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More than four million babies are born in the United States every year, and each one leaves the hospital with one item that will follow them for the rest of their lives: a name. Hair changes color, limbs grow longer and minds continue to grow, but the name a person given at birth will be a constant companion. Understandably, this can put major pressure on parents to come up with a great name to fit the wonderful person that their child will undoubtedly grow up to become. Should they choose an exotic name like the celebrities these days, such as Apple or Suri? Or maybe consider a more practical, formal name like Henry or Elizabeth?

Whatever they end up choosing, it's almost guaranteed that parents have been down that road already. So what names are most popular at California Baptist University, a small but s6ig5nifi- cant part of the country's population? After some research, we are here to unveil the top three most common student names of CBU: for guys, it is Michael, Matthew and Christopher; for girls, it is Jessica, Ashley and Sarah.

If you are on campus for any length of time, it is very likely that you will come across or befriend one or more persons with these names. As confusing as it might be to keep all of your same-name friends straight, it is worth getting to know some of the amazing people behind the names.

For some people, their names simply came from the fact that their parents liked it. "My dad was in charge of picking my name and he always liked it, since around the time I was born it was a popular name," Ashley Drinkhouse, junior, said.

For others, the name was very meaningful because of family history. "My father's name is Michele, which is Italian for Michael. They liked this name, but to avoid the gender con- fusion they just called me Michael," Michael Falsetti, sophomore, said. "My mom decided I would take the last name of the man who married my grandparents of all the people on her side of the family, Pastor Bill Ryan, for my middle name."

When asked how they feel about having such a common name, many had strong reactions one way or the other. Jessica Isgett, senior, is not turned off from her name simply because it is popular. "I love my name! I don't think it's a good or bad thing that I have such a popular name. I think Jessica suits me," she said.

On the other hand, Jessica Tracy's opinion of the same name differs significantly. "I don't like having such a popular name," Tracy, a sophomore, said. "I don't think it's an ugly name or anything, I just don't like that I probably turn around five times a day because someone says 'Jessica' and they're not even talking to me." Sarah Wing, soph- omore, shares the same feeling about people calling her name. "It gets pretty irritating, actually. I constantly hear my name being called and think it's one of my friends, but often it's not."

A relatively common trend found among those with common names is the importance of their middle name. Falsetti is more commonly referred to by his middle name, Ryan. "My parents always intended on calling me Ryan, but they liked the flow of Michael Ryan better than Ryan Michael," he said. Tracy's parents also had a similar experience of interchanging first and middle names to make it sound better. "My parents wanted to name me Paige, but they also wanted Jessica to be a part of my name. Paige Jessica Tracy sounds weird, so they decided on Jessica Paige Tracy."

Regardless of how annoying constantly hearing the same name may be, most found that they would not want to change their names. "I'd actually still pick my own name," Christopher Kyle, freshman, said. "I really couldn't think of a better name than the one my family gave me."

Besides owning the same name as many other CBU students, these students all differ widely in their interests and talents. Some are twins, others love performing, and many enjoy making people laugh. From bass drumming to ventriloquism to collecting rocks, their hobbies vary as much as their personalities. We appreciate them for who they are, what unique qualities they have brought to CBU and how God will use them in the future.

"I am both humbled and honored to have a popular name. I think having a popular name could be good and bad, depending on why it's being said, hopefully because I have impacted people's life in some manner," Falsetti said. "But I am quite happy with my own name and wouldn't even change it for a witness protection program."