Most Popular Baby Names of 2012

According to parenting website BabyCenter.com, parents were looking for that "cool factor" and chose a number of retro names among the list of the most popular baby names of 2012.

For girls, some of the most popular names ended with the letter 'a', including each of the top five: Sophia, Emma, Olivia, Isabella and Eva.  For boys, the five most popular were: Aiden, Ethan, Liam, Mason and Jacob. 

"Names from two generations back are meaningful and retro and have a cool factor," BabyCenter.com's Linda Murray told USA Today.

BabyCenter.com released the list last week (and updates it frequently), just days before Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton announced they are expecting their first royal baby. 

According to BabyCenter.com, Catherine was not in the top 100 for girls' names in 2012, but William is no. 12 on the boys' list so far. Another royal saw his name skyrocket in popularity: The name Harry is up "a whopping 57 percent" while Pippa is up 35 percent.

Florida's own state list, based on Social Security data, is not yet available. But in 2011, the top five baby girl names in Florida were Isabella, Sophia, Emma, Olivia and Emily. The top five baby boy names in Florida last year were Jayden, Jacob, Daniel, Noah and Michael.

CNN reports that a bookie taking bets on the royal child's name says the most popular so far: Frances and John as the favorites for the baby's name, at 9-to-1, with Charles, Victoria and George at 10-to-1.

Thoughts on what the royal couple should name their baby? Have you heard any really unusual names this year? Let us know in the comments section.

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