Every year there is a trend for baby names. What was the trend last year?
Many moms & dads reached back in time to get inspiration for names for the baby.
In 2008 the trend was for some of the older teen shows that were on television back in the day.
Names such as Rachel, Brooke, Lucas and Haley can be tracked to the television show of 2003, One Tree Hill.
Another huge hit was the Gilmore Girls which ran from 2000 to 2007 and names that were popular for babies from that television show were Logan, Emily, Lauren and Alexis.
Party of 5 was another popular offering for teenagers and names such as Sarah, Julia and Bailey were given to babies whose parents were fond of the show.
Politics & Baby Names
As 2008 was a presidential election year, politics were front and center. Lots of parents used late president’s last names for the names of their babies such as Kennedy, Taylor, Madison and Tyler.
Many people will be christening their new babies in 2009 with the moniker Barack or Obama for our new president. Other popular politically inspired names were Arianna for Ms. Huffington of the blog the Huffington Post, Gavin for mayor Newsome of San Francisco and Joseph made a come back because of the Vice President Joe Biden.
Celebrity Monikers
Parents also take their inspiration from celebrities who have given their children unusual and unique names such as Brooklyn for Posh and Becks. Will and Jada Smith named their son Jaden.
It is interesting to note that celebrities that have endured their run of bad press aren’t on the list of popular baby names such as Lindsay, Britney and Paris.
Names of Biblical Proportions
The Bible has always been an inspiration for baby names and in 2008 the most popular were Isaac, Luke, Matthew, Benjamin, Samuel and Jacob. Other unique choices for boys included Micah, Elijah, Isaiah and Josiah.
For the little princesses, parents picked Rebecca, Sarah and Abigail. Holding at #97 for 2008 is the unusual Nevaeh. It is heaven spelled backwards.
From Across the Pond
British names were popular in 2008 as well. Names such as Grace, Emma, Victoria and Elizabeth were big for girls. Boy’s names that made the list in 2008 are James, Robert, Henry, Oliver, Colin and William.
Lots of movies that were out last year such as “The Other Boleyn Girl,†“Sweeney Todd†and “Atonement†were responsible for many of the Anglophile names that made the list of 2008’s top 100 baby names.
