Even though baby won’t be ready for Rio in 2016, you can pave their way to the Olympics with the perfect name. Inspired by 2012 Olympians, these gold-medal monikers are sure to make your baby a winner.

Misty

The London games marked the third gold-medal victory for this beach volleyball player. Misty May-Treanor suffered many injuries, including a ruptured Achilles tendon, to make it to this year’s game. If your little girl is comfortable in her diaper, she’s already on her way to volleyball glory.

Ryan

Want your son to have some swagger? Try naming him after Ryan Lochte, the Olympic swimmer known to wear grills on and off the podium. Or, if your prefer him to have some smarts, you can name him after Stanford alumni and Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall.

Kerri

You can’t go wrong with the name Kerri. For some, it’s reminiscent of a girl whose one-legged landing led the USA to its first gymnastics gold medal. For others, it’s about a the three-time volleyball champion who wore too much KT tape. No matter the sport, a Kerri can bring home the gold.

Oscar

No one knows more about overcoming obstacles than Oscar Pistorious. The South African sprinter became the first paraplegic to compete in the Olympics. While he didn’t win any medals, he proved that nothing can stand in the way of your dreams. What a good attitude to pass onto a child!

Gabby

She’s the first African-American to win the gymnastics All-Around title. She’s also the first gymnast to win team gold medal and an all-around gold medal in the same year. Gabby “The Flying Squirrel” Douglas is an inspiration to all. If you’re extra lucky, your daughter will inherit her amazing smile and athletics skills.

Usain

Ok, this may not be the most traditional name on our list. But Usain “Lightning” Bolt is the fastest man alive, a title he earned by setting the world record in the 100-m and 200-m sprint. If you’re going to give your child a “crazy” name, you should make it this one!

Ally / Aly

From the track to the beam, this was a name heard all around Olympic stadium. Allyson Felix won three gold medals in London, and was a part of the world record-breaking 4 x 100-m relay team.  Aly Raisman was part of the gold-medal gymnastic team and earned an individual gold medal for her floor performance. You can pick the spelling, and let your daughter pick her sport.

Ashton

Don’t worry; we aren’t naming your son after the trucker hat wearing actor. Instead, we’re naming him after the American decathlete. Ashton Eaton took home the gold in an event that many deem the most athletically challenging of all Olympic events. If your little guy is throwing things, he’s already on the right path.

Claressa

Naming your daughter after the tough Claressa Shields who at only 17 won the gold in female boxing will ensure she’ll hold her own on the playground!  But don’t let the sport steer you from the name. Claressa has a huge heart and has raised spirits in her hometown.

Michael

You didn’t think we’d forget the most decorated Olympian, did you? Swimmer Michael Phelps won six medals (two silver and four gold) during the London games, bringing his total Olympic medal count to 22. What mom wouldn’t be proud of that?

Which Olympic name would you choose?

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10 Pop Culture Baby Names on Our Radar Right Now

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Movies, TV shows, boy bands — you never know what’s going to inspire the hottest new baby names. We predict these unusual monikers will move up the baby name charts because of their pop culture ties.

Arya

We think this Persian name will experience a huge jump in popularity thanks to Game of Thrones. On the show, the character Arya is a daughter of a ruler and was raised as a boy (and sword fighter!) when she was separated from her family. Arya means “friend” and “faithful.” (Pretty, huh?)

Blue

Beyoncé and Jay-Z caused quite a stir when they chose this name for their baby girl, but the color trend has been going strong with celebs for a while. Kelly Preston and John Travolta have a daughter Ella Bleu and Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Jarecki named their son Bear Blu.

Niall

Pronounced like Nile, this Irish name (it means “cloud”) is experiencing an increase in searches due to blond heartthrob and singer Niall Horan of boy band One Direction.

Gatsby

We think surname of the main character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is sure to rise in popularity when the film debuts at Christmas. It definitely will help that Jay Gatsby will be played by everyone’s favorite leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio.

Halcyon

Crazy, Stupid, Love actress Beth Littleford adopted a baby girl in March and named her Halcyon. The name is derived from Halcyone, a mythical kingfisher bird that calmed the seas.

Django

This is the title character of Quentin Tarantino’s next movie about Django Reinhardt, a Belgian jazz guitarist who adopted the Gypsy nickname meaning “I awake.”

Sybil

People are starting to forget all about the ‘70s movie Sybil, where the title character (played by Sally Field) has multiple personality disorder and instead are getting inspired by kindhearted nurse Sybil Crawley of Downton Abbey, bringing back this ancient Greek name.

Rue

The Hunger Games are everywhere, especially when it comes to baby names. Rue used her survival skills to befriend Katniss in the Games. Name your daughter after this clever tribute, and she’ll be the talk of the playground.

Grayson

This English name means “son of the grey-haired one.” The Grayson family on ABC’s Revenge is the inspiration for this unique boy’s name. But there are plenty of other Graysons in pop culture, such as the bachelor-turned-family man Josh Hopkins plays on Cougartown.

