What to know

The Most Common Baby Names For The Past Few Years

If you are about to become a parent, the first difficult decision you will go through is probably what to name your baby. Since popular names are a place to start, we have gathered for you the most common names given for boys and girls last year.

  1. Liam and Emma

While Emma was already at the top of the list in 2014, Liam was the second most popular name for boys. Both are actually shortened versions of William for Liam and Emmeline or Amelia for Emma. Liam has Irish origins like, you guessed it, Liam Neeson! It refers to a ‘stong-willed warrior’. On the other hand, Emma is derived from the Germanic word ‘ermen’ meaning whole or universal.

  1. Noah and Olivia

In 2014, Noah claimed the first spot in the boys’ category and Olivia the second one for girls. The boys name, who had witnessed a rise in popularity in 2011, means ‘rest and comfort’, and is known as a biblical figure and builder of the Ark. Olivia was first used in this form by William Shakespeare in his comedy ‘Twelfth Night’, taking inspiration from the Latin word ‘oliva’ which simply means ‘olive’.

  1. Ethan and Sophia

Sophia remains in the same spot than the year before while Ethan makes a new entry in the top 5 for boys. Ethan means ‘solid and enduring’ and two people are probably the reasons behind the rise in popularity of the name: Ethan Hawke and Tom Cruise’s character in the Mission Impossible series. Sophia meaning ‘wisdom’ in Greek has many mythical stories surrounding it.

  1. Mason and Ava

Mason became hugely popular since 2011 and is an occupational name meaning ‘worker in stone’. It was probably popularized by Kourtney Kardashian who named her first son Mason. In the world of TV, two werewolves have this name: Mason Greyback in Wizards of Waverly Place and Mason Lockwood in the Vampire Diaries. Ava is a variant of Eve, the first known female creature and means ‘life’. As a more modern version is the Hollywood beauty Ava Gardner.

  1. Lucas and Mia

Lucas achieved a long advance from its 19th position in 2014 so it was a surprise to see it peak at the 5th spot. It is the Latin form of Luke and means ‘illumination’ or ‘light-giving’. Mia on the other hand is a multicultural name. Popularized by the actress Mia Farrow who used it as a short version of her birth name ‘Maria’, it also means ‘mine’ in Latin.

 

 

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  • ELIE
    March 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm

    nice