Associated Press
WASHINGTON — It seems most parents turned to the Bible in naming their sons last year. Jacob, Matthew, Michael and Joshua were 2001’s most popular names for boys.
Or perhaps last year’s new mothers and fathers just looked to the kid next door. These names, along with the top names chosen for girls, have been in the top 10 for several years.
Emily has been No. 1 for girls since 1995. Madison and Hannah, numbers two and three, have been in the top 10 since 1997.
In the past 38 years, Michael had been bumped from the top spot only twice before — in 1999 and last year — both times by Jacob.
Rounding out the top 10 names for boys in 2001 were, in order: Christopher, Nicholas, Andrew, Joseph, Daniel and William.
The list for girls continued with Ashley, Alexis, Samantha, Sarah, Abigail, Elizabeth and Jessica.
The list is compiled by the Social Security Administration, www.ssa.gov, from applications for Social Security cards for children born in the given year.
The list includes names of 2,072,242 boys and 1,985,062 girls.
Names that sound the same but are spelled differently, such as Sarah and Sara or Haley and Hailey, are listed separately.
Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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