There are a lot of things to think about when preparing for the arrival of a new baby, but one of the most exciting is considering all of the baby name options you have. Coming up with first and middle names you love for your new son or daughter can help you get even more enthusiastic about his or her arrival. But with so many options, where do you even start?
If you’re expecting a baby daughter, you’ll want to come up with a few favorite girl baby names. While you can spend time searching through baby name books and websites, a great place to start your search is to see what names have been trending over the past few years. With that in mind, take a look at some of the top girls’ names in 2013:
Top 10 girls’ names in 2013
For the second year in a row, Sophia, Emma, Olivia and Isabella ranked in the top four, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration’s list of the top girls’ names in 2013. In fact, all of the names that ranked in the top 10 in 2013 were also in the top 10 in 2012, with just a few minor switches. Isabella and Olivia swapped places, for instance, with Olivia taking over the No. 3 spot in 2013. Here’s the complete list of the top 10 girls’ names of the year:
Names ending in ‘a’
As evidenced by the top 10 list, girls’ names ending in “a” were very popular in 2013 – Sophia, Emma, Olivia, Isabella, Ava and Mia took the first six spots. Other names ending in “a” that proved popular in 2013 included Ella (No. 15), Amelia (No. 17), Victoria (No. 25), Samantha (No. 29) and Layla (No. 30).
In an era when gender-neutral names are becoming more and more popular, this suggests parents are still leaning heavily toward names with more feminine sounds for their little girls. If you like the idea of a name ending in “a,” but you want to go for something a little less common, try Ariana, Alexa, Maya or Mila. There are tons of options that sound feminine but are still relatively individual.
Pop culture trends
Pop culture has always influenced baby name trends, and 2013 was no different. Several popular TV shows and celebrities played into the year’s top baby girl names, including everything from “Breaking Bad” (Skylar) to “Girls” (Hannah came in at No. 23). The Kardashians seem to have affected the popularity of other baby girl names – Kylie and Khloe came in at Nos. 61 and 79, respectively. Penelope – the name of Kourtney Kardashian’s daughter, who was born in 2012 – also made the list in 2013 for the first time in several years.
Whether you’re going for something traditional, like Natalie or Sarah, or a little more trendy, like Harper or Brooklyn, looking at recent baby name trends can help you find inspiration. No matter what you’re considering for your baby girl’s name, just make sure to choose one you love!
Get the most recent trends with the most popular girls names of this year.
