By Holly Tormey, senior
Michael Keith Hyde was born in 1988 and was named after his grandfather who shares his first name and his uncle who shares his middle name.
“I like my name and have never thought it to be a very common one,” said Hyde, a junior.
But Michael has been topping the charts for decades. From 1961 to 1998, it was the No. 1 boy’s name in the United States, according to the Social Security Administration’s database.
Jessica topped the charts as a baby girl’s name from 1985 to 1996.
Jessica Halsig, senior, also said she had no idea that it was a No. 1 name when she was born in 1988, the year that many of this spring’s graduating seniors were born.
“My parents didn’t know it was a popular name. They just thought it was cute,” said Halsig.
Michael is the name of several people in the Old Testament. It is most famously known as the one closest to God, who had the responsibility of carrying out God’s judgments.
“I had no idea Michael was so popular, and neither did my parents,” said Hyde.
The origin of Michael came from the Hebrew people, and its meaning is “who is like God.”
Hyde admits to knowing only two other guys with the same name, but on the occasion of meeting another guy named Mike, he thinks it’s funny and awkward at the same time.
When asked if Hyde would ever change his name, he said, “I have never really thought about it, but I guess if I did, I would change it to a cool French name like Jacques.”
Move over Mike; the name Jacob has been in the No. 1 spot for the past nine years.
Jacob also originated from the Hebrews and means supplanter, according the Social Security database.
The name Jessica first appeared in a Shakespeare story, and the origins are much debated. It is possible that like Michael, Jessica came from the Hebrew name Iscah, found in the Bible, and was translated in Shakespeare as Jesca.
Both Hyde and Halsig say they would ultimately not change their name because it is an attribution to who they are as individuals.
“I like my name,” said Halsig. “I feel unique whether I have the same name as someone else or not, because I am my own person.”