BabyNames.com Announces Top Names of 2004

BabyNames.com Announces Top Names of 2004

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- According to BabyNames.com, parents are leaning toward Celtic names for their boys this year.

"Traditional names like Michael and Andrew have dropped on the list, while Celtic names like Aidan, Dylan, Connor and Logan are now making the top 10, " says Jennifer Moss, creator and co-owner of BabyNames.com, "In the past 5 years or so, we've noticed this Celtic influence in the girls' lists, and now it's crossing over to the boys'."

However the name Madison has remained at the top of the list for girls for the past five years, despite the fact that it means "Matthew's Son." Why? Moss responds, "I think it's because Madison is a strong, yet feminine name. It conjures up visions of a both a Madison Avenue powerbroker and an innocent, beautiful cinematic mermaid -- what an incredible combination of traits."

54% of the 2,500 BabyNames.com members surveyed said what most influences their baby name choice is the sound of the name. Second to sound, parents are most likely to choose a unique name, supported recently by Gwyneth Paltrow's new arrival Apple and Julia Roberts' twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus. But do the kids appreciate the uniqueness of a name? "I grew up hating my name," says Jolyon Terwilliger, 34-year-old web developer from Portland, Maine, "Kids can be cruel and evil and the first thing they go for is your identity -- it's a terrible thing to be ashamed of your name." Terwilliger adds, "But as I grew up I realized that I had a strong, unique persona because of it and it suited me well."

BabyNames.com has been online since 1996, and receives over 1 million unique visitors a month. Aside from names and meanings, BabyNames.com offers parenting and childcare advice, guest essays, cartoons, monthly photo contest and active message boards on all topics. For more information, visit http://www.babynames.com/.

Top 20 names of 2004:
RANK BOYS GIRLS
1 AIDAN / AIDEN / ADEN MADISON
2 ETHAN EMMA
3 CADEN / KADEN ABIGAIL
4 CALEB RILEY
5 DYLAN BAILEY
6 JAYDEN/JADEN CHLOE
7 JACOB ISABELLA
8 CONNOR HANNAH
9 LOGAN HAYLEY/HAILEY
10 HAYDEN AVA
11 JORDAN OLIVIA
12 RYAN ALEXIS
13 CAMERON MACKENZIE
14 ANDREW CADENCE
15 ADDISON TAYLOR
16 JOSHUA GRACE
17 NOAH PAIGE
18 ELIJAH EMILY
19 ALEXANDER AALIYAH
20 EVAN ADRIANA

What kind of names, in general, do you prefer?
Popular/Top20 (Emily, Michael) 10.44 %
Popular Name, Unusual Spelling (Genipher, Mathu) 56.58 %
Biblical (Rebecca, Matthew) 3.38 %
Nature (River, Meadow) 2.53 %
Nouns (Apple, Chase) 14.41 %
Places (Denver, Dakota) 2.9 %
Surnames (Parker, Harrison) 0.93 %
Unique/Created (Timberly, Deshawn) 8.84 %




When it comes time to name your baby, what will MOST influence your choice?

Name after parent 5.79 %
Honor friend or family (non-parent) 8.4 %
Popularity ranking 1.23 %
How it sounds 54.42 %
Celebrity name 0.56 %
Uniqueness 29.61 %



This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com/.

CONTACT:
Jennifer Moss
Jennifer@BabyNames.com
(310) 575-6638



Source: BabyNames.com

CONTACT: Jennifer Moss of BabyNames.com, Jennifer@BabyNames.com,
+1-310-575-6638

Web site: http://www.ereleases.com/
http://www.babynames.com/


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