Naming names in 2007

AP/CNN:

Emily again topped the list of most popular baby girl names last year, registering as No. 1 for the 12th straight time. Jacob led among names for boys for the ninth year in a row.

New parents didn't stray far from past habits in 2007 when naming their babies. Only one name -- Elizabeth -- is new to the top-10 list, returning after a two-year absence. Samantha, which previously ranked 10th, dropped to No. 12, according to the latest list released Saturday by the Social Security Administration.

Biblical names continued to dominate the boys' list. Besides Jacob, other top picks for boys were Michael, Joshua and Matthew.

For girls, Isabella, Emma and Ava came after Emily, which has been the most popular female name since 1996.

Rounding out the top 10 for girls, in order, were Madison, Sophia, Olivia, Abigail, Hannah and Elizabeth.

The list for boys also includes Ethan, Daniel, Christopher, Anthony, William and Andrew.

Name experts have said the staying power of the top names may have something to do with appealing to multiple ethnic or religious groups and having no widespread negative connotations. Emily also has literary associations, including Emily Dickinson, evoking images of a woman who is both beautiful and smart, professors say.

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I saw recently that Mohammad was the number one name in the UK. That trend certainly raises some cultural issues for the mother country on Mother's Day. One of my grandsons' name is Joshua and another is Jacob, or Jake. My youngest grandson is Wyatt and he seems quite happy with his name. The oldest grandson is Caleb. None of the grand daughters have top ten names although Lauren and Anna should not be embarrassed by theirs.

As for Merv, I think it peaked in popularity around 1912 when my Dad was born.