SPRINGFIELD, IL – Emily remained the favorite name for newborn girls in Illinois for the fifth consecutive year and, for the second year in a row, Jacob sits atop the list of most popular boys names, according to a review of 2001 vital statistics collected by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Emily easily outpaced second-place Hannah as the favorite of Illinois parents for their baby girls, followed by Jessica, Grace and Madison. New to the top 10 were Abigail at number seven and Olivia at 10.

Jacob's