On Friday, the Social Security Administration released the list with the most popular baby names in 2013. The most popular names for 2013 are Sophia and Noah. In the last 14 years, Jacob was holding the first place but now, this name’s reign has been ended by Noah, while Sophia is taking the first place for the 3rd year in a row.

Jacob fell down to the 2nd place and Liam is on the 3rd. For the girl’s list, 2nd is Emma and 3rd is Olivia. This list is announced every year right before Mother’s Day. It is the most accurate because it is released by the Social Security Administration. The information of the names comes directly from the parents when they go to register for Social Security number for their child. The federal agency also revealed that in 2013, parents have applied for 4 million babies.

Noah is not just the name on top of the list, but it is also a new name on the top of the list. The last case like this was back in 1960.

Sophia and Noah

 

Several studies have shown that parents choose their children’s names on the basis of softer and harder sounds. Jacob for them is a macho name that shows strength and power. Parents nowadays want their boys to be more gentle and subtle so they choose names like Noah or Michael, which can be shortened to Mike.

Another study has shown that parents choose biblical names like Noah for boys because these names signify good character, good values and good behavior. On the other side, parents want their girl’s names to be glamorous, attractive and elegant. Therefore, girl names like Olivia, Ava, Sophia or Isabella are so popular.

A Los Angeles website, BabyNames.com, reveals that on their website, Noah has been on top of the list together with Liam. The Social Security Administration started doing this list of most popular baby names in 1997. Before that, they were just archiving data on baby names, so they have information about baby names starting from 1880. The lists can be found on the website www.socialsecurity.gov.