BabyNames.com Announces Top Names of 2006

PR Newswire ^

[Republican Red]

BabyNames.com Announces Top Names of 2006

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the popular website BabyNames.com, Ava and Aidan were the top names for 2006. For the first time in five years, Madison slipped from the number one girl's name to number four. On the boys' side, rhyming names Aiden, Caden, Braden and Jaden continue to dominate the charts.

The BabyNames.com Top Names List is calculated from the favorite name lists of over a million site members for the year 2006.

"Celebrity culture always has an influence on naming trends," says Jennifer Moss, founder and CEO of BabyNames.com, "but it seems like it has increased in recent years."

Moss says the name Ava started becoming popular after celebrity couple Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe chose the name for their daughter in 1999. Other celeb parents who chose the name Ava include X-Man Hugh Jackman and TV star Heather Locklear.

But if you think the Federlines were the first celeb couple to go with the name Jayden, you are mistaken. Jaden (and its various spellings) first started appearing on BabyNames.com lists after Will Smith and Jada Pinkett chose the name for their son back in 1998.

"It usually takes 3-4 years for a new name to make it from the celebrities to the masses," says Moss, "and that's only if the names are not too wild!"

So although Pilot Inspektor and Fifi Trixibelle will probably not be topping the charts anytime soon, keep an eye out for Suri [Cruise] and Shiloh [Jolie-Pitt] to appear in the forthcoming years.

THE BABYNAMES.COM MOST POPULAR NAMES for 2006

BOYS
• 1. AIDAN/AIDEN/ADEN =
  
• 2. CADEN/KADEN =
  
• 3. BRADEN/BRAYDEN/BRAEDEN +
  
• 4. JADEN/JAYDEN +
  
• 5. ETHAN -
  
• 6. CONNOR/CONNER +
  
• 7. ADDISON +
  
• 8. RILEY +
  
• 9. CALEB -
  
• 10. LOGAN -
  
• 11. HAYDEN -
  
• 13. NOAH -
  
• 14. AVERY +
  
• 15. JACOB -
  
• 16.RYAN -
  
• 17.CAMERON -
  
• 18. ALEXANDER +
  
• 19. AARON +
  
• 20. TRISTAN +
  
  

  GIRLS
  
  

• 1. AVA +
  
• 2. ABIGAIL +
  
• 3. KAELYN/CAILYN +
  
• 4. MADISON -
  
• 5. EMMA -
  
• 6. ISABELLA +
  
• 7. BAILEY +
  
• 8. CHLOE -
  
• 9. OLIVIA +
  
• 10. HANNAH +
  
• 11. ISABELLE/ISABEL +
  
• 12. GRACE +
  
• 13. ELLA +
  
• 14. ABBY/ABBIE +
  
• 15. CADENCE -
  
• 16. ALEXIS -
  
• 17. TAYLOR -
  
• 18. PAIGE +
  
• 19. HAILEY -
  
• 20. EMILY -
  
  
  + Increased position from 2005
  - Decreased position from 2005
  = Same rank as 2005
  

[FarRightFanatic]

"Raigyn?

Trevyn?

Good Lord above. Medicate that woman before she inflicts something worse on another child, if that's even possible."


I know. I'd put the Norplants in her arm myself if I could! It's a very long story (she lied about being on the pill and my brother was dumb enough to believe her). But now we've got Raigyn and she is a blessing and a joy to all of us.

[jveritas]

Are you offended by my comment?

[Eva]

My cousin's daughter named her daughter Madison, about 15 years ago. She said that the name came from her favorite doll, which came with that name. I'm wondering how many other young girls first heard that name associated with a beautiful doll.

[Republican Red]

I thought Madison came from the movie "Splash". The Daryl Hannah mermaid character took the name Madison after looking up at a NYC Madison Avenue street sign.

[Eva]

It's possible, but the doll must have come out before the movie because my cousin's daughter would have been about sixteen or seventeen in 1984.

[GraniteStateConservative]

April is a very pretty name, and it's been around for ages.

[the OlLine Rebel]

No offense.

And of course, it's a general rule, not necessarily applicable to all.

But I'm sorry, I cannot abide "Aidan", which I know very well is an Irish name due to a famous such one in horse-racing circles now.

And what is up with "Declan"? Bad enough on paper, but to say it is "DECK len"? I always said "Deh CLAN".

[GraniteStateConservative]

We finally settled on Annette in honor of Annette Island in southeastern Alaska, which is where she was conceived.

My middle name is "Back of a Chevy"...

[GraniteStateConservative]

and Amber, Tiffany and Heather will all grow up to be strippers too.

Or, not.

[HungarianGypsy]

My new Nephew is named Aiden and he will be just fine thank you very much.

I like the name Aiden. I thought of it for my last son. My oldest asked if we could name the baby, Matthew, so we went with that.

[Monterrosa-24]

"Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko!"

Actually I love the name Coco for girls as well as Cookie and Candy.

[Professional Engineer]

BOYS
.
.
.

7. ADDISON +

Nice girl's name

[squarebarb]

Hey now. Missouri is a great name, as is India and Tennessee.

[drjimmy]

Not at all. Are you offended by my pointing out that past presidents had some pretty strange names as well?

[mware]

I have never taught a student with my first name, and I have taught for 25 years.

Martha

[jveritas]

Not at all.

[drjimmy]

This press release is interesting, but it isn't a list of actual baby names, just "popular" names voted on by visitors to the website. To see the real list of baby names, go right to the source, the U.S. government. This site is a lot of fun to poke around. Despite what you read from the Babynames.com website, you will see that civilization is not coming to an end.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

My brother is named Shanon and he too is the toughest SOB around.

Prehaps it's a "Boy Named Sue" thing . . . but I never thought of "Shannon" as a girl's name at all until I left my hometown and met a girl named Shannon. Then, of course, she became instantly un-attractive, even though she wasn't, because she had a "boy's name."

[uglybiker]

How 'bout breakfast cereal? ;-)

[SoothingDave]

Actually I love the name Coco for girls as well as Cookie and Candy.

Maybe you're just hungry.