Now it’s the boys’ turn at the Top 100 list.  These are the most popular names gauged by visitors to their pages so far in 2012.

　　As with the national list, the boys’ top names are more stable than the girls’ — though the Nameberry list is very different from the U.S. list.  Our Top 5 names are the same as in 2010, with the exception of new entrant Milo.

　　Trends on our boys’ Top 100:

　　— The Nameberry list is geared to non-traditional but deeply-rooted boys’ names.  We see this trend on the U.S. list as well, but it’s even more pronounced in our statistics — which indicates that overall trend will continue to move toward unconventional boys’ names and away from standards such as Robert and John.  The exceptions: Henry, James, and William.  But however unconventional, the Nameberry favorites, from mythological Irish Finn to Biblical Asher, have deep roots.

　　— Celebrities and pop culture are important, but not as important as for girls.  We see Finn, partially inspired by Glee, at Number 1 and Atticus in the Top 10 thanks to To Kill A Mockingbird.  While other names — Jude, Liam, Emmett, Hudson, Arlo — have risen on the heels of popular stars, celebrity babies, and movie and TV characters — we see this influence on boys’ names less pronounced than on girls’.

　　— Boys’ names are getting softer.  The whole badass boys’ name — Stryker, Wilder, Maverick — thing aside, we see a softening of boys’ names, with vowel endings (Milo, Levi, Ezra), sibilant sounds (Asher, Dashiell, Sebastian), and choices that are derived from girls’ names or can also be used for girls (Rowan, Emerson, Elliot).

　　Here, the Nameberry Top 100 for boys so far in 2012.

　　Finn

　　Asher

　　Henry

　　Milo

　　Jasper

　　James

　　Jude

　　Atticus

　　Rowan

　　Owen

　　Liam

　　Felix

　　Levi

　　Emmett

　　Kai

　　Sawyer

　　Leo

　　Silas

　　Miles

　　Sebastian

　　Ezra

　　Noah

　　Declan

　　Jack

　　Hudson

　　Luca

　　Max

　　Everett

　　Ethan

　　Emerson

　　Caleb

　　Elliot

　　August

　　Eli

　　William

　　Rory

　　Oscar

　　Riley

　　Micah

　　Rhys

　　Beckett

　　Flynn

　　Theodore

　　Luke

　　Charlie

　　Dylan

　　Benjamin

　　Isaac

　　Julian

　　Finley

　　Elijah

　　Wyatt

　　Gabriel

　　Simon

　　Nathaniel

　　Theo

　　Alexander

　　Mason

　　Dashiell

　　Callum

　　Hugo

　　Samuel

　　Logan

　　Jacob

　　Archer

　　Nico

　　Lucas

　　Ryan

　　Xavier

　　Elias

　　Arthur

　　Arlo

　　Thomas

　　Tristan

　　Jonah

　　Roman

　　Phineas

　　Grayson

　　Zachary

　　Jackson

　　Zane

　　John

　　Cole

　　Cato

　　Dexter

　　Kieran

　　Gray

　　Andrew

　　Evan

　　Orion

　　Rufus

　　Soren

　　Charles

　　Nicholas

　　Ryder

　　Gideon

　　Holden

　　Nathan

　　Peyton

　　Edward

　　In case you missed it, check out the Girls’ Top 100.

Guess Number 101 on the boys’ list and win a free signed copy of our book Beyond Ava & Aiden!