Posted: 24 Dec 2009 10:10 PM PST

By (ARA)

(ARA) -What's in a name? A lot - as any parents who have ever agonized over what to name their new bundle of joy can tell you. Choosing a name for your child is serious business, because it's something he'll carry for the rest of his life and many people will make inferences about who he is based on his name.

In 2009, parents continued to embrace a mix of classic and contemporary names, as Parents.com's list of the best baby names reveals. And while the rest of the list was full of surprises, the top two names from 2008 maintained their hold. For boys, Aidan ranked No. 1 for the third year running. Isabella, and variations Isabel and Bella, topped the girl's list for the second straight year.

Popular culture, it seems, continues to heavily influence what parents chose to name their newborns, notes Melissa Inman, executive editor of Parents.com.

"One of the biggest cultural phenomena of the last decade, Sex in the City, is back in theaters this year and is as hot as ever as far as names are concerned," says Inman. "Both of Sarah Jessica Parker's names are in the top 20 - Nos. 16 and 17, respectively. Her character, Carrie's, noble, fan-favorite-ex Aidan is still holding the No. 1 spot on the boy's list. And pal Charlotte's name popped into our top 50 for the first time.

"Gothic, angsty, and hopelessly romantic, the bestselling Twilight series seems to be having some influence on our names list," she adds. "Isabella is the No. 1 name, again, and Edward continues to climb, missing the top 50 male names, but still in the top 100. Villainess Victoria showed up at No. 53. And the movie's actors, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, both have names in our top 50."

The top 10 most popular baby boy names were:
1. Aidan
2. Jayden/Jaden
3. Michael
4. Jacob
5. Ethan
6. Andrew
7. Caden
8. James
9. Joshua
10. Matthew

The top 10 most popular baby girl names were:
1. Isabella/Isabel/Bella
2. Emily
3. Elizabeth
4. Ava
5. Olivia
6. Chloe
7. Emma
8. Madison
9. Abigail
10. Arianna

Plenty of parents try to encourage their children's musical talents by signing them up for KinderMusik. But some go the extra mile and give their new baby a musically inclined name. Some honor a famous musician - like Aaliyah (No. 29 for girls) or Taylor Swift (No. 40 for girls), indie darlings like Tegan and Sara (Nos. 31 and 16) or Liam Finn (No. 29 on the boys' list). Others go for a name that's been honored in song, like Elvis Costello's Allison (No. 43) or Layla (No. 37) by Eric Clapton, Inman says.

A number of names on both lists have religious roots. On the boys' side, there's Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Gabriel. On the girls' list, Sarah, Leah, Rebecca and Elizabeth all have associations with faith.

"If you were born in the '70s or '80s, you likely had plenty of Jessicas, Melissas and Amys in your classes growing up," says Inman. "Well, new moms seem to be creating new traditions for girls. Jennifer (No. 34) was up slightly from last year, but Amy and Melissa failed to crack our top 50 girl names. Meanwhile, top boys names from that time, Michael, Christopher and Matthew, are all still in the top 15."

"A number of names joined our top 50 lists for the first time," she adds. "On the girl's side, Kayla, Lily, Savannah and Adeline are all new. The boys had an even bigger number of shake-ups, with Austin, Evan, London, Brayden, Gabriel, Justin, Jason and Charles joining the list."

Parents.com also maintains a Baby Name Finder on its Web site that enables parents to search for unique baby names and their meanings.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Worst Baby Name Trends of the Decade - ParentDish (blog)

Posted: 25 Dec 2009 08:10 AM PST

Here at Name Lady Central we see names of all stripes, from the common and conservative to the wild and woolly.

Most of them, even the woolliest, are chosen with love by well-meaning moms and dads. But a few name trends from the past decade have crossed the line. Here are the Name Lady's picks for the worst name trends of the decade:

Selling Your Baby's Name To The Highest Bidder
Did you hear about the expectant parents who put naming rights to their new baby up for auction on eBay? In fact, you've had plenty of chances to hear that since the year 2000. In the sell-from-home decade, several families have seen baby naming as an opportunity to pick up some quick cash. This year, one determined Arkansas mom re-listed her unborn son's name auction five times. Her goal (unmet) was $20,000 to help pay the household bills.

Some of the eBay parents have seemed genuinely desperate, while others may have just been out for attention. Before you write them all off, consider one thing they had in common: They were trying to sell a name that belonged to somebody else, not their own. That makes them fitting emblems for a decade when more and more parents started treating baby names as creative fashion accessories.

Giving Your Baby A Corporate Trademark Name
There's a natural overlap between product names and baby names. Parents may be attracted to a name like Sienna for a girl for the same reasons that Toyota was attracted to it for a minivan. But since the '90s, the brand naming of babies has reached new heights. Labels like Nautica, Lexus and Armani have joined the ranks of America's top 1,000 names, and almost no popular brand seems off limits. At last count, four American boys sported the name ESPN.

The U.S. doesn't regulate baby names, but the more we bestow corporate trademarks on children, the closer we come to a brave new world of naming law. What does it mean when a corporation owns the rights to your name? What will happen to little ESPN if he wants to be a sportswriter, or to Nautica if she tries to design clothes?

Using Names As An Excuse To Make Fun Of People
Name insults are as old as schoolyard taunts. In this decade, though, adults have elevated baby name bashing to the level of blood sport. Whenever a new celebrity baby is born, the world waits with bated breath to tear the name to shreds. (In reality, most celebrity babies have perfectly normal names -- Henry and Ava are favorites -- but what fun is that?)

The most toxic name bashing uses names, real or invented, as a sly way to make fun of whole segments of our society. For example, one of the hottest Internet stories of recent years is the dubious tale of the girl named Le-a, pronounced Ledasha because "the dash don't be silent." The most common version of that story concludes with the commentary, "And we let these people vote."

Making Your Baby's Name A Tool To Advance Your Agenda
In December 2008, the Campbell family of New Jersey made international headlines when a supermarket bakery refused to write their young son's name in icing on a birthday cake. The rejected name: Adolf Hitler.

The parents expressed shock and dismay at the store's decision, but it soon became clear that they knew the score. The supermarket had rejected the Campbells' requests before, and they had pointedly insisted on both first and middle names on the cake, not just Adolf. In short, the parents had set up a media event, using their child's name as bait. Their whole Nazi-named brood and swastika-filled living room were soon being beamed to news outlets across the globe. How long before more zealots of every stripe follow suit, naming their children as living billboards?

Here's wishing us all a new decade of loving, well-chosen names.

What are the worst naming trends you've seen? Share your experiences! And if you have your own question to Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!

Related: Most Stylish Baby Bumps, More From The Name Lady

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Duggars Counting on a Place Closer to Newborn - E! Online (blog)

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 05:33 PM PST