Top Baby Names of 2015: Any Surprises?

By DEB BELT (Patch Staff)

The most surprising thing about the top baby names for 2015 -- Sophia and Jackson reign at the top of the list again -- may be in the subtext of names gaining popularity thanks to millennials.

According to BabyCenter.com, every elementary school in the country will continue to be filled with kids named Emma, Olivia, Madelyn, Noah, Ethan and Caden for years to come. More if you include the variations on spellings, such as Aidan or Madelaine.

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The Social Security Administration released the 2014 results in August, which had many of the same names, but ranked differently. The federal list puts Noah and Emma at the top of the heap, followed by Liam and Olivia.

[See the list of top baby names for 2015 for boys and girls below.]

But, younger parents -- the often discussed millennials born between 1982 and 2004 -- are going to change up the list of popular names as they start families. Their inspiration for baby names isn’t reviving old family names, or dusting off Biblical references.

Yes, the choices Instagram offers to manipulate your photos have become a trending source of baby names. Top among them are Lux, Juno, Reyes, Ludwig, Amaro, Valencia, and Willow, says BabyCenter.

At least Lo-Fi, Inkwell, and X-Pro II aren’t on the list. Yet.

10 most popular girl names of 2015

1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Olivia
4. Ava
5. Mia
6. Isabella
7. Zoe
8. Lily
9. Emily
10. Madison

See all top 100 girls’ names

10 most popular boy names of 2015

1. Jackson
2. Aiden
3. Liam
4. Lucas
5. Noah
6. Mason
7. Ethan
8. Caden
9. Logan
10. Jacob

» Photo by Trei Brundrett via Flickr / Creative Commons