Names Girls Named People Girlfriend/Boyfriend Back Months Meet

When Americans are "expecting a child" (pregnant and waiting for the birth), they spend a lot of time "picking" (choosing) names. Some people pick "family names" (names of relatives); others use "baby name books," which are like dictionaries of names that they can read through until they find ones they like.

Sometimes the names of months are used for girls' names, as in this episode of ESL Podcast. For example, you might meet girls and women named April, May, and June, although you probably won't meet many people named after other months of the year. Usually these girls are born in the month they're named after, but not always.

The "popularity" (how much something is liked and used or chosen) of names changes over time. In 2008, these were the 10 most popular names for American girls and boys, based on data from the Social Security Administration:

Rank Boys Girls

1 Jacob Emma

2 Michael Isabella

3 Ethan Emily

4 Joshua Madison

5 Daniel Ava

6 Alexander Olivia

7 Anthony Sophia

8 William Abigail

9 Christopher Elizabeth

10 Matthew Chloe

Boys' names that end in the "an" or "en" sounds are becoming increasingly popular. For example, many boys are being named Aiden, Jackson, Landon, Braden, Gavin, Owen, etc. Among girls' names, Neveah is interesting because it has become "quite" (very) popular over a short period of time. Neveah is "heaven" (paradise; where God lives and where good people go after death) spelled backwards.