The Ultimate Guide to Baby Names 2011

The Ultimate Guide to Baby Names 2011

By Linda Alchin

A Name is not just for a Birth Day, it's for Life…

Copyright 2011 Linda Alchin

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

First Names

Popular Names

Top 100 American Girls Names – 2005 – 2009

Top 100 American Boys Names – 2005 – 2009

Top 100 UK Baby Girls Names 2005 – 2009

Top 100 UK Baby Boys Names 2005 – 2009

A – Z English Name Dictionary with Meanings and Origins

Cool Baby Names

Exotic Baby Names

Celebrity Baby Names

Make a name for yourself!

What's in a name?

The Baby Name Evaluator

Shakespearean Names

World of Baby Names:

African Names

African-American Names

American & English Names

Chinese Names

Dutch Names

French Names

German Names

Irish Names

Italian Names

Japanese Names

Mexican Names

Polish Names

Russian Names

Scottish Names

Welsh Names

Religious Names:

Biblical Names

Catholic Names

Hindu Names

Jewish Names

Muslim Names

Sikh Names

Middle Names – A safety net?

Surnames, or unique first names? A history.

Common surnames in the UK and USA with their origins and meanings

New Born Baby Checklists

Baby Clothes Checklist

Baby Clothes Size Chart

Nappies and Diapers Checklist

Baby Safety and Home Protection Checklist

Baby Toys Checklist

Baby Development Chart

Baby Travel Checklist

Baby Feeding Checklist

Bathing Baby Checklist

Name Quiz

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Introduction

"It sometimes happens, even in the best of families, that a baby is born. This is not necessarily cause for alarm. The important thing is to keep your wits about you and borrow some money!"

Quote by Author & Humorist Elinor Goulding Smith (1917-1978)

Congratulations – a new baby! Whether you are the mother or father of the new baby, a member of the family or a close friend you taking a serious interest in sharing this major life event.

You can be sure that if a name is the first present that we give to our baby it certainly won’t be the last. Reality really hits home when a parent realises that their small 7lb baby requires about 7 tons of different baby items! Our series of useful checklists will help you to prepare and plan for the birth with details of clothes and equipment required together with a Clothing Size Chart and Baby Development Chart.

Finding the right name for a baby is incredibly important but there are so many names to choose from. If you are stuck for ideas we can help! We have featured the most popular baby names together with unusual, cool, celebrity, exotic, popular and even provided helpful hints in creating a completely unique name for your baby. It’s great fun searching for baby names and we have thousands baby names to choose from together with advice on how to avoid some of the pitfalls when making your decision.

Choose from a whole World of Baby Names. If you would like an exotic or foreign idea for a name then this is certainly the book for you. We have featured names from America to Africa, from Poland to Puerto Rica and from India to Ireland.

Choosing a suitable baby name from the vast selection that is available is a serious task. A cute, unusual, exotic or cool name may be great for a newborn baby, but would it have the same effect when the baby grows into a schoolchild, a teenager, a young adult, a middle aged person and eventually a pensioner? Will the boy or girl, who has now become older, then be happy with your choice of name? A boy called Shirley? School kids are notoriously merciless to each other and make a beeline for anything out of the ordinary; unfortunately this includes names that are unsuitable for older children. Remember that…

‘A Name isn’t just for a Birth Day – it’s for life’!

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First Names

We will respond to our names throughout our lives. People associate us with them; it forms part of our identity. They help to distinguish us from one to another. Other people can gain immediate subconscious views of people, just from hearing what someone is called. Our first name can therefore give us a distinct advantage in life, or conversely, a distinct disadvantage! They are, therefore, incredibly important. And those of us who are fortunate to be in the position of choosing a name for a baby must be aware of the serious responsibilities that go with the task.

Going back in time, before the 10th century, takes us to an era where people were usually only referred to by their first name. The Romans, and their society, were the exceptions. The vast majority of people did not travel a great deal and lived in small communities where their first name distinguished them from each other. These were not duplicated within a village so there was no confusion. Each new baby was blessed with something original and unique in that society. Increases in population, travel and different cultures influenced this custom and second names, or surnames, were slowly introduced.

The origins of first names are infinite. The origins of first names often include place names and names taken from mythology and history. First names taken from the names for colours, precious stones, plants and other elements from nature have always been popular. There are also characteristic words used for first names relating to virtues such as Patience, Hope and Mercy.

Traditional first names stem from the Bible and are common across the countries where Christianity is the main religion. These Christian names are derived from various languages including Hebrew, Greek and Latin. Other types of first names used in the Western world were derived from common, descriptive words in the Celtic, Germanic or Slavic languages.

