Was I Right?

By now, you may have already seen the new 2014 SSA baby name list. The new #1 for the girls is Emma! That was a complete shock to me. But most of the Top 10 names themselves haven't changed... James is new on the boy side (replacing Jayden) and Charlotte is new on the girl side (replacing Elizabeth).

A month ago, I made predictions on name that I thought would enter the Top 100. Here are the results...

GIRLS

Alice
2013 Rank: #107
2014 Rank: #97
Difference: +10
Result: I was right!

Cora
2013 Rank: #127
2014 Rank: #103
Difference: +24
Result: Almost!

Elsa
2013 Rank: #528
2014 Rank: #286
Difference: +242
Result: Wow. A huge increase. But nowhere close to the Top 100... yet.

Everly
2013 Rank: #383
2014 Rank: #178
Difference: +205
Result: Another huge jump, and a bit closer to the Top 100!

Vivian
2013 Rank: #119
2014 Rank: #98
Difference: +21
Result: Yay, me!

BOYS

Asher
2013 Rank: #104
2014 Rank: #93
Difference: +11
Result: Winner!

Ezra
2013 Rank: #143
2014 Rank: #119
Difference: +24
Result: Closer.

Jayce
2013 Rank: #146
2014 Rank: #150
Difference: -4
Result: BOO! Not only was I wrong, but it went down!

Leo
2013 Rank: #112
2014 Rank: #97
Difference: +15
Result: Goodie!

Maddox
2013 Rank: #169
2014 Rank: #163
Difference: +6
Result: Not impressive.

The overall scoop? Out of the 10 predictions, I was right about 4 of them. Not too bad, I suppose. All except one made moves up the chart, so I was mostly on the right path at least. ;)

What are your thoughts on the new list? Lots more to observe...

Predictions for the 2014 Top 100

It is now April, which means we can officially say the 2014 SSA Popular Baby Names list will be out next month! It's Christmas in May for name enthusiasts and I, for one, can't wait to see what names made their move upward last year. I am not one who likes to make predictions, but there is something about this list that forces me to go out on a limb.

Here are 10 names I think have a chance to jump up into the Top 100 for 2014...

GIRLS

Alice
2013 Rank: #107
Once ranked as high as #8 in the 1880s and early 1900s, Alice is currently in the news as being one of the top contenders for the new English princess. But the name has already been climbing gradually among American parents since the 1990s and does not have too far to go to break into the Top 100. If it doesn't do it this time, a Princess Alice will surely help make that final push for 2015.

Cora
2013 Rank: #127
Cora has been rising from elegant obscurity since the 1990s, even before the influence of Downton Abbey's matriarch Lady Cora (but she didn't hurt the name either). This would be a return to the Top 100 for Cora, which made it as high as #15 in 1880 and remained in the Top 100 through 1912.

Elsa
2013 Rank: #528
Frozen came out in November 2013. With an entire year of Queen Elsa under parents' belts and the fact that the Elizabeth nickname was already gaining steam since the late 1990s, it would be no big surprise to see Elsa move up in 2014. The question is, can it jump more than 428 spots into the Top 100?

Everly
2013 Rank: #383
For a name that was barely even used for girls before 2000, Everly has made huge strides in the past couple of years. Honestly, this is my most far-reaching pick for Top 100 this year, but I think it has tremendous potential, especially after receiving some status in the celebrity baby name realm. I also love that I picked this name to enter the Top 1000 back in 2012 (which I got right)!

Vivian
2013 Rank: #119
Speaking of celebrity baby names, how much love has Vivian and Vivienne received in the past several years? That fact and knowing the name has gradually grown in usage since the 1980s, makes Vivian a pretty strong possibility to take over a spot in the Top 100. It held a spot from 1911 through 1934 and ranked at #64 at its highest, so it is not too far of a reach to expect it back there soon.

BOYS

Asher
2013 Rank: #104
Biblical names are both classic and on the rise. Asher is one of the latter. Admittedly, Asher doesn't have far to go to make it into the Top 100, but year by year, it just keeps gaining ground so this could be the year it will slip into the top group.

