Jacob, Emily Top Names in 2000

It was a close call, but Jacob was the most popular boys' name in Nova Scotia last year, while Emily enjoyed a third straight year as the most popular name for girls.

"It's hard to think of a year where the numbers were so close for boys," says Liz Crowley-Meagher, vital statistics manager at Service Nova Scotia. Jacob first made the top 20 in 1994, coming in at Number 19.

Nicholas was a very close second in boys' names, followed by Joshua and Ryan. Matthew, which topped the list in 1999, came in fifth last year, while the most popular name of the 20th century, John, returned to the top 20 after a one-year absence, at No. 14.

Other names making a return, or first, appearance include Kyle, Dylan, James and Ethan.

Among popular girls' names, Hannah placed second, Emma third, Sarah fourth and Jessica fifth. Roughly 70 per cent of 2000's top 20 girls' names first made the list in 1997, a year that also saw the closest margin among girls' names as Emily narrowly edged Jessica for the top spot. And both Hailey and Haley made the top 20 in 2000, with Hailey proving to be the more popular spelling. It was also the only name to break into the girls' top 20 for the first time.

"It's hard to say why one spelling is more popular than another," says Ms. Crowley-Meagher. "Sometimes, you can trace it to a popular film, television show, or a book, as you would trace the popularity of any given name. And over the last few years, we've seen classic and biblical names come back into vogue, like Noah, Jacob and Matthew."

Of 8,885 babies born in Nova Scotia last year, 4,533 were boys and 4,352 were girls. Total births have continually declined since a high of 19,832 in 1962.

NOTE TO EDITORS: A table is available, listing all the top 20 names and the numbers of children born with each; please e-mail: <release@gov.ns.ca.>