The origins of first names followed a similar pattern across the world with Muslim names taken from the Koran and Arabic and Persian languages. Indian names stem from Sanskrit the Indian language and many are derived are derived from Hinduism. Chinese names stem from Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism and famous figures from the various dynasties. Japanese names stem from Buddhism using Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji texts. African name origins tend to be derived from African tribal religions, Islam, Muslim or Christianity using Afrikaans, Arabic, Hausa, Swahili, Yoruba, Xhosa, Zulu and European languages.

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Popular Names

What are the most popular names at the moment? What makes a name popular within a specific time frame? What is a popular name? The dictionary defines the word popular as something that is widely liked or appreciated. Liked by acquaintances, representing the taste of people at large and accepted by, or prevalent among, people in general.

The definition of popular clarifies the mind when searching for a name that can be described as being popular. Popular names and those that can be described as fashionable are naturally of great interest. People are interested in names that are currently popular and like to compare them to popular ones from bygone years.

The most popular names are identified, each year, from records detailing the registration of births and provide details of the Top 100 names of the year. A name that is popular in the USA will often differ from those that are popular in the UK. This is due to the influence of the press, different entertainment mediums and current celebrities.

The Top 5 Girls names in the UK and USA for 2009 were:

UK - Olivia, Ruby, Chloe, Emily and Sophie

USA - Isabella, Emma, Olivia, Sophia and Ava.

The Top 5 Boys names in the UK and USA for 2009 were:

UK - Boys - Oliver, Jack, Harry, and Alfie

USA - Jacob, Michael, Ethan, Joshua and Daniel

The pitfalls of choosing popular names is that they come into fashion and can just as quickly go out of fashion! Fashionable names are chosen because they are unusual, but they then become a trend. As soon as the trend is identified people move away from using them! These fashionable, or faddish, types of baby names can ‘date’ a person. Take my name – Linda. It was the most popular girl’s name in the early 1950’s and there were no less than seven Linda’s in my class at school! By 1967 the name had completely disappeared from the popularity charts. Any name that is the height of fashion and top in the popularity stakes is likely to go out of fashion within twenty years.

The upside of choosing a popular name is that there are many traditional names included in this category that do not seem to date. Is there a difference between the selection criteria used when finding a boys or a girl’s name? Yes, there is a difference. Parents tend to choose a less flamboyant first name for boy than they do for girls. A more unusual type of middle name can balance the choice of a traditional first name. Conversely, parents are happier giving a more unusual, exotic or unique first name if balanced by the inclusion of a more traditional middle name. The next pages detail the Top 100 baby names for the last five years in America and the UK. Throughout the book they will be listed as girls names first.

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Top 100 American Girls Names – 2005 – 2009

The Social Security Administration in America compiles the Top 100 Baby Names Lists at the end of every complete year. The 2010 Top 100 Baby Names lists will be published at the beginning of 2011. How do the names on this list compare with your choices? What factors influenced the inclusion of these names? Who were the most popular celebrities for the year? Movie Stars? Pop Stars? Models? Celebrities? They always influence the Top 100 Baby Names Lists to some degree.

The cultures of America and UK are very close so there are many similarities. The differences often occur between the top names due to popular TV programs – Lola has become a very popular UK name in recent years due to the BBC Children's series ‘Charlie and Lola’ which was first shown by the BBC in November 2005. Lola was 93rd on the UK top 100 girls name list in 2005 and jumped to 51st position in 2006, 46th place in 2007 and 47th place in 2008. Lola did not appear on the American top 100 list at all. Popular names in America follow the same pattern. The Top 10 list of names for Girls contains traditional names. Emily has been the number one baby girls name in America for several years but in 2008 it was overtaken by Emma and Isabella and is now at number six in the top 100 American Girls name list.

Top 100 American Baby Girl Names 2005 – 2009

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Top 100 American Boys Names – 2005 – 2009

Popular names in America follow a pattern, with Jacob and Michael remaining at the top two respectively for the past five years. The popularity of Ethan increased considerably during 2005 and 2007 and remains at number three.

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Top 100 UK Baby Girl Names 2005 – 2009

The Top 100 UK Baby Names Lists are compiled at the end of every complete year by the UK Government site on statistics. Olivia has remained at the top of the list for 2009. The fastest rise in popularity was seen by the girl's name Lexi, which entered the top 100 for the first time, rising 40 places to number 73. The 2010 UK Top 100 Baby Names lists will be published at the beginning of 2011.

Top 100 UK Baby Girl Names 2005 – 2009

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Top 100 UK Baby Boy Names 2005 – 2009

The UK Top 10 contains traditional names for boys. Perhaps the one exception is Charlie as opposed to the more traditional Charles, which at the moment is perceived to be extremely old fashioned. Oliver became the most popular name after beating Jack, which held the number one slot for 14 years! The name that showed the biggest increase in the top 100 was Lucas, which has jumped from number 36 to 17, a rise of 19 places.

Top 100 UK Baby Boy Names 2005 – 2009

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