Popular Baby Names

See How Your Child Ranks in Popular Baby Names

Popular baby names change from year to year, but in every generation there are more of one name that another. Sometimes this happens in amazing quantities. While thinking of what you will call your child, how many people really stop to think about how many kindergarteners in five years will share their child's name. The specific names change over time, but there are always those kids who have an initial after their names to keep them apart.

Some people prefer to stay away from the more popular baby names to make their child's more unique. Some don't ever think about it. However, if you are stuck on deciding a name for your child, looking at these names might help out. And after all, if that many people agree on a name, there must be something good about it. Whether your goal is to avoid or adapt the popular trend, you can easily access the most recent popular baby names lists.

One site where you can access this list is http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/. This site is kept up-to-date with information on the most popular baby names taken from hospital lists around the country.

This site is great for finding popular baby names because of its searching tools. You can look at the most popular boy and girl names from the most recent data. You can search for this information for the whole country or by state. You can search through this criteria by year or decade.

If you've ever wondered how popular your name is, you can search through popular baby names for that too. You can search for the year you were born, or just recently. You can also look to see about popular names for twins. This might be very useful for the couples that are thinking up multiple names.

Naming your baby or babies should be fun, but if you get a little stuck, don't hesitate to see what others are doing. Searching through popular baby names is a great way to find the perfect name or generate some great ideas. And since your curiosity has to be up by now, I'll tell you, the most popular baby names right now are Emily and Jacob. But tragically, "Blue" and "Rocket Blade" didn't even make the top ten list - they were much further down.

So be sure to check out our pages about Baby Boy Names, Baby Girl Names, Baby Name Meanings, and Celebrity Baby Names elsewhere on this site.

Popular Baby Names

Popular baby boy names

Gives the name and US rank.

http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babynames.cgi

Popular baby girl names

Name and rank information compiled by the government.

http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babynames.cgi

Today's Popular Baby Names Articles

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FDA takes on BPA

Filed under: Health & safety, Eating & nutrition, Development, In the news, Environment

The Federal Drug Administration has officially made a statement concerning their slant on BPA, the chemical found in much plastic and a lot of baby bottles. BPA, full name bisphenol A has been under fire for some time as being dangerous to young children.

The FDA on Wednesday said it saw no reason for consumers to stop purchasing baby bottles containing BPA, contending that there is a large body of evidence supporting the fact that products containing the chemical are safe. Although multiple studies have shown side effects in animals exposed to the chemical, the FDA cites two studies where no reason to use caution with regard to products containing the chemical. Both studies cited by the FDA were industry-funded.

Consumer groups and politicians alike have accused the FDA of failing to take action on this and other safety issues, contending they bend to industry interests. Polycarbonate plastic, what keeps plastic bottles shatter-resistant, is made of BPA. People consume the chemical along with liquid, water or food inside containers containing BPA.

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Families can be families in California

Filed under: Love & sex, 2Moms2Dads

The California Supreme Court has just ruled that the state has no business checking what's in your pants before allowing you to get married. Yep, my beloved home state has decided that love, not sex, is what counts when making a long-term, if not lifetime, commitment to another. This makes California the second state (after Massachusetts) to allow anyone to marry.

This is wonderful news for the families that have, up until now, had to try and explain why a child's parents can't get married when other parents can. It also sends a positive message to kids that love does not equal sex -- sex can be a part of love, but it's not the only, or even the most important, part.

In reality, the decision (PDF) appears to be limited to saying that you can't call a legal relationship "marriage" for one group and "domestic partnership" for another, solely because of gender and sexual orientation, but the implication is that marriage is for everyone. This is, most certainly, a great step forward.

I suspect I may be going to some weddings in the near future. If this ruling has opened up a new possibility for you and your partner, I can, from experience, heartily recommend Stern Grove here in San Francisco as a wonderful location for a wedding. (Happy anniversary, Rachel! What a wonderful present!)

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Image of the Day: Forever in blue jeans

Filed under: Image of the Day

These are my kind of people. (Says the girl who wears jeans all day every day.) The little one even agrees! Look at his knowing glance! Thanks for such a unique photo, Gosia Stepien.

If you'd like your own picture featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr Pool - We'll highlight an image every day. Remember: we're on the lookout for shots with interesting backgrounds, cool angles, or original composition. Be sure to read the intro on our main Flickr page for more information and limit your uploading to 5 photos per day.

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Image of the Day: Blur

Filed under: Image of the Day

The leaves, the swing and the blurred child in motion make me feel incredibly nostalgic for my own childhood. Thanks to Xenub for a great way to end the week.

If you'd like your own picture featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr Pool - We'll highlight an image every day. Remember: we're on the lookout for shots with interesting backgrounds, cool angles, or original composition. Be sure to read the intro on our main Flickr page for more information and limit your uploading to 5 photos per day.

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It's summertime and the swimsuits are skimpy

Filed under: Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11

At what age would you consider it appropriate for a young girl to wear a skimpy bathing suit? Before you answer that, let's define skimpy. For me, that would be anything with high-cut legs, low-cut waist and/or tiny triangles covering the upper body. I don't consider myself a prude, but I think little girls should look like little girls and not flat-chested Victoria's Secret models. And while I know that swimsuits by their very nature reveal lots of skin, I think a child's suit should not necessarily resemble a tiny version of an adult suit.

Unfortunately, finding the right suit requires trying on a lot of wrong suits. Wrong suits that my 7-year-old desperately wants, of course. I won last year's battle of the swimsuit and have every intention of winning again this year. After all, I hold the credit card and therefore the power.

I am now gearing up to do battle again, but this year I am previewing selections online first. It is important to try a suit on of course, but looking online beforehand helps me avoid stores where we might run into something like this. Or even this.

I recognize that appropriateness is sometimes in the eye of the beholder, but I also know what I feel comfortable with. What about you? How do you feel about little girls wearing little bikinis?

Gallery: Perfectly nice swimsuits for girls