Popular Baby Names

Are you looking for cute baby names? This article explains the meaning and history of the 50 most popular baby names in the United States this year.

25 Most Popular Names for BOYS

1 (most popular). Jacob is a biblical name, which has its origins in the Hebrew language.

Jacob means 'supplanter' or 'one who grasps the heel;' this is because the biblical Jacob was born holding his twin brother's heel.

2. Michael is a biblical name, which means 'who is like God.' The bearer of this name in the bible is the leader of heaven's armies, and so is considered the patron saint of soldiers.

3. Joshua is from the Hebrew language, and means 'savior.' In the bible Joshua was chosen to lead the Isrealites as the successor to Moses.

4. Matthew is a biblical name, meaning 'given,' or 'reward.' Matthew was one of the 12 apostles, and wrote the first Gospel in the New Testament regarding the life of Jesus.

5. Andrew is a biblical name which means 'manly' and 'brave.' In the bible Andrew was the first apostle, and is the patron saint of Scotland and of Russia.

6. Joseph is a biblical name meaning 'addition,' or 'increase.'

7. Ethan is the name from the Old Testament. It means 'solid, strong,' and 'constancy, enduring.'

8. Daniel means 'God is my judge.' In the Old Testament Daniel was a prophet.

9. Christopher is a Latin name, and it means 'bearing Christ,' or 'he who holds Christ in his heart.' When Jesus was a child, Saint Christopher is believed to have carried him across a river.

10. Anthony is a Latin name which means 'flower,' from the Greek word anthos, or 'priceless.'

11. William has its origins in the German language, and means 'helmet, protection.' This is also the first name of Mr. Shakespeare.

12. Ryan is an Irish name in origin, which means 'little king

13. Nicholas is a Greek name which means 'the people's victory.' St. Nicholas, better known as Santa Claus, is the patron saint of children and merchants.

14. David is a Hebrew name meaning 'beloved,' or 'dear.' In the Old Testament David was the second king of Israel.

15. Tyler is derived from an Old English surname which was used to denote one's occupation as a 'tile layer.'

16. Alexander is derived from the Greek. It means 'defender of men.'

17. John is a biblical name; owned by John the Baptist and John the apostle. John means 'gracious,' or 'mercy of the Lord.'

18. James is a Hebrew name, and a derivative of the common name Jacob. James means 'to supplant.'

19. Dylan is a Welsh name and means 'sea,' or 'Son of the wave.'

20. Zachary is an English variant on the Hebrew name Zachariah, which means 'remembered by God.'

21. Brandon is an English name of a place, which meant 'hill covered with broom;' broom is a weed. Brandon is also a variant of the Irish name Brendan, which either means 'prince,' or 'stinking hair.'

22. Jonathan is a biblical name which means 'given of God.'

23. Samuel is a Hebrew name, held by a prophet in the Old Testament. It means 'God has heard.'

24. Christian meand 'follower of Christ,' and has origins in many languages and cultures.

25. Benjamin is a Hebrew name appearing in the Old Testament; it means 'son of the right hand.'

25 Most Popular Names for GIRLS

1. Emily has its origins in Latin, and means 'industrious' in French and German as well.

2. Emma has German and English origins, and means 'whole,' or 'universal' in both languages.

3. Madison is an English surname derived either from the name Matthew, meaning 'gift,' or is derived from the name Matilda, meaning 'strong fighter.'

4. Hannah is a Hebrew name which means 'gracious,' and 'merciful.'

5. Olivia is a derivative of the Latin word 'olive,' which is a symbol of peace.

6. Abigail is a Hebrew name meaning 'Father's joy.'

7. Alexis is from the Greek; it means 'helper,' or 'defender.'

8. Ashley is an English name that means 'she dwells in the ash tree grove.'

9. Elizabeth is a biblical name; the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament. Elizabeth means 'oath of God.'

10. Samantha is a feminine form of the name Samuel. Samantha means 'listener.'

11. Isabella means 'devoted to God' in Hebrew. It is also supposed to be a Spanish variant on the name Elizabeth.

12. Sarah is the biblical wife of Abraham and mother Issac, the name Sarah means 'princess.'

13. Grace is an English name meaning 'God's favor.'

14. Alyssa, according to the Greek tradition, means rational.

15. Lauren means 'from the place of Laurel trees,' which in Greek culture are symbols of honor and victory.

16. Kayla means 'keeper of the keys,' or 'pure' in both English and Greek.

17. Brianna is from Celtic, meaning 'she who ascends,' or 'strong.'

18. Jessica has Shakespearean origins, first appearing in its modern form in the play 'The Merchant of Venice.'

19. Taylor was an English surname denoting the occupation of tailor.

20. Sophia is from the Greek, and means 'wise.'

21. Anna was used in the Native American Algonquin tribe to mean 'mother,' and also holds the meaning 'grace' in many languages, including Russian.

22. Victoria was the Roman goddess of victory, and the name consequently means 'victorious.'

23. Natalie is derived from the Latin, and means 'born at Christmas.'

24. Chloe means 'green shoot' in Greek. The name also appears in the bible.

25. Sydney means 'from Saint-Denis,' or 'wide-island.' The name has traceable origins in French and in English.

Monica Nelson writes articles that answer womens health questions such as what are common pregnancy symptoms, which pregnancy tests are more accurate, what are popular baby names which weightloss programs really work, and other topics of interest to women.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

In this April 22, 2008 file photo, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, left, followed by current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right,  smiles on Capitol Hill in Washington.  Democratic officials say Daschle has accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File )AP - President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.



Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 in Washington, before the House Financial Services Committee.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP - Pounded by a fierce financial crisis, the country is sinking deeper into economic despair and is likely to be in the hole well into next year, forcing more Americans into the ranks of the unemployed.



