It's Emily & Jacob, Again - Grandparents.com

The next time you’re at the playground and you call for your granddaughter, Emily, or your grandson, Jacob, don’t be surprised if a few children end up turning around.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been compiling an official list of the most popular baby names since 1997, and for the 12th consecutive year Emily topped the rankings for the names of girls born in 2007, while Jacob was the name most selected for boys for the ninth consecutive year.

The lists were released on Mother’s Day as part of a joint announcement with Parade magazine.

Rounding out the top 10 behind Emily were Isabella, Emma, Ava, Madison, Sophia, Olivia, Abigail, Hannah, and Elizabeth. For the boys, No. 2 was Michael, followed by Joshua, Matthew, Ethan, Daniel, Christopher, Anthony, William, and Andrew.

For male twins, parents took the biblical route and were most likely to combine Jacob with Joshua; Matthew with Michael; and Daniel with David. The most popular combination for female twins was Ella and Emma.

The SSA lists the top 1,000 names for both boys and girls.

Name experts told the Associated Press that the consistency of the top names may be due to their widespread appeal among multiple ethnic and religious groups, and that the names do not have a negative connotation associated with them.

While the top ten names for boys and girls were mostly traditional, the SSA noted the influence of pop culture creeping into the names of children. Shiloh, the name of the youngest daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, debuted on the list at No. 804. Maddox, the name of their oldest child, first appeared on the list in 2003 at No. 583 and jumped to No. 226 in 2007. Jayden, the second son of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, was No. 18 on the list (while a variation, Jaden, which is how Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf spell their son’s name, was No. 76).

Interestingly, parents seemed to have a thing for names (and various spellings) that rhyme with "maiden." In addition to Jayden/Jaden, there was Aiden/Aidan, Caden/Kaden, Braden/Braeden, and more.

Also popular in 2007, according to the SSA, were names for girls that were based on spiritual and philosophical concepts. At No. 31 was Nevaeh, or "heaven" spelled backward; it previously ranked 43rd. In addition, there was Destiny (No. 41); Trinity (No. 72); Serenity (No. 126); Harmony (No. 315); and Miracle (No. 461).

SSA Commissioner Michael J. Astrue noted that Elvis had risen 85 spots from No. 761 in 2006 to No. 676 in 2007, “further proof,” Astrue quipped in a statement, “that Elvis is not dead.”

While Emily and Jacob are the most popular names of the current decade, previous decades have been dominated by Jessica and Michael (1990s and 1980s); Jennifer and Michael (1970s); Lisa and Michael (1960s); Mary and James (1950s and 1940s); Mary and Robert (1930s and 1920s); Mary and John (1910s, 1900s, 1890s and 1880s).

John doesn’t show up until No. 17 on the list of the most popular boys names of the 2000s; Mary was No. 58.

The lists were compiled from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.