By Linda Rosenkrantz with Esmeralda Rocha

　　We recently posted a list of the names that you Berries showed the greatest interest in over the past year—topped by the not-too-surprising Olivia and Amelia, (both of which ranked in the top dozen nationally), and Ezra and Asher. But now we want to look at the names that were actually chosen when the moment of decision finally arrived, when the clicking and sharing stopped and all the tempting possibilities had to be narrowed down to that one ultimate, single, final choice.

　　Of course we know that, sadly, only a small percentage of berry births get recorded in our Birth Announcement Forum, our only available source (Memo to those expecting new arrivals in 2017: Resolve to share your choices with all of us!). But still, more than 300 new parents did enter their picks.

　　So which were the most popular among them?

　　On the girls’ side, Violet and Juliet/Juliette tied for top place among those used as either first and middle names, tying at 8 each. Olive and Violet were the most chosen first names, and Pearl was the most popular middle.

　　For boys, classic James was tops in total usage, followed by Theodore.   There was a 3-way tie for boys’ first names: Arthur, Jasper and Lucas, while James was the most popular middle.

　　First Names

　　Here are the girls’ names given to at least three recorded babyberries:

　　Evangeline

　　Jane

　　Louisa

　　Olive

　　Seren

　　Violet

　　Willa

　　Zelda

　　And for boys:

　　Arthur

　　Jasper

　　Lucas

　　Oscar

　　Theodore

　　Middle Names

　　Used three or more times for girls:

　　Ann

　　Astrid

　　Claire

　　Clementine

　　Elizabeth

　　Eloise

　　Estelle

　　Grace

　　Jane

　　Josephine

　　Juliet/Juliette

　　Louise

　　Margaret

　　Mary

　　Pearl

　　Rose (down from 6 last year to 3 in 2016)

　　Ruth

　　Soleil

　　Violet

　　And for boys:

　　Daniel

　　James

　　Joseph

　　Theodore

　　William

　　Wolf (replacing last year’s Fox)

　　Trends

　　NATURE names continued to blossom for girls, not only flowers and gems, but birds, rivers, trees, etc., including:

　　Breeze

　　Clover

　　Delta

　　Dove

　　Edelweiss

　　Juniper

　　Lark

　　Lavender

　　Magnolia

　　Opal

　　Pansy

　　Primrose

　　Wildrose

　　Wren

　　Non-nature WORD names for girls included:

　　Bliss

　　Cherish

　　Darling

　　Marvel

　　Story

　　Vesper

　　Wednesday

　　Whimsy

　　There were also lots of mythological, ancient and romantic literary names, from Amoret to Calliope to Calypso to Melisande to Nephele to Persephone to Sabine to Theodosia.

　　Vintage name remained staunch favorites, with announcements of girls names ranging from Ada, Adelaide, Adeline and Alice to Willa, Winnie and Zelda.

　　There were also lots of intriguing international imports, including Amal, Anais, Feodora, Mireille, Omorose. Signe and Vasilia.

　　Berries were not immune to the gender-bending trend, with girls named Grey, Hunter, James, Jericho, Rowe and Wilder.

　　For boys, there were a number of powerful mythological names, as in:

　　Atlas

　　Loki

　　Mars

　　Mercury

　　Odin

　　Osiris

　　Thor

　　Zeus

　　And, intentionally or not, some boys were downright presidential:

　　Calvin

　　Franklin

　　Pierce

　　Teddy

　　Theodore

　　Truman

　　And the boys proved to be as international as the girls, with such choices as:

　　Altair

　　Azaias

　　Bastian

　　Bodhi

　　Edel

　　Emrys

　　Inigo

　　Ivo

　　Keir

　　Nico

　　Paz

　　Sameer

　　Soren

　　Willem

　　Surname names were another popular boys’ category, from Calloway to Jameson to Kincaid to Nash to Rooney to Sullivan.

　　Word names given to boyberries included Cedar, Fox, Heath, Prosper, River, Shadow and Wolf.

　　But in general for boys, traditional names ruled, with a healthy representation of classics like James, John and Joseph and revivals such as Amos, Clement, Douglas, Edgar, Edwin, Eugene, Harold, Silas, Tobias.