Tuesday, May 13, 2003 | 8:20 a.m.
If your daughter was born in the past 10 years, rest assured it'll be mighty hard for her to bring home every Tom, Dick and Harry.
According to the Social Security Administration, she'll have trouble just finding guys named Tom, Dick and Harry. None were among the 10 most popular baby names of the past decade.
The agency released Monday its list of the 10 most popular baby names for 2002, but also lists popularity rankings by decade and state on its website: socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/baby-graphics.htm.
Last year's top 10 boy names were Jacob, Michael, Matthew, Joshua, Christopher, Nicholas, Andrew, Joseph, Daniel and Tyler. The top girls' names were Emily, Hannah, Madison, Ashley, Sarah, Alexis, Samantha, Jessica, Elizabeth and Taylor. (We assume those last two are listed separately, rather than together.)
Nevadans had some slightly different preferences. Jacob was still at the top for boys, followed by Anthony, Joshua, Brandon and Daniel. Emily also was No. 1 among Nevada baby girls born last year, followed by Hannah, Madison, Jessica and Samantha.
Yes, I am painfully aware that "Susan" does not exist anywhere on this list. But my brother got a kitten and the privilege of naming the new baby if he agreed to settle for a brother or sister instead of a dragon. He was 4. I am fortunate my name isn't "Juice." Still, Susan was fourth most popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Last year its popularity dissolved faster than Enron stock, dropping to 450th.
Thomas has hovered between 28th and 34th the past 10 years. Richard, 39th to 72nd. Dick didn't even make the cut for the top 1,000 names since 1992. And Harry has risen only has high as 363rd most popular in the past decade.
Santa actually made the top 1,000 names from 1900 through the 1950s, the agency says, ranking highest in the 1930s at 552nd, and lowest in the 1950s at 848th. And it was always as a girl's name.
Winston Churchill stuttered.
Actor Jimmy Stewart nearly made it a trademark.
Greg Louganis, Julia Roberts, John Updike, Bruce Willis, Anthony Quinn and James Earl Jones are stutterers too, according to the Stuttering Foundation of America, which has named this week in recognition of those who struggle with the halting, hesitating speech impediment.
The nonprofit groups says 3 million Americans have trouble getting the words to come out as they wish. Yet, a study released earlier this year shows the advice 90 percent of parents give to their children who stutter actually frustrates the children more.
The foundation says it's better for parents to slow their own speaking style and be an example, rather than constantly telling a stuttering child to slow down and relax.
For more information, log onto stutteringhelp.org.
May is National Bike Month, and results of a recent national poll showed 52 percent of Americans would like to ride their bicycles more often.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada has designated this week as Bike to Work week. So dust off that puppy, pedal to the office and giggle about that snow they had up in Reno last week.
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