Why am I not too terribly surprised that Isabella, Jacob, and Edward are popular names?

My favourite names generally tend to run in the old fashioned vein- Fitzwilliam, Fredrick, Maximilian, Basil, and Edward (not from Twilight, though... ) for boys, and Elinor, Anne, Georgiana, Victoria, and Elizabeth/Elisabeth for girls.

Boys Names:

Ben
Javier
Ryan
Oliver
Tristan
Christian
Jacob
Sebastian
John
Anton

Girl Names:

Kesley/ Keslie
Leslie
Ella/ Elle
Bella
Jennifer
Emma
Emily
Elizabeth
Liz
Shauna
Jane
Mary/ Maria

girl names:

Kym
Shana
Maisey
Lisa
Lori
Jen
Korey
Liberty
Rachel
Jana
Lily
Flor

boy names:

John
Ben
Ryan
Royce
Jason
Robert
Skandar
William

Jacob has been the top name for a very long time and Isabella has been popular for quite a while as well, so while I think Twilight's popularity may have had some effect, those names might have been up at the top anyway.

My mom has very strong opinions about names and she passed it along to me and I can honestly be downright mean about names. I wish I wasn't, so I'm working on it. I like my name, but I am officially 'Katherine.' I am a firm believer in naming your children what they're going to be called. If you're planning on calling your daughter Kate, then don't name her Katherine. I know it doesn't always work and people pick up inadvertent nicknames, but it would have made my life much easier.

The reason why I like the name Jacob isn't because of Twilight.

I've liked it for ten years now ever since I lost a good friend with the name.

This a tough one. Here is my list:
Girls
Elizabeth
Violet
Stephanie
Elenore
Polyhymnia
Lucy

Boys
Peter
Keith
Jake
Edmund
I'm sure there are more but that's all I can come up with right now.

I used to think it would be cool to name my kids something kind of unusual. I was set on Polyhymnia for a while but my sister told me that would be cruel. I suppose she is right. Anyway so many people are naming their kids unusual names, I want to go back to more normal names. It is much easier on the teachers. Some of those more unusual names are being used so much they are becoming normal. I think names like Jordon and Morgan are a bit over used because they can be for either boys or girls. Personally, I like names that one can easily tell if the owner is male or female.

I like my name. It's not unusual and yet it's not common either. I've only ever met (like actually met face to face in person) one other person named Julie and that was in another country (Peru). So I guess Julie is my favorite name.

I LOVE the name Jason for a guy. I also think Jacob is a nice name and not because of Twilight (I've never seen or read Twilight). I like the names Jessica, Jennifer, Angelina, David, Caleb, and Abbigail.

I want to name my kids something that's not super duper common yet not super unusual either. I also don't want to give them some common name with CRAZY spelling because that will just complicate things unnessesarily.

I posted this over in the Names thread, but then I saw this one so I'm posting this here too... I write a lot so I probably will use these for characters instead of kids.

GIRLS
Aimee
Brooke
Bess
Bronte
Brynn <-- I LOVE that one
Elena
Eliana
Karlee
Kristen
Neveah
Nadia
Nikki
Noelle <-- My middle name!
Naliah <-- I think my sister made this one up... I'm not sure though.
Melian <-- I know this is my username, but I LOVE this name.
Maja
Miranda
Talulah
Tara

BOYS
Bryan
Jake
Jordan <-- I like this one for girls too.
Tristan
Taylor
Marc, Mark
Michael

I know I have a list somewhere for characters. I'll find them at some point. Probably when I clean my room.

Eoin (Owen)- Irish form of John. The strange spelling appeals to me.
Petra (petchra)- female form of Peter, which has always been one of my favorite names. It's the name Jesus gave to his leader Simon; it means rock.
... and y'all know who my favorite Pevensie is.
For some reason I prefer it for a girl.
Thea (thee-ah)- from the Greek word for God. Short but powerful and beautiful.
Bethlehem- for Jesus' birthplace. A unique name for a girl, but she could always call herself Beth if she wished.
Xavier- After an inspiring missionary. Plus, how many names begin with X?
Will- not after Mosely, honest! I've just always had an attachment to this name.
Amrika- I love my country.
Cyprian- A bit old fashioned, but he'd be called Rian (rhee-an) usually.
And lastly, Shaun (Sean and Shawn are alternate spellings) , a unisex name. The sound of it pleases me.

