Baby Name High Jumpers

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The Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games may not be until July 27, but gold has already been achieved in the baby name category for highest jump in popularity.

The Scoop

OK, maybe not an Olympic category, but Brantley and Briella did take the number one spot on the Social Security Administration's "Change in Popularity" list for 2011. For boy's, Brantley leaped from number 736 in 2010 to 320 in 2011, while Briella vaulted from spot 891 in 2010 to 497 for the girl's.

The fastest riser on the girls' list may come from Briella Calafiore, the blonde reality star hairdresser from the hit cable TV shows, Jerseylicious and its spinoff, Glam Fairy. The rising popularity of the name Brantley could be linked to John Brantley, a star quarterback at the University of Florida, or it may be that more parents having kids these days are also country music fans—Brantley Gilbert sings the number one country hit, "Country Must Be Country Wide."

What other names jumped in popularity? Iker took the number two position for boy's names followed by Maximiliano. For girls, Angelique took home the silver medal with Aria sporting the bronze in third place.

Top Baby Names of 2011

As for the SSA's top honors? For boy's names, Team Jacob still rules, with 2011 marking the 13th year Jacob tops the list for most popular boy name in the US. For girls, Sophia has finally managed to rise to the number one position after six years on the top 10 list. Sophia topples the two-year reign of Isabella, who dropped to number two in 2011.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the current list, for both boys and girls, may be that the current crop of popular names shows little sign of losing steam. There's only one new name in the top 10 on either list. Mason rocketed to number two from outside of the top 10 to replace Anthony. Perhaps Mason's popularity has something to do with Kourtney Kardashian choosing the name for her little boy?