Conference oass::babynames

    I like Kayla Marie.
    
    Anna
    

    I love the name Kayla.
    
    In fact, my girlfriend just had a baby girl and she
    named her Kayla Marie and every time I mention it to some-
    body they say, "Kayla, Oh I love that name!"
    
    I think it's very feminine and different.
    
    Although Jennifer Lyn Johnson (IMO) sounds good too, but I
    think Jennifer is over-used.  In fact, we're in a Jennefer
    generation!
    
    JMO!
    
    Donna
    
    

    I cast my vote for Kayla Marie.  I think it's very pretty and not
    Too common.

  I'm going to disagree with the thus-far-majority here.  I think
  Jennifer Lyn sounds better and prettier. (I don't think it sounds
  sing songy).  True, Jennifer is a pretty popular name, but then 
  so is Kayla.

	Check out note 353, a list of the most popular names.
	According to this list, Jennifer is numero uno.  Further,
	Kayla is not even on the list.  Though the list's a couple 
	of years out of date, it's definitely something to consider.
	
		-- Cliff

RE: .5

    1983! ...  "A little out of date"?????  That's like saying "a 
    little pregnant"!  :-)

    Seriously, according to my book (1987) the most popular girls name
    is Jessica, followed by Sara/Sarah, then Amanda, then Ashley...
    Jennifer made the top 10, which just goes to show it's use is
    diminishing.  Kayla also made the list farther down, as it's
    popularity is on the rise.

Yes, I agree 1983 is a bit out of date!  What was the name of the
book you referred to in note .6?  (the one published in 1987)

I was thinking of going by the library and picking up a few
baby name books.  

Kayla is getting more popular but it's still a far cry from 
the popularity of Katelyn, Kailyn's etc...at least in the
Mass. area that I live in!

Looked at the First Communion recipient's listing in the
local newspaper yesterday and saw that several girls were
named Jennifer and Jessica.  Matthew and Michael were 
the most frequently listed for boys. (We crossed those
2 names off our list a few months ago).

		
		Thanks,
		Linda (who *still* can't decide)

    Re. 6: 
           
    I would love to see those complete lists for both boys and girls.
    Can you post them here?
    
    -Tracy (Caileigh's mom, who is disappointed to see just how popular
    		Kayla and Caileigh/Kayley are becoming!)
             

RE .6 and .7

The book I referred to was "The Best Baby Name Book (in the whole wide world)"
by Bruce Lansky.  In addition to listing all the names, their meanings and/or
origins, it lists the 100 most popular girl names and 100 most popular boy
names based on a sampling of babies born in an 8 month period.  It also lists
the 10 most popular boy and girl names from all the major countries in the
world.

I'm not about to type in 200 names, but I'll give you the top 30 from each
(U.S.) list:

1. Christopher		1. Jessica
2. Michael		2. Sara, Sarah
3. Matthew		3. Amanda
4. Ryan			4. Ashley
5. Andrew		5. Jennifer
6. Joshua		6. Brittany
7. Nicholas		7. Kristin
8. Brandon		8. Heather
9. Robert		9. Stephanie
10. Daniel		10. Lindsay
11. Joseph		11. Rachel
12. David		12. Lauren
13. Eric, Erik		13. Emily
14. John		14. Michele
15. Adam		15. Rebecca
16. Honathan		16. Nicole, Nichole
17. Jason		17. Katherine
18. Aaron		18. Erica
19. James		19. Danielle
20. Brian, Bryan	20. Megan, Meghan
21. Benjamin		21. Christina
22. Stephen, Steven	22. Mary
23. Anthony		23. Courtney
24. Justin		24. Erin
25. William		25. Katie
26. Nathan		26. Kimberly
27. Kevin		27. Shannon
28. Mark		28. Tiffany
29. Scott		29. Elizabeth
30. Tyler		30. Whitney

BTW, Caitlin was #42, and Kayla was #98

- �ori

Thanks for the list!! (and the book name)


Linda

	Lori:

	Thanks lots for the list!  I copied it into 353 -- a note which
	is already devoted to this topic.

	Yes, I agree '83 is a little out of date.  Actually, though, 
	name lists don't tend to change overnight.  When you add in all
	the names -- the ones on the leading edge, the ones which are a
	little behind the times, the traditionalist ones, the oddball
	ones -- changes in name fashion are not as quick as people often
	think they are.  Things tend to even out quite a bit.

	Which leads me to a few questions ...  Did Lansky say how he
	collected these names? what restrictions he placed on his data
	(for example, I assume it's just U.S.)?  The reason I ask is 
	because the lists in 353 were pretty rigorously collected.  
	Based on the cursory look I had at Lansky's book (I wasn't very 
	impressed), I'm not sure how reliable his lists are.

	Needless to say, this is all academic hair-splitting.  I'm
	sure we'll all find your lists very helpful.  Thanks!

		-- Cliff

    Thanks for the list!
    
    -Tracy
    

We could not decide on Kayla or Breann for our daughter's first name
    so we made it Kayla Breann.  The name fit her so well.  Our Kayla
    passed away when she was 2 and 1/2 months old and that name will
    always be special to us.

                                                               

    Here's another vote for Jennifer.
    
