From staff reports:
According to the state Department of Health (DOH), Jacob and Sophia were the top baby names in Washington in 2010. Jacob was also the most popular nationwide, while Isabella was the most popular name for girls across the U.S.
Jacob has continued to be one of the most popular names dating back to 2001. Here in Washington, Jacob was the top baby name for every year except 2002, 2008 and 2009. In 2002 and 2008, Ethan was the most popular boy name in the state, while Alexander shot to the top in 2009. Of the 44,247 boys born in 2010 in Washington, 416 were named Jacob, earning it the top honor.
The most popular girl name tends to fluctuate a bit more, according to the DOH. Four names have been in the top five consistently for the past decade: Olivia, Isabella, Emma and Emily. Sophia’s popularity has surged since 2007, with 474 of the 42,233 girls born in the state being named Sophia in 2010.
“Naming a baby is an important decision that will last for the child’s whole life. These days, it seems like one of the first things a parent does after naming a baby is texts friends and family with the news,” said Dr. Maxine Hayes, state health officer and a pediatrician.
DOH has a new text message service for expectant mothers, which Hayes says is a valuable resource.
“The next thing they can do is sign up for text4baby, a new service that sends helpful health advice to cellphones in text messages,” she said.
Text4baby sends weekly text messages to help pregnant women and new mothers give their babies healthy starts. Those interested in signing up can text “BABY” for English and “BEBE” for Spanish language alerts to 511411. Sign up online at www.text4baby.org.
