The Social Security Administration (SSA) this weekend released the information about America’s baby name choices in 2007.
Top US Boys Names 2007
Top US Girls Names 2007
Emily and Jacob have topped the list since 1996 and 1999 respectively.
The United States government today unveiled plans to restrict budding parents to a selection of just 1,000 names for their new arrival - 500 boys names and 500 girls.
The scheme mirrors that put forward in Venezuela (nytimes.com) in 2007, where a spate of wacky baby names provoked a government intervention.
A list of the 1,000 allowable names can be found on the Social Security Administration website. Unbelievably, staple names like Lee, Duncan and Ann will be outlawed when the Act comes into force early 2009.
The move comes after the celebrity baby naming culture has gone bizerk, inspiring hundreds of parents across the US to name their children with awful monikers. Only recently, Hollywood actress Halle Berry named her newborn daughter Nahla Ariela Aubry. Berry will thank her good timing, as all these names will be rejected at birth registration offices.
Bloggers have reacted fiercely, calling the move unconstitutional. SSA representatives refused to comment on this allegation.
A Welsh couple have used their interest in mythology to help name their six children, creating a family whose names are legendary to say the least.
Elaine and Tony Romaeo are the proud parents of six children aging from zero to twelve. In age order, they line up as:
Romeo Casanova Valentino (12)
Venus Valentine (11)
Angel Aphrodite (10)
Isis Ise (3)
Achilles Spartacus Mars (2)
Caesar Augustus Constantine (not yet born)
Mrs Romaeo said: “There’s enough boring normality in the world so we decided to draw inspiration from Roman, Greek and Egyptian history to name our children.
“When the new arrival comes in four week’s time he will be named after three Roman emperors.”
Which of these name combinations is your favourite? I personally find it easier to pick my least favourite. Achilles Spartacus Mars is the worst for me - the combination of foot anatomy and gladiator-slave, garnished with a chocolate bar/planet, is too much for me to handle.
“The look on the registrar’s face is always a picture when we tell them the names we’ve chosen,” quipped Elaine.
My suggestion for child number seven - Zeus Minotaur Ra.
Once again, there is no change at the top, with Jack the number one boys’ name. Thomas also retains his second place slot with 5803 boys sharing the name in 2007. The only movement in the top five is the exchange of places between Joshua and Oliver to third and fourth respectively, with Harry remaining fifth.
Jayden, which is now the 32nd most popular boys’ name, has been climbing steadily since its appearance in the top 100 in 2004.
The most popular baby names in Scotland this year have been revealed. Lewis has returned to the top spot for boys, pushing last year’s winner, Jack, into second place, the Registrar General for Scotland said.
For girls, Sophie is the most popular name for the third year in a row with Emma remaining in second place. Third is Lucy and fourth is Katie.
Meanwhile, the biggest climbers in the 2007 baby name charts were Jayden for boys and Summer for girls.
The Telegraph today features an article on Mohammed’s assault on the top boy’s names in the UK. The name, when all variants are added together, is just a few hundred from top spot.
Mohammed is on course to become the most popular boys’ name in England and Wales by next year.
The high birth rate among Muslim families mean the name is set to overtake the current favourite name for baby boys, Jack.
An analysis of names compiled by the Office for National Statistics shows that when the different spelling variations of the name are added together, it is just a few hundred off the top place.
GazetteLive has a charming story from the North of England about a mother who went into labour on Remembrance Sunday (November 11th).
The mother, Nicola Dunning, spent most of the 11th in labour and gave birth to her baby early on Monday morning.
Initially expecting a son, the couple’s boy names were blown out the window when their baby daughter was born.
Considering the significance of the day, they settled on the name Poppy.
“My waters broke at around 2am on the Sunday morning, so we thought she must definitely be on her way. We went to James Cook University Hospital, but they told us to come back when my contractions were stronger,” said Nicola.
