Top 10 in Arizona

[hitzpink.livejournal.com]

I live in Arizona and a few days ago there was an article in the paper listing the top 10 baby names for our state in 2006.

Girls
1. Mia
2. Emily
3. Isabella
4. Emma
5. Ashley
6. Madison
7. Ava
8. Sophia
9. Samantha
10. Alyssa

Boys
1. Angel
2. Daniel
3. Anthony
4. Jacob
5. Jose
6. Michael
7. Jesus
8. Luis
9. Joshua
10. Gabriel

For the girls, the only ones that surprised me were Alyssa and Mia. I had no idea they were so popular! But both were in the top 20 nationwide in 2005. I also can't believe people are still using Ashley so much. It sounds so 80s to me. Also -- two of my kittens are on there! (My kittens are named Emma, Lila, and Mia.) As soon as my boyfriend and I saw the article, we felt justified in our decision not to save Emma and Mia for actual babies, because we'd never use something so popular.

For the boys, AZ obviously has a huge Hispanic population, so no real surprise there. And it seems that Michael, Jacob, and Daniel will never leave the top 10.

Comments

[so-there.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised Ashley is so common these days.. it seems so 1980s.

[sotypical42483.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised that Joshua is so popular. I really love that name, but it does seem a bit dated.

[coagulated.livejournal.com]

Hah, I'm not hispanic and I named my son Gabriel. I live in Arizona, too. How did I not think that was gonna be popular here? lol

[hitzpink.livejournal.com]

I really like Gabriel. It's definitely my favorite boys name on that list. Too bad it's gotten so popular, though!

[hitzpink.livejournal.com]

Yeah, like I can see people not realizing that Emma, Isabella, and Ava are so common because they've only recently started becoming popular, but Ashley has been common for YEARS.

[redemptionsongs.livejournal.com]

Whew, my girl's name (Holly) isn't on the list. I'm in AZ too and I didn't want something too popular. My son, who was born in 2004, would have been a Mia had he been a girl :)

[ringsandcoffee.livejournal.com]

My favorite boys name has been Gabriel for about 10 years now. I've lived in AZ for less than 2 years, and even as a teacher, I haven't met many Gabriels. I don't care how popular it gets, I'm going to name my son that :)

I've been checking the newborns page at a local hospital website to see if a coworker had her baby yet, and oh man, there's some messed-up names listed. I feel sorry for the kids!