Auto industry executives, from left, General Motors  Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner; Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli; and Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the state of the auto industry.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP - A plan to give troubled U.S. automakers billions of dollars in government-backed loans is on life support, leaving the fate of hundreds of thousands of workers and Detroit's once-venerable car companies hanging in the balance.



Passers-by watch the electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average plunged early in the day and never recovered, finishing down 6.9 percent, or 570.18 points, at 7,703.04. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)AP - European and Asian stock markets tumbled Thursday after recession fears sent Wall Street plunging the day before.



A gopher frog sits in the hand of Audubon Zoo curator Nick hanna  in New Orleans, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008.  For the first time in 10 years, a pond in south Mississippi got enough rain this year to let gopher frogs, one of the nation's most endangered animals, turn from tadpole to frog without human help.  (AP Photo/Bill Haber)AP - With the Bush administration on the verge of relaxing regulations protecting endangered species, Democratic leaders are looking at ways to overturn any last-minute rule changes.



In this image provided by NASA Astronaut Steve Bowen participates in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008 as construction and maintenance continues on the International Space Station.(AP Photo/NASA)AP - Astronauts vowed to double-check, even triple-check, to make sure a bag of tools is properly tied down during a spacewalk Thursday so it doesn't float away like one did earlier this week.



U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt speaks at the opening for the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration office in Beijing , China, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened a new office Wednesday in China's capital, its first outside the United States, as part of a new global strategy to ensure the safety of trillions of dollars of imports.(AP Photo/ Elizabeth Dalziel)AP - China announced a complete overhaul of its dairy industry Thursday to improve safety at every step — from cow breeding to milk sales — saying its worst food quality scandal in years had revealed "major problems" in quality control.



In this Nov. 8, 2007 file photo, pop star Michael Jackson poses on the red carpet during the RainbowPUSH Coalition Los Angeles 10th annual awards in Los Angeles. Representatives for the king of Bahrain's son say he is suing pop star Michael Jackson for $7 million. The Bell Pottinger Group says Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa has filed a breach-of-contract case against the troubled singer at London's Royal Courts of Justice.  The suit is to be heard Monday, Nov. 17, 2008. In 2006, Jackson announced he would put out a new album for Khalifa's record label 2 Seas Records. Media reports say Khalifa is arguing that the promised work was never delivered. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, file)AP - Michael Jackson's lawyer says the pop star has agreed to come to London to respond to a Bahraini sheik's $7 million lawsuit.



AP - Three male and three female inmates at a southern Indiana jail face charges that they devised a way to sneak between cell blocks to help pass their time behind bars by having sex.

In this Oct. 9, 2008 photo, Dallas Cowboys' Adam 'Pacman' Jones prepares to participate in practice at the Cowboys training facility in Irving, Texas.  Jones' suspension was lifted by the NFL on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008,  just over five weeks after the Dallas Cowboys cornerback was banned for another violation of its personal conduct policy.  (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)AP - The NFL is giving Adam "Pacman" Jones another chance. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday the suspended cornerback has been reinstated by league commissioner Roger Goodell, but he must miss two more games — this Sunday and the following game on Thanksgiving. He'll be back Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh.



Share trader Tom Holler reacts in front of his trading terminal during early morning trading at the German stock exchange in Frankfurt, November 20, 2008. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)Reuters - Global economic misery spread on Thursday with the Federal Reserve predicting U.S. recession well into 2009, Japan's exports to Asia falling for the first time in six years and job losses mounting.



Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano speaks during closing ceremonies of the 26th Border Governors Conference at Universal Studios in Los Angeles August 15, 2008. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's top choice to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources.



A pedestrian walks along a side street in Seoul November 20, 2008. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)Reuters - World stocks dropped to 5-1/2 year lows and oil hit 22-month troughs as investors reacted to dire Federal Reserve warnings on the economy and fears about the viability of major U.S. auto makers and bank giant Citigroup.



Leaders of the U.S. automotive industry testify at a hearing held by the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, November 19, 2008. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)Reuters - Chances dimmed that a last-minute plan being crafted by Republican senators, with White House support, to provide $25 billion to bail out U.S. automakers would receive enough backing from Democrats to pass before the end of this week.



Reuters - A pact allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq for three more years has a chance of being approved by parliament despite some heated opposition, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday.

Sharon Papo (R) and her partner Amber Weiss display their wedding rings after exchanging wedding vows at City Hall on the first full day of legal same-sex marriages in San Francisco, California June 17, 2008. (Erin Siegal/Reuters)Reuters - California's Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a legal challenge against the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage and let the ban stand in the meantime.



A computer keyboard is seen in this 2005 file photo. (Catherine Benson/Files/Reuters)Reuters - A Missouri woman established a fake identity online to torment a vulnerable teenage girl who later committed suicide, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday in a trial that is being closely watched by the burgeoning social networking industry.



A boy stands at the site of suspected U.S. drone attacks in the Janikhel tribal area in Bannu district of North West Frontier Province November 19, 2008. (Stringer/Reuters)Reuters - Pakistan summoned U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson on Thursday to protest over missile strikes launched by pilotless drone aircraft against militant targets in Pakistan.



US auto giant executives wait to testify before the House Finincial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Fears of an implosion of the US car industry have continued to weigh heavily on investors' minds as the AFP - Governments scrambled to cushion the impact of the finance crisis Thursday with France launching a sovereign wealth fund and China unveiling a jobs protection plan as the car industry made huge new cuts.



A picture taken in 2007 shows the Delight cargo ship anchored in the port of Hamburg, Germany. Somali pirate attacks have spun AFP - Russia announced Thursday it would send more warships to combat piracy in the waters around Somalia, as the Saudi owners of the Sirius Star negotiated with the pirates holding their oil tanker.




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