    One of our daughters is Jennifer Teresa Frances ..  We chose it
    in England before she was born and still in England, where it is
    not as popular as here.  Even though it is extremely popular here,
    it has been for years and years and so we don't associate it as
    one of the "fad" names like Kayla or Caileigh (sorry Tracy ... this
    is why we avoided names like this for fear of faddish runs on names!)

    

    That's okay, but I don't think Jennifer qualifies as a non-faddish
    name here at all.  I didn't know one of my generation, but there
    are zillions of them in the preschool/grade school set.  Of course,
    a Jennifer born now may very well be the only one in her class...
    
    -Tracy
    

    Point taken, but it has been near the top of the US list for a good
    ten years actually ... (according to the books we read over 7 years
    ago when we named our Jennifer!)  I know a few Jennifers of my
    generation though.
    
    Of course when it has been the number 1 name for so long, the books
    don't say by shat sort of relative percentage it was #1. (i.e.
    Jennifer may be 20% and #2 may be only 4%)!
    
    I call names faddish when they are really popular for under 5 years,
    such as names taken from the soaps.  A lot of the popular names
    today I'm sure are faddish.  Jennifer on the other hand is what
    I'd call a modern "classic" name, whereas Mary is just a classic
    name.
    
    That's my measure fwiw.  (In spite of its popularity, I'd still
    choose Jennifer today.  I like the olde English connection to Guinevere
    and the Welsh connection to Gwenever.)
    
    Stuart

Yes Stuart, Kayla is a name from a soap.  In fact the character's
name is Kayla Johnson.  We like it because it's a bit out of the
ordinary yet easy to spell (but I am sure someone will mangle it)  8-)

We picked that name when we first got married 2 years ago and so
far we still both like it, so our daughter will probably be
named Kayla Marie Johnson.

Besides, my 7 year old niece was asking if we decided on Kayla
or Jennifer just yesterday and she told me that she likes the
name Kayla.  She said we shouldn't name her Jennifer because 
there are too many Jennifers (4 in her 1st grade class I think
she said).

But, who knows?  Six years from now there might not be many
Jennifers in the 1st grade.

Thanks for your opinions everyone!  I'll be back in touch
when Baby Johnson arrives in October.

Has anyone ever suggested starting a topic that announces 
the birth of the children mentioned in these notes.

I noticed that not too many people come back to tell us
about their new baby and what it was named.

Just thought it would be nice....

Linda

    There are 2 Jennifers in my daughters class at school.  In fact
    there have been 2 Jennifers in her classes since she started school,
    so it looks like the name gets applied to about 1 in 10 girls.
    Frightening when thought of that way!
    
    Anyway, Kayla Johnson works very well as a name ...  (just for all
    this discussion and work you'll probably end up with a boy!)
    
    So, good luck ... and yes let us know!
    
    Stuart

Stuart, 

		Your note really put things in prospective.  Jennifer
		has gone down to the bottom of my list  8-)

		I still remember being in 1st grade and having
		to write my first name, last initial because
		of another Linda in my class...it's really
		no big deal but it did matter to me as a
		6 yr old.

		My dad will appreciate your vote of confidence
		for a grandson!  He has 4 daughters (no sons)
		and 2 grand daughters (no grandsons)

		Linda

    That's a good idea to start an "announcement" note.  And if you're
    not aware of it yet, you'll want to know about the Parenting notefile
    at TERZA::.  We'll be anxious to hear about that baby!
    
    -Tracy
    

Thanks Tracy!  

p.s.  I have picked up alot of hints/ideas in the PARENTING notesfile 
      already!

			Linda (4 1/2 months and counting)

    Just another bit of info about Jennifer's rise in popularity.
    My niece just graduated from high school.  When she first started
    school, she was one of at least three, possibly four Jennifer's
    in her class.  When my sister named her, it was a friend's name,
    and the only Jennifer any of us ever knew!  She was born in 1971,
    so it's popularity started rising more than 10 years ago. 
    
    I would have to agree that it is becomming a classic.  But there
    are still so many of them.  My kids have two cousins with the
    name, one 17 and on 5, and two day care friends with the name,
    one 9 and one 3.  Amazing though, with all the kids on our street,
    there aren't any Jennifers.  We have too many Melissas, Ashleys
    and Katherines!
    
    Robin
    

    Well, I can't believe I forgot to update this note!
    
    Steven Richard Johnson was born November 5, 1989 at 2:16am
    (9 days late).  He weighed 8lbs, 7oz and was 21 1/2 inches long!
    
    Now at about 2 1/2 mos., he weighs 13lbs, 12 oz and is 25 1/4 inches
    long....a VERY big boy!
    
    For any of you that remember this note, Steven is the first
    grandson on both sides of predominately female families! He
    is getting spoiled already!
    
    Did anyone ever notice that usually when someone in these notes
    is having trouble deciding on a girl's name (and visa versa)
    the baby ends up being the opposite sex?  (maybe it's my imagination)
    
    Well, I still like Kayla Marie, hopefully it won't get too popular
    by the time we decide on #2 (which is a LOOONG way off but my
    husband already says it's going to be a boy!)
    
    				Linda