Conference oass::babynames

    These lists are great.  They should be passed out in every childbirth
    class so when people think they are picking something "different,"
    they'll realize they aren't the only ones!
    

	The following list is from Bruce Lansky, The Best Baby Name
	Book.  Thanks to Lori Hagen.


			Most Popular Names -- 1987

		1. 	Jessica
		2. 	Sara, Sarah
		3. 	Amanda
		4. 	Ashley
		5. 	Jennifer
		6. 	Brittany
		7. 	Kristin
		8. 	Heather
		9. 	Stephanie
		10. 	Lindsay
		11. 	Rachel
		12. 	Lauren
		13. 	Emily
		14. 	Michelle
		15. 	Rebecca
		16. 	Nicole, Nichole
		17. 	Katherine
		18. 	Erica
		19. 	Danielle
		20. 	Megan, Meghan
		21. 	Christina
		22. 	Mary
		23. 	Courtney
		24. 	Erin
		25. 	Katie

	Here's what hot and what's not for girl's names:

	o  Big gainers: Brittany and Emily (first time on the charts),
	   Kristin (16), Laura/Lauren (13), Heather (10), Rachel (8)
	   ... I'm not a big TV watcher, but a lot of these sound like
	   day- or prime-time soap names

	o  Big losers: Melissa, Elizabeth, Amy, Jamie, and Kelly (off
	   the charts); Megan (13), Nicole (11), Katherine (8) ...
	   DON'T name your girl Melissa -- it lost at least 22 points
	   -- a safe bet that people are really sick of it

	o  Top 5 names barely changed

	o  Names that derived originally from male names and surnames
	   (or sound like it): Ashley, Brittany, Lindsay, Courtney all
	   increased healthily ... a reflection on our yuppie culture?
	   ... I assume the average person associates these more with
	   the naming traditions of the American upper classes than 
	   with any conscious sexism

	o  More letters: short, cute names like Amy, Erin, etc. tended
	   to give way to longer, more formal names like Stephanie,
	   Brittany, Danielle, etc.

	-- Cliff

>	o  Names that derived originally from male names and surnames
>	   (or sound like it): Ashley, Brittany, Lindsay, Courtney all
>	   increased healthily ... a reflection on our yuppie culture?
>	   ... I assume the average person associates these more with
>	   the naming traditions of the American upper classes than 
>	   with any conscious sexism

	Maybe people just like the letter "y" -- this would seem to
	be borne out by Mary and Emily.  Apart from just the sound of
	the letter itself, however, "y" may tell us something about
	society's trends.  

	There are, for example, several endings that are feminine: 
	"-elle," "-a," "-ine," "-ette," etc.  Most of these, however, 
	have no other important connotations than femininity.  Endings 
	like "-y" and "-ette," however, are also diminutives -- i.e., 
	they mean "little."  

	Diminutives can be either a term of endearment or a tad belit-
	tling.  "-Y" itself can even sound a little childish.  Think of
	the way you talk to a baby: nappie, potty, doggie, etc.  Could
	it be that this trend expresses -- extremely subconsiously --
	our society's a backlash against feminism, our growing
	conservatism, who knows?

	From out in left field,

		-- Cliff

    When I was pregnant I was leary of picking a name too common.  I
    had a boy's name picked out without a doubt (my roommate wanted me if I
    had a boy to name him Justin for Just In[other] Petty) but I was
    settled upon Andrew Thomas.  But a girls name was much harder to decide 
    upon.  I ended up going to the hospital with three girls name to choose 
    from, just in case it was a girl.  One was unusual, one was middle of the 
    road, and one was the most popular name in the country.  I figured that I 
    would know when the baby was born what it was to be named.
    
    On December 17, 1988 when I had my baby, and it was indeed a girl, the task
    of naming her was there.  Although after one look there wasn't any problem.
    She didn't look like an Ondrea, she didn't look like a Kristin, she looked
    like a Jessica.  Plain as day and as simple as that, Jessica Lynn.  What 
    this all comes down to is who cares what is popular, what is trendy, 
    and what is not.  Follow your instinct not statistics.
    

	Good advice if you're the only one involved in the process.
	Your child might, however, get a little tired of having 20
	other girls respond when the teacher calls out "Jennifer!"
	or being know as "plain Jane," or having people never able
	to pick her out in the phone book because her name's "Mary
	Smith."  Same kind of thing applies to strange names, strange 
	combinations, trendiness, ugly intials, etc.  Yes, I realize
	that there are lots of people to please in the naming process
	-- spouse, grandparents, relatives, friends -- but let's not
	forget the most important one.

		-- Cliff (Self-Appointed Infant Nomenclature Advocate)

    If I meet one more Jennifer or Megan, I'll SCREAM!  
    
    (just kidding!)
    
    But seriously, when my sister was deciding on a name for her baby
    (she knew that is was going to be a girl) I talked her out of Megan
    because it is so popular.
    
    She went with Holly.  Different, but simple.
    
    K.C. Fahel

    Does anyone have a more recent "Most Popular Names" list than 1987?
    If so, could you please post.
    
    Thanks,