What's in a name?

A lot, in my opinion.

Here are the most popular baby names according to the Social Security Administration:

Boys: Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan, Andrew, Daniel, Anthony, Christopher, and Joseph.

Girls: Emily, Emma, Madison, Abigail, Olivia, Isabella, Hannah, Samantha, Ava, and Ashley.

I don't know what happened to good, solid names like William, John, and Robert. Or, Mary, Anne, and Jane.

My friends John and Kristen are having a little girl early next year, and have chosen a good old-fashioned name: Anna. It peaked in popularity back in 1907, and stayed in the top 10 until the "Roaring 20's." Now, it struggles to stay on the radar.

I guess nowadays, everybody has to be "different." Ironically, this type of groupthink keeps everybody the same, at least generationally speaking.

My niece was named Morgan for obvious reasons, not because it's "cool." In fact, according to the statisticians, it hasn't been "cool" since about 1976. (Currently only the 33rd most popular name, and that's combining usage for both boys and girls.)

My nephew is burdened with the name Charley, which hasn't appeared in the top 1000 since 1981. Probably because most people would only use that as a nickname for Charles. But, there's also that deadly hurricane from 2004 to consider. That's why I prefer to refer to the little nipper as "Tater." (And, that is nowhere near the top 1000 list!)

Anyway, I am not impressed with people who give their children names that are gender neutral or otherwise applicable to a household pet. Let's get back to the basics, folks!