Yay for something fun!
BabyCenter.com released their annual list of the most popular baby names of the year (even though the year isn’t over yet, but hasn’t it felt like the longest year in human history anyway?) and I’ve been going through all the names with unusual excitement. I’m going to be honest, I’ve never paid much attention to lists like these before becoming a parent last year, but now I’m so curious.
They mention how the top 10 didn’t change from last year (interesting), though some names within the top 10 moved up and down the list. What I found mind blowing is that the top girl name of 2020 has been in the number one spot for 11 years in a row. Crazy, right? It is a beautiful name, I will say. None of the names we always thought about naming our kids appear in the top 10. I wonder what that says about us?
Without further ado, here are the top 10 baby names of 2020:
Most Popular Girl Names:
Sophia
Olivia
Riley
Emma
Ava
Isabella
Aria
Aaliyah
Amelia
Mia
Most Popular Boy Names:
Liam
Noah
Jackson
Aiden
Elijah
Grayson
Lucas
Oliver
Caden
Mateo (New to the top 10 this year)
As someone who has, like I said, never paid attention to lists like this, I was pretty surprised by a lot of the names. However, the names Aiden and Caden are super popular in the area we live in. Basically any baby name ending in “aden” is common here! Is that how it is where you live, too?
They mention how the popularity of a baby name reflects the trends of the times, mentioning how “Changes in the 2020 list reflect a year of loss and political divisiveness. Kobe shot up 175% after Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, lost his life in a tragic helicopter accident alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna (up 216%). On the social and political fronts, Kamala (up 104%) and Liberty (up 12%) rose in popularity, while Karen and Chad declined by 13% and 12% respectively.” So fascinating.
You can see the full list at BabyCenter.com.
(above photo of 6 month old me with my dad)