Famous Baby Names by Year

It's one of the earliest and most important decisions new parents make--what to name their baby. Some name their child after a close relative. Others choose to name her after a favorite hobby, activity or location. And others just pick a name they like and that compliments the family's last name. Whatever the reasons, some names, like Emily and Michael, remain classics and stay popular year after year. Others, like Riley or Aiden, are more trendy and stay popular for anywhere from one to five years.

2008

Aiden, also spelled Aidan or Aden, was the most popular boy's name of 2008. For newborn girls, the top choice was Ava. Other popular boys' names included Ethan, Caden, Noah and Caleb. Rounding out the girls' top five were Isabella, Madeline, Emma and Abagail.

2000s

So far this century, Jacob has reigned as the top boy's name, with just over 1.3 percent of families giving this name to their son. For girls, 1.1 percent of families have chosen the name Emily. Other names in the top five for boys include Michael, Joshua, Matthew and Christopher. The most popular names for girls this decade have been Madison, Hannah, Olivia and Emma.

1990s

Michael was by far the most popular boy's name of the 1990s, with more than 2.25 percent of newborn boys given the name, followed in popularity by Christopher. These were also the top two boy's names of the 1980s. Other top names during the 1990s were Matthew, Joshua and Jacob. Jessica, Ashley, Emily, Sarah and Samantha were the top five choices for baby girls, with Jessica also the most popular choice of the 1980s.

Popular Pairings

Often, parents give twins names beginning with the same letters. In 2008, there were 69 sets of twins named Jacob and Joshua. Fifty-nine parents named their twins Daniel and David, while 56 sets of twins were given the names Jayden and Jordan. Alliteration was not as prevalent for parents naming girls, as popular combinations included Gabriella and Isabella, Faith and Hope, and Sophia and Olivia.