Ezra
2013 Rank: #143
Another Biblical name that is slowly clambering up the ranks, Ezra has been given to boys since 1880 but it is currently at its highest rate of usage. It also has the cool "z" sound that could help it continue to rise right into the Top 100.

Jayce
2013 Rank: #146
Jace and Jase are now firmly in the Top 100, so why shouldn't Jayce join them? I really don't see a reason why all three can't be in the top, especially with the continued popularity of Duck Dynasty and the ongoing need to vary the spelling of trendy names.

Leo
2013 Rank: #112
Leo was a steady Top 100 name from 1882 through 1937, but never made it higher than #38. Its raw numbers are reaching almost the same amount now as they were back then and they continue to soar. Leo is a true example of the old becoming new again and re-entering the Top 100 would be additional proof to support that assertion.

Maddox
2013 Rank: #169
The name Maddox wasn't even given to children before 1995 (at least it wasn't recorded until then), but it seemed to really start rising after Angelina Jolie used the name for her first child in 2002. At the rate it keeps rising I don't see it slowing down and the continued appeal of the "x" should help propel it into the Top 100 soon.

What do you think? Do you agree with any of these names or do you see a different name joining the Top 100 for 2014?

What's New, What's Lost?

Nothing really new for this busy Friday, but something I really enjoy checking when the new SSA popular names list comes out is what is new and what is lost in the Top 1000. So, without further ado, here are the names that have entered and exited the Top 1000 in 2012!

New Boys
Ameer
Anton
Apollo
Augustine
Austyn
Axton
Brentley
Briggs
Dariel
Denzel
Eliot
Emory
Foster
Graeme
Immanuel
Jael
Jarrett
Jionni
Juelz
Karsen
Kase
Kaysen
Kylen
Kyree
Kyrie
Leroy
Lucca
Mack
Maison
Neymar
Oakley
Sheldon
Simeon
Thiago
Titan
Truman
Yael
Yousef
Zaid

Lost Boys
Braylin
Brysen
Coen
Corban
Cortez
Cristiano
Deven
Dimitri
Elvis
Enoch
Ethen
Haiden
Irvin
Jair
Jakobe
Jaron
Jaydan
Jaydin
Jean
Jeramiah
Jerimiah
Kamren
Keon
Keyon
Kyan
Kyron
Lathan
Leighton
Maksim
Mariano
Maxx
Miller
Pierre
Quinten
Ralph
Tyrese
Yadiel
Zachery
Zackery

New Girls
Adley
Alaysia
Alisa
Annalee
Ariah
Aubriana
Aubrielle
Aya
Azalea
Azariah
Bayleigh
Cataleya
Celine
Charlize
Colette
Collins
Coraline
Dalilah
Dallas
Devyn
Elissa
Emmaline
Emmalynn
Emory
Estella
Estelle
Evalyn
Everly
Harlee
Jazzlyn
Jessa
Katalina
Katrina
Kenia
Kora
Landry
Lillyana
Litzy
Milena
Monroe
Paislee
Raylee
Scarlette
Sofie
Winter
Zahra

Lost Girls
Abbey
Adyson
Alianna
Amalia
Bentley
Caydence
Dalia
Damaris
Diya
Esperanza
Gwyneth
Isabell
Jacey
Jaden
Jadyn
Jaiden
Jaidyn
Janet
Jaylyn
Jazmyn
Julieta
Kamille
Karly
Kelsie
Kiersten
Kinsey
Leigha
Liv
Milagros
Neveah
Pamela
Payten
Princess
Rivka
Rory
Samiya
Sanaa
Shania
Shaniya
Stacy
Tegan
Tianna
Yamilet
Yazmin
Yoselin
Yuliana

What do you like seeing on the new lists? What do you miss from the lost lists?

The Rare Debuts

There are some interesting finds at the lower end of the 2012 SSA baby name list. The only qualifications required to make the following list were that the name was on the beyond 1000 list in 2012 but not in 2011, and that it caught my eye. Lots of place names, celebrity and other surnames, and more attention-grabbing monikers to peruse...

