This Year’s Presidential Election Affected 2016 Baby Name Trends

BabyCenter.com has released their annual list of popular baby names, and there's a good chance they will all sound pretty familiar to you.

Here are the top 10 names for girls in 2016, according to BabyCenter.com:

1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Olivia
4. Ava
5. Mia
6. Isabella
7. Riley
8. Arya
9. Zoe
10. Charlotte

On the other hand, here are the top boy names:

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

Now, let's move on to the interesting part of the study: name trends. Pop culture has had a pretty big influence on baby names in the past, and this year is no exception. Here are a few naming trends for 2016 that I found to be pretty interesting:

• The name Hillary rose 64%, while the name Donald rose 5%. And don't forget Ivanka, which saw a 39% gain.
• The popular AMC show "The Walking Dead" may have had had a slight influence on the names Carol and Hershel, which saw an 18% and 37% boost.
• Speaking of TV, the new Netflix show "Stranger Things" might have helped boost the names Nancy (46% gain), Dustin (32% gain), Lucas (25% gain), and Joyce (23% gain).
• Microsoft's virtual assistant is named Cortana, and that name saw a 36% uptick for girls.
• Some famous women influenced baby girl names this year, with Amal (Amal Clooney) up 21%,  Rihanna up 6%, Angelina and Jolie up 4% and 10%, and Venus (Venus Williams) up 26%.
• Suicide Squad's Harleen Quinzel (aka Harley Quinn) was easily the most popular character of the movie, and that's reflected by a rise in the names Harley (35%), Harleen (13%), and Quinn (5%).
• Don't forget about other famous Marvel and DC characters: Bruce and Wayne were up 6% and 9%, Floyd (inspired by Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot) was up 56%, Diana (the name of Wonder Woman) was up 21%, and Lex (Lex Luthor is the name of Superman's nemesis) was up 15%.

For more 2016 baby name trends, click HERE.

[Via Baby Center]