What's Hot A+ NAMES Today's baby namers not only want their kids to get As later on in school, they want to give them an A to start off with--as the initial letter of their names. There's been a remarkable upsurge of hot A names--we did, after all, call this book Beyond Ava & Aiden--especially if you consider that in 1975 only seven of the top fifty names began with any vowel, while in 2007 there were seventeen beginning just with the letter A. Vowel names in general are on the rise--lots of interesting E, I, and O names as well--but A as in Alpha is definitely the leader of the pack. And there are even some scientific grounds for choosing an A name. A study by Leif Nelson of the University of California, San Diego, and Joseph Simmons of Yale in the journal Psychological Science stated that students whose names began with A or B earned higher averages than students whose names began with letters farther down the alphabet, and that there were also more students in top-ranking law schools with names starting with A or B--so making an A-pick now might just help point your child toward the A-list. You'll find lots more A names plus other vowel-beginning names on the other hot and cool lists. But here are some of the hottest A names: Girls ANGEL AALIYAH ANGELICA ABIGAIL ANGELINA ADA ANIKA/ANNIKA ADDIE/ADDY ANNA ADDISON ANNABEL(LA) ADELAIDE ANOUK ADELINE ANYA ADRIANA APHRA AERIN APPLE AINSLEY ARABELLA AISLINN (ASH-LIN) ARAMINTA ALABAMA ARDEN ALEXA ARIA ALEXIA ARIAN(N)A ALEXIS ARMANI ALI ARTEMIS ALICE ASHA ALLEGRA ASHBY ALMA ASHLYN AMABEL ASIA AMELIA ASPEN AMELIE AUBREY AMERICA AUDEN AMITY AUDREY ANAÏS AUGUSTA ANASTASIA AUTUMN ANDROMEDA AVA AVALON ANGEL AVALYN/AVELINE ANGUS AVERY APOLLO AVIS ARCHER ARI Boys ARMANI AARON ARROW ABBOTT ARTHUR ACE ASA ACHILLES ASH ADAIR ASHER ADRIAN ASHTON AIDAN/AIDEN ATTICUS ALESSANDRO AUDEN ALEX AUGUST ALFIE AUGUSTEN/AUGUSTIN AMORY AXEL ANDERSON AZARIAH MILLENNIAL NAMES There is an entire generation of names moving rapidly up the popularity list that distinguish themselves by being newly minted. Even if they existed as surnames or place names or occupations, they've rarely been used before as first names. Many of them are morphed versions of names that were used in another form earlier, while others have been spun from thin air. The underlying feeling seems to be a desire for a new beginning along with the new millennium. Anything we did and said, felt and experienced in the last century is over now. We've entered an era of change, and these names are evidence of that belief. Girls(mostly) BRADY ADDISON BRAXTON AINSLEY BRYSON ARIA CADE AVERY CALE BROOKLYN CAMDEN CADENCE CANNON CALI CHACE CHEYENNE CHANCE ELLE COLBY HARLOW COLT LEXI COLTON MACY DARWIN MARLEY DAWSON MYA EASTON REESE FISHER SAGE FLINT SAILOR GABLE SCOUT GAGE SIENNA GRAYSON SIERRA HUDSON SKYLA HUNTER SKYLAR JADEN TAYLA JAX TRISTA JAXON JET Boys(mostly) JETSON ASH KANE ASHTON KIAN BECKETT KYLAN BRADEN KYLER LANDON FINLAY LENNON HARLEY LENNOX JALEN LOGAN JAMESON MAVERICK JUSTICE ORION KAI ROCKET KEATON RYDER KENNEDY STEEL LONDON STONE PAYTON/PEYTON TRENTON REEVE ZANDER RILEY ROMY Either ROWAN AUDEN SAWYER BLAZE TAJ DEVON TRACE New-Age Names Related to the Millennial group are the New-Age Names--children of the new era but with a distinctly spiritual twist. These names reflect positivity, peace, an enduring strength and the thirst for a higher power. They include: ANGEL DESTINY ANSWER DEVA BLISS DHARMA BODHI EDEN CHARITY ESSENCE DEACON EVER FAITH PATIENCE GENESIS PAX HARMONY PAXTON HAVEN PEACE HEAVEN PRAISE HONOR SERENITY INFINITY TRINITY JUSTICE TRUE MERCY TRUTH MESSIAH VERITY MIRACLE ZEN NEVAEH ZION STAR POWER The names of stars and their children are flashed before the public all day, every day, and not just in the gossip magazines and TV shows and online blogs, but on the national nightly news and in mainstream media like the New York Times, Time, and Newsweek. Those famous names have become an increasingly powerful influence on baby-naming trends in general and on what we name our individual children. A star can single-handedly make a boy's name like Drew or Cameron seem feminine and sexy, catapult a shy old favorite like Violet or Matilda to superstardom, even raise an old-school glamorous name like Ava or Harlow from the