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A baby’s name is the first gift a parent gives his or her child, and thanks to the popularity of the celebrities listed here, these names have quickly grown to become popular among parents. Initially reported in the Huffington Post, here are 13 increasingly popular baby names inspired by the rich and very famous.

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Judging from this year’s list of most popular baby names, it’s clear that Americans love the letter J. From James to Joshua to Jessica, the Js represented very well, although not all of those names made the top 15. The most popular names have changed considerably from year to year as evinced by the fact that Abigail and Jessica have moved out of the top ten. You may be surprised by a few of the names that have surged to the top. As usual, celebrities have helped to influence this list. Check it out and see the top 15 boy and girl names of 2012.

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 15:

Girl: Aubrey

Boy: William

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These days celebrities are naming their babies some unique — some would say weird — names. Beyonce and Jay’s little girl is Blue Ivy. Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter Apple (though the name is catching on). And then there is Erykah Badu, who is a whole different category. Her son is Seven Sirius and her daughter is Puma.

None of these are among the most popular names just released by BabyCenter, which revealed their annual list of top 100 baby names for 2012. Ahead of the pack for boys is Aiden once again (as it has been for eight consecutive years); Sophia is tops for girls, as it has been for three years running. New to the top 10 are the names Mia and Jack. For girls the others in the  top 10 include Emma, Olivia, Isabella, Ava, Lily, Zoe, Chloe, and Madison. Rounding out the top 10 boys names are: Jackson, Ethan, Liam, Mason, Noah, Lucas, Jacob, Jayden, and Jack.

“BabyCenter’s name list is based on the names of 450,000 babies born this year to mothers registered with the BabyCenter website,” reports Moms Today.

Some names may seem cute at the time, but did you know it could affect your child’s future job propects—and even education?  According to various studies, a name can affect how a child is perceived in school and how an adult might perform on a job. In fact, according to one study, “49% of teachers make assumptions about children based on their name,” reports Business Insider.

And it’s not just the teachers who make judgment calls on kids because of their names. Other kids do as well. One study by parenting club Bounty.com, found that five-year-olds judge their classmates by their names. “Making decisions based strictly on names, four- and five-year-olds told Jack Daniel, a professor of communication at the University of Pittsburgh, that Sarah is smarter than Shaniqua, that they would rather play with Megan than Tanisha, and that Jamal was more likely to take a bite out of their sandwich than Adam,” writes Business Insider.

After school, a person’s name could steer them to one profession versus another, according to the magazine. “Unique names might not benefit your child when it comes to a future job hunt. Career success is often predicted on gender stereotype. And women with feminine names like Emma, Marta and Winnifred are expected to succeed as nurses and hair stylists. Men named Frank, Hank and Boris are expected to succeed as plumbers, truck drivers and electricians,” says Business Insider.

Try getting a high-end executive gig with the name Twanna. You might not even get an interview, an investigative report by 20/20/ABC discovered. Like it or not, racist views — whether overt or subconscious — can cause employers to turn down potential employees just based on their name. “Job recruiters are 17% more likely to download resumes with white-sounding names than those with black-sounding names,” reports Business Insider. Roland Fryer, an economist and assistant professor at Harvard University, told the site, “A distinctively black name tells us that a person typically comes from a neighborhood that has higher poverty, lower income, more likely to have teen mothers, et cetera.”

So, a name is more than just a name.

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by Marissa Ellis

Here’s a hint: the most popular girl’s name isn’t Jessica! It’s not even close actually.

The Social Security Administration today announced the most popular names for babies born in 2011. The findings are quite interesting. Along with the list, the SSA also hypothesizes as to how celebrities have influenced the list of baby names. Although Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy was born too late (at the start of 2012) to influence the list, we’re sure we’ll see some influence by the next round.

The name Mason came in second for most popular boy’s names. It first cracked the top ten in 2010, and the SSA thanks the Kardashians, and Kourtney Kardashian’s son Mason especially, for the big bump in popularity.

Although the names included in the top ten list for girls all seem nice and simple, it’s interesting to see that Jennifer and Jessica are missing from the top ten, indicating a strong cultural shift in names.

As for the boy’s names, it’s surprising to see Jayden in the top five – a name that immediately conjures up an image of Will Smith’s son (who spells it Jaden) and African-American boys. Despite my own associations, the #4 most popular boys name not only ranks high amongst Hispanic and African-American babies but also Asian-American boys, although it ranks very low amongst white babies. The New York Times  noted that the rise in popularity of Jayden is associated with the fact that Britney Spears named her son Jayden in 2006. Very interesting indeed…

Most Popular Girl Names:

Sophia
Isabella
Emma
Olivia
Ava
Emily
Abigail
Madison
Mia
Chloe

Check out most popular boy’s names on the next page.

Naming your child is an important task that shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is the name people will call your little bundle for the rest of his or her life…Unless it’s so terrible that they have to change it– like in the case of 9 year old New Zealand girl named Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii. (Don’t worry the court ordered that she become a ward of the state until she could legally change it.)

Most people, black people included, take the power to determine what a child will be called very seriously. Black people, always known for setting trends, have a legacy of naming their children something unique (if not the word “Unique” itself). There’s history behind the tradition though. In the 1960s, black parents were deciding to do away with the traditional, European names in favor of celebrating African tradition or creating and blending their own new sounds.

So while we know the history behind such “interesting” names, there are still some that just give us pause. Check out this list of names that just do way too much and not enough at the same time.

Asher tops the list of hottest boys’ names so far this year and Pippa is #1 for girls. Pippa of course is the cutie pie little sis of Kate Middleton, Prince William’s new bride. Rounding out the top five for boys names are Arlo, Everett, Flynn and Archer.

Elula comes in at #2 for babygirls followed by Elula, Luna, Hadley and Mila.

Do those names sound cute to you? Are there any celebs or celeb children you would name your future munchkins after?

[Nameberry via Babble]

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