Noah, Sophia popular names in US

Washington, May 11 (IANS) Even before the 2014 movie "Noah" featuring actor Russell Crowe climbed the box office charts, Noah became the most favourite baby name for boys in the US, a report said.

Sophia topped the list of popular names for baby girls for the third straight year, according to the list of most popular baby names for 2013 released by the US Social Security Administration.

"This is big news in the world of baby names with Noah rising to the top, unseating Jacob," the release stated.

There is only one new name in the top 10 this year - Daniel.

The fact that Noah and last year's top baby name for boys Jacob (that dropped to number three), have gotten top marks may not have anything to do with their biblical roots.

"I think it does mark a change in style, even though those are two classical Old Testament names," Laura Wattenberg, founder of the baby name website babynamewizard.com, was quoted as saying.

These name choices have a lot to do with sound, she contended.

While Liam and Jacob follow Noah in the list of most popular names for boys, Emma and Olivia follow Sophia.