Isis Disappears From List Of 2015’s Most Popular Baby Names Thanks To The Islamic State Group

Parents generally do not like to name their newborn babies after global villains — there are not many Adolfs floating around in the U.S. So now that the Islamic State terror group (aka ISIS) has risen to prominence in the Middle East, a once-popular name for girls has abruptly fallen into obscurity.

The Social Security Administration released its annual list of the most popular baby names Friday, and Isis, a name that had consistently ranked among the list of 1,000 most popular girls names for 15 years, has dropped completely off the list. The reason for the big change would seem to be pretty obvious.

The Islamic State group, which has taken over large pieces of territory in Iraq and Syria, goes by the acronym ISIS, which stands for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The group, which is also called IS, ISIL and Daesh, has claimed responsibility for many global terror attacks, including this year's deadly March 22 bombings in Brussels and the coordinated attacks in Paris in last November. The similarity between the ISIS acronym and Isis name is likely scaring off parents in the U.S. who most likely do not want their babies associated with terrorism.

"It's actually quite rare for a name to be eliminated by issues in the news," Laura Wattenberg, the founder of babynamewizard.com, told CBS News, pointing out that it still took a few years for the name Adolf to disappear from the list even after U.S. forces declared war on Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in World War II.

As for the most popular baby names, Noah and Emma took the top spots for boys and girls, respectively. That is the second straight year of lofty ranking for Emma, which previously topped the list in 2008. Meanwhile, Noah has now been the most popular boys' name for three straight years.

Below are the top 10 male and female baby names in 2015:

Most popular female names:

1. Emma

2. Olivia

3. Sophia

4. Ava

5. Isabella

6. Mia

7. Abigail

8. Emily

9. Charlotte

10. Harper