LIAM, EMMA LEAD TOP BABY NAMES IN U.S. FOR 2017
Emma and Liam were the most frequently chosen baby names for 2017.
For the fourth year in a row, Emma was the top girl’s name, according to the annual list of the most popular baby names released by the Social Security Administration on Friday. Liam pushed last year’s champ, Noah, to second to claim the top spot.
The Social Security Administration releases the 1,000 most popular baby names each year.
When it came to girls’ names, Emma was followed by Olivia, Ava, Isabella and Sophia.
For the boys, Liam and Noah were followed by William, James and Logan.
Other trends last year included a rise in the use of Melania for a girl, likely influenced by first lady Melania Trump.
One girl’s name that continued a downward slide is Alexa, which ranked 32nd in 2015 but placed 65th in 2017. That could be the result of parents not wanting their daughter to share the same name with the voice assistant that lives inside Amazon’s Echo speakers.
Pamela Redmond Satran, who blogs about baby-naming and is also co-founder of the baby name site Nameberry.com, said the rise of Liam reflects the large population of Irish people in the U.S. who may not speak Gaelic, but have ethnic pride.
“I think you see ethnic influences coming into play in a more indirect way. You see more parents looking back and looking for places in their lives that hold meaning that can be translated into names,” said Satran, who also co-wrote the books “The Baby Name Bible” and “Cool Names for Babies.”