Noah & Emma: The Top Names of 2014

The brand new Social Security Administration list of the most popular baby names in 2014 is here! For the first time since 2008, Emma has reclaimed the throne, surpassing both Sophia and Olivia! On the boy's side, Noah has held onto his popularity another year even though many were speculating that #2 Liam would take it.

Here are the new Top 10 for each gender!

I thought Sophia would have continued her streak at #1 again this year, only possibly being unseated by Olivia. I was right about Olivia surpassing Sophia, but I didn't see Emma coming to claim the throne again after only being #1 once in 2008.  Charlotte made her way into the Top 10 by knocking Elizabeth out of the ring. With the birth of the new princess, Charlotte will probably continue to rise, potentially being #1 within the next 5 years! Any thoughts?

My guess was that Liam would take #1 but Noah holds on to the throne another year! Mason surpasses Jacob, and James takes Jayden's place! The names this year are all rather classic and traditional. These are solid names. I've seen some people complaining that they're all a bit boring. For example, Elijah was #11 again, so close to cracking the Top 10 for the first time and mixing things up. Maybe next year!

Here is the official list for the Top 100 Names in 2014 and their Number of Births:

1	Noah	19,144	Emma	20,799
2	Liam	18,342	Olivia	19,674
3	Mason	17,092	Sophia	18,490
4	Jacob	16,712	Isabella	16,950
5	William	16,687	Ava	15,586
6	Ethan	15,619	Mia	13,442
7	Michael	15,323	Emily	12,562
8	Alexander	15,293	Abigail	11,985
9	James	14,301	Madison	10,247
10	Daniel	13,829	Charlotte	10,048
11	Elijah	13,694	Harper	9,564
12	Benjamin	13,687	Sofia	9,542
13	Logan	13,579	Avery	9,517
14	Aiden	13,296	Elizabeth	9,492
15	Jayden	12,878	Amelia	8,727
16	Matthew	12,809	Evelyn	8,692
17	Jackson	12,121	Ella	8,489
18	David	12,078	Chloe	8,469
19	Lucas	12,078	Victoria	7,955
20	Joseph	11,995	Aubrey	7,589
21	Anthony	11,490	Grace	7,554
22	Andrew	11,069	Zoey	7,358
23	Samuel	10,859	Natalie	7,061
24	Gabriel	10,826	Addison	6,950
25	Joshua	10,764	Lillian	6,869
26	John	10,600	Brooklyn	6,767
27	Carter	10,599	Lily	6,727
28	Luke	10,431	Hannah	6,512
29	Dylan	10,350	Layla	6,428
30	Christopher	10,278	Scarlett	5,965
31	Isaac	9,868	Aria	5,893
32	Oliver	9,365	Zoe	5,828
33	Henry	9,350	Samantha	5,680
34	Sebastian	9,237	Anna	5,639
35	Caleb	9,143	Leah	5,563
36	Owen	9,100	Audrey	5,531
37	Ryan	9,026	Ariana	5,461
38	Nathan	8,902	Allison	5,440
39	Wyatt	8,812	Savannah	5,433
40	Hunter	8,759	Arianna	5,240
41	Jack	8,685	Camila	5,194
42	Christian	8,388	Penelope	5,062
43	Landon	8,180	Gabriella	5,051
44	Jonathan	8,035	Claire	4,991
45	Levi	7,958	Aaliyah	4,850
46	Jaxon	7,635	Sadie	4,823
47	Julian	7,611	Riley	4,761
48	Isaiah	7,530	Skylar	4,732
49	Eli	7,428	Nora	4,708
50	Aaron	7,334	Sarah	4,647
51	Charles	7,269	Hailey	4,595
52	Connor	7,195	Kaylee	4,513
53	Cameron	7,013	Paisley	4,473
54	Thomas	6,972	Kennedy	4,459
55	Jordan	6,810	Ellie	4,442
56	Jeremiah	6,780	Peyton	4,426
57	Nicholas	6,713	Annabelle	4,324
58	Evan	6,667	Caroline	4,307
59	Adrian	6,659	Madelyn	4,289
60	Gavin	6,582	Serenity	4,284
61	Robert	6,572	Aubree	4,258
62	Brayden	6,539	Lucy	4,257
63	Grayson	6,532	Alexa	4,227
64	Josiah	6,376	Alexis	4,188
65	Colton	6,339	Nevaeh	4,188
66	Austin	6,263	Stella	4,165
67	Angel	6,255	Violet	4,156
68	Jace	6,254	Genesis	4,144
69	Dominic	6,205	Mackenzie	4,122
70	Kevin	5,859	Bella	4,050
71	Brandon	5,804	Autumn	4,034
72	Tyler	5,785	Mila	4,033
73	Parker	5,677	Kylie	3,928
74	Ayden	5,586	Maya	3,904
75	Jason	5,510	Piper	3,840
76	Jose	5,442	Alyssa	3,798
77	Ian	5,422	Taylor	3,782
78	Chase	5,322	Eleanor	3,704
79	Adam	5,293	Melanie	3,681
80	Hudson	5,199	Naomi	3,677
81	Nolan	5,181	Faith	3,664
82	Zachary	5,137	Eva	3,651
83	Easton	4,961	Katherine	3,651
84	Blake	4,913	Lydia	3,609
85	Jaxson	4,900	Brianna	3,582
86	Cooper	4,803	Julia	3,578
87	Lincoln	4,785	Ashley	3,539
88	Xavier	4,726	Khloe	3,518
89	Bentley	4,722	Madeline	3,409
90	Kayden	4,691	Ruby	3,383
91	Carson	4,580	Sophie	3,364
92	Brody	4,297	Alexandra	3,288
93	Asher	4,279	London	3,264
94	Nathaniel	4,257	Lauren	3,072
95	Ryder	4,073	Gianna	3,061
96	Justin	3,991	Isabelle	3,044
97	Leo	3,936	Alice	3,042
98	Juan	3,887	Vivian	3,040
99	Luis	3,879	Hadley	2,992
100	Camden	3,872	Jasmine	2,988

What are your thoughts on this year's list?  Are you surprised by the popularity of any of these names?  Be sure to check out the Social Security Administration's full list of the Top 1000 names! 

As for the whole of the Top 1000, there's a lot of names there but here are some observations I made:

Noteworthy girl names new to the top 1000 this year: 
Emmeline (#1026 to 907)
Antonia  (#1030 to 975)
Clementine (#1100 to 943)
Magdalena  (#1138 to 976)
Maisie (#1124 to 658!!)
Cordelia (#1194 to 993)
Ariadne (#1224 to 801)

Maisie has really climbed up the charts in a big way!  Emmeline has been close to joining the Top 1000 for a while now and since Emma is #1, it makes sense.  I'm happy to see Antonia and Clementine have more usage! Magdalena, Cordelia and Ariadne are pleasant surprises!

Noteworthy boy names new to the top 1000 this year: 
Leif (#1006 to 998)
Agustin  (#1008 to 879)
Eliseo (#1013 to 952)
Anton  (#1021 to 897)
Dimitri (#1028 to 882)
Leighton (#1045 to 893)
Ford (#1050 to 883)

None of these boy names made huge strides but they did join the Top 1000 after not ranking in it for 2013.  They're all unique options that are gaining more familiarity! Would you use any of these?

Any thoughts on names in the Top 1000?