EDMONTON - After King Ralph and Honest Ed, could there be a Premier Ethan in Alberta's future?
For the seventh year in a row, Ethan was the most popular name for baby boys born in the province in 2007, and was chosen by 373 families. Ava was the pick for girls for the second year running, but officials with Vital Statistics say a change is on its way.
After several years of relative stability in the Top 10, Nathan, Carter and William dropped out of the boys list, replaced by Alexander, Owen and Samuel.
Similarly, Hailey and Sophia made the 2007 top girls list, replacing Grace and Ella.
There were 5,134 distinct names for boys, ranging from A.J. and Aaban to Zyran and Zyren.
There were 6,440 different names for girls, ranging from Aad and Aaliyha to Zymel and Zyrah.
Many of the names reflect Alberta's growing ethnic diversity.
One of the most unique names to make the list was, well, Unique - though it's a little misleading since it's the fifth child to carry that name in the last three years.
There were girls named Whisper, Sparrow, Treasure, Butterfly and Raynebow-Roze and boys named Echo, Ocean, Freedom, Midnite and Obsidian-Angel.
Geographic names continue to be popular - witness the boys named Cyprus, Milwaukee, Canaan and Brooklyn and the girls named Nevada, Tuscany, Venice and Kalifornia.
Patriotic parents named one little girl Alberta.
The statistics also show Alberta is in the midst of a baby boom, likely related to the province's rising prosperity.
More than 48,589 children - 24,748 boys and 23,841 girls - were born in the province in 2007, breaking the previous record of 45,465 births set in 1983.
The 2007 figure is nearly 20 per cent more than the 40,700 births recorded just four years ago and nearly 3,500 more than the 45,004 births registered last year.
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