dead. Celebrities have made us more accepting of quirky ethnic names such as Viggo and Suri, have encouraged us to look for names that honor significant places (Kingston) or heroes (Nouvel), and have inspired us to invent unique names--from Beyoncé to January to Story--of our very own. Starbabies When your great-aunt Agnes can reel off all twelve first and middle names of the Jolie-Pitt sextet, you know you're living in a culture that celebrates celebrity babies. We scrutinize their high-profile moms' bumps, pore over their nurseries and layettes, and when the name is finally announced, everyone weighs in: Is it too far out? Is it too trendy? Will it work in my neighborhood as well as it works in Malibu? Many of the names below have either already become hot or are beginning to heat up thanks to a starbaby's influence. A star can pluck a name out of limbo and give it new life and potential, as in the cases of Julia Roberts's Hazel (not a popular choice at first), Tina Fey's Alice, Jessica Alba's Honor, and several celebrities' picks of Tallulah. The same holds true for boys, with such instant hits as Kingston (Rossdale), Maddox (Jolie-Pitt), and several Becketts. Even older children thrust in the spotlight--most notably, Malia and Sasha Obama--can inspire real-life namesakes. The following is a selective list of starbaby choices that might influence your pick for the newest star in your own family: Girls AGNES Elisabeth Shue & Davis Guggenheim ALABAMA Drea de Matteo & Shooter Jennings ALICE Tina Fey, Tom Cavanaugh ANGEL Melanie (Spice Girl) Brown APPLE Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin ARIZONA Art (Everclear) Alexakis ASHBY Nancy O'Dell AUDREY Greg Kinnear AVA Kevin Dillon, Mia Hamm & Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Priestley, Caroline Rhea--to name the most recent AVALON Rena Sofer AVIS Daniel Baldwin BAILEY Scott Baio, Stella McCartney, Teri Polo (who spelled it Bayley) BIRDIE Busy Philipps BLUEBELL Geri (Spice Girl) Halliwell BRIGHTON Jon Favreau CHARLESTON Joey Lawrence CHARLIE Rebecca Romijn & Jerry O'Connell CLEMENTINE Ethan Hawke COCO Courteney Cox & David Arquette DOLLY Rebecca Romijn & Jerry O'Connell DOMINO India Hicks EASTON Elisabeth Röhm EDEN Marcia Cross EDIE Samantha Morton EMERY Angie Harmon & Jason Sehorn EVER Milla Jovovich & Paul Anderson FINLEY Lisa Marie Presley GIA Matt Damon GRIER Brooke Shields HARLOW Nicole Richie & Joel Madden HARPER Martie (Dixie Chick) Maguire, Lisa Marie Presley HEAVEN Brooke Burke HONOR Jessica Alba & Cash Warren INDIGO Lou Diamond Phillips JAGGER Soleil Moon Frye JOHNNIE Melissa Etheridge JUNO Will (Coldplay) Champion LOTUS Rain Pryor LUNA Constance Marie MAEVE Chris O'Donnell MARLO Rob Corddry MARS Erykah Badu & Jay Electronica MERCY Andy Richter MILEY Rev Run NAHLA Halle Berry NAVY Nivea & Terius Nash NELL Helena Bonham Carter & Tim Burton ODETTE Mark Ruffalo OLIVE Isla Fisher & Sacha Baron Cohen PALOMA David Caruso PETAH Ani DiFranco PIPER Samantha Bee RHIANNON Robert Rodriguez ROMY Sofia Coppola RUBY Tobey Maguire, Charlotte Church SADIE Adam Sandler, Finola Hughes SAGE Toni Collette SAM Tiger Woods SAWYER Sara Gilbert SCARLETT Karen Elson & Jack (White Stripes) White SERAPHINA Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck SHILOH Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt SIENNA Campbell Brown STELLA Tori Spelling SUNDAY Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban SURI Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise TALLULAH Philip Seymour Hoffman, Damon Dash TRUE Joely Fisher VALENTINA Selma Hayek VIOLET Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck, Dave (Foo Fighters) Grohl VIVIENNE Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt WILLA Philip Seymour Hoffman ZAHARA Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt Excerpted from Beyond Ava & Aiden by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran. Copyright 2009 by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran. Published in July 2009 by St. Martin's Press. All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher. Excerpted from Beyond Ava and Aiden: The Enlightened Guide to Naming Your Baby by Linda Rosenkrantz, Pamela Redmond Satran All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
