By Linda Rosenkrantz with Esmeralda Rocha

　　We recently posted the list of names that our Berries were most interested in over the past year– headed by Ezra and Asher, Charlotte and Amelia—but what names did they actually choose at that crucial moment when the name had to be inscribed onto the birth certificate, when all the hypotheticals were winnowed down to one single reality?

　　Of course we know that only a small percentage of arrivals were actually recorded in the Birth Announcement Forum, which is our only available source—(Strong hint to those expecting new arrivals in 2016!), but still more than three hundred Berries did enter there picks. The diversity and originality of the Nameberry community is reflected in the fact that most of the names were unique choices.

　　Having said that, which names were the most popular?

　　On the girls’ side, Pearl and Rose tied for top place for those used as both first and middle names, tying at 8 each, with Pearl the leading middle. Classic William was in top place for boys in the combined categories, tying with James as favorite middle.

　　The most frequently used first initial vowel was E for girls and A for boys. For consonant beginnings, M girls won by a landside; for boys it was the letter C—a gendered contrast in soft and harder sounds.

　　And it’s interesting to note that relative newcomers Fox and Lake were each chosen as middles three times.

　　FIRST NAMES

　　Here are the girls’ names that were given to three recorded berrybabes:

　　Alice

　　Audrey

　　Genevieve

　　Olive

　　Tallulah

　　Willow

　　The following were chosen twice:

　　Alba

　　Anna

　　Eliza

　　Evelyn

　　Florence

　　Iona

　　Iris

　　Ivy

　　Mabel

　　Maeve

　　Margaret

　　Penelope

　　Phoebe

　　Rose

　　Ruby

　　Sylvie

　　Thea

　　Vivienne

　　And for the boys, including some variant spellings, these were chosen by three parents:

　　Alastair

　　Ezra

　　Leo

　　Luca

　　Simon

　　And the following were picked twice:

　　Angus

　　Asa

　　Felix

　　Lachlan

　　Lennox

　　Oliver

　　Owen

　　Theodore

　　MIDDLE NAMES

　　Some surprises here, with quite a bit more commonality, especially for girls. Seven Pearls! Followed by:

　　Rose                6

　　Claire              5

　　Grace              5

　　Iris                  4

　　Josephine      4

　　Margaret        4

　　Jane                3

　　Lake                3

　　Mae/May       3

　　Amelia            2

　　Cecilia             2

　　Charlotte        2

　　Diana              2

　　Dorothy          2

　　Elizabeth        2

　　Emilia             2

　　Isobel              2

　　Jean                2

　　Juliet               2

　　Linnea             2

　　Lucille             2

　　Margo             2

　　Marie              2

　　Rhiannon       2

　　Theodora       2

　　Victoria          2

　　Violet              2

　　Wren              2

　　For the boys, classics were the clear favorites, with both William and James picked as middles four times, and Patrick and Thomas used by three parents. Other multiple choices:

　　Fox                  3

　　Miles               3

　　Alexander      2

　　Dean               2

　　Francis            2

　　Frederick        2

　　Grey/Gray      2

　　Joel                  2

　　Mark                2

　　Martin             2

　　Matthew         2

　　Michael           2

　　Oliver              2

　　Rafferty          2

　　Reid                2

　　Robert                        2

　　The year saw some adorably named twinberries, among them:

　　Lottie Eloise & Minnie Jocelyn

　　Camus Raphael & Kipling Angelo

　　Flavia Tamsin & Ruby Amaryllis

　　Holiday Kathryn & Hayes Nelson

　　And some of the more unusual names spotted throughout the year: Canary and Crow, Azalea and Forsythia, Zurich, Excalibur, and Olivet.