SPRINGFIELD, IL – After reigning as the favorite boy's name of Illinois parents for more than three decades, Michael was finally surpassed in popularity by Jacob in 2000. The most popular girl's name was Emily, as it has been for the past four years.

Michael had been the most popular male baby name in Illinois since at least 1968, when the Illinois Department of Public Health first began to tabulate names from birth records. Jacob has been closing in on the top spot since 1996, when it moved into second place ahead of Matthew. Jacob earned No. 1 honors after 1,640 babies were given the name in 2000, while Michael was in second with 1,553.

Among the top 10 boy names in Illinois, there was little change other than some shifting in the rankings. Anthony was the only newcomer, jumping from 11th to eighth place, while Tyler, ranked 10th in 1999, dropped to 14th. Following Jacob and Michael were Matthew, still in third place; Daniel and Nicholas, fourth and fifth respectively, switching places from 1999; and then Joseph, Joshua, Anthony, Andrew and Ryan.

The only new top 10 entry for girls in 2000 was Madison, which climbed in popularity from 12th to ninth place, while Taylor fell from eighth place to 17th place. Hannah was again second behind Emily; Jessica moved up to third place from fourth in 1999; Alexis was up one place to fourth; Samantha fell from third to fifth; and rounding out the top 10 were Grace, Elizabeth, Ashley, Madison and Sarah.

Nationally in 2000, according to the Social Security Administration, Jacob was the most popular boy name, followed by Michael, Matthew, Joshua and Christopher; and Emily was the most popular girl name, followed by Hannah, Madison, Ashley and Sarah.

The most popular names are part of the Department's annual compilation of the state's vital records. In 2000, about a half million vital records events were recorded by the Department, including births (185,003), deaths (106,287), marriages (85,798), divorces (39,524) and other statistics mandated by state statutes and federal uniform data requirements.

Other trivia gleaned from the 2000 statistics include the largest baby (13 pounds, 9 ounces), the day most births occurred (Sept. 19, 659), the day with the fewest births (Dec. 25, 289), the month with the most births (August 16,525), the month with the fewest births (February 14,065), the oldest mother (54) and the oldest father (81).

The oldest groom was 94 and the oldest bride was 91. The month with the most marriages was September with 10,659, and the month with the least number of marriages was January with 3,881.

The most deaths occurred on Jan. 1 (428), and the fewest deaths were recorded on July 2 (224). January had the most deaths of any month (10,952), while June had the fewest (7,992). The oldest male who died in 2000 was 108 years of age and the oldest female who died was 114.

The month with the most divorces was March (3,733) and the month with the least was January (2,908). The oldest male divorcee was 93 and the oldest female divorcee was 85.