Peninsula Daily News News Services
WASHINGTON — For baseball fans, 2009 was the year of the Yankees.
For job seekers, it was the year of the Great Recession.
And for people who track baby names, it was the year of the vampire.
The Social Security Administration released its annual rundown of the most popular names for newborns on Friday.
Flying up the list was an ancient name with modern fame — Cullen, the surname of one handsome bloodsucker, Edward, in the frighteningly popular “Twilight” vampire films which were based on the best-selling novels, set in Forks and LaPush, by Stephenie Meyer.
Cullen materialized at 485, leaping almost 300 spots from 2008 for the biggest increase of any boy’s name.
It wedged firmly between Braiden and Kason.
Edward moved up 11 spots, to No. 137.
But the nation’s fascination with the undead may not end there.
The most popular boy’s name was Jacob, an eternal favorite that happens to be the name of the buff rival of paler-than-thou Edward — Jacob Black.
The most popular name for girls was Isabella.
Bella, a common nickname for Isabella, is the love interest of both Edward the vampire and Jacob the werewolf.
Isabella has been in the top 10 since 2004 (the first Twilight book was published in 2005) — and its climb to the top for 2009 ended Emma’s one-year reign as No. 1.
Just plain Bella logged in at 58.
Mark Hinkle, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration, said that about 22,000 children were named Isabella, out of 4.1 million babies, and nearly 21,000 new Jacobs are toddling about.
Hinkle noted that Jacob had held the crown for most popular boy’s name for 11 years, seven years before Twilight — something he suggested Meyer might have noticed.
“Maybe she got the name from checking our Web site,” Hinkle added, pointedly.
Cullen was the choice of an eerily repetitive 555 couples.
They included Brad Lafferty and Michelle Mikkelsen, who live in the Bronx, N.Y.
Mikkelsen said she read the last book in Ms. Meyer’s series, Breaking Dawn — which includes the birth of a half-vampire, half-human child — while pregnant.
“I like old names,” said Mikkelsen.
“And most of those characters in there are vampires.
“So they are really, really old names.”
Said Jennifer Moss, author of The One-in-a-Million Baby Name Book and founder of Babynames.com:
“Anything can influence baby names, from pop culture to literature to music and celebrities.”
“Make sure the name can grow with your child and make sure they can live with it.
“Don’t make it too cutesy because think, can it work in the board room? Can they be a CEO?
“Don’t make the name a burden on your child.”
Some 69 boys born in 2009 were named Barack, making it the 1,993rd most popular name for boys.
That’s up from No. 2,424 the year before.
A version of the president’s daughter’s name, Malia, was the fastest riser for girls.
Maliyah moved up 342 spots, to No. 296, while Malia, which is how Obama’s daughter spells it, came in at No. 192, rising
153 spots.
Michelle, as in Michelle Obama, dropped a spot, to No. 104.
Sasha, the name of Obama’s other daughter, moved up 101 spots, to No. 261.
Following Jacob among boys in the top 10 for 2009 were Ethan, Michael, Alexander, William, Joshua, Daniel, Jayden, Noah and Anthony.
On the girls’ side, Isabella and Emma were followed by Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Emily, Madison, Abigail, Chloe and Mia.
Mia was the only newcomer to the top 10 for girls, rising from 14th to 10th.
Among the boys, Jayden moved up from 11th to 8th, and Noah moved up from 15th to 9th.
Miley, as in teen singer Miley Cyrus, soared up the charts in 2008 but slipped last year, dropping 61 spots to No. 189.
A different version, Mylee, fell even further, dropping 420 spots to No. 853.
Marely fell the most among girls, dropping 517 spots to No. 851.
Jonas, as in the boy band Jonas Brothers, followed a similar path, peaking in 2008 before falling 105 spots last year, to No. 379.
Alvin fell the most among boys, dropping 133 spots to No. 570.
The Social Security Administration started compiling name lists in 1997.
The agency offers lists of baby names dating to 1880.
“People seem to be a little bit more creative, inventive and flexible with their daughters’ names,” said Social Security
Commissioner Michael J. Astrue.
“With boys, I think we tend to be a little bit more consistent.
“The names don’t change quite as much.”
