Wed
Jan 2 2008
11:23 am

According to the Tennessee Department of Health, here are the top ten Tennessee baby names for 2007:

Girls Boys
1 Madison William
2 Emma Jacob
3 Emily Ethan
4 Addison James
5 Abigail Joshua
6 Hannah Christopher
7 Ava Jackson
8 Chloe Michael
9 Isabella Noah
10 Anna John


gonzone's picture

What?

No Raynelle, Gaynelle, or Bubba (in your honor of course)?

WhitesCreek's picture

Isn't it nice for a girl to

Isn't it nice for a girl to be named after some presidents?

Anonymous's picture

"Isn't it nice for a girl to

"Isn't it nice for a girl to be named after some presidents?"

Bush?

Pam Strickland's picture

Noah

My godson will be 16 in March. When he was named Noah it was oh so unusual.....

pgs

Pam Strickland

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut

Elrod's picture

Strange mix

Most male names are ultra-traditional (except Jackson). Girl names are a combination of ultra-traditional (Emma, Hannah, Isabella, Ava) and made-up androgynous names like Madison and Addison. I thought Madison was out of style five years ago.

AllyMae's picture

And I thought my daughter

And I thought my daughter was being so unique when she decided on the name 'Ava' for my coming granddaughter. she was unique naming my grandson 'Arran'. This spelling comes from an island off of Wales where her paternal ancestors originated.

R. Neal's picture

Interesting too how so many

Interesting too how so many of the boy's names are Biblical/religious references (Jacob, James, Joshua, Christopher, Michael, Noah, John) v. only one of the girl's names (Anna). (Maybe Ava, too?)

Also interesting that a couple of Hispanic names are on the girl's list (Anna and Isabella).

I wonder if there is any cause for concern regarding all the young Hannah's out there if they were named after Hannah Montana? And if that's the case, who should we worry about more -- the Hannahs or their parents?

Elrod's picture

Isabella not Hispanic

Isabella and Anna aren't really Hispanic names, though there are plenty of Hispanics with those names.

What's interesting about the Biblical male names is how many of them are Old Testament. Once upon a time only Jewish people or hardcore Puritan types gave their sons names like Jacob and Noah.

Also, look at the Top Ten names from 1900 and it's all: William, Robert, John, Thomas, Michael, Henry, George, Charles, James. No Old Testament in there. William is still popular, as is James - mostly because both can be nicknamed in myriad ways. George disappeared, as did Henry, though Henry is making somewhat of a comeback (my son's name is Henry).

Note also that the popular female names from my youth are all out too: Jessica, Jennifer, Michelle, Melissa, Heather, Laura, Kristin, Amy, Amanda.

SammySkull's picture

So, what happened to Peyton?

So, what happened to Peyton? And why aren't there more Alabama Gypsy Roses?

Terry Troll's picture

I always liked Angus.

I always liked Angus.

Michael's picture

I'm reminded of Cletus, the

I'm reminded of Cletus, the redneck character from The Simpsons naming off his children: "Tiffany, Heather, Cody, Dylan, Dermott, Jordan, Taylor, Brittany, Wesley, Rumer, Scout, Cassidy, Zoe, Chloe, Max, Hunter, Kendall, Kaitlin, Noah, Sasha, Morgan, Kira, Ian, Lauren, Q-Bert and Phil"
~m.

baby girl's picture

I don't like the name

I don't like the name Madison, I met a really nasty Madison, and since then I don't like the name.

StaceyDiamond's picture

names

I read the birth announcements and have seen alot of Mylie's lately- named for Hannah's alter ego, Mylie Cyrus. You also see alot of Nevaeh's, heaven spelled backward.

knoxvegas99's picture

Nevaeh?

Nevaeh? Oh my Dog!

Larry Van Guilder

Shannon's picture

LOL! Trust me, Larry. The

LOL! Trust me, Larry. The true depths of modern naming practices would boggle your mind. When I used to cover school news, I once had six different spellings of Chelsea in one picture, and that doesn't count the Kelseys. Same with the Kailyn/Cailin/Kaylyn crowd.

The truly twisted simply substitute "y" for every noun in the poor child's name, so you wind up with some pseudo-Welsh, acid-inspired construction like Mykyly or Jyrdyn.

One little guy I've come across was even named Lestat, like the vampire from the Ann Rice books. Why pick a vampire? Just go ahead and name your kid Vlad the Impaler or something.

Pam Strickland's picture

names

I've heard some pretty good ones over the years. Jordn being my current favorite example of weirdness. And I invariably have had two Brittany's who each spell it in some strange way. Or an Ashley and Ashton. It can drive a teacher crazy.

I was once interviewing the priest who ran a Catholic high school, and asked him about a student named "Jason," his response was "Do you know how many Jasons, Joshes, Justins, and Johns I have to keep track of."

Pam Strickland

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut

Shannon's picture

After some furious blushing,

After some furious blushing, I come to admit that I wrote "noun" instead of "vowell." What can I say? My coffee was not working.

redmondkr's picture

I went to school with Jesse

I went to school with Jesse Frank James. He was a really nice kid who was sent to the office every time we got a new or substitute teacher. They always busted him for being a little smart ass.


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Wearybottom Associates

pan's picture

Hmm, now I'm thinking that

Hmm, now I'm thinking that naming my son Foxander* (aka Fox) wasn't so weird after all...

* = That's Zorrojandro (aka Zorro) en Espanol.

gonzone's picture

Anything but

Any name is fine so long as it doesn't cause grief for the kid.

I personally despise names like Tiffany, Mercedes, etc. Knew a kid named Torino once. I mean. come on, what's a matter with Mustang!? Way too many commercials and too much materialism. Another one that bugs me, naming a boy Christian. What if he wants to be Buddhist when he grows up?

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