Girls
Abbott (5) - I like it... and Abby would be a cute nickname.
Adaire (8)
Amelianna (5) - interesting name smush.
Anemone (6)*
Athens (7)
Atlas (7)
Bae (5)* - I am fond of "ay" names, and this is a cute alternative to Bay.
Bambi (6)
Beata (10) - one of my favorite Polish names!
Bette (5)
Beulah (12) - this dropped off briefly in 2011, but has made a somewhat strong reappearance after less than 10 births per year since 2004.
Bobby (6)
Breslin (14) - Michigan State fans?
Callisto (7)
Calloway (5)
Cambridge (9)
Copper (5)
Crawford (7)
Daenerys (21)* - from Game of Thrones, no doubt.
Debby (13)
Emrys (6) - Merlin?
Eponine (7)* - Les Misérables anyone?
Fairy (6)
Faustine (6) - a popular French name.
Fedora (5)
Ferrari (5)
Gardner (5)
Gertie (5)
Gilda (8) - reached its heights in the 1920s and 1940s.
Happy (5)
Houston (6)
Hyacinth (6) - the pretty flower name makes an appearance after a brief disappearance.
Ikea (5)
Jase (10) - the Jase craze transferred over to the girls as well.
Kae (6) - I love the simplicity of this.
Katniss (12)* - Hunger Games love.
Letitia (6) - such a pretty name that was more popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
Lively (6)* - there's something about this that is just nice and maybe inspired by actress Blake Lively?
Louisiana (7)
Manning (6)
Merida (19) - Brave!
Noble (6)
Primrose (16) - beat out her sister Katniss.
Psalm (13)
Sistine (5)* - as long as her last name isn't Chapel.
Texas (5)
Vail (7)
Vegas (5)
Wallis (7) - hasn't been recorded since 2005.
Yoko (6)

Boys
Anchor (5)*
Athos (8) - all 3 Musketeers have great names! This is Athos' first appearance since 1926, Aramis has been a pretty steady presence since 1969 and had 50 appearances in 2012, but Porthos has yet to show up.
Bogart (6)
Bolton (7)
Brees (11) - I wonder if these parents are New Orleans Saints fans?
Bridge (6)
Chaplin (6)*
Churchill (5)
Connery (6)
Crash (6) - maybe baseball-inspired? ;)
Detroit (5)
Emperor (5) - another rank or title name to add to the list.
England (7)
Finnick (9)* - more Hunger Games love.
Germany (11)
Gin (5) - also appeared in 1988.
Grimm (6)* - I wonder if the TV show inspired this.
Harding (6)
Hawkeye (6)* - possibly due to The Avengers.
Hawthorne (10)
Hinckley (6)
Hutchins (6)* - Hutch is a great nickname.
Jacks (5) - has only appeared in 2010 and 2012.
Jenkins (7)
Khan (16) - the Star Trek geek in me loves this.
Knightley (5) - you have no idea how much this makes me happy.
Mecca (12)
Mercury (5)
Mitt (8) - some Romney fans?
Morocco (9)
Myers (9)
Optimus (5)* - because we need the leader of the Autobots.
Patriot (5)
Phelps (5)
Poe (5)
Portland (6)
Radford (6)
Rage (6)
Rawlings (5)* - I just talked about this name on my baseball-inspired list.
Renly (10)* - more Game of Thrones love.
Rutherford (5)
Saban (5) - Alabama fans?
Savage (8)*
Scholar (5)*
Severus (6)* - some late Harry Potter love.
Sherlock (6) - love it.
Sovereign (7)
Steeler (5)* - from Pittsburgh maybe?
Thailand (5)
Theon (12) - even more Game of Thrones love.
Vader (5)
Vin (12)
Xerxes (12)
Yale (9)

*First time ever captured on the SSA list.

Music made it's first appearance ever on both the Male and Female charts, each with 6 babies.

Plus, there were more than 20 different spellings of Cataleya that made their debut in 2012, some that start with C and some that start with K.

What is your favorite Rare Debut?

