What are the most popular names for babies in the United States?\u00a0 For decades, \u201cplain Jane\u201d names, such as John, James, Mary, and Jane (naturally), topped the lists.\u00a0 In 2010, the top three names for boys were Aiden, Jacob, and Jackson, while the favored names for bundles of pink were Sophia, Isabella, and Olivia.\u00a0\u00a0Not bad<\/i>, you are probably thinking to yourself. It is always safe to go with one of last year\u2019s most popular names when choosing a name for this year\u2019s current model.\u00a0 But the list from which I got the information above is merely a list of the top 25 names.\u00a0 Using a formula for \u201csafe\u201d but creative baby naming, some parents play around with the favorites.\u00a0 Believing that if they name their precious man-child Aiden, he will one day play on a lacrosse team with too many other Aiden\u2019s, but not wanting to stray from their comfort zone, some parents just zap on a consonant or two at the beginning of the name.\u00a0 Aiden is thus transformed into Brayden, Kaden, Grayden, or even Zaiden.\u00a0 I sincerely hope that parents who use this formula in the future remember that, as an alternative to Aiden, Maiden is neither safe nor creative; indeed, it is most inappropriate, even cruel.\u00a0 To name a child Laden, as a young couple named Boyle did a few years ago, constitutes (at least in my opinion) cruel and unusual punishment.\u00a0 In a self-fulfilling prophetic manner, this child will undoubtedly develop undesirable avoirdupois, excessive guilt, and\/or self-recriminatory doubts. In the worst-case scenario, he might someday acquire a wife who wants to saddle her first born with the name Lancelot, even though Laden will argue with her that Lance Boyle won\u2019t make it psychologically unscathed through middle school. Ah, but I get carried away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\n
\n \n