The most popular baby names of 2011 are officially here, with Sophia unseating Isabella to become the the new top girls’ name in the U.S..

　　Jacob remains the most popular name for boys for the 13th year in a row.  An Old Testament name that means “supplanter” and a cousin of James, Jacob has been in the Top Ten for nearly two decades.

　　The Social Security Administration announced the 2011 Most Popular Baby Names on The Today Show this morning.

　　The complete Top Ten are:

　　girls

　　Sophia

　　Isabella

　　Emma

　　Olivia

　　Ava

　　Emily

　　Abigail

　　Madison

　　Mia

　　Chloe

　　boys

　　Jacob

　　Mason

　　William

　　Jayden

　　Noah

　　Michael

　　Ethan

　　Alexander

　　Aiden

　　Daniel

　　The overall Top Ten for girls remains the same, with Sophia and Isabella changing places at 1 and 2 from last year and Mia and Chloe trading Numbers 9 and 10. On the boys’ side, Anthony dropped off the list to be replaced by Mason. Aiden and Jayden, if all spellings were taken together, would be Numbers 1 and 2, according to the SSA commissioner.

　　The celebrity baby name influence is evidenced by two of the hottest names in the news. Mason, a new number two boys’ name, is the name of Kourtney Kardashian’s baby boy.  And Harper, the fastest-rising name for girls, was chosen last year by Victoria and David Beckham for their first daughter.

　　Mason is also the name of Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby.  And two celebrity-influenced names, Briella from Glam Fairy and Brantley ala country singer Brantley Gilbert, are the fastest rising in the Top 500.  Other fast rising names include Angelique, from Dark Shadows, and the unlikely Iker, name of Spanish soccer star Iker Casillas Fernandez.

　　An ancient Greek name meaning wisdom, Sophia jumped from last year’s second place to claim the top spot.

　　Sophia is only the tenth name in history to be the U.S. Number one for girls.  The othrs are, in reverse chronological order, Isabella, Emma, Emily, Jessica, Ashley, Jessica (again), Jennifer, Lisa, Linda, and Mary.

　　Only six names, including Jacob, have held the top spot for boys.  Counting backwards from Jacob, they are Michael, David (for one year only, 1960), Michael again, Robert, James, Robert (again), and John.

　　Though Sophia has been on the U.S. Top 1000 every year since the beginning of recorded baby name history in 1880, the year the American government began keeping statistics on infant names, it nearly fell off that list in 1956 before beginning a new ascent.

　　Sophia entered the Top 100 for the first time in 1997 and hit the Top 10 in 2006.  Evidence of parents’ taste for strong feminine names with significant history for their daughters, Sophia shares much with other top girls’ names Isabella, Olivia, and Emma.  Sophia is the name of an early saint, royalty, and classic literary characters.

　　Contemporary namesakes include Sophia Loren, Sophia Bush, Sofia Vergara, and Sofia Coppolla.  The Latinate Sofia spelling and short form Sophie are also popular, though counted separately by the Social Security Administration.  Sylvester Stallone is the father of a Sophia.

　　Jacob is an important Biblical patriarch, the youngest son of Isaac and Rebecca and the husband of both Leah and Rachel.  The twelve tribes of Israel evolve from his twelve sons.  Jacob and short form Jake also have a Western flavor stylish today.  Variation Jacoby is also rising through the ranks.

　　Though Jacob was tops on the list of popular baby names before the advent of the Twilight books and movies, that series has helped keep the name at Number 1.  The most famous real-life contemporary Jacob is actor Jake Gyllenhall.

　　What names are new to the Top 1000?  Thanks to one of the original friends of Nameberry, Nephele, we have this exclusive list of names that have just jumped into the Top 1000:

　　girls

　　Abrielle

　　Alianna

　　Aubri

　　Aubrianna

　　Aviana

　　Avianna

　　Bentley

　　Blakely

　　Braylee

　　Elliot

　　Julieta

　　Juniper

　　Kailynn

　　Kamille

　　Kendyl

　　Kensley

　　Kyndal

　　Leigha

　　Liv

　　Malaysia

　　Milana

　　Milania

　　Nahla

　　Rivka

　　Saanvi

　　Samiya

　　Sariyah

　　Sloan

　　Temperance

　　Tinley

　　boys

　　Arian

　　Bowen

　　Braylin

　　Brecken

　　Brysen

　　Callan

　　Cayson

　　Corban

　　Cristiano

　　Crosby

　　Flynn

　　Graysen

　　Hendrix

　　Kohen

　　Maksim

　　Maxton

　　Nixon

　　Princeton

　　Raylan

　　Rylen

　　Vihaan

　　Check out the complete new list of the Top 1000 Most Popular Baby Names on Nameberry!