Thanks to Nancy's Baby Names for numbers help.

Playground Analysis 2012 - Top 50

Note: You can also see this information on Nameberry!

Why do I call this the Playground Analysis? Well, when you are on the playground with your kids and you hear a name, you don't know how it is spelled, but you do know how often you hear it. Some names might actually be more popular than the SSA list shows because it ranks names by their spelling, not by their sound. To see how popular a name actually is, I have gathered the various spellings of each name in the 2012 Top 1000 and come up with a new Top 50 for each gender!

Note: The main name listed is the spelling given to the most babies in 2012 (SSA Rank is in parentheses). The others are in alphabetical order. Opinions vary on how different spellings are pronounced. I am very aware of the differences between Madeline and Madelyn, as well as many others, but the fact remains that parents will pronounce names differently no matter the spelling. Some may pronounce Madeline with the long "i", while others may pronounce it with "lynn" at the end. The Mia and Mya name groupings are another contested issue. A lot of people also say Katherine and Kathryn are different. There is no way we can know for sure how each parent intended on pronouncing the name. So, I gathered the names using my best judgment. In the grand scheme of things, it may or may not influence the list order. But, as with all data analyses, there is no guarantee for perfection. :) Enjoy!

Girls

1. Sophia (1) - Sofia
2. Isabella (3) - Isabela, Izabella
3. Emma (2)
4. Olivia (4) - Alivia, Alyvia
5. Ava (5) - Avah
6. Emily (6) - Emely, Emilee, Emilie, Emmalee
7. Zoey (20) - Zoe, Zoie
8. Chloe (11) - Khloe
9. Madison (9) - Maddison, Madisyn, Madyson
10. Aubrey (15) - Aubree, Aubri, Aubrie
11. Abigail (7) - Abbigail
12. Mia (8) - Miah
13. Madelyn (67) - Madalyn, Madalynn, Madeleine, Madeline, Madelynn, Madilyn, Madilynn
14. Lily (16) - Lillie, Lilly
15. Layla (31) - Laila, Lailah, Laylah, Leila, Leyla
16. Hailey (32) - Hailee, Haley, Haylee, Hayleigh, Hayley, Haylie
17. Addison (14) - Addisyn, Addyson
18. Riley (47) - Rylee, Ryleigh, Rylie
19. Elizabeth (10) - Elisabeth
20. Natalie (17) - Natalee, Nataly, Nathalie, Nathaly
21. Aaliyah (36) - Aleah, Aleigha, Alia, Aliya, Aliyah
22. Avery (13) - Averi, Averie
23. Kaylee (34) - Caylee, Kailee, Kailey, Kayleigh, Kaylie
24. Arianna (49) - Ariana, Aryana, Aryanna
25. Ella (12)
26. Brooklyn (29) - Brooklynn
27. Amelia (23) - Emelia, Emilia
28. Allison (38) - Alison, Alisson, Allyson, Alyson
29. Hannah (22) - Hana, Hanna
30. Kaitlyn (118) - Caitlin, Caitlyn, Kaitlin, Kaitlynn, Katelyn, Katelynn
31. Mackenzie (71) - Makenzie, Mckenzie
32. Kylie (59) - Kiley, Kylee, Kyleigh
33. Peyton (53) - Paityn, Payton
34. Lillian (25) - Lilian
35. Evelyn (27) - Evalyn, Evelynn
36. Leah (33) - Lea, Leia, Lia
37. Charlotte (19)
38. Sarah (43) - Sara
39. Grace (21)
40. Harper (24)
41. Katherine (64) - Catherine, Kathryn
42. Gabriella (37) - Gabriela
43. Anna (35) - Ana
44. Samantha (26)
45. Alyssa (44) - Alisa, Alissa, Elisa, Elissa
46. Brianna (51) - Breanna, Briana, Bryanna
47. Victoria (28)
48. Makayla (69) - Mckayla, Michaela, Mikaela, Mikayla
49. Adalyn (198) - Adalynn, Addilyn, Adeline, Adelyn, Adelynn
50. Elena (139) - Alaina, Alayna, Elaina

The top 5 do not drastically change, but Zoey jumps from #20 to #7. Adalyn, Elena, Kaitlyn and Madelyn make huge gains after adding all of their various spellings.