I love names...naming pets...thinking up names that I like...just love names!

I really love unusual/unique names, or really old-fashioned names that you don't usually hear too often now.

Kiki,
Luna,
Sabine,
Allegra,
Briony,
Freya
Hero
Hesper
Darcy
Eden
Ember
Topaz
Trixie
Vesper
Vienna
Pippin
Winter
Lina
Noel
Pandora
Penelope
Piper
Poppy
Scarlett I almost kinda wish I could change my name to something off that list, but nah, it'd be weird having to get used to having a whole new name.

Fav boys names:

Ace
Dominic
Dorian
Flynn
Jasper
Julian
Keiran
Larkin
Leif
Lysander
Mac
Mikkel
Oliver
Phineas
Sterling
Teague
Thane
Wolfe

What's the most overused baby name in your opinion (and no offense to anybody who might have that name )?

For girls: Jessica, Ashley, Katie, Rachel, Sarah, Emily, Britney, Elizabeth, Emma, Megan, Rebecca...maybe not as names that are popular right *now*, but I know sooooooo many people with those names, especially Jessica. Hm, I just googled "top girls names" in the year I was born, and yup, most of those were high on the list, which might explain why I keep meeting people with those names

Oooh I LOVE names! I have over 100 names picked out for my future kids . Here is a sampling...

Boys:
Dakota (Kodi for short)
Fitzwilliam
Timothy
Jedrick
Michael (if I have a Michael I'll make his middle name Jackson )
Matthew
Jonathan (Jon for short)
Edward (not from Twilight!)
Mason
Arthur
Perseus
Digory (Digs for short )
Wesley
Bryson
Jared
Benjamin
Robin
Darrin
Logan
Charles
Joash
Leinad
Ethan
Leeland
Dominic
James
Julian
Jack
Stephen
Seth

Girls:
Sahara
Savannah
Jaille
Autumn
Richelle
Rosamund
Elizabeth
Rebecca
Leah
Lydia
Aerlinniel (Ire-lin-nee-ell)
Linnadhiel (Lin-nah-thee-ell)
Eruaphadriel (Air-oo-ah-fahd-ree-ell)
Talea
Isabella (Bella)
Juliette
Lucy
Georgia
Felicia
Kaleigha (ku-lee-uh)
Ceira (pronounced Sarah)
Jane
Briares
Madeline
Chloe
Catarina
Clymenstra
Thalia
Bianca
Hekabe
Abygayle (pronounced Abigail)
Adelaide
Gabrielle

I really like the names Artemis, Demeter, Persephone, Apollo, and Athena too but my mom says I shouldn't name my children after Greek gods, so I settled for a few heroes and villains in there .

Amrika- I love my country.

This reminded me of that line in Bride & Prejudice -Bollywood style where they all try to pronounce America and it sounds like Amrika. It also reminds me of the way my Auntie says it and it's so funny! However distancing it from that it's actually a very pretty sound.

I came across the name Scarlett today at work (I type in hundreds of customer names -exciting, I know) and pondered it for a while before deciding I really liked it! I see Val's mentioned it but you don't really hear it anymore on anyone younger than thirty.

The name Sahara sounds quite exotic too -kind of like Sara (a familiar sound) but...cooler? I like it.

My name falls in the common names list, but it's pronounced two ways so I can live off the excitement that brings I suppose.

I can't say I have a favourite boys' name (silly spell check underlines my u's!), perhaps Isaiah or Micah...

I don't have many names picked out, but I really like the ones I do have.

Boys:
Kyle
Conrad
Dmitri
Tyler

Girls:
Jaq (not because of Robin Hood, I liked this waaay before that)
Vicki
Isabella (and I don't like Twilight)
Rose

Those are the ones I really like, but Kyle and Jaq are my favorites.

here are some of my favorites

Girls
Arlette
Jessica
Amy
Diana
Fiona
Agnes

Boys
Jason
Chris
Jeff
Kyle
James
Roy