Parents seem to be looking in an unusual place for inspiration for baby names this year - their smartphones and iPads.

The number of babies named after Apple products has soared - Apple, Siri and Mac have all risen in popularity as baby names this year, according to parenting advice site BabyCenter's annual report.

Siri - the name of the 'personal assistant' app on iPhone - has risen 5% in popularity, and the name Apple has leapt 585 places up BabyCenter's chart this year.

The huge success of iPhone and iPad seem to be behind the new trend - BabyCenter describes the youngsters as 'iBabies'.

"The smart phone may just be the best parenting tool since diapers, and some moms and dads are paying homage to industry leader Apple in their choice of baby names," says Linda Murray, the site's global editor in chief.

"The moniker Apple, though still an unusual choice, rose 15% for girls, vaulting a whopping 585 spots."

"For boys, the name Mac jumped 12%. And parents sure like the sound of Siri: The company's voice-enabled personal assistant climbed 5% on the list of girl names."

Space-themed baby names - perhaps inspired by the publicity around NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover - also rose in popularity.

"It seems space was a huge naming inspiration for parents this year: Sky, Star, Luna, Skylar, Heaven, Stella, and Mars all flew higher than last year. BabyCenter moms aren’t alone; celebrities like Uma Thurman – who named her daughter Luna – are looking to the sky as well," says Miller.

Last week, a couple claimed to have called their baby Hashtag, after the Twitter term.

A Facebook post said, "Hashtag Jameson was born at 10 o'clock last nite. She weys 8pounds and i luv her so much!!!!!!"

Later, the authenticity of the post was disputed, with some claiming that the name was a fake, or a viral promotion.

(Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)