I'm happy to say that some of our traditional though slightly boring American names have dropped in standing from the Top Baby Names lists though they still appear. See for yourself, the influence of comics and pop culture on the new 2008 lists for Boys & Girls (Logan appears on both). Apparently the name Isabella may be due to the popularity of "Bella" from Twilight and Britney Spears may be responsible for the upsurge of both "Jayden" and "James" which is the first & middle names of one of her sons. It's fun and exciting to see "Luke" and "Grayson" on the Boys' list! I actually know a little boy named Grayson (the Robin in my Wonder Woman Day pictures) and he is named after Dick Grayson.
While I first the name "Brooklyn" used for a baby girl on General Hospital many moons ago, it's one of the sons of David & Victoria Beckham which probably explains its popularity on the Girls' & Boys' lists; not to mention "Peyton" which is on the Boys' list though I've heard it for girls too long before I knew who Peyton Manning is.
"Sarah" probably doesn't have a single thing to do with the Terminator as it is a classic, but we can always say that her kick-butt attitude is a driving force for any young girl to grow up and aspire to; since "Connor" is on the Boys' list... well, we can piece those together as a significant correlation.
There are plenty of others obviously, given the many decades of comics and television we can pull from. "Micah" for example was a character on Heroes though he barely appeared in volume three. See what others can you find.
Top 50 Baby Boys' and Girls' Names of 2008
By the editors of Parents.com
We've rounded up the hottest baby boy and girl names of 2008. See what names our readers love -- and get inspired.
Top 50 Girls' Names of 2008
1. Isabella
2. Ava
3. Emily
4. Elizabeth
5. Abigail
6. Madison
7. Emma
8. Addison
9. Madeline
10. Olivia
11. Chloe
12. Hannah
13. Sarah
14. Sophia
15. Avery
16. Riley
17. Jessica
18. Hailey
19. Ashley
20. Samantha
21. Makayla
22. Arianna
23. Mia
24. Mackenzie
25. Nicole
26. Dylan
27. Logan
28. Aaliyah
29. Zoe
30. Alyssa
31. Ella
32. Rachel
33. Brianna
34. Kaylee
35. Hayden
36. Michelle
37. Lauren
38. Jennifer
39. Leah
40. Bailey
41. Brooklyn
42. Allison
43. Isabel
44. Teagan
45. Alexis
46. Taylor
47. Amanda
48. Layla
49. Rebecca
50. Megan
Top 50 Boys' Names of 2008
1. Aidan
2. Jayden
3. Jacob
4. Michael
5. Ethan
6. Caden
7. James
8. Caleb
9. Andrew
10. Matthew
11. Ryan
12. Joshua
13. Avery
14. Grayson
15. Riley
16. Jordan
17. Peyton
18. Christopher
19. Daniel
20. William
21. John
22. Alexander
23. Dylan
24. Logan
25. Nicholas
26. Zachary
27. Anthony
28. Aaron
29. Hayden
30. Cameron
31. Bailey
32. David
33. Brooklyn
34. Elijah
35. Taylor
36. Connor
37. Brayden
38. Noah
39. Tyler
40. Joseph
41. Micah
42. Robert
43. Benjamin
44. Jackson
45. Kendall
46. Jack
47. Gavin
48. Luke
49. Tristan
50. Brandon
Baby Name Finder: Search 1,000s of Names Here
This list is based on the names receiving the most traffic on Parents.com between Jan 1 and Dec 10, 2008. Copyright © 2008 Meredith Corporation.