The Zenith And Nadir Of Monikers Some Parents Take Kwik Approach To Naming Children

They are weird, odd, unusual and often unbelievable.

And the state Department of Health and Welfare sees them all.

The agency keeps a list of the most popular and most unusual kids’ names, and just released them as part of its 1996 Idaho Vital Statistics Report.

A total of 18,564 babies were born to Idaho residents that year, up 3 percent from a year earlier. For the most part, Idaho seems to follow the national fashion in naming those thousands of babies.

Katelyn and Jacob were the most popular first names for babies born in Idaho in 1996. Spelled several different ways, Katelyn edged out Ashley, which sank to sixth place. For the second straight year, Jacob held its ranking as the No. 1 boys’ name.

Emily, Hailey, Sarah, Taylor, Megan and Mikayla continue to populate Idaho in greater numbers than other little girls.

As for boys, Tyler, Austin, Zachary, Michael and Matthew are still winning the hearts of most new parents throughout the state.

The same names also pop up most often among birth announcements in the greater Spokane area.

“There seem to be trends that are universal,” said Jan Wick, a vital-statistics supervisor.

But there are no trends in unusual names, and last year Idaho parents outdid themselves.

Several parents favored the end of the alphabet.

Zyz, Xander, Zarom and Zenith, were among the most unusual boys names, while Zara, Yakelin, and Xaisha were chosen for girls.

Some of the unusual girls names have inspirational leanings, such as Andromeda, Miracle and Mystycal.

Other names seemed to indicate a kind of destiny.

Risky and Kwik are bound to be active little guys, while Ridge could become an outdoorsman. The future of Freedom is anybody’s guess.

, DataTimes