Most Popular Baby Names for 2006

The U.S. Social Security Administration has released the top 100 baby names of 2006 and I've updated my files to reflect these rankings. All names have meaning and origin listed and you can vote on how you feel about each name.

As usual, the top three this year for both girls and boys didn't change at all. It's still:

1. Jacob and Emily
2. Michael and Emma
3. Joshua and Madison

New to the list this year:

• Addison at a shocking #27 (I'm going to chalk this up to the popularity of Grey's Anatomy.)
• Tristan at #86 (which hasn't been in the top 100 since 1999.)
• Valeria at #90 (which has never been in the top 100 before.)
• Kaden at #92 (which has been climbing the top 1,000 steadily since 1993. Similar-sounding Caden debuted at #98 last year.)
• Aubrey at #92 (which has been making a slow yet steady climb through the top 1,000 since 1973.)
• Natalia at #94 (which has been slowly climbing up the top 1,000 since 1974, after an absence of 40 years.)
• Henry at #95 (which hasn't been in the top 100 since 1968, when it was also #95.)
• Liam at #98 (which has been making a steady climb through the top 1,000 since 1974. It jumped from #605 to #140 between 1990 and 2000 -- coinciding with the rise of actor Liam Neeson's career. Just this year celebrity couple Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott chose this name for their son.)
• Gianna at #98 (which has been making a steady climb through the top 1,000 since 1989.)
• Jayla at #99 (which debuted in the top 1,000 in 1995. It stayed pretty low on that list until getting a huge surge recently after Jayla Rubinelli's appearance on the 2005 season of America's Next Top Model.)
• Layla at #100 (which debuted at #973 after Eric Clapton released a song in 1972 with the same name. A few years later the name dropped out of the top 1,000 altogether. In 1992, Clapton released a new version of the song and even snagged the 1993 Grammy for Best Rock Song. Following suit, in 1993, the name hit the top 1,000 at #683 and has been climbing toward the top 100 ever since.)

Dropping out of the top 100 were:

• Katie
• Diana
• Mya
• Molly
• Colin
• Cody
• Gracie
• Seth
• Marissa
• Jesse
• Amanda

And, funny -- Blake and Jordan came in together at #97. OK, I know that Jordin Sparks spells her name with an "i" -- but it did remind me of two of the three remaining American Idol contestants. It should be interesting to see if the name Sanjaya makes the top 100 next year!