Boys

1. Aiden (10) - Aaden, Adan, Aden, Aidan, Aidyn, Aydan, Ayden, Aydin
2. Jackson (22) - Jaxen, Jaxson, Jaxon
3. Jayden (7) - Jaden, Jadon, Jaeden, Jaiden, Jaidyn, Jaydon
4. Jacob (1) - Jakob, Jaycob
5. Mason (2) - Maison, Masen, Mayson
6. Ethan (3)
7. Noah (4)
8. William (5)
9. Liam (6)
10. Michael (8) - Micheal
11. Kayden (99) - Caden, Caiden, Cayden, Kaden, Kaeden, Kaiden
12. Alexander (9) - Alexzander
13. Matthew (12) - Mathew)
14. Elijah (13) - Alijah
15. Daniel (11)
16. James (14)
17. Anthony (15)
18. Caleb (32) - Kaleb
19. Benjamin (16)
20. Christopher (23) - Cristopher, Kristopher
21. Joshua (17)
22. Andrew (18)
23. David (19)
24. Joseph (20)
25. Logan (21)
26. Lucas (27) - Lukas
27. Christian (33) - Cristian, Kristian
28. Landon (34) - Landen, Landyn
29. Gabriel (24)
30. Brayden (39) - Braden, Bradyn, Braeden, Braiden, Braydon
31. Samuel (25)
32. Jonathan (35) - Johnathan, Johnathon, Jonathon
33. John (28) - Jon
34. Ryan (26)
35. Dylan (31) - Dillon
36. Nicholas (49) - Nicolas, Nickolas, Nikolas
37. Isaac (30) - Issac
38. Nathan (29)
39. Carter (36) - Karter
40. Cameron (54) - Camren, Camron, Camryn, Kameron, Kamron, Kamryn
41. Connor (59) - Conner, Conor, Konner, Konnor
42. Isaiah (42) - Isiah, Izaiah, Izayah
43. Luke (37)
44. Owen (38)
45. Gavin (40) - Gavyn
46. Dominic (70) - Dominick, Dominik, Dominique
47. Jordan (48) - Jorden, Jordyn
48. Wyatt (41)
49. Colton (65) - Colten, Kolten, Kolton
50. Henry (43)

Aiden and it's various spellings (there are NINE) take the top spot away from Jacob, and Jackson jumps from #22 to #2! Jacob doesn't show up until #4 after all the spellings of Jayden. And Kayden and Dominic look like the names with the biggest gain.

What do you think? Does this sound about right? Or are there any surprises?

Names on the Cusp - An Update

Remember my predictions of 12 names (6 boys and 6 girls) that would jump into the Top 1000? Well... 4 of the 12 made it to the list:

Oakley ranked at #880 with 237 births, up from 191 births in 2011.

Thiago ranked at #862 with 244 births, up from 187 births in 2011.

Milena ranked at #965 with 262 births, up from 230 births in 2011.

Everly ranked at #907 with 286 births, up from 222 births in 2011.

So, I was 1/3 right. :)

Popular Baby Names of 2012

The new list is out! Nothing has drastically changed on top... Jacob and Sophia are still #1. But there are some interesting things beyond the top for sure!

My fellow name enthusiasts have pushed out a ton of great analyses and there are several articles already out there, so I thought I would share some here:

Nameberry gives a great synopsis of the new list.

Eponymia looks at the names that broke into the Top 1000.

OMG posted an article about the influence of celebrities on the popularity of certain names.

In Name Only talks about names that are skyrocketing in popularity.

The Baby Name Wizard looks at the fastest-rising baby names for boys.

The Baby Name Wizard looks at the fastest-rising baby names for girls.

The Baby Name Wizard looks at the fastest-rising baby names outside of the Top 1000.

and

The SSA posts a list showing the rank changes between 2011 and 2012.

