The best and worst baby names in 2011

One of the first big decisions you make for your child is his or her name. Years ago the task was much simpler as they would have traditionally inherited the family names from past generations. Although some parents still like to 'keep things in the family' trends have changed a lot in recent years. 


Celebrities have paved the way for the weird and wonderful. In fact it now seems that celeb parents are in competition to win a most outrageous name contest.


2011 births introduced us to;


MASON- Son of Ne-Yo and Monyetta Shaw.


ARLO- Daughter of Johnny Knoxville and Naomi Nelson.


HATTIE- Daughter of Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott


COLT- Son of John and Joan Rich


BINGHAM- Son of Kate Hudson and Matthew Bellamy


BEAR BLU- Son of Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Jarecki


MORROCCAN (Son) and MONROE (Daughter) of Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon

It's not just the rich and famous walking the fine line between original and just plain mean though. More and more people are getting creative when it comes to picking the name of their offspring. In extreme cases names given to babies has even lead to court action and been put on record as child abuse.


Even when using the more 'standard' names things have become confusing as there is no longer a distinct difference in male and female names. Names that were traditionally for boys are being used for girls and visa-versa.


So in this naming mash-up which were the most popular names in 2011?


The top 10 according to Babynames.com were:

Male	Female
1 LIAM	1 CHARLOTTE
2 NOAH	2 SOPHIA/SOFIA
3 AIDAN/AIDEN/ADEN	3 AMELIA/EMILIA
4 JACKSON/JAXON	4 OLIVIA
5 CALEB/KALEB	5 AVA
6 OLIVER	6 LILY/LILLY
7 GRAYSON/GREYSON	7 EMMA
8 ETHAN	8 SCARLETT/SCARLET
9 ALEXANDER	9 AUDREY
10 OWEN	10 HARPER

I'm English and my husband is Italian. We live in Rome. Picking the name for our first son was easy as we both liked Matteo. Choosing the name for our second son, born this August, wasn't as easy so we decided to let Matteo help make the selection for us. We each said a few names we liked and then he picked the one he liked best. Lorenzo. It was a nice way to settle things and made Matteo feel like an important part in the arrival of his younger brother. He still proudly tells people he named him.


How did you pick your child's name? Do you prefer traditional or original baby names? What was the worst baby name you heard in 2011?


Image source: smartbabycares.blogspot.com