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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Women in Business Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend January 6, 2007 My Name Is ... ... these days, it could be just about anything. Ask Aiden. Or Navaeh. Or Ava. Or Zen. By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL The Associated Press hat's going to happen to Michael? Will he go the way of Jennifer and Amy, fading out of the spotlight, or will he learn a lesson from Matthew, who avoids the headlines but always turns in a solid, consistent performance? Either way, Michael is at a turning point: After more than three decades as the top name for boys, Michael is not on BabyCenter.com's top 10 list of most popular names. It slipped to No. 12 on the 2005 list and has stayed there. Most people who track trends know that children are pretty good arbiters of what's hot, what's not and what's next. It turns out this all starts on the day they're born, as the names they are given often fit into larger social and cultural trends. When the colonists arrived on U.S. shores, they purposely spurned classic English names in favor of biblical ones. In the 19th century, literature served as a source of inspiration — hence the popularity of Ida, a princess in a Tennyson poem. And beginning in the 20th century, people have named their children after movie stars and TV characters. So, what's up with Michael, which reigned supreme as a boy's name for 50 years? Linda Murray, editor-in-chief of the BabyCenter Web site, says too much publicity about how popular the name was led some parents to avoid it. "What's happening is that boys' names are loosening up, getting more creative, and I only expect to see more of that," she said. Advertisement Michael is still second on the Social Security Administration's 2005 name list, the most recent one available. The Social Security list registers first names that appear on birth certificates. Many children, though, actually are called nicknames or their middle names. Murray thinks her list of a database of 374,522 names accurately reflects cultural trends because it ranks names by sound, not spelling, so all the Kaitlyns and Catelyns are counted together. Together, the 45 spellings of Mackenzie made it the 27th most popular name, while the Social Security list ranks the most common spelling of Mackenzie as No. 50. Also, Murray says, the government's 2006 list won't be out for several months, and parents have become so concerned with not naming their children with a popular name, they want to know what to avoid. "People are looking for something unique. They don't want a name on the top 10 list, so they dig down," Murray explained. Still, today's top names — Aiden for boys and Emma for girls — aren't as overwhelmingly popular as the top names from a generation ago, when it seemed everyone had multiple Michaels and Jennifers in their class. "Somebody has to be No. 1, even if there are fewer of them. We're choosing from a much broader range of names than we used to," Murray said. A hot new entry is Nevaeh — heaven spelled backward — which came from nowhere to surge ahead to No. 89, says Murray. That fits in with an overall increase in spiritual, though not necessarily biblical, names. There are more babies named Blessing, Eden and Zen than you'd think. Addison, a girl's name, is one of the quickest rising stars, jumping 57 spots to No. 26. It's worth noting there is an Addison on one of TV's biggest hits, "Grey's Anatomy." More than 40 percent of boys' names on the BabyCenter list end in either an "an" or "en" sound. "Aiden — it's a surprise to me, too, that it's No. 1, but there was a character on 'Sex and the City' and he was the best boyfriend Carrie ever had. I think that might have something to with it," Murray said. New parents don't like to admit it, but chances are their name choices were influenced by pop culture or the media, according to Lesley Bolton, author of "The Complete Book of Baby Names" (SourceBooks). Both Murray and Bolton cite Reese Witherspoon as an example. There aren't a lot of little Reeses running around, but the name Ava wasn't even on BabyCenter's top 100 list when the daughter of Witherspoon and estranged husband Ryan Phillipe was born in 1999. In 2006, though, it was No. 3. Bolton also points to the re-emergence of Emma as a popular name after Jennifer Aniston's character gave birth to one on "Friends." Names in the news are another factor, Bolton notes. "Katrina — all names have an association. We won't see a lot of Katrinas over the next few years, but it will be considered retro decades from now." Using names to honor relatives is a time-honored tradition, and Bolton expects this to be a strong trend in 2007, especially names of grandparents and great-grandparents. "They're names that have stood the test of time, everyone knows them and can spell them, but they've been off the bench for so long that there is a little bit of individuality," she said. In 2006, for example, Abigail was No. 9. With names skipping a generation or two, it's more than likely that today's kids will romanticize Jennifer and Linda, former No. 1 names that their parents (many of whom are Jennifers and Lindas) are consciously avoiding, said BabyCenter's Murray. Among today's parents, Murray noted that there is a theory that some try to choose names that sound successful "as a way to give their children a step up in life." Whatever factors influence name choices, a BabyCenter survey last year of parents found that most, 82 percent, like their own name. "In the end, it becomes a part of you," said Murray, adding: "Sure, the odd names go through a stage where they want to be part of a group, but then they usually decide they can't imagine themselves as anything else." Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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