Chelsea Kaplan’s Musings About Life... After Birth
Posted by Chelsea on December 28, 2007
One of the headlines on msn.com today boasts the top-10 lists for 2007 baby names. Usually such data is collected from the census bureau, but this list is branded as the The BabyCenter® Top Baby Names of 2007. Not a huge fan of info from any trademarked source, but whatever, here they are:
Top 10 Girl Names
- Sophia
- Isabella
- Emma
- Madison
- Ava
- Addison
- Hailey
- Emily
- Kaitlyn
- Olivia
Top 10 Boy Names
- Aiden
- Ethan
- Jacob
- Jayden
- Caleb
- Noah
- Jackson
- Jack
- Logan
- Matthew
I gotta say that none of these particularly surprised me. I mean, when you read them, weren’t you like, “Uh, huh…uh huh.., yep, I know one of those…...”? My son’s name isn’t on the list, but I bet it’s in the top 20.
What I do find interesting about the list, however, is how certain names fall in and out of fashion. Like, for my generation, there were all sorts of Jennifers, Jessicas, Amys and Allisons. For my mom’s generation, Cheryls, Judys and Barbaras ruled, and my grandmother’s, names like Sylvia, Pearl and Annette were in fashion. For men it’s the same thing. My husband’s name is Richard, but he goes by Rick. Who names their kid Richard or Rick (and certainly not “Dick”) anymore? How do names become popular and, likewise, lame?
It seems pop culture has a lot to do with it. The article on MSN notes that the girl’s name “Addison” jumped a whopping 20 spots this year to land in the top 10, citing actress Kate Walsh’s portrayal of Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd on “Grey’s Anatomy” and its spin-off, “Private Practice.” I remember how in the 90s my name, Chelsea, became popular because of Chelsea Clinton, yet now that Bill Clinton is out of office you don’t really hear about people naming their girls “Chelsea” any more (though perhaps if Hillary gets elected in ‘08 the name will make a comeback). “Madison”, apparently, is the new millennium “Chelsea”. I wonder, will my grandkids be making fun of my name the way my friends and I joke at the thought of naming our kids Sylvia and Edna after our grandmas?
Momtourage member Jenny and I got our kids (she has 3 year-old twin girls - my son is so gonna love me when he’s older) together today for a play date and lunch. Over pizza, we discussed this name issue and specifically, the comeback of all sorts of old-school, traditionally “Jewish” names. Max, of course has become huge, as has Eli, which my friend Lisa’s mom dubbed “and old Jewish man name” after Lisa chose it for her newborn. I remember my mother-in-law noting that my nephew Elliot was playing at his friend Harry’s house along with another friend, Sam, claiming, “Sam, Elliot and Harry - it sounds like a pinochle (and old-school Jewish card game) game!” When my son was born, Rick desperately wanted to same him “Sol” (pronounced “Saul”, not “Soul” as in “Train”) after his late grandfather. I told him that over my dead body would my kid be named Sol Kaplan. Sol Kaplan wears sandals with black socks and plays shuffleboard at his senior residence in Boca Raton. Jenny mentioned that “Goldie” is making a resurgence for girls, and that she knows someone who recently named her daughter Hilda (Hilde for short) after her grandma. “Some names are so bad they’re kinda cute,” Jenny said. Max and Eli, of course, and maybe even Goldie, but Hilda….uhhhhh, not so sure.
Kaplan baby #2, which we know will be a boy (a moment’s pause as we once again mourn the dream of a pink nursery), will be named after my late brother-in-law, Andy, whose given name was Andrew. We’ll shorten Andrew to “Drew”, which I think is a cool name, especially with Kaplan. We have no idea on a middle name, however. We tease that we should bring back Eugene, Ira or Abe, but I know it’s not gonna happen. The funny thing is, many things put with Andrew sounds quite presidential (Andrew Henry, Andrew Benjamin). Any ideas? We’re stumped.
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OK Chelsea, my mother’s name is Hilde and my late aunt’s name was Hildegard and my “soon-to-be-by- marriage” niece’s middle name is Hilda,so don’t go bashing those sturdy German names!! Since we’re on the subject, how about Ludwig for Drew’s middle name? Sounds very Teutonic…<BR><BR>Stephanie
I really love the name Drew. Pretty much anything will go with Andrew. Juts pick something you like or has sentimental value. It’s a middle name, after all. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!
How about Andrew Charles or Andrew Bennett?? It rolls off the tongue easily. I’ll think of some more and let you know.<BR><BR>Alicia-
Christopher Andrew is a cool name… or Andrew James…<BR><BR>I too am a fan of older names. We just had a little girl and nammed her Polly. It got rave reviews in the hospital and everyone says, “there just aren’t many Polly’s anymore.” and that’s what I like
I think Andrew Jacob Kaplan has a nice ring to it! Sounds like the name of a nice, cute Jewish boy that I would have wanted to date!<BR><BR>By the way, no comment from you on Momtourage-member-to-be Jamie Lynn??? Come on! We know you must have SOMETHING to say about this…
I stumbled across your blog after reading an article by you. (My married daughter is a huge blogger, so I’m always interested in seeing others.) Anyway, I noticed your discussion about names. My married daughter happens to be named Chelsea as well. I named her that because when I was pregnant with her, the movie “On Golden Pond” came out and Jane Fonda’s name in the movie was Chelsea. I loved it. And, I was the first (in my crowd) to use it! My Chelsea was born in 1982. When she was about 6 months old, I started hearing “chelsea” all over the place!<BR><BR>Now my Chelsea has two kids, Coen and Emma. Names are fun!<BR><BR>Debbie (nanna)
My daughter wanted to name her son Leo or Max with the last name of Horowitz. I also pictured him with a cigar playing “Canasta”. I talked her into naming the dog Leo (the dog came before the baby) and so when she became pregnant she couldn’t name the baby the same name as the dog. I’m so hoping that the name Irving doesn’t make it back again.
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nice post
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i so love the pink color it matches the whole site
all thye names r really nice it’s very hard 2 chose
by any chance do u have more girls names???
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