Nicola returned to the hospital a few hours later and following a 14-hour labour - her 8lb 6oz baby daughter arrived.
She said: “I’d been kind of convinced that I was going to have a baby boy, so we had picked out names for a boy.
“But then in the hospital when I had to think of girl’s names I thought of the name Poppy, which I thought would be nice with it just having been Remembrance Sunday.”
A poster campaign against the discrimination of homosexuals has caused controversy today.
The poster depicts a newly born infant wearing a name tag on its wrist, but in place of a name, the word ‘homosexual’ is written.
The text accompanying the image reads “Sexual orientation is not a choice”. The photograph is part of a campaign by the Tuscany regional government in Italy.
Thousands of these posters are printed and ready for display across the region.
It’s no surprise that The poster has been condemned by conservative politicians, with Lucio Volonte, a leading parliamentarian for the Union of Christian Democrats, commenting that “exploiting newborns to suggest that homosexual tendencies are innate is a misleading and shameful act.”
Gay groups have also voiced negative opinions on the poster. Gianni Vattimo, an Italian philosopher, gay rights activist and European Parliament member described the campaign “excessive”. The slogan “is too biology-centric. Of course for a homosexual it is natural to be gay, but I’m not too sure it is determined by genetics”, Vattimo said.
What are your thoughts on this poster? Is it over the top, or simply necessary to push the message of equality? Leave your comments below!
via AAP
Here’s a classic example of a world event causing ripples in the world of baby names. A whopping 3590 Chinese citizens bear the name Aoyun, meaning Olympics in Mandarin. This should come as no surprise, considering the impending 2008 Olympic Games to be staged in Beijing.
It seems that this unique moniker is not solely being used to honour the Games themselves, but instead with hopes of injecting some Olympian spirit into Chinese youth. Not that the country lacks in that department - at Athens 2004, China were second only to the USA.
It is thought that some pregnant Chinese woman are “aiming” to give birth at 8.08pm, August 8th 2008, to coincide with the opening ceremony.
There are five Chinese characters that comprise the phrase “Beijing Olympic Games”; Bei, Jing, Ao, Yun and Hui. These are among the 4,100 surnames available for use in Chinese culture. Interestingly, only 100 of these surnames are frequently used, meaning that 84.8% of the population is named using 2.5% of the available surnames.
The survey, carried out by id5.cn and found via ChinaDaily, points out that 2008 will be a record-setting bumper year for Olympics baby names.
Long gone are Mary, Margaret, John and James – favorite baby names of New Yorkers having kids in 1898. Madison and Mia, along with Jayden and Justin, are more the style of today’s New York City parent. These names ranked among the top 10 most popular baby names of 2006, according to the list released today by the Health Department. Longtime favorites Ashley and Michael took the number-one spots among the 125,506 babies born here last year.
Top 10 boy names in New York (2006): Michael, Daniel, Matthew, Joshua, Justin, David, Christopher, Joseph, Anthony, Jayden
Top 10 girl names in New York (2006): Ashley, Emily, Isabella, Sarah, Kayla, Sophia, Mia, Madison, Brianna, Samantha
Michael reigned as king of boys’ names, as he has since 1980. Matthew bumped David out of the top five this year and newcomer Jayden claimed the 10th spot, leaving Nicholas off the list. For girls, Ashley nudged out Emily for number one, reclaiming the position she’d held from 1992-2002. Newcomers Mia and Madison entered the top 10, and Olivia and Rachel lost their slots.
Breaking it down into ethnic groups, Michael and Sarah were the top White names, Joshua and Kayla the top Black names, Ashley and Angel the top Hispanic names and Emily and Ryan the top Asia/Pacific names. The Hispanic names are interesting, as they are both unisex name (in this case, Ashley is the girl).
There were numerous geographical names that cropped up, including London, Milan, Egypt and Kenya. There were even ten girls named Trany!
The full data can be downloaded from the NYC government site (pdf).
