LITTLE ROCK — Isabella replaced Emma as the top name for baby girls born in the United States in 2009, while Jacob remained the most popular choice for boys for the 11th straight year, the Social Security Administration said Friday.
Maliyah, a variation on the name of President Barack Obama’s oldest daughter, had the biggest jump in popularity, rising to a ranking of 296 from 638 in 2008, the agency said in a statement. Her actual name, Malia, jumped to 192 from 345. Barack rose to 1,993 from 2,424 among boys’ names.
Cullen climbed the most among names for boys, jumping to 485 from 782, which the agency attributed to the popularity of the character Edward Cullen in the Twilight series of books and films about vampires.
The girl’s name Marely had the biggest drop, falling to 851 from 334, followed by Mylee and Lindsay. Brett, Jonas and Alvin had the largest decline among boys’ names.
Front Section, Pages 10 on 05/08/2010