Bella and Edward

Okay, I shamefully admit that I am a huge fan of the Twilight movies.  Yep, you read correctly, I am an over 30 year old wife and working mother of a 13 year old (who can’t stand Twilight, by the way) and 4 month old and stepmother to an almost 14 year old, and I love Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. I also like the books, by stay at home mom, Stephenie Meyer, that started the whole phenomenon.Well apparently there are a whole lot of Twilight mommy fans out there because many are choosing to name their babies after the characters.

According to the Social Security Administration these character names are fast climbing the charts of the most popular baby names in the U.S. Names like Isabella (the full name of Kristen Stewart’s Bella character) replaced Emma as the most popular baby name for girls in 2009. Among the boys, Jacob (the werewolf played by Taylor Lautner) retained its 11-year-run at the top of boys list. Additionally, we are seeing more and more Jaspers, Emmetts and Alices pop up in 2009 and 2010. And they didn’t forget about Edward (the leading vampire played by Robert Pattinson). The name Edward posted only a modest rise of 11 spots on the list to reach No. 137, says the SSA, but Cullen (his last name) was the fastest rising name among boys, soaring 297 places to land at No. 485.

As a new mom, again, as my first time was 13 years ago, I know how exciting and overwhelming it can be to choose the perfect name. Although I opted not to go for a Twilight inspired name for my baby boy, I think choosing such a name is very modern and see nothing wrong with moms getting inspiration from movies, books, soap operas or the Bible. Just remember that choosing the perfect name need not be so pressure filled as so many moms literally stress themselves out over choosing the perfect name.  Have fun with it, go with what inspires you and not everyone else and don’t rush. It’s perfectly okay to choose a name, once he or she is born, that fits your baby’s personality perfectly.

For a little help, check out Baby Names World or Baby Name Stats or watch your favorite movie and get inspired!

Good luck to all my modern day pregnant mommies out there!