Major, Arya Show Biggest Jump in Popular Baby Names

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If you think your adorable baby son is so major he should be called just that, Major, then consider yourself a trendsetter.

The name Major for boys, along with Arya for girls, showed the biggest jumps in popularity in the Top 1,000 names for babies according to the Social Security Administration's just-released list of 2012's most popular baby names.

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"I have no doubt Major's rising popularity as a boy's name is in tribute to the brave members of the U.S. military," Carolyn Colvin, acting Social Security commissioner, said in a statement. "Maybe we'll see more boys named General in the future."

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Until then, we're seeing a lot of Jacob's and Sophia's, the two names that topped the popular names list. The win was the second year in a row for Sophia, and the fourteenth year in a row for Jacob.

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As usual, the top 10 names on the list contain a little bit of pop culture. Mason, number 2, is the name of Kourtney Kardashian's son and Liam, number 6, is the name of Tori Spelling's son. But this year there's also a bit of tradition. Elizabeth, a departure from the trend towards unique names for kids, is back on the list, knocking out Chloe for the number 10 spot.

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The list of the 500 most popular names, compiled from Social Security card applications for births in the 50 states and District of Columbia, includes a nod towards America's changing demographics.

After Major, the second fastest-rising name for boys was Gael, the name of famous Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal. For girls, the second fastest-rising name was Perla, the Latinized version of Pearl. The Social Security agency attributed their rises in the U.S. to their popularity among Hispanic-Americans, the country's second-largest population group.

Just barely making it onto the list, coming in at 1,000, were the names Dangelo, for a boy, and Katalina, for a girl.

Here are the top 10 names for each sex:

Boys' Names:

  1. Jacob
  2. Mason
  3. Ethan
  4. Noah
  5. William
  6. Liam
  7. Jayden
  8. Michael
  9. Alexander
  10. Aiden

Girls' Names:

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

CLICK HERE for the full list of 2012's most popular girls and boys names from Social Security.