The Top 10 Names of 2007, and the Not So Top Ten of All Time

For the education of my readers, and, in case anyone is actually looking for a name for their yet-to-be-born or yet-to-be-adopted babies, I decided to talk for a bit about names. When I was a child, I became fascinated with the meaning of names. I learned that my friend, Megan, was a pearl. My friend, Karen, was pure. My friend Valerie was strong. Those names were wonderful... they had meaning. Then I found out what my name meant. I'm industrious like a bee.

Okay, it kind of lacks some umph. However, I have grown to realize it does fit me.

Well, below is a list of the most popular baby names for 2007.

1. Sophia	1. Aiden
2. Isabella	2. Ethan
3. Emma	3. Jacob
4. Madison	4. Jayden
5. Ava	5. Caden
6. Addison	6. Noah
7. Hailey	7. Jackson
8. Emily	8. Jack
9. Kaitlyn	9. Logan
10. Olivia	10. Matthew

My Grandpa once told me that he and my Grandma had thought and thought and thought to come up with an original name for my Dad. They named him Stan, which to me doesn't seem that original. I guess because I've known him all my life. But at any rate, a week or so after his birth, My Grandpa saw a list of the 10 most popular boys names for the year. Stan was on the top of the list.

"We're more influenced by what goes on around us than we realize," He told me. I have to agree.

Now, I'm proud to say that none of my children's names are on this list. However, all three of my big kid's names are on the lists for the years they were born (that's especially impressive considering the fact that we didn't name our daughter until 3 years after she was born!). In rebellion against that, we named our two youngest with such ethnic and unique names that they have to say them 3 or 4 times before people can get them in their ears. That might be what they end up in counseling for.

Now, I have also complied a list of famous, yet not so great names, that you would want to pass if your looking for a new name (some of these you have to wonder what their parents were thinking!):

Guys that went into sports because they would've never survived the playground with their names if they weren't really tough:

Dick Butkus
Rosie Greer
Lynn Swann
Weeb Ewebank

Do you like to eat? How about:

Terry Yake (pronounced: Teriyaki)
Coco Crisp

Perhaps his parents played board games before his birth?
Milton Bradley


Or would you, along with the citizens of Bhutan, like to bow to King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck?

However, my personal favorite was a name I came upon when teaching a class on Central Asian geography. Ladies and Gentleman, the president of Turkmenistan, the honorable Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow (pronounced, I guess: Gur- bang- ulee Bird-i-mu-ham-i-dow)

Try saying that three times really fast.

Only thing that would make it better was if it was Gurbanguly W. Berdimuhamedow (I think his dad might be Gurbanguly H.W. Berdimuhamedow).