“William, Madison are decade's top baby names in TN - The Tennessean” plus 2

William, Madison are decade's top baby names in TN - The Tennessean
Most popular baby names in West Michigan during the 2000s: Jacob, Emma - Muskegon Chronicle - MLive.com
'Edward' doesn't see light of day on 2009's top baby name list - Evansville Courier & Press

William, Madison are decade's top baby names in TN - The Tennessean

Posted: 01 Jan 2010 12:57 AM PST

Will, Billy, Liam no matter how you slice William, Tennesseans dig it.

They have for the last decade, making it the most popular boy's name in that time period, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration.

For girls, Madison has topped the 10-year list in Tennessee, beating out Hannah and Emily. Emma, a name that has vehemently competed with Madison since 2003, has moved up to the top of the chart in Tennessee in 2009.

Melissa Joyce of Cross Plains in Robertson County has one of each: William, 8, and Emma, 3. William goes by Will and was named after grandfather Billy.

"It didn't really seem that popular at the time, and we actually named him while we were at the hospital," Joyce said.

When it came to Emma, finally settling on the name took a bit of research.

"We went through baby book after baby book but couldn't decide on anything," Joyce said.

"We decided on Emma on the way to the hospital because it was the only one we could agree on. There wasn't a lot of forethought that they were popular names, just ones we could agree on."

While Madison scored high with parents across the country in the last decade ranked as second most popular between 2000 and 2008 William has fallen out of favor outside of the South, one baby names expert said.

William placed 10th on the national list of the most popular names of the 2000s.

"From Tennessee, heading southeast, you're in the part of the country where William has really been the dominant name of the last 50 years," said Laura Wattenberg, who's studied the role of names in the culture for years.

She also wrote a book about it called Baby Name Wizard and created a Web site that tracks baby name trends in the U.S., among other research.

South likes tradition

"What we've seen over the last 25 years is a total revolution in the way Americans name boys. Tennessee and the area around you have generally stayed a lot more traditional with boys' names than the rest of the country."

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Posted: 01 Jan 2010 07:40 AM PST

By Nardy Baeza Bickel | The Grand Rapids Pr...

January 01, 2010, 10:31AM

JACOB EMMA.jpg Lori Niedenfuer Cool | The Grand Rapids PressEmma and Jacob Starner, ages 4 and 7, children of Lisa and Seth Starner, have the most popular first names among children born at Spectrum Health hospitals in 2009. After giving birth at home, Lisa Starner and husband, Seth, waited about a week to name their two children, born three years apart, to make sure the monikers matched their babies' personalities.

"My husband and I were really open to any names. We played the 'yes, no, yes,' game for months before deciding. We really had to see what the kids were like, and the names seem to fit," said Lisa Starner, 31.

They settled on Jacob for their son, now 7, and Emma for their daughter, now 4.

The Grand Rapids couple have a lot of company.

The names Jacob and Emma have been bestowed on hundreds of children in West Michigan and hundreds of thousands nationwide. Both names were the most popular for babies born at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in 2009 -- and for the past decade.

The second most popular set of names for the decade were Ethan and Olivia.

Spectrum Health Family Birthplace at Butterworth Hospital delivers more infants than any other hospital in Michigan, with more than 7,665 born at the hospital in 2009

While nearby Saint Mary's Health Care could not provide its list, anecdotal evidence from its delivery rooms show names like Ava, Grace, Michael and Connor are the most popular.

"We don't have a family tradition of family names, and we knew they were quite popular," Starner said of the couple's choices. "We didn't have names for a week and it just happened that we were among millions (picking the names). That's fun, too," she said.

Jacob has topped the popularity list for the state and the country for a decade, while Emma became the most popular girl's name in the nation last year. In Michigan, Emma has been a top-three contestant for three years.

According data from the Social Security Administration, 753 boys were named Jacob in Michigan last year, followed by 623 named Ethan and 581 named Michael. Statewide, 628 girls were named Emma, behind Olivia, 672, and Ava, 630.

Jacob replaced Michael as the most popular name for boys in the country in 1999. Michael -- a favorite since 1954 except for one year -- continued to be the second most popular name until 2007, when Ethan took that spot.

Popular names for girls have been a bit less predictable.

Emma became the most popular name last year, replacing "Emily," which had held the top spot since 1996. Emily replaced Jessica, a favorite since 1985, save for two years.

Before that, the most popular names were Jennifer, starting in 1970, Lisa, since 1962 and Mary since 1953.

Lori Niedenfuer Cool | The Grand Rapids PressRachel Vogel, 7, rubs her brother Jacob's head during a tender moment. Seven years ago, Matt and Deb Vogel planned to name their baby Jacob but had to change their plans when they had a girl. Matt and Deb Vogel had planned to name their baby Jacob seven years ago, but changed their plans when they had a girl. When they learned they were expecting again, they searched for a different name. But the Byron Township couple couldn't find one they liked better, so they stuck with Jacob Mark, who was born Dec. 10.

"The fact that it's the No. 1 name was kind of a turn-off, but still we went with it because it's a strong, masculine name and we couldn't find one we liked better," said Deb Vogel.

For Melanie Weaver and Andrew Turic, of Holland, picking a name had to do both with agreeing on one they liked and finding one their close friends hadn't already nabbed.

