Baby Names

While First Names is what we refer to these days rather than Christian Names, boy babies in Australia, USA and the UK continue to have a strong biblical flavour. Top boy baby name in Australia for 2003 was Joshua, which was No 2 in UK and Number 3 in USA. In Australia, the rest of the top 10 names included 5 biblical names in Thomas, Daniel, Benjamin, Matthew and Samuel. USA top 10 also included Jacob (at No 1), Matthew, Daniel, David, James and Joseph. In the UK, the unbiblical Jack was No 1 for the 10th year in a row.

For the girls, top name is Jessica, also of biblical origin meaning wealthy. This was No 1 in USA, No 2 in Australia and No 3 in UK. Top name in Australia was Emily. Back when the first life tables were constructed for Australia in 1880, the top girl baby names were Mary, Anna, Elizabeth, Margaret and Minnie. From the life expectancy tables of 1880, Mary and her friends had average lifetimes of 56 years while Jessica and friends in 2003 can expect average lifetimes of 95, if recent trends in longevity continue.

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