Names on the Cusp - Boys

Seal of the SSA via Wikipedia

We ventured into the realm of fortune-telling with my previous post, and as promised, here are the boy names!

BOYS - #1000 in 2011 was Ethen with 192 boys given the name. There were two other boy names with the same amount of births, Nigel and Yair, that were left off the list due to its initial's lower place in the alphabet. Here are the names of interest from the next 100 names after the Top 1000 (excluding any spelling variations):

#1003 Addison 191
#1004 Oakley 191
#1005 Slade 191
#1008 Carlo 190
#1009 Clarence 190
#1010 Dariel 190
#1011 Humberto 190
#1012 Neymar 190
#1013 Nikhil 190
#1014 Anton 189
#1016 Taj 189
#1017 Aarush 188
#1018 Boden 188
#1019 Yousef 188
#1020 Kenyon 187
#1021 Thiago 187
#1022 Destin 186
#1023 Rocky 185
#1024 Jaquan 184
#1025 Jericho 184
#1026 Kyree 184
#1027 Leroy 184
#1028 Siddharth 184
#1032 Leif 183
#1034 Gordon 182
#1035 Yisroel 182
#1036 Jarrett 181
#1038 Marley 181
#1039 Truman 181
#1042 Adolfo 180
#1043 Antwan 180
#1044 Mack 180
#1045 Titan 180
#1048 Briggs 178
#1049 Daylen 178
#1052 Lachlan 178
#1053 Ulysses 178
#1054 Colson 177
#1057 Elmer 177
#1058 Yael 177
#1060 Reynaldo 176
#1062 Josh 175
#1063 Langston 175
#1065 Brayson 174
#1068 Jovan 174
#1071 Sheldon 174
#1072 Zavion 174
#1075 Armaan 172
#1076 Gerard 172
#1077 Menachem 172
#1081 Briar 170
#1083 Gino 170
#1084 Kalel 170
#1085 Mordechai 170
#1086 Pranav 170
#1088 Ephraim 169
#1090 Lamont 169
#1092 Bernard 168
#1096 Kelton 168
#1097 Tayden 168
#1098 Coby 167
#1099 Stone 167
#1100 Bailey 166
#1101 Eliezer 166

Six names I think have a chance to appear in 2012's Top 1000:

Oakley - Of course it's easy to say that the name only 1 birth away from making the Top 1000 will make it the next year, but Oakley is making headway of late for both boys and girls. Oakley's numbers jumped by over 50 births between 2010 and 2011; it will be interesting to see if it jumps again.

Thiago - I have already written about how much I love this name. It is a variant of James and popular in Argentina and Brazil. We'll see if Thiago can break into the Top 1000 in the United States.

Boden - Add -en to Bodhi and you have Boden. It is a surname with several roots as well as a clothing shop based in the UK. Boden is a fresh take on the popular "ends with -en" name and could very well rise up into the ranks.

Jericho - Want a Biblical name with a little bite? The TV show of the same name could also have created some fans who choose the name out of loyalty, but Jericho itself is a strong name that I would love to see in the Top 1000.

Lachlan - A Scottish name that is due, especially in a world of Lucases and Landons. Even Declan and Kellen, which are similar in feel, are making waves. It's popular in the UK and Australia, and it is about time Lachlan makes similar noise in the US.

Colson - For those who like Cole or Colton but want something less common, or for those who want to honor a family member named Cole or even Nicholas, this could be the option for you. Colson has made a few jumps over the past few years, and time will tell if it can make a bigger one to enter the Top 1000.

What names do you think will make their way into the Top 1000?

Thank you to Behind the Name and Nancy's Baby Names for a lot of the above information.

Names on the Cusp - Girls

Seal of the SSA via Wikipedia

The waiting is such torture. Whether it's the reason or not, it's nice to honor mothers by releasing the data near Mother's Day. But I wish the list would come out sooner. You know what I'm talking about.

Yes, I'm interested in the Top 10 and Top 100, but I also like to see what falls out of and what makes its way into the Top 1000. What's the new name on the block? Finding out is like Christmas in May.

