The Most Popular Names in 2009

Name Your Tune, the leading personalized children’s music compilation and their customers have spoken: The names Aiden and Madeline for boys and girls were the most popular names chosen by parents in 2009, while Jacob and Emma were the most popular names of the decade.

“We’ve seen more spelling variations of both of this year’s top names than we imagined possible – Aidan has also been Ayden, Aidyn, Aden, and Aaden and Madeline can be spelled Madeleine, Maddelin, and Madalen,” says Name Your Tune Creator/Executive Producer Candace Alper. “Parents like the sound of traditional names, but they also want to show the individuality of their children. Parents realize that the name they give their child will become part of the child’s identity.” “Variations on the name Aiden are also dominating both boys and girl names –Aidan, Jayden, Brayden, Hayden, Caden. These names are gender-neutral and can also be spelled so many ways, hence their popularity,” explains Candace.

What will be big in 2010 and beyond?

“My prediction for next decade is we’ll see more Edwards and a lot more Bellas being born due to the success of the Twilight franchise.”