Emma and Aiden Are Top Baby Names of 2008

BabyCenter, LLC, the Web’s #1 global interactive parenting network, today announced the Top 100 Baby Names of 2008. Leading the boys list is Aiden for the fourth consecutive year, while Emma returns to the top spot for girls after being bumped in 2007 by Sophia, this year’s #2 for girls. Sponsored by JOHNSON’S®, BabyCenter’s Top 100 Baby Names list is derived from over 400,000 names submitted in 2008 by BabyCenter parents. To capture true popularity, BabyCenter’s exclusive list combines names that sound the same but have multiple spellings. BabyCenter’s Top 100 Baby Names of 2008 is available at http://www.babycenter.com/top-baby-names-2008.

BabyCenter.com® Top 10 Boy and Girl Baby Names of 2008:

Among the hottest trends is a return to traditional names after several years of unique and unexpected choices climbing the list. Some of the fastest climbers were more classic choices, including Nathaniel (up 11 slots), Samuel (up 11 slots) and Oliver (up 13 spots) for boys. Traditional girls’ names climbing the list include Victoria (up six spots), Charlotte (up 10 spots) and Sophie (up 15 spots).

"It makes sense that in a more serious year for our country and our culture, parents are choosing more traditional names. Parents want names that evoke feelings of strength, comfort and safety,” said Linda Murray, editor-in-chief, BabyCenter.com®. "BabyCenter parents are more likely this year to choose a name that suggests strength, kindness and compassion than in recent years.”

Celebs Keep It Unique

Many celebrities bucked the 2008 trend toward more classic names and continued to surprise their fans with unique baby names. BabyCenter recently asked moms to weigh in on their favorite celebrity baby names from the year. Nicole Richie and Joel Madden’s pick for their baby girl Harlow won by a landslide, with 33% of respondents favoring the name, while 18% cooed over the name Angelina and Brad chose for their newest addition, Vivienne. As for the boy names, Matthew McConaughey’s new son Levi was favored by 10% of respondents.

Other celebrity baby names and how they rank on BabyCenter include:

Sports, Television, Politics All Influence Naming

In 2008, new parents drew naming inspiration from sources new and old, including sports heroes, favorite television shows and political figures. While Barack Obama didn’t make the Top 100 yet, BabyCenter’s Top 100 does include past presidents, such as Madison, Taylor and Kennedy (all for girls) and Jackson and Tyler (both for boys). BabyCenter also found that parents draw inspiration from television shows. Names influenced by popular shows today include Lauren and Brody (The Hills); Carly (iCarly); Jack, Charlie and Michael (Lost); and Jack, Claire, Noah and Hayden (Heroes). But favorite shows from the past were popular too as evidenced by Dylan, Brandon and Steve (Beverly Hills 90210), as well as Samantha, Charlotte and Brady (Sex & the City), all on the Top 100 list. Sports figures also show influence over naming, as the Super Bowl-winning Manning brothers, Eli (New York Giants) and Peyton (Indianapolis Colts) are among several quarterbacks whose names were hot in 2008.

Find the Perfect Name on BabyCenter.com

BabyCenter’s Baby Names Finder is an interactive experience where parents-to-be can personalize and share their journey of choosing a name. In addition to being able to search BabyCenter’s database of over 100,000 names parents can:

• Find origins and meanings
• Find names which share common characteristics, spellings, or sounds
• Save favorites to a list
• Create a poll and send to friends to vote on name choices
• Comment on individual names
• Track popularity data both among BabyCenter population and the U.S. population, with U.S. population data spanning the last 100 years
• Upload photos of their baby on the baby’s name page.

BabyCenter’s unique tool enables parents to customize their naming experience and also create a social experience for themselves, family and friends.

About BabyCenter, LLC

BabyCenter is the Web’s #1 global interactive parenting network, garnering 78 percent annual reach of new and expecting online U.S. Moms, and with outposts in 17 markets worldwide. Recognized by Advertising Age’s 2008 Digital A-List, BabyCenter is an established leader in providing insights and innovative interactive marketing solutions to the world’s leading brands. The BabyCenter® international sites attract over 6 million visitors a month and provide trusted online destinations for parents in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Malaysia, the Middle East, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. BabyCenter is available in seven languages, including a Spanish language site for the U.S. Hispanic audience also available via mobile phone. BabyCenter has also been a featured expert on NBC's "Today" show and ABC's Good Morning America. The editors at BabyCenter have authored two books: The BabyCenter® Essential Guide to Pregnancy and Birth and The BabyCenter® Essential Guide to Your Baby's First Year. BabyCenter, LLC is based in San Francisco, California, and is a member of the Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) family of companies.

BabyCenter, LLC., BABYCENTER ®, BABYCENTER.COM ®, and the BABYCENTER logo are registered trademarks of Johnson & Johnson.