When it comes to what to name the baby, it’s amazing what a difference even a decade can make.
In 2001, Ashley topped the list of the names that Arizona parents chose for their newborn girl.
And this year?
Not only did it not make the Top 10, it slid to 44th.
What replaced it? Sophia, a name that was not among the 10 most popular in 2001. This year, it was the selection made by 505 parents for their newborns.
And that’s not even counting the alternate spelling of Sofia, the name chosen for another 167 girls, according to birth records kept by the Arizona Department of Health Services.
So radical is the change in just the last decade that the Top 10 list from both years shares only a single name: Elizabeth, which this year, as in 2001, is the ninth most popular.
That volatility, however, is much less when it comes to what parents name their sons.
This year, like a decade ago, Jacob is the most popular. And the next three names on the current list — Anthony, Daniel and Michael — also were somewhere among the Top 10 in 2001.
Looking at it longer term, though, even what’s popular for boys does change.
Consider that only two names at the top of the chart 35 years ago are still there: Daniel and Michael.
Jason, the second most popular name in 1976, has fallen to 81 now.
And for girls, the shift in the last 35 years is even more radical.
Remember Jennifer? It was the most popular name for girls that year. It has fallen off the chart of the Top 100 entirely — as have Melissa, Amy, Michelle, Heather and Jessica, which followed in popularity 35 years ago.
In fact, there are no names in common between the Top 10 in 1976 and the current list.
And extending that to the Top 20 finds only a single name on both lists: that ever-popular Elizabeth.
An analysis of the list shows other patterns.
In 2004, for example, Jose topped the list of names for newborn boys for the entire state, with 593 parents making that choice. This year, the name was the choice of fewer than half that many, dropping the once popular name to just 26th.
And it appears that, despite the perennial popularity of Jacob, the Twilight craze is fading.
Last year, Bella managed to crack the Top 20 for the first time ever. This year that name dropped to 38.
Most popular baby names in Arizona over time
BOYS / 1976 / 2011
1 / Michael / Jacob
2 / Jason / Anthony
3 / Christopher / Daniel
4 / David / Michael
5 / Robert / Angel
6 / James / Ethan
7 / Daniel / Noah
8 / John / Aiden
9 / Brian / Alexander
10 / Matthew / Mason
11 / Joseph / Gabriel
12 / William / Jayden
13 / Jeremy / Julian
14 / Ryan / David
15 / Joshua / Benjamin
16 / Richard / Joseph
17 / Steven / Liam
18 / Eric / Adrian
19 / Aaron / Isaac
20 / Anthony / Matthew
GIRLS / 1976 / 2011
1 / Jennifer / Sophia
2 / Melissa / Isabella
3 / Amy / Emma
4 / Michelle / Mia
5 / Heather / Emily
6 / Jessica / Olivia
7 / Lisa / Abigail
8 / Angela / Ava
9 / Stephanie / Elizabeth
10 / Shannon / Chloe
11 / Christina / Victoria
12 / Kimberly / Madison
13 / Rebecca / Natalie
14 / Maria / Sofia
15 / Monica / Lily
16 / Amanda / Samantha
17 / Elizabeth / Hailey
18 / Veronica / Brooklyn
19 / Andrea / Camila
20 / Laura / Grace
Source: Arizona Department of Health Services
Carolyn posted at 2:09 pm on Wed, Dec 28, 2011.
As times have passed, the names have gotten UGLIER. I cannot IMAGINE an uglier name for a girl than "EMMA." UGH!!!! OR - any name for a female that was originally meant to be a SURNAME - like "Madison." Another UGH!!! As for the boys, the names have gotten UGLIER, too. "Isaac" and "Jayden" are good examples.