"Number one authority on nothing"
Matthew Nash
Contact Matt at mnash@sequimgazette.com
Matthew Nash hails from Portland, Ore., and stumbled into writing for newspapers when his high school allowed him to write movie reviews. Nash is married to a kindergarten teacher. They have one child together who is named after two superheroes.

With all the top 10 lists coming out about movies and music, I wanted to investigate the top baby names of 2011.

 

We’re having a baby in June, and we’ve got our names fairly well set — TBA — but it doesn’t hurt to see how the names stack up.

 

Top names nationally 2011:

Girls’ Names   1 Sophia   2 Emma   3 Isabella   4 Olivia   5 Ava   6 Lily   7 Chloe   8 Madison   9 Emily   10 Abigail

Boys’ Names   1 Aiden   2 Jackson   3 Mason   4 Liam   5 Jacob   6 Jayden   7 Ethan   8 Noah   9 Lucas   10 Logan

 

Apparently, Jacob was the number one boy name for the past 10 years nationally and for all but three of 10 years in Washington until this year.

 

According to data in some spam press release I received (see box), of the 44,247 boys born here, 416 babies were named Jacob in 2010.

 

Michael was the number one name for baby boys (1961-1998) in the U.S., and is now number three nationally.

I’m glad Matthew is off the list. In middle school, I had six other Matthews in a biology class.

If I were a parent of a Jacob, I’d call dibs on an awesome nickname like Jake the Snake.
It’s tough and sets a precedent.

Sophia remains popular. Of 42,233 girls born in Washington, 474 were named Sophia in 2010. I don’t have any advice for a Sophia other than stand tall, be tough and remember you aren’t alone. Plus, you’ve got Team Jacob outnumbered.  

This list should help parents get a head start on the competition. If your child’s name is on here, then know he/she has some competition for standing out in a class possibly full of Chloes or Masons or Logans.

No child likes the awkwardness of a teacher calling out his/her name and there being confusion about which Emma it might be. Parents’ goals should be that their child is the one teacher calls on all the time because they are so darn smart.

So if your 1- or 2-year-old is on these lists, then get on the phone now and start setting up piano lessons, getting applications for preschools and practicing the sports you love while they are in diapers. You can’t begin the pressure too soon. : )

 

This could be your Junior if you make the right parenting moves.