Sam, Max and Jake were once seen as cigar-chomping movie moguls who had retired to Miami Beach to become pinochle-playing Grandpas.  But they’ve all gone on to be popular baby names, both in their nickname and long forms, with Jacob topping the list since 1999.

　　Samuel, Jacob and cousin Benjamin are all, of course, Old Testament names, used in this country since Colonial times–think Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin.  Max is a different breed entirely.  A short form of the Latin Maximus‘s derivative Maximilian and the later Maxwell, Max was well used at the turn of the last century, took a dip in the 60s and 70s, now placed  in the mid-to-high 100s on the Social Security list (even higher on the pet name list, where it’s sometimes ranked at number one for dogs).

　　Lately Max has become a starbaby hottie, with first Christina Aguilera and then Jennifer Lopez choosing it for their baby boys. Also following in its slipstream are a number of Maxwells (Atomic Kitten Kerry Katonah), Maxims (as in the men’s mag), Maximillians (the full name of the Lopez-Anthony twin), Maxfields (Ugly Betty‘s Eric Mabius) and Maximuses (Maximi?) –the latter no doubt inspired by Russell Crowe’s striking character in the 2000 Gladiator movie.   Maybe it has something to do with the maximal connotations of these names–after all, in Latin, Maximus does mean greatest.  To make things even more interesting, one celebrity came up with the idea of maximizing Max–skater Scott Hamilton named his son MAXX.  (He’d make a good playmate for Kimberly Roberts‘  little SKYY.

　　And what were the wives of Jake and Max doing while there husbands were schmoozing and smoking?  Sadie (originally a pet name for Sarah) and Sophie (the French variant of Sophia) were at another table playing canasta or mah jongg.  Their names have taken a similar leap up the popularity list, both being higher than they’ve ever been before, and showing every sign of continuing to climb.

　　Here are some other former coffee-klatch names that could be or already have been rejuvenated:

　　GIRLS

　　ADELE

　　BELLA , BELLE

　　BESSIE

　　BLANCHE

　　CEIL

　　DORA

　　ESTELLE

　　ESTHER

　　FANNY

　　FRIEDA

　　GERT

　　GOLDIE

　　IDA

　　LIL

　　MOLLY

　　PEARL

　　ROSE

　　RUTH

　　SELMA

　　TILLIE

　　BOYS

　　ABE

　　ELI

　　GUS

　　HARRY

　　HY

　　IZZY

　　JULES

　　JULIUS

　　KALMAN

　　LEO

　　LOU/LOUIS

　　MACK

　　MANNY

　　MEYER

　　MOE

　　MORRIS

　　NAT

　　REUBEN

　　SAUL

　　SOL

　　WOLF