The Social Security Administration released its annual rankings of the most popular baby names. My name makes the list at number eight.

America's most popular baby names last year were: 1. Jacob 2. Michael 3. Joshua 4. Matthew 5. Andrew 6. Joseph 7. Ethan 8. Daniel 9. Christopher 10. Anthony. The most popular names for girls were: 1. Emily 2. Emma 3. Madison 4. Hannah 5. Olivia 6. Abigail 7. Alexis 8. Ashley 9. Elizabeth 10. Samantha.

The UK boasts a slightly different list. Born in England and Wales in 2003: 1. Jack 2. Joshua 3. Thomas 4. James 5. Daniel 6. Oliver 7. Benjamin 8. Samuel 9. William 10. Joseph. And for girls, the Brits like 1. Emily 2. Ellie 3. Chloe 4. Jessica 5. Sophie 6. Megan 7. Lucy 8. Olivia 9. Charlotte 10. Hannah.

"Nigel" and "Sporty Spice" have always struck me as peculiarly British names, but apparently they have fallen out of favor.

More interesting to me is how the popularity of some names has completely plummeted in America in recent decades. From the 1880s through the mid-'20s, John was the most popular boys' name in America save for one year when William reigned. Mary's popularity lasted even longer. From the 1880s to the early 1960s, the name Mary ruled atop the list of girls' names for all but a handful of years. By 1972, Mary was completely removed from the top ten, although its variant Maria remained for a few more years.

John and Mary always struck me as all-American names, but the American people--at least the ones having babies these days--apparently disagree.