2008's top ten baby names for girls bring a new number one, and a new entry to the top ten!
Emma is the new number one, swapping places with Emily who takes third spot.
Isabella and Abigail keep their rankings, 2nd and 8th respectively.
Hannah moves out of the top ten baby names for girls, dropping from 9th to 17th place.
And let's have a round of applause for Chloe who enters the top ten for the first time ever!
There's certainly been some movement within this group of girls, with only two of them retaining last year's rank. Let's take a look at what's going on with our most popular baby girl names:
The top ten baby names for girls 2008 in the US
1. Emma What a surprise - after four years at number 2, then dropping to third place last year, who would have expected Emma to have summoned up the strength to fight off Emily for top spot? But here she is, inching ahead of Isabella who looked hungry for the crown!
2. Isabella Up two places in 2006 to fourth place, and jumping another two last year to second, it looked like Isabella had a slight chance of making it to number one for the 2008 rankings. There's only a very small gap between the number of babies named Isabella and Emma - so she could well try to grab first rank next time!
3. Emily Twelve years at the top for Emily, but it's down to third place in 2008. She looked pretty certain to hold her top rank this year, but it wasn't to be. She's been in the top 100 non-stop since 1973, and in the top ten since 1992. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2009!
4. Madison Madison entered the top 1000 baby names list in 1985, and has made incredible progress. Her highest ranking was number 2 in 2001 and 2002. Since then she's been in 3rd spot, then dropping to 5th in 2008, now up one place - so still hungry for more.
5. Ava From 25th place in 2004 to 9th place in 2005, 5th in 2006, and 4th in 2007, it looked like Ava may jump into the top three this time - but instead, Ava swaps places with Madison. Number wise, there is almost nothing between them, with 16,853 baby Madisons and 16,850 Avas! And there were only five less baby Olivias born than Ava, so let's look at 6th place:
6. Olivia Olivia has moved up one place, swapping places with Sophia who is now ranked 7th. Oliva entered the top 100 in 1990, and in 2001 had reached tenth place in the top ten baby names for girls rankings.
7. Sophia Sophia was a new entry into the top ten in 2006. Her name enjoyed some popularity in the 1880s, then made a slow comeback in the 1980s, slowly making her way up the baby name charts and entering the top 100 baby names group in 1997. She's down one place this time.
8. Abigail Abigail appeared in the top 1000 lists in the late 1800s, but then disappeared for a while. She's been making her way up the rankings since the 1960s, entering the top 100 in 1989. In the top ten since 2001, and with a high point of 4th rank in 2005, Abigail stays where she was last time round.
9. Elizabeth Elizabeth dropped out of the top ten in 2005, but decided she'd like to join her pals here again last year in tenth place, and now she's on the move up again! A super-popular name since 1880, Elizabeth feels quite at home in this elite group, and is quite happy to come and go as she pleases :) Her worst ranking? Number 26 in 1945!
10. Chloe From 1880-1943, Chloe appears in the top 1000 baby name listings. She then disappears for nearly 40 years until 1982, and starts rising in popularity. Now a new entry to the top ten this year, it will be fascinating to see if Chloe can go any further!
