Community Corner
'Twilight' Influence in Baby Names?
The No. 1 boys and girls names in California—Jacob and Isabella—are also the names of two characters from the 'Twilight' series.
The names Jacob and Isabella were the most common baby names here in California and in the country in 2010, according to the Social Security Administration.
Daniel was the No. 2 boys' name for California babies and Sophia is No. 2 for California girls.
The name Isabella, along with Ava (No. 10) and Chloe (No. 5), were among the top girls' names in the nation in the early to mid-1900s.
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The administration pointed out in a news release that the names' comeback in popularity illustrates a common trend in naming baby girls after their grandmothers.
There may, however, be another explanation for the No. 1 names: Jacob Black and Isabella "Bella" Swan are two of the main characters in the bestselling Twilight series of books and movies. Nevertheless, the name "Edward"—from Edward Cullen, the series' third lead—is not one of the top 20 names for boys in 2010.
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Social Security started compiling baby name lists in 1997 and offers lists of baby names for each year dating back to 1880. Here is a full list of the top 20 baby names in the state last year:
RankMale nameNumber ofmalesFemale nameNumber of
females 1 Jacob 3,324 Isabella 3,341 2 Daniel 3,119 Sophia 3,339 3 Anthony 2,846 Emily 2,374 4 Alexander 2,587 Mia 1,997 5 Angel 2,521 Emma 1,766 6 Ethan 2,447 Samantha 1,663 7 Jayden 2,427 Olivia 1,623 8 David 2,401 Abigail 1,605 9 Andrew 2,364 Natalie 1,466 10 Nathan 2,256 Ava 1,391 11 Matthew 2,216 Sofia 1,391 12 Joshua 2,116 Chloe 1,357 13 Noah 2,102 Ashley 1,308 14 Michael 2,075 Camila 1,215 15 Christopher 2,013 Elizabeth 1,115 16 Jonathan 1,980 Alyssa 1,061 17 Adrian 1,960 Victoria 1,059 18 Aiden 1,929 Brianna 1,054 19 Jose 1,922 Madison 1,030 20 Julian 1,896 Kimberly 1,001
(Source: the Social Security Administration)
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