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.

Having a baby in New York City is different from having one anywhere else, and that includes choosing a name.

The most popular New York baby names are a departure from the popular names in the rest of the country, for one thing. Daniel tops the boys’ chart for the very first time in the 2007 New York City name popularity statistics, with Jayden rising to number two. Sorry, Mayor Bloomberg, but Michael has now fallen from the top spot to number 3 for the first time in 50 years. Isabella and Sophia tied for number one for girls, unseating Ashley and Emily.

Other names that are higher on the New York popularity list than they are in the rest of the country include, for girls: Rachel, Chloe, Angelina, and Esther, and for boys, Justin, Sebastian, and David.

The reason? The diverse ethnic population accounts for much of the unique mix of New York baby names. One of the few locales that breaks down name popularity by ethnicity, names high on the list for Hispanic babies born in New York City include Angel, Luis, and Jose for boys; Mia, Angelina, and Sofia for girls.

African-American parents differed from those of other ethnic backgrounds in favoring names of black celebrities. Jada, Imani and Aaliyah were high on the girls’ popularity list, while Elijah and Isaiah were popular for boys.

The Asian popularity list featured some counterintuitive ethnic favorites. The number one name for Asian baby boys is Ryan, for example, with Kevin, Vincent, and Ivan also ranking high. For girls, Tiffany, Fiona, and Winnie, a name that doesn’t even break the national top 1000, are popular.

And then there are names on the New York City list popular among Hasidic Jewish parents that are virtually unheard of elsewhere in the country: Malky, Raizy, and Shira for girls; Moishe, Chaim, and Menacham for boys. Plus ethnic choices such as Fatoumata, Xin, Tatiana, and Mohamed that reflect New York’s special mix.

But New York wouldn’t truly be New York without a range of sophisticated names as well. Names favored by New York parents and found here more often than in other parts of the country include such refined choices as Sebastian, Julian, and Henry for boys, and Alexandra, Charlotte, and Alice for girls. Maximus and Giuliana (yes, Giuliana) have an only-in-New York quality, though Rudy was not to be found.

Of course, beyond the most popular list, there are names that are trendy in hip New York that are still rarely heard in most parts of the country. Oscar, Ruby, Atticus, and Isla may be bordering on overexposed in Tribeca and Park Slope, but might still be radical choices west of the Hudson River.

New Yorkers chose a range of place names for their children, including Dakota, Sierra, Asia and Paris. But in an ironic twist, Brooklyn, number 57 nationwide, is nowhere among them.

Chelsea is one New York neighborhood name that does show up on the popularity list, just outside the Top 100. New York parents — or fans of the city — in search of more original local choices might want to consult the list of New York baby names based on the city neighborhoods.

This post appears in somewhat different form in the current issue of Big Apple Parent and can be found online at nymetroparents.com.

Before I was born, my mother had  two names picked out for me–I was going to be either Lydia or Laurel.  She liked them because they were slightly unusual and, being an artist herself, saw them as having a creative feel;  she was also following the Jewish tradition of using the first initial of a deceased relative.  In this case, it was my father’s mother, who had recently died, and whose first and middle initials were R and L.

But once I actually made my appearance, Lydia and Laurel were never heard of again.  Whatever transpired in the hospital I’ll never know–something to do with pressure by my Dad’s sisters for names closer to their mother’s–but in any case, I arrived home with a birth certificate reading Ruth Leila.  To confuse matters further, I was never ever called Ruth.  Instead I was known to one and all by my Jewish name, Laila.  So little Laila became who I was–that is until the fateful day when I started kindergarten and my teacher, looking at my records, naturally called me Ruth.  Ruth?  Who is Ruth?  In one fell swoop, my identity was shattered.  (So don’t anyone ever ask me if you should change your child’s name in midstream–you can imagine my answer.)

I returned home from school completely distraught, no longer sure quite who I was.  My sympathetic mother said ‘OK, dear, if it would make you feel better, how about starting from scratch and picking a totally new name for yourself?’  Not having a name book handy, she proceeded to make lists of names starting with those two letters (again Lydia and Laurel went missing)–Leah, Leslie, Louise, Rachel, Roxanne, etc.  I picked Linda, which at the time sounded appealingly bright and shiny to me.  But choosing a new name at the age of five doesn’t mean you necessarily instantly internalize it and make your own–which is something I never did.  But the experience did trigger my lifelong fascination with names.

Through the years I’ve accumulated many nicknames–perhaps because friends also sensed that I wasn’t an authentic Linda.  My family often called me Lin, while others came up with Linnie, Lindy, Linneth, Linden, Linsy, and even–in the internet era–my email tag Lindro.  Lately, though, with the growing popularity of so many pretty double-L names, like Lola and Lila and Lilo and Lily and Leyla, I’ve started to really miss Laila.  As a matter of fact, a new friend, hearing my name saga, has started to call me that.  And you know what?  It really feels like me.

I’d love to hear anyone else’s story about a name change that didn’t take, or of  not  feeling comfortable with your own name for some other reason.