If you are like most parents, you started thinking about baby names the moment you found out you were pregnant. Some prospective parents even have favorite names picked out long before they ever conceived. So why is it so difficult to decide on the best baby name?

First of all, it’s so permanent. Naming a child can determine a lot of things in his or her life. Then there’s the problem of two parents agreeing on the same baby name. And it has to sound good with your last name. For example, last names that begin with vowel sounds often don’t flow well with first names that end in a vowel–a dilemma or the woman who picked out the perfect names long before she met her husband.

Sometimes parents might decide for or against a given name because of the nicknames associated with it (”If we name her Elizabeth we can call her Ellie”). There are in-laws to consider, and older children to contend with (”No, Johnny, we are not naming your baby sister ‘Jack’”). And some parent consider the names of their nieces and nephews.

Names are also generational (remember the girl in elementary school who had an “old fashioned” name?). Some of those grandma names are back. In fact, four of the top 20 girls’ names were on the list 100 years ago in the same form or a variation of it, as were three of the boys’ names.

Maybe you want to avoid the most popular names last year–or you want to get some ideas. Perhaps you just want to see where your child’s name ranked. Here is the list of the top 20 Babies Online member baby names for 2008. And when your little one is born this year, tell us what name you picked out–it will become a part of our 2009 data!

Are you looking for a name for your baby or do you just want to see where your baby’s name falls on the list of the most popular names in the country. Whether you want a popular name that will be easy for people to remember, or a more unique one that will make your child stand out as they enter school, you do not need to look any farther. We have compiled a list of the most popular names for 2006, as well as the most popular names for your state!

Top 100 Baby Names for Boys and Girls in 2006

Top Five Baby Boy Names From Your State

Top Five Baby Girl Names From Your State

If you would like to see the lists of the most popular baby names as put out by the Social Security Administration from previous years, please see Most Popular Baby Names For The Past 100 Years

When you think about names for your new baby, there are lots of things to consider. Do you want a unique baby name, one that not many other kids will have, or do you want a more traditional or more popular baby name?

Naming your baby is a very important piece of pregnancy and parenthood. The name you give your baby is the name that in most cases he or she will have until the day they die, the name they will have to live with whether it is popular and trendy, old fashioned and classy, or just different and odd. Your babies name is the first permanent decision that is made for your child, before he is old enough to make decisions on his own.

In terms of popular baby names, there are not many changes between 2004 and 2005 in a report recently released by the Social Security Administration. The top two names for girls and the top seven names for boys remained unchanged, which is not a big surprise.

Review this list of the 20 most popular baby names for 2005 to see if there is a name you just can’t live without, or a name you hadn’t thought of that jumps out at you.

RANK	MALE	FEMALE
1	Jacob	Emily
3	Joshua	Madison
5	Ethan	Olivia
7	Daniel	Hannah
9	Christopher	Ava
11	William	Sophia
13	Ryan	Alexis
15	Nicholas	Sarah
17	James	Mia
19	Jonathan	Chloe

For a completely list of the top 100 Baby Names for 2005, please see 100 Most Popular Baby Names for the year 2005.

There are no wrong or right baby names. Most of the time a parent will know the name for their baby when they hear it because it will make some sort of impact on them, or will make them feel happy and excited. A name is something that is chosen quickly, or it may take time. Ultimately it is a personal decision that should be made by the parents and not altered because of opinions from family and friends or society in general.

If you would like to see the lists of the most popular baby names as put out by the Social Security Administration from previous years, please see Most Popular Baby Names For The Past 100 Years

By Glennys Savage-Moore

Irish baby names, with their Gaelic spelling, are getting very popular.

Like others who immigrated to North America, the Irish gave their babies Americanized names. That way, their children blended into their new society and didn’t stand out among their peers.

But the third and fourth generation started to take interest in their Irish roots and chose Irish words to name their children. Even though some of those names (like Colleen, meaning “girl” in Irish) are not used as names in Ireland, folks of Irish descent honored their heritage by using Irish words

And today? Well, not only are Irish names becoming more common, but the Gaelic spelling of names is too. Spellings like Moira (Mary) and Aoife (Eva, pronounced “EE+fa”) for girls and Eoin (OH+n) for boys are more and more popular.

Why? A lot of people just like the sounds of Irish names or they want their child to have a name that isn’t too common, but just a bit different.

You have to remember though — if you name your child “Eva” and spell it “Aoife”, they’ll forever spell their name for other people, every day of their life! So, you’ll have to decide just how unique your child’s name should be.

A good website for pronunciation is Baby Names of Ireland. It’s great to know how to pronounce these names! They have hundreds of baby names, Gaelic spellings, and pronunciations — for us Irish-challenged folks.

Come to Perfect Baby Names for the top 25 most popular baby names in Ireland in 2003.

About the Author:
Glennys Savage-Moore is a Canadian writer who focuses on articles about babies, health, and needlework. She is the webmaster of Perfect Baby Names and publishes a monthly ezine called “Baby News” with up-to-date baby news, baby fun and learning, and links to resources about choosing baby names.