There is a new couple in the top 10 this year -- Elizabeth and Liam
replace Chloe and Daniel. Elizabeth has been there before, but this
is the first time Liam breaks into the top 10. Perhaps Liam's
newfound success can be attributed to Liam Neeson's recent major
roles in "Battleship" and the popular "Taken," "The Chronicles of
Narnia" and "Clash of the Titans" franchises. Here are the top 10
boys' and girls' names for 2012:
Boys
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Jacob
-
Mason
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Ethan
-
Noah
-
William
-
Liam
-
Jayden
-
Michael
-
Alexander
-
Aiden
Girls
-
Sophia
-
Emma
-
Isabella
-
Olivia
-
Ava
-
Emily
-
Abigail
-
Mia
-
Madison
-
Elizabeth
For all the top baby names of 2012, go to Social Security's
website,
www.socialsecurity.gov.
Carolyn W. Colvin, acting commissioner of Social Security,
reminds people to create a "my Social Security" account while having
fun with baby names on
www.socialsecurity.gov. Social Security's website has the
top-rated online services in the U.S., including the services
available with a my Social Security account, a personalized online
account that people can use beginning in their working years and
continuing throughout the time they receive Social Security
benefits.
More than 60 million Social Security beneficiaries and
Supplemental Security Income recipients can now access their benefit
verification letter, payment history and earnings record instantly,
using their online account. Social Security beneficiaries also can
change their address information and start or change direct deposit
information online.
People age 18 and older who are not receiving benefits can sign
up for a my Social Security account to get a personalized online
Social Security statement. The online statement provides eligible
workers with secure and convenient access to their Social Security
earnings and benefit information and also gives estimates of future
benefits, which they can use to plan for their retirement.
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People age 18 and older can sign up for an account at
www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. Once there, they must be able
to provide information about themselves and answers to questions
that only they are likely to know. After completing the secure
verification process, people can create a my Social Security account
with a unique user name and password to access their information.
Now back to the name list.
Many pop-culture naming trends appear in a popular feature of
Social Security's baby names website -- the "change in popularity"
page. This year's winners for biggest jump in popularity in the top
500 are Major and Arya. .
The fastest riser on the list of girls' names may have been
influenced by the popular cable TV series "Game of Thrones." Arya is
the daughter of a leader of one of the Seven Kingdoms. She also is
an expert sword fighter, so doubt her influence on the popular names
list at your own risk.
For the boys, parents may associate Major with the military
title.
Colvin, the acting Social Security commissioner, added: "I have
no doubt Major's rising popularity as a boy's name is in tribute to
the brave members of the U.S. military, and maybe we'll see more
boys named General in the future."
You also might trace Major's increase in popularity to a cable TV
show. "Home by Novogratz" is a popular home design show featuring
Major Novogratz, the youngest son of designers Robert and Cortney.
The second fastest riser for boys was Gael, and for girls, Perla.
Both names most likely are on the rise due to the increase in the
Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Perla is the
Latinized version of Pearl and is popular among Hispanic-Americans.
Gael's popularity could be tied to Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.
Social Security started compiling baby name lists in 1997, and
the agency's website offers lists of baby names for each year since
1880. Social Security is America's source for most popular baby
names because parents supply this information to the agency when
applying for a child's Social Security number at the time of the
child's birth.
[Text from
Social Security
Administration
news release received from the Springfield office]
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