What’s in a name?

The names that are the most popular in the 100 years haven’t really changed that much.  Ok if you’re talking about celebrities maybe the names they use are a bit outside the box.  I mean it’s a tad different to name your child after a fruit or a compass point.  It’s a good thing these children go to private schools because I can only imagine how they would fare with other children and the poor teachers struggling to spell or pronounce their names.  Take it from me.  I was named Crystal when it wasn’t popular at all and no teacher, not even my grandmother ever knew how to spell my name.

Me, I’m a traditionalist.  Today is my daughter’s birthday and her name is simple and traditional…Mary.  If she had been a boy (We didn’t know her sex beforehand) her name would have been John.  You may wonder why I chose the name Mary in a sea of Jennifers, Jessicas and Brittanys, Boring, you say?  Maybe, but well used through the last century. The United States Social Security website states that the following names are the five most popular in the last 100 years…

Rank	Name	Number	Name	Number
1	James	4,873,581	Mary	3,696,779
2	John	4,773,654	Patricia	1,566,692
3	Robert	4,676,298	Elizabeth	1,455,480
4	Michael	4,230,343	Jennifer	1,455,078
5	William	3,751,295	Linda	1,446,268

You will notice that Mary and John are both on the list.  John weighs in at number 2 and Mary is number 1.  Funny but I don’t see a Sage, Moon unit, or Maddox on that list anywhere.  Maybe those who want to be different should name their children after Captcha words.  They are unique, many times unpronounceable and most definitely one of a kind!