Paul Bibeau and wife Anne Graham started tossing around baby names shortly after their 1999 wedding.
The Spotsylvania couple always planned to have kids. They figured it was never too early to start thinking about those little letters by which the world would know their firstborn.
So when they learned Baby Bibeau--pronounced Bee-boh--was on the way last year, they already had a list to work from. And the naming process turned from casual dinner conversation to something more serious.
Bibeau and Graham tried on names "like trying on hats." They'd pick a pair of names--one for a boy, one for a girl. Then they'd scratch those and try more.
"As it gets closer and closer, you realize you have to make a decision," said Bibeau, who works as a freelance writer.
One thing they did know was that they'd keep their chosen names a secret until Baby Bibeau arrived.
"We always had the idea if you tell your family and friends too soon, suddenly everyone's a critic," Bibeau laughed.
There's a relatively new tool out there that can help expectant parents with the momentous task of naming their child.
The Department of Social Security began compiling the 1,000 most popular baby names in 1997. It releases a new list each Mother's Day, based on new Social Security card applications.
Now, the department makes available the most popular baby names since 1880.
If you've picked out a name for a soon-to-arrive little one, you can see just how common it's been lately--and the likelihood your child will share that name with countless classmates in five years.
All of this information is on the department's Web site, ssa.gov.
Jacob and Emily topped the list of most popular baby names in 2003.
Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Andrew, Joseph, Ethan, Daniel, Christopher and Anthony followed.
Girl's names that start with vowels were very common last year: Emma, Olivia, Abigail, Alexis, Ashley, Elizabeth, Isabella, Alyssa and Anna ranked among the 20 most popular.
The Web site also breaks down a name's popularity by state.
Virginia parents named their male newborns Jacob, William and Michael more than any other last year. They named their girls Emily, Emma and Madison.
Names, the Web site documents, change with the times. In the early 1900s, many Roosevelts, Teds and Teddys came into the world. In the 1940s, Franklin was at No. 127.
From at least 1880 to 1946, thousands of parents named their baby girls Mary. It was the top female baby name for 66 consecutive years.
Mary stayed in the top three until 1965, in the top 10 until 1972, and was one of the 50 most common girls' names until 2002.
Today, Mary ranks 61st.
While each decade reveals a new most popular name for girls,
"Michael" went on more male birth certificates than any other for almost half a century.
No. 1 girls names are ever changing: It was Lisa in the '60s, Jennifer in the '70s, Jessica in the '80s and Ashley in the '90s.
Betty Merrill, who began teaching in the 1960s, can attest to the ever shifting tide of baby naming.
Each decade beckons a new classroom of Tammys or Lisas or Laurens, Merrill said, and she's often commented on it.
In the late 1960s, her classroom was filled with girls named Tammy and Lisa. Sure enough, the Web site shows Tammy as the 14th most popular name of the 1960s and Lisa as the No. 1 name of the decade.
Later, Merrill taught many Melissas and Heathers, which ranked third and eighth, respectively, in the 1970s.
"The hottest [girl] name now is Caitlin," said Merrill, who retired in June from James Monroe High School.
"Old standbys for girls that have been popular throughout the years are Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, Rebecca and Catherine," she said.
Boys' names change less, with many Andrews, Thomases, Williams, Marks, Stevens and Davids filling desks over the past 40 years, Merrill said.
"The hottest [boy] name today is Zach," she said. "There are lots of Zachs."
The name ranked near the top 20 in the early 1990s, according to the department's database.
Shortly before Baby Bibeau came into the world, the expectant parents finally decided on a name. William James was born three months ago, a healthy 10-pound boy.
William came from Graham's side of the family. James was the name of the priest who performed Graham and Bibeau's wedding ceremony in 1999.
"We wanted a name that he could be proud of a name that has stood the test of time," Bibeau said.
Before William was born, his parents briefly considered William Tecumseh, after Sherman, the Union Civil War general. They were only half serious.
Then they marked it off the list.
"Any name that sounds funny, you shouldn't use," Bibeau said. "What might be a five-minute joke is the thing the kid is stuck with the rest of his life."
To reach KRISTIN DAVIS: 540/368-5028 kdavis@freelancestar.com