Jacob and Sophia keep top spots as most popular baby names in America

The Social Security Administration just released its annual list of most popular baby names.

In 2012, for the second year in a row, Jacob and Sophia came out on top as the most-given names to America's littlest citizens.

"Jacob and Sophia are repeat champions as America's most popular baby names for 2012. This is the fourteenth year in a row Jacob tops the list for boys and the second year for Sophia," the agency states.

Why has Jacob reigned supreme for so long?

"It's easy to pronounce, and it's easy to spell. It's a solid manly name," says Jennifer Moss, author of "The One-in-a-Million Baby Name Book" and founder of Babynames.com. "It's a biblical name, and biblical names are always in style."

New to the top 10: Elizabeth and Liam, replacing last year's Chloe and Daniel.

Also see: New Zealand releases list of banned baby names

Top baby boy names of 2012:

1. Jacob
2. Mason
3. Ethan
4. Noah
5. William
6. Liam
7. Jayden
8. Michael
9. Alexander
10. Aiden

Top baby girl names of 2012:

1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Isabella
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Mia
9. Madison
10. Elizabeth

Also see: Unusual baby names top Nameberry's most popular list

The biggest leaps in popularity in the top-500 names were the boy's name Major (up to 483 from 988) and girl's name Arya (from 711 to 413) — likely a nod to a beloved character on HBO's "Game of Thrones."

"I have no doubt Major's rising popularity as a boy's name is in tribute to the brave members of the U.S. military," Carolyn Colvin, acting Social Security commissioner, says in a statement. "Maybe we'll see more boys named General in the future."

The fast-growing Spanish population south of the border influenced the second-fastest rising names: Gael for boys, jumping from 408 to 146, and Perla for girls, moving up from 642 to 452.

(It should be noted that other fast-rising names include King and Messiah, both which are now banned in New Zealand.)

For trend-conscious parents about to name their unborn offspring, it should be noted that the various spellings of similar names are counted as separate names. Caitlin, Caitlyn, Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Kaitlynn, Katelyn and Katelynn all have their own rankings on the list, making the name more popular than it may appear.

Because of the diversity in baby-naming today, the top names aren't nearly as popular as the top names were a generation ago, baby experts claim.

Also see: The shorter the name, the bigger the salary?

"For example, 18,899 babies were named Jacob last year. Two decades ago, that wasn't good enough to crack the top 25. In 1992, Michael was the top name for boys, with more than 54,000 boys getting the name," ABC News reports.

"We're seeing a total revolution in terms of the diversity of naming," says Laura Wattenberg, author of "The Baby Name Wizard" and founder of Babynamewizard.com. "Parents are really focused on choosing a distinctive name that will make their child stand out."

The Social Security Administration lists the names from Social Security card applications each year, and has been tracking names since 1880. For the name-trend obsessed, the agency provides information about the popularity of names over the decades here.

When naming your offspring, do you value uniqueness? Or does popularity not bother you, as long as you love the name?

Share how you decided on your kids' names in the comments.