Hollywood's influential kids

What comes to mind when you hear the name Shiloh? Chances are it's not the Civil War battleground or the hard-luck dog.

Most likely, it's the oft-photographed child of A-list couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, better known by their tabloid moniker "Brangelina." That wide-spread awareness has earned the A-list kiddie a spot at the top of Forbes' first-ever look at which Hollywood babies have the most effect on pop culture.

To determine which tykes were tops, we looked at both Web presence and press clippings for more than 50 A-list offspring (5 years old and younger) over the course of a year. Then, with a whittled-down list, we reached out to Encino, Calif.-based polling firm E-Poll Market Research for both awareness data for the kids and consumer-appeal rankings for their celebrity parents.

Shiloh's first-place showing comes from strong rankings across the board. Thanks to high-profile parents with an even more high-profile history, her arrival was long-awaited and -- no surprise -- much covered. In fact, the adorable 1-year-old, the only biological child of the globe-trotting set, popped up in more than 2,000 articles over the course of the year.

The rest of the Jolie-Pitt brood isn't far behind. Two-year-old Zahara ranks third, behind Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' 1-year-old daughter Suri. And 4-year-old Pax, who's remained in the public eye since his high-profile adoption earlier this year, comes in fifth. (Six-year-old Maddox was too old to qualify for the list.)

Rounding out the top five is Sean Preston Federline, who has tabloid-target mom Britney Spears to thank for a fourth-place ranking. After all, if it weren't for the former pop-tart's questionable parenting skills (think: driving with the pint-size star on her lap), the 2-year-old wouldn't have landed second when it comes to both Web and press presence.

But why the fascination with folks that can barely talk, much less engage in gossip-worthy behavior?

"We can't really identify with the lives celebrities lead and the luxuries they have," explains Danielle Friedland, founder of celebrity-babies.com, a popular Web site entirely devoted to star progeny. "But what we can identify with is their parenting and their love for their children."

As a result of the attention and money their parents earn, celebrity kids instantly become mini-style icons to size up and swoon over, adds Sarah Ivens, editor in chief of OK! magazine: "We're now as fascinated by the fact that Suri has taken off to Paris and Berlin in little Burberry outfits as we are by what Scarlett Johansson is wearing."

In Video: Best-Selling Celebrity Babies

Of course, when it comes to tabloid interest, not all star kiddies are created equal. And while it often breaks down by their parent's popularity, sometimes a child can actually boost a mom or dad's appeal.

Ivens offers Suri as example, claiming both her celebrity parents and their relationship were the subject of much scrutiny before the tot entered the picture. But since Suri, who is frequently snapped with her doting parents romping about the world, the couple's relationship has become more believable and romantic. "It's made them more of a proper fairytale," she says.

New York Bureau Chief of photo agency World Entertainment News Network Jill Stempel agrees: "[Suri's] completely resuscitated Tom Cruise's career," she says, "and it's kind of humanized him."

And while it's easiest to point fingers at tabloids for exploiting the coo-worthy set, celebrity parents are often in on the action. In fact, selling exclusive first photos has become an increasingly popular means for star parents to control the media maelstrom.

Among the bold-face names to cut deals with the celebrity press: Pitt and Jolie, who reportedly banked $4.1 million from People magazine for the first shots of Shiloh (the humanitarian duo donated the proceeds to charity). Larry Birkhead reportedly scored some $2 million of his own from OK! magazine for exclusive first photos of seventh-place daughter Dannielynn.

But with or without the splashy photo sale, In Touch Weekly Editor in Chief Richard Spencer believes there just might be a healthy byproduct of the unrelenting tabloid attention.

"I'd like to think that Britney Spears does put the seatbelt on the children now," he says, "knowing that so many paparazzi are photographing that."