social Security’s baby names website—the “change in popularity” page. This year’s winners for biggest jump in popularity in the Top 500 are Major and Arya.                                                  

The fastest riser on the girls’ list may have been influenced by the popular cable TV series “Game of Thrones.” Arya is the daughter of a leader of one of the Seven Kingdoms. She also is an expert sword fighter, so doubt her influence on the popular names list at your own risk.    

For the boys, parents may associate Major with the military title.  Acting Commissioner Colvin added “I have no doubt Major’s rising popularity as a boy’s name is in tribute to the brave members of the U.S. military, and maybe we’ll see more boys named General in the future.” You also might trace Major’s increase in popularity to a cable TV show. “Home by Novogratz” is a popular home design show featuring Major Novogratz, the youngest son of designers Robert and Cortney.

The second fastest riser for boys was Gael, and for girls, Perla. Both names most likely are on the rise due to the increase in the Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Perla is the Latinized version of Pearl and is popular among Hispanic-Americans. Gael’s popularity could be tied to Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

The agency's website offers lists of the most popular names for any year after 1879.

Harrison residents: Have you or someone you know recently had a baby? Share his or her name in the attached comments section.