Baby Names Popular Choices

Dear Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee,

We are trying to figure out some names for our first baby and we don't know if it's going to be a boy or girl. We have several names picked out, but then when we mention our choices, someone will say that's so common, or everybody is naming their baby that. We are not aiming for a unique name, but also don't want a name that is too popular. How can we find out if a baby name is too common?

Signed,

Overwhelmed

Dear Overwhelmed,

A good indication of a popular name would be the names actually chosen and registered with the United States Social Security Administration (SSA).

At the SSA website (www.ssa.gov), you can find the popular baby names for the years of birth since 1880. You can also select the length of the popularity list or how many names you want to see (20, 50, 100, 500, 1000).

As the years go by, popularity of the names change order or gets dropped from the list.

For example, the top 10 Baby Names in 2010 (most popular listed first):

GIRLS: Isabella, Sophia, Emma, Olivia, Ava, Emily, Abigail, Madison, Chloe, Mia

BOYS: Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Jayden, William, Alexander, Noah, Daniel, Aiden, Anthony