It's hard to say what will make the jump into the published list and what will not. In 2011, Hattie reentered the Top 1000 at #993 with 253 births, up from 157 births in 2010 (which would have put it at #1444). I thought I would peruse the 100 names after the Top 1000 and see what jumps out at me. I am only listing names that do not have a varied spelling in the Top 1000. We will look at the girl names here and the boy names in the next post.

GIRLS - #1000 in 2011 was Damaris with 250 girls given the name. There were two other girl names with the same amount of births, India and Reina, that were left off the list due to its initial's lower place in the alphabet. Here are the names of interest from the next 100:

#1006 Ireland 248
#1019 Charlize 243
#1022 Tania 243
#1023 Essence 242
#1025 Monserrat 242
#1027 Roxanne 241
#1030 Lyra 240
#1031 Mercy 240
#1034 Aurelia 239
#1037 Noor 239
#1038 Amaris 237
#1039 Colette 237
#1041 Winter 237
#1042 Belinda 236
#1047 Ellison 234
#1048 Xiomara 234
#1049 Ashanti 233
#1051 Estella 233
#1053 Dallas 232
#1054 Naima 232
#1055 Antonia 231
#1056 Astrid 231
#1057 Azul 231
#1059 Gretchen 231
#1063 Katrina 230
#1064 Milena 230
#1065 Noa 230
#1070 Kayleen 229
#1071 Alaysia 228
#1073 Tinsley 228
#1078 Ivana 227
#1079 Jamiyah 226
#1084 Emmaline 225
#1089 Coraline 224
#1092 Maren 224
#1093 Raylee 224
#1094 Remi 224
#1095 Selina 224
#1099 Everly 222
#1100 Frida 222
#1101 Jessa 222
#1102 Lorena 222
#1103 Luisa 222
#1104 Shreya 222

Six names I think have a chance to appear in 2012's Top 1000:

Lyra - Along with its space-cousin Luna, this stellar name is making strides. It is pronounced "leera" and is a constellation in the northern sky that contains the star Vega. Edit: While I got my main information from my husband who studied astrophysics and other online sites, there are also a lot of sites that say the pronunciation is lye-ra, so we'll say it's both and parents will probably have to explain how they want it pronounced. ;) Lyra made a pretty big jump in 2008 and has slowly been increasing in number ever since.

Aurelia - I first became aware of this beautiful name after seeing the movie Love Actually. The character in the movie was Portuguese, but the name is from Ancient Rome... remember Marcus Aurelius? 2011 saw the most girls given the name Aurelia in the United States since records have been kept (239 births) and I hope to see the number increase in 2012.

Ellison - Similar to Allison, but mostly a surname, and traditionally a boy name, like other -son names (son of Ellis), that has been overtaken by girls. If parents want the cute nicknames Ellie or Elle but don't want to use the popular Elizabeth, I see a good reason for Ellison to join the ranks in 2012.

Milena - I heard this name a lot while living in Poland and I love its quiet beauty. It is fairly popular in most Central and Eastern European countries and could be compared to Mila, which is similar in sound and origination and growing tremendously in the United States. I hope Milena follows the same path.

Tinsley - It is not found on most name sites, but does have an entry on Nameberry. It was brought into the social realm by socialite Tinsley Mortimer, is a character in The It Girl series, and is a place name in England. With the help of trendy names like Ainsley and Kinsley, Tinsley has made big strides over the past couple of years and could possibly enter the Top 1000 in 2012.

Everly - It came very close to becoming the name of my daughter. To be honest, I am surprised this particular spelling is the highest ranking of the name. It first came to my attention when I was on name forums back in 2005. Several people brought up the name Everleigh and I fell in love with the sound, but preferred the simpler Everly. Unfortunately, my husband was not as enthusiastic about it as I was and in the end we chose a different name, but it will always be a favorite of mine. Everly is increasing in number more and more each year and I think it has a great chance to break into the Top 1000 in 2012.

What names do you think will make their way into the Top 1000? We only have about four months until we can find out for sure.

Thank you to Behind the Name and Nancy's Baby Names for a lot of the above information.