Popular twin names may offer you just the inspiration you need, if you're stuck for ideas.
So what's it to be... Jacob and Joshua, Ella and Emma - or Madison and Mason? These are the most popular twin combos for boys, girls, and one of each!
Here you can find solid inspiration about what might suit... or what you may wish to avoid!
There are plenty of suggestions to choose from, and of course it's always comforting knowing that other people have forged this path ahead of you if you decide one of these name pairs is just what you need :)
Twin names - popular trends
Same initial letter for both names Many names that parents have chosen for their twins have the same initial letter:
Jacob and Joshua...
Daniel and David
Jayden and Jordan
Emma and Ella
Madison and Morgan...
...Addison and Aiden
- that matching first initial is hot! So think carefully - do you like this kind of combo? Don't forget, your twins will end up with the same initials for first and surname - presumably - at least until they marry... or change their name - wow!
Similar sounding names What do you think about Emma and Ella? Too similar? We also have Isaac and Isaiah, Taylor and Tyler, and Ethan and Evan. These names also have the same initial letter.
A little too similar? Not all parents thought so! How about Mia and Mya in 23rd place for the girls? Or Jayda and Jayden, as well as Jada and Jaden as boy/girl combos?
Similar themes The strongest theme tying these top names together is the Biblical element, with
Jacob and Joshua
Daniel and David
Elijah and Isaiah
Isaac and Isaiah
Faith and Hope
Faith and Grace coming in at 34th spot
- and can we include Heaven and Nevaeh among this group too at #18 for the girls?
You could also try considering twin names with a different thematic connection. But... hard to find an example of that here!
Similar sound at the end of the name Olivia and Sophia, Ava and Emma, Landon and Logan, Emma and Noah - this is another fine way to provide a balance between the two names.
Top twin names in the United States 2010
The wonderful SSA has divided the list into three sections -
names for twin girls
names for twin boys
and girl/boy twins!
This makes things much easier to work out I think. I've included the top 30 name pairs for each set below - sometimes the pairs of names rank equally and are then sorted alphabetically - so the list numbers don't necessarily refer to exact rankings here.
Names for twin girls
Our female twins are an interesting bunch, with 44 baby Ellas and Emmas being registered. Samantha and Sofia coming in at number 30 provided us with 11 pairs of twins - or should I say their moms and dads did that, but you know what I mean ;)
First initial combos abound, as you'll see. That very feminine "a" ending is also pretty popular, as it is with girls' names generally.
Short name combos? - Well, there's Ava and Emma, Ava and Mia, Mia and Mya.
Four syllable combos! - Yes, we have Isabella and Gabriella providing us with a musically delightful pair - and more syllables feature at 30th place with Valentina and Valeria.
Further down the rankings, Anabella and Isabella feature at #38. Elizabeth teams with Isabella and Victoria in 40 and 41st spots.
A little geographical action within our girl twin names occurs with London and Paris at #21.
Top twin girl names:
Ella, Emma
Olivia, Sophia
Gabriella, Isabella
Faith, Hope
Ava, Emma
Isabella, Sophia
Madison, Morgan
Ava, Ella
Ava, Olivia
Mackenzie, Madison
Abigail, Isabella
Abigail, Emma
Hailey, Hannah
Makayla, Makenzie
Addison, Avery
Elizabeth, Emily
Ava, Mia
Heaven, Nevaeh
Abigail, Emily
Emma, Olivia
London, Paris
Chloe, Claire
Mia, Mya
Anna, Emma
Arianna, Brianna
Isabella, Olivia
Abigail, Lillian
Addison, Ava
Emma, Isabella
Samantha, Sophia
Names for twin boys
There were 69 pairs of twins born who were named Jacob and Joshua in 2010, and 15 Brandons and Brians coming in at 30th place.
The biblical baby name theme is strong here too - Daniel and David, Elijah and Isaiah, and Jeremiah and Josiah, for example.
Similar sounding twin names enter the mix with Jayden and Jaylen as mentioned above. Lower down in the ranks we find Jayden and Kayden at 35, and Taylor and Tyler at 41.
The longest combo I can find in the SSA stats are Santiago and Sebastian in 44th place.
Boy twin names
Jacob, Joshua
Ethan, Evan
Jayden, Jordan
Daniel, David
Matthew, Michael
Landon, Logan
Elijah, Isaiah
Jacob, Joseph
Jayden, Jaylen
Isaac, Isaiah
Caleb, Joshua
Andrew, Matthew
James, John
Alexander, Nicholas
Jeremiah, Josiah
Joseph, Joshua
Nathan, Nicholas
Jonathan, Joshua
Logan, Lucas
Ethan, Nathan
Aiden, Ethan
Jeremiah, Joshua
Alexander, Andrew
Alexander, Benjamin
Logan, Luke
Jacob, Lucas
Jonathan, Joseph
Nathan, Noah
Andrew, Anthony
Brandon, Brian
Popular boy/girl twin names
There's a great selection here, with matching first name initials providing 100% of the name choices within the top ten!