“Anthony, Ava are top Macomb County baby names - Detroit Free Press” plus 3

Anthony, Ava are top Macomb County baby names - Detroit Free Press
Fewer Parents Embrace Common Baby Names - Miller-McCune.com
Samuel, Emily top 2009 baby names at BRMH - Jackson County Chronicle
BB star Chanelle Hayes pregnant with first baby - Bounty

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Anthony, Ava are top Macomb County baby names - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 21 Jan 2010 01:08 AM PST

Anthony and Ava topped the list of most popular baby names in Macomb County in 2009.

The most popular girl names, in order, were Ava, Isabella, Olivia, Madison, Brooklyn, Abigail, Emma, Alexis, Emily, Ella and Sophia.

The most popular boy names were Anthony, Jacob, Michael, Joseph, Logan, Noah, Andrew, John, Nathan and Christian.

The countys top names 50 years ago were David, James, Mary and Susan.

Also striking were the variety of unusual names among the nearly 3,900 births in the county Darling, Blessing, Heaven, Angel, Eden, Genesis, Kharma and Athena.

A lot of parents were pretty creative this year with names, Macomb County Clerk and Register of Deeds Carmella Sabaugh. You get a sense for how excited some new parents are just based on what they name their children.

Parents also named their children after locations, including Ireland, Georgia, America, Memphis, Jerzey and Paris.

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Fewer Parents Embrace Common Baby Names - Miller-McCune.com

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 02:44 PM PST

What's in a study of names? Evidence of the increasing importance Americans place on individuality.

Where have all the Howards gone? Whatever happened to baby Jane? And if everybody loves Raymond, why are so few people giving their son that name?

Curmudgeonly questions, to be sure. But if you keep running into youngsters named Aspen or Chardonnay and intuit that a fundamental shift has taken place regarding what we name our offspring, you are not mistaken.

In a paper just published in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science, a team of researchers led by psychologist Jean Twenge of San Diego State University analyze the names American parents have given their children for the past 130 years. Their key conclusion isn't that the list of favorite monikers has changed over the past century-plus; that was expected. (Just ask any Ida, if you can find one).

Rather, their fascinating finding is the percentage of parents who gave their child a relatively common name has declined dramatically over the decades.

In 1880, the first year of the Social Security Administration records they used as a database, nearly 40 percent of American boys received one of the year's top 10 names. In 2007, that figure was under 10 percent. For girls, the percentage with a top-10 name dropped from 25 percent to 8 percent.

"In the 1950s, the average first-grade class of 30 children would have had at least one boy named James, the most common male name then," the researchers write. "But in 2013, six classes will be necessary to find only one Jacob, even though that was the most common boys' name in 2007."

Parents are also less likely to choose among the top 50 names of their era. As late as 1960, more than 60 percent of boys received a name on that list; in 2007, that was down to just over 30 percent. "The largest decrease (in use of popular names) occurred in the 1990s, with the 2000s a close second," the researchers report.

The researchers determined the immigration rate (which of course waxed and waned over the past century) was not a significant factor driving this trend. Furthermore, they found it held true even in the six states with the lowest Hispanic population. If ethnicity plays a role, they believe it may be in an increased willingness by immigrants to give their children ethnic names rather than "American" ones that will help them assimilate more easily.

But even that reinforces the researchers' fundamental conclusion, which is the increased diversity of names reflects a change in societal attitudes. Homogeneity, increasingly, is out.

"An increasing number of American parents give their children names that will help them stand out rather than fit in, a behavioral indicator of the increase in the emphasis on individualism and uniqueness in American society," conclude Twenge and her colleagues (one of whom is named Emodish Abebe).

By the way, the Social Security Administration has an online feature that allows you to look up the most popular baby names in any given year. In 1880, John and Mary led the boys' and girls' lists. They remained in the top three in 1950, but were replaced by James and Linda in the No. 1 slots. By 2008, the lists had changed dramatically, with Jacob, Michael and Ethan leading among boys and Emma, Isabella and Emily among girls.

It would be fascinating to determine whether the trend to a wider variety of names is a worldwide phenomenon, or a reflection of a uniquely American emphasis on individuality. It's reasonable to suspect the latter: After all, we did elect a president named Barack.

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Samuel, Emily top 2009 baby names at BRMH - Jackson County Chronicle

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 03:08 PM PST

Published - Wednesday, January 20, 2010

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Samuel, Emily top 2009 baby names at BRMH



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by Cassandra Colson | Reporter

Samuel and Emily were the most popular names chosen for babies born at Black River Memorial Hospital in 2009.

A total of 153 babies — 85 boys and 68 girls — were born at the hospital in 2009. There were four boys born who had the name Samuel and well as four girls named Emily.

For boys, Hayden and Garrett were the next most popular on the top-10 list, with Benjamin, Max, Adam, Gage, Jackson and Jayden close behind.

For girls, Alyssa, Addison, Lillian, Justice, Chloe, Sophia and Grace were the next most popular on the top-eight list.

Some of the more unique names chosen for little ones in 2009 included: Ayvien, Analia, Tamber, Justiss, Lyric, Cordelia, Keoni, Fheonix, Renzo, Jalila, Krue, River, Talyn and Brewer.

In 2008, the most popular boys name was a three-way tie between Logan, William and Rory. Like the boys, there was a three-way tie between Ava, Macie and Grace for the girls. Quindale and Jaleesa were among some of the more unique names chosen that year.

William and Christopher, along with Lauren, Olivia and Hannah, topped the lists in 2007.

Mary O'Brien, the hospital's public relations manager, said the hospital hasn't always tracked baby names like it has number of births and gender.

In fact, the process started in 2002 when O'Brien thought it would be a neat venture for the hospital to take on.

"I had seen it in other papers and I thought, 'Gosh, that's kind of cool. Let's look at what we have here,'" she said.

In 2008, 141 babies were delivered — 71 boys and 70 girls. In 2007, the hospital delivered 152 babies, with 88 boys and 64 girls.

BB star Chanelle Hayes pregnant with first baby - Bounty

Posted: 21 Jan 2010 02:34 AM PST

Chanelle Hayes and footballer boyfriend Matthew Bates are expecting their first child together.

The 22-year-old Big Brother star shared her new baby news after going for her 12-week scan.

An insider close to the pair told the Sun Chanelle is "absolutely thrilled" and Middlesbrough player Matthew is "over the moon" about the pregnancy.

The baby news comes five months after Chanelle overdosed on pills and wine at her Wakefield home following an argument with Matthew.

However, the Sun's source said "the dark days are behind" the couple now as they look forward to choosing baby names and starting a family.

Victoria Beckham lookalike Chanelle, who participated in the 2007 series of Big Brother, has launched a music career after leaving the show.

In addition to hitting the party circuit with fellow reality TV star Chantelle Houghton, Chanelle has been spotted out and about with rumoured boyfriends Calum Best and footballer Tom Huddlestone since her split from Big Brother housemate Ziggy Lichman.