Wondering what were the popular girl names of the decade 2000 through 2009? While the official results haven't been released yet from the Social Security Administration (and won't be for a few more months), one company has given their results of the top baby girl names based on the pattens they saw with customer orders. Do these names mirror the popular baby name lists or will a unique girl name grab the top spot?

Some baby girl names have long lasting staying power. These names top the list year after year after year. But if you really want to see which names are most popular, you need to look at the bigger picture: names over the span of a decade or so. That's what's so interesting about the most popular names of 2000-2009 -- they track the actual shift in what people perceive as good names for little girls.

The Social Security Administration puts out a list annual of the most popular names of the year, and they also track by decade. But the latest results won't be available for a few more months. In the meantime, Name Your Tune  has compiled their own list based on customer orders of their personalized music compilations for kids.

So, what names were most popular?

Popular Baby Girl Name Trends

Something about the name Madeline has really caught on in recent years and, in 2009, that name was number one among baby girls, according to Name Your Tune. How many baby Madelines have you met or read about lately? Probably several. As for the decade, Emma, which means whole and complete, topped the list.

One popular baby name trend is changing the spelling of popular names. “We’ve seen more spelling variations of both of this year’s top names than we imagined possible ... Madeline can be spelled Madeleine, Maddelin, and Madalen,” says Name Your Tune Creator/Executive Producer Candace Alper. “Parents like the sound of traditional names, but they also want to show the individuality of their children. Parents realize that the name they give their child will become part of the child’s identity.”

Gender neutral or unisex baby names were also very popular. “Variations on the name Aiden are also dominating both boys and girl names –Aidan, Jayden, Brayden, Hayden, Caden. These names are gender-neutral and can also be spelled so many ways, hence their popularity,” said Alper.

Check out our pick of the top 50 unisex names here!

Popular Baby Girl Names of 2009

What were the top 10 popular baby girl names of 2009?  The list includes a lot of lovely classic names that are seeing a revival these days.

1. Madelyn/Madeleine/Madelynn
2. Madison
3. Emma
4. Hannah
5. Olivia
6. Audrey
7. Isabella
8. Grace
9. Taylor
10. Emily

Check out the Top 100 names from the Social Security Administration

Popular Girl Names of the Decade

It's interesting to look at the top names of the year as compared to the top names of the decade. While there are some similarities, there were quite a few differences in the names the topped the charts. Check out the top 10 girl names of 2000-2009, according to Name Your Tune.

1. Emma
2. Madison
3. Emily
4. Hannah
5. Olivia
6. Samantha
7. Ashley
8. Ava
9. Elizabeth
10 Madelyn/Madeleine/Madelynn

Baby Name Trend Predictions

Looking forward, what will be the next big thing in baby naming? The folks at Name Your Tune made a special prediction. “My prediction for next decade is we’ll see ... a lot more girls named Bella being born due to the success of the Twilight franchise,” says Alper.

Check out more Twilight names here!

That's certainly possible, given the track record of names based on popular movies in the past. However, if the last decade is any indication, we predict that the name Kristen (after Twilight star Kristen Stewart) will actually be the name to surge. After all, Harry Potter's Emma (after star Emma Watson) made the list instead of Hermione, right?

More Baby Name Ideas:

Popular Baby Name Trends for 2010

Irish Baby Names: The Hottest Name Trend

Unique Baby Names and Meanings

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