Celtic and English baby names are increasing in popularity.(The Name Game)

Jacob, Michael and Joshua were the most popular names for baby boys in 2003, and Emily, Emma and Madison were most popular for girls, according to the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) annual report gleaned from applications for Social Security cards.

Website BabyNames.com presents a somewhat different list, especially for boys, based on what its 100,000 expectant-parent visitors listed as favorite names. While girls' names have historically been more creative than those for boys, this year's top-20 list for boys also contains some hitherto offbeat names. There seems to be a trend toward giving boys Celtic and English names--such as Aidan, Dylan, Logan and Connor--according to the website. Previously, Celtic and English names--Ashley, Caitlyn and Brianna, for instance--were more popular among girls.

Although the overwhelming majority of boys' names on SSA's list are still biblical, as has been common throughout the nation's history, Celtic and English names are also creeping up toward the top there. Aidan (along with its variations Aiden and Aden) heads BabyNames.com's list of popular boy names. While Aidan is just 39th on SSA's list, when the variant spellings are taken into account, it rises to 19th place.

The situation is similar for Jaden (second on BabyNames.com's list and 75th on SSA's, but 33rd on SSA's list when variant spellings are taken into consideration). Caden, third on BabyNames.com, is 114th on SSA's list, but 38th when eight variations are included in the calculation. [FAMILY]

Sources

"Popular Baby Names," Social Security Administration, 4-H-9 W. High Rise Bldg., 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235; phone: 410-965-8904; website: http://www.ssa.gov Price: No charge.

"The Top-20 Most ...