Top Baby Names for 2011

Last year, Jacob and Isabella topped the charts while names such as Gavin, and Brandon for boys and Brianna and Morgan for girls started to fall. Emma, Emily, and Ava have stayed in the top ten for several years now, along with Daniel, Ethan, and Noah for boys. So, what were the top baby names for 2011? Rising Stars Sophia, Emma, and Isabella were the favorite for our baby girls this year, with Sophia and Isabella swapping places in line from 2010. Lily and Chloe are climbing the list for our girls, with Lily making her first appearance in the top 10 after landing at number 17 last year. Aiden hit the top of the list for our baby boys in 2011, knocking Jacob off his perch after over 10 years at number one. Jackson made a surprising leap from number 25 to number two this year, while Mason climbed nine positions into the number three spot. Logan came in at number 10, making this his first year in the top 10 list of baby names.

Esmé didn't make the Popular Baby Name List, but there's always 2012!

Falling Stars
Ethan, the number two name from 2010, fell five spots to number seven this year, while other names, like Michael and William, tumbled off completely. On the girls' side, only Mia dropped out of the top 10 to number 12. Madison continues to slowly fall down the list, along with Emily, which was the number one name for the first time back in 1996 and reigned supreme for 11 years.

Vintage Stars
Baby names from the Greatest Generation continue to make appearances on the list, with Amelia, Charlotte, and Ella all coming in the top 30. We honor our grandfathers, and great-grandfathers as well, with names such as James, Matthew, Andrew, and Elijah.

Famous Stars
What celebrities name their babies is always a topic of fascination. With names that range from classic to distinct, we can always count on celebrities to come up with baby names that may have never crossed our minds. Some baby names that stand out this year are Willa Lou, Hattie Margaret, Spike, Delilah, Haven Garner, Indiana, Arabella Rose, Harper Seven, Bingham Hawn, Aleph, Willow Sage, and Bear Blu.

Which names will we love in 2012? Some sources believe that we'll see names such as Sadie and Maisie making an appearance, along with names like Sebastian, Atticus, Felix, Juno, Mae, and Wren. We look forward to discovering the top baby names that capture your heart in 2012.

• BabyCenter.com
• BabyNames.com
• BabyZone.com
• ParentsConnect.com