Emma, Noah top list of baby names again

WASHINGTON – Emma is back.

After slipping from the top of the most popular baby names six years ago, Emma was back at No. 1 in 2014. Noah was the top baby name for boys for the second year in a row.

The Social Security Administration released the annual list of top baby names Friday. Emma was followed by Olivia, Sophia, Isabella and Ava. Noah was followed by Liam, Mason, Jacob and William.

Emma’s popularity soared in 2002, the same year that Rachel, a character on the popular TV show “Friends,” named her baby Emma. Also boosting the name, actress Emma Watson played Hermione Granger in the popular Harry Potter movies.

Emma has been ranked among the top three baby names for girls since 2003, reaching No. 1 in 2008. In 2013, Emma was No. 2 behind Sophia.

“In this era when trends come and go faster than ever before, that’s incredible staying power,” said Laura Wattenberg, founder of BabynameWizard.com. “Emma seems to be the only name that America has been able to agree on in recent years.”

Emma was a popular name in the early 1900s, reaching as high as No. 13 in 1900. The name fell out of fashion in the middle of the century but started gaining popularity again in the 1990s.

Emma’s comeback represents two popular trends in baby names, Wattenberg said.

“Emma is a real antique and it came back with the revival of Victorian names,” she said.

It is also short and smooth, like Mia, Liam and Noah.

“They’re tiny little names that are perfectly smooth,” Wattenberg said. “They have no hard edges to them.”