RSSPopular baby names 'maiden' Yakima
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What's in a name?
After the Social Security Administration recently released a list of the most popular baby names for 2007, the answer is still a mystery.
The national list hardly differs from the Washington state list, but it remains unclear what motivates social preferences.
One thing's for sure: Names that rhyme with the word "maiden" have skyrocketed in popularity, for unpredictable reasons.
In May alone, most newborn babies in Yakima County were named, with various spellings, either Brayden, Aydan, Hayden, Jayden or Caden.
Parents gave a variety of reasons for this phenomenon.
Robin Omalley, who gave birth to Aydan James Omalley at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital on May 8, said she picked the name Aydan because it is Irish for a vivacious, masculine character.
"He was fiery in the tummy," she said of her infant son. "And on the ultrasound, he wasn't afraid to show he was a boy. Most babies I've heard about are always crossing their legs and in a position where you can't see if it's a boy or a girl. But Aydan was never like that."
Another Yakima baby, Braeden Riley Tornow, born May 2, also got his name because of Irish roots.
"My husband and I really liked sticking with Gaelic names," said mother Tina Tornow.
Some Yakima parents gave a different explanation for their participation in the maiden-rhyming name trend.
"We wanted something different that nobody really had, but not so far out there like 'Apple,' or a stupid name," said Ashley Baoman, who gave birth to Aiden Christopher Baoman on May 8. "We wanted something strong and sturdy."
Baby boys aren't the only ones whose names have been falling into this pattern.
Omalley said she would have used the name Jayden if she had given birth to a girl. And on May 13, Kellie Burnam of Yakima named her newborn baby girl Jayden because she liked the sound of "Jade," its shortened form.
Contrary to the findings of the Social Security Administration, which listed the names "Jayden" and "Aiden" at numbers 18 and 27, poll results on www.babynames.com list Aidan, Braden and Kaden as the top three most popular baby boy names, respectively.
The latter is most consistent with findings in Yakima, where only one baby received the name "Jacob," the No. 1 slot on the administration's list.
This discrepancy might be due to the fact that people are becoming less concentrated in their tastes, according to Stanley Lieberson, professor of sociology at Harvard University and author of the book, "A Matter of Taste: How Names, Fashions, and Culture Change."
"The most popular names are given to a smaller and smaller proportion of the population," Lieberson said. "The five most popular names at the time of the American Revolution would have been given to a huge percentage of the world, but this has changed progressively through the centuries."
What's in this trend? The answer is still a mystery. But one thing's for sure: that which we call a baby, by any other name, would be as sweet.
Most Popular Baby Names for 2007
Washington
Boys
1. Jacob
2. Ethan
3. Alexander
4. Daniel
5. Logan
Girls
1. Olivia
2. Emily
3. Emma
4. Sophia
5. Isabella
National
Boys
1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Ethan
4. Joshua
5. Daniel
Girls
1. Emily
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Ava
5. Madison