Primrose

Forget Lily or Rose. Instead, try this (yes, another) nod to The Hunger Games. Primrose was chosen as a tribute, but older sister Katniss volunteered to save her sweet-natured sister.

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The most popular baby names of 2011 were announced today, and the name Sophia is number one. Number one! I’m not sure if I should celebrate being early on the trend (I carefully named my daughter Sophia in 2005 before it had made the top 10), or be annoyed my once unique-ish name is now so widely used. And to think she almost wasn’t a Sophia at all! Even after six years, I still wonder if I picked the right name for her. She came close to being a Sydney (after one of my favorite female characters, Jennifer Garner’s Sydney Bristow, who kicked a!*on the show Alias).

So how’d she end up a Sophia? Well, unlike Sydney Bristow’s kicks (which were all, hi-ya!), my daughter’s kicks in the womb were soft and gentle (pat-pat). Plus, whenever she’d nudge me with her foot, I’d immediately say to myself “Oh! Hey Sophie!”  So I knew I had to go with it. (We still call her Sophie even though in school she uses her formal name).

Today, I see her running like me, sort of like a (really cute) duck and wildly flailing her light saber while playing Star Wars with her brother (maybe a clever distraction tactic?). And I can safely say that while she’s many amazing things, she’s no martial-arts-tough-girl as I imagined a Sydney would be. Sigh. I still pine for the name Sydney. (No, mom this doesn’t mean I’m going to try to get pregnant again!)

Is your baby name choice on the top 10 list? Is it important to you to pick a name not on the list? Did you have any baby naming regrets?

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Yes, you read that right. Elvis is making a comeback, according to the Social Security Administration list of popular baby names from 2011. “The King of Rock n Roll’s” namesake had dipped below the top 1,000 baby names list in 2010, but now it’s back on the list at number 904. Elvis is still the king.

What do you think of the name Elvis? Would you ever choose it for your baby?

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Prince William and Kate Middleton’s (er, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) first wedding anniversary is this Sunday, April 29th. Can you believe it’s been a year since that wedding craziness? I don’t know about you guys, but I watched all the royal wedding specials leading up to the main event and then I woke up at 4 a.m. for the viewing (and then I took a nap after!). My friend even DVR’ed it and we watched the highlights a few days later. Needless to say, I was a bit obsessed. It was hard not to get caught up in all of that excitement!

Now with all the tabloid on baby bump watch 24/7 for Wills and Kate’s firstborn — we’re wondering what they’ll name their kid when Kate gets pregnant. Will they go with traditional royal names like Charles, Elizabeth, Henry or Anne? Or will they go contemporary? Prince William’s cousin is named Zara, which is as contemporary as it gets for the royal family.

If you’re in the market for a baby name, why not name your kid something that’s fit for royalty? Here are a couple of monikers fit for the monarchy:

Royal Girl Names: Elizabeth, Anne, Beatrice, Eugenie, Louise, Victoria, Alexandra, Charlotte, Sophia, Alice

Royal Boy Names: Charles, Henry, George, Edward, Andrew, Philip, Arthur, James, Albert, Louis

Happy first anniversary, Will and Kate! What do you think of these royal-inspired names? Will you give your baby a royal name, or did you give your child one of these names?

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic was this Sunday. There have been a lot of events commemorating the lives lost in the tragedy – from special memorials to even the 1997 blockbuster hit (with Leo and Kate!) making its 3D debut in theatres. (Did you catch it in 3D – what was it like?)

In honor of the anniversary, we rounded up the top baby names from 1912 from the Social Security Administration. We’re guessing a lot of the passengers on board had these names! And if you’re wondering where Rose and Jack fit on the list, well, Jack’s a nickname of 1912’s number one boy name, John, and Rose was number 15 on the list!

Top 10 Boys’ Names in 1912: John, William, James, Robert, Joseph, George, Charles, Edward, Frank, Thomas
Top 10 Girls’ Names in 1912: Mary, Helen, Dorothy, Margaret, Ruth, Mildred, Anna, Elizabeth, Frances, Marie

Will you take any inspiration from these names? Are you planning to see Titanic in 3D?

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It’s nice to have a ton of different baby names to choose from, but did you ever think that all the variety is making you anxious and miserable about choosing the perfect name? Laura Wattenberg writes about the subject in her blog The Baby Name Wizard. She says that the baby-naming blues has really been on the rise lately because there are so many choices and it makes the naming decisions a lot harder and the process much longer. Wattenberg talks about “the paradox of choice” and how choice is freedom and is supposed to make us happy because we can follow whatever path suits us, but in reality, the abundance of choice makes us miserable.

What’s also not helping parents when it comes to choosing a name? There’s a lot of pressure to choose a distinctive name, that’s not too popular and the fact that baby naming books have thousands of words – Wattenberg writes that one book has 140,000 choices!

We think it’s understandable for parents to be overwhelmed by the baby naming process — it’s a pretty big decision!

Are you feeling anxious about naming your baby? Or how did you choose the name for your baby?