News release

Emma and Ethan Retain Top Spots

Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations (Oct. 2000 - March 2014)

Once again there was stiff competition from Madison and Matthew, but for the second year in a row, Emma and Ethan were the most popular baby names in Nova Scotia.

According to baby name websites, Emma is Latin for universal. Ethan is Hebrew in origin, and means strong or firm.

In 2003, the top five girls' names were Emma (137), Madison (84), Emily (77), Hannah (74) and Sarah (61). The top five boys' names were Ethan (94), Matthew (82), Ryan (72), Jacob (69) and Benjamin (67).

The year before, the top five girls' names were Emma (118), Emily (115), Madison (97), Hannah (68) and Olivia (64). The top five boys' names in 2002 were Ethan (105), Matthew (80), Jacob (79), Nicholas (71) and Connor (69).

Emily was the top choice for baby girl's names for four years, but is now in the number three position. Jacob, the most popular boy's name in 2000 and 2001, is now the number four choice.

"Trends in baby names change over time," said Liz Crowley Meagher, deputy registrar of Vital Statistics at Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. "Some names are family traditions and others come from celebrities."

This is echoed by Karen McKay, past president of the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia, an organization of family history enthusiasts.

"Presbyterian Scots had a very strong naming tradition where the first male was named after his paternal grandfather, the first female after the maternal grandmother. The second male was named after his mother's father and the second female was named after the father's mother," said Ms. McKay. "The third male child was named after the father. If a child died, the next child of the same gender was often given the same name as the deceased sibling."

For a long time, she notes, John and Alexander were the most popular Scottish names or combinations; two names that still appear in the top 20.

"Children were sometimes named for prominent people in the community, such as church ministers, doctors or politicians," adds Ms. McKay. The tradition has taken on new dimensions in recent generations as our view extends beyond our community and around the world.

"It will be interesting to see if Emma's popularity holds after Friends goes off of the air later this year," said Ms. Crowley Meagher. Emma was the name given to the daughter of the characters Ross and Rachel on the popular American comedy, which ends a 10-year run later this year.

In all, there were 8,491 births in Nova Scotia in 2003, slightly less than the 8,533 births reported in 2002. There were 4,396 boys and 4,095 girls born last year.


Note: The following is a list of the top baby names for 2003.

Boys Births Girls Births Ethan 94 Emma 137 Matthew 82 Madison 84 Ryan 72 Emily 77 Jacob 69 Hannah 74 Benjamin 67 Sarah 61 Connor 66 Olivia 58 Nicholas 63 Grace 54 Joshua 62 Abigail 46 Alexander 60 Paige 44 Logan 57 Lauren 43 Liam 55 Chloe 39 Cameron 53 Julia 39 Dylan 51 MacKenzie 39 John 49 Haley 36 Samuel 48 Samantha 36 Brandon 47 Jessica 34 Michael 43 Brooke 33 Noah 43 Taylor 33 William 43 Ella 31 Evan 41 Jenna 31