Melanie wanted Emily, but Andrew didn't like it. They settled on Emma.

"I also liked Taylor, but one of my best friends named her (newborn) Taylor, and we didn't want to have the same name," she said.

Most Popular Names of the 2000s

Here's a list of the most popular names according to data from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the U.S. from 2000 to 2008 (this year's data becomes available in February). The data represents 19,078,548 male births and 18,224,249 female births.

Rank, Male name (#) | Female name (3)

1. Jacob (251,758) | Emily (207,815)

2. Michael (230,697) | Madison (177,473)

3. Joshua (213,459) | Emma (162,839)

4. Matthew (204,889) | Hannah (147,660)

5. Christopher (187,143) | Olivia (138,118)

6. Andrew (187,001) | Abigail (136,094)

7. Daniel (185,383) | Isabella (126,721)

8. Ethan (181,497) | Ashley (124,944)

9. Joseph (178,974) | Samantha (124,288)

10. William (175,793) | Elizabeth (121,819)

Source: Social Security Administration

Grand Rapids' first baby of 2010 born two minutes into New Year

E-mail Nardy Bickel: nbickel@grpress.com

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'Edward' doesn't see light of day on 2009's top baby name list - Evansville Courier & Press

Posted: 31 Dec 2009 09:56 PM PST

Maybe it's too soon for the "Twilight" phenomenon to cast a bigger shadow on the world of baby names.

Why else weren't more Edwards born in Evansville this past year in recognition of the film's young vampire heartthrob?

Were there so-called "ice storm" babies spurred by a January storm that paralyzed much of the Tri-State and kept people home? Babies that would have been born in late September or October?

The jury's out.

St. Mary's Medical Center had a 25 percent spike in October births, Kirsten Emmons, director of OB/GYN and the Newborn Nursery. (The hospital didn't release specific numbers, but has indicated the number of births jumped 12 percent this year).

But at Deaconess — where 3,089 babies have been delivered at The Women's Hospital compared to 3,232 in 2008 — spokeswoman Sara Gallegos expressed some doubt.

She said while September was the busiest month (297 births) and October also was busy (271), both months were off slightly from 2008.

— Rich Davis

Then again, Isabella (Bella for short, like the movie's heroine) was among the 10 most popular names for girls based on a review of birth records published in the Courier & Press during the past 12 months.

Between the city's two hospitals, more than 4,500 babies (52 percent of them boys) were delivered in 2009.

Here, in order, were the most popular names:

n Boys — Aidan (various spellings), Carter, Peyton, Zachary, Isaac, Jackson, Brayden (variations), Eli (or Elijah), Jacob and Ethan.

n Girls — Olivia (also Alivia) followed by Chloe, Isabella, Ava, Emma, Addison, Caitlyn, Madeline (also Madalyn), Savannah and Haley (variations).

We should note, while "Twilight" has a young character named Jacob, that name already was the decade's most popular nationally (along with Emma), according to the Social Security Administration.

Some of the fresher names making the list may have been influenced by pop culture. Peyton (or Peighton for girls) may stem from the popularity of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in this region.

And if Addison seems an unlikely "in" name, it's a character on "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice."

Variationsare common

According to Candace Alper, creator behind the Web site Name Your Tune (www.nameyourtune.com) that personalizes children's music, we're seeing more spelling variations on names, too.

"Parents like the sound of traditional names, but they also want to show the individuality of their children," she said. "Parents realize that the name they give their child will become part of the child's identity."

Here are some names that almost made the Top 10 locally:

n Boys — Landon, Joshua, Noah, Grant, Luke, Colton, Gavin, Hunter, Jayden, Nathan, Collin and Ryan.

n Girls — Sophie, Taylor, Brooklyn, Madison, Gabriella, Jaylen, Zoe, Bailey and Kiersten.

Of course, standard-bearers such as Michael, James, Christopher, Robert, John and William along with Jessica, Marie, Elizabeth, Abigail, Nicole and Natalie are still out there. But more often than not in 2009, they were used as middle names, led by Michael for boys and Marie for girls.

Here are some of the more unusual names we found among the Tri-State births:

n Girls — Italy, Divine, Anastasia, Unique, Kennedy (also Kennedi), Azalea, Rhys (also Reese), Aspen, Justice, Egypt, Sierra, Serenity, Trinity, California, Chevelle and Precious.

n Boys — Kobe, Maverick, Prince, Roman, Romeo, Diesel, Chase, Samson, Trace, Adonis, Lincoln, Grey, Finn, Blaze and Thatcher.

Popular nameschange by decade

Every decade seems to add some new names to the list, according to the Social Security Administration.

During the 1940s, Linda moved up the charts, and in the '50s David and Michael were big along with Susan and Deborah.

The '60s saw its share of Kims, Keiths and Lisas while the '70s introduced Melissa, Jennifer, Amy, Christopher and Jason to the Top 10.

The decade of the '80s found Matthew and Joshua among the most popular along with Ashley and Jessica for girls. In the '90s, Jacob made the inner circle as did Emily and Sarah.

During the 2000s, Andrew joined Jacob on the list along with Madison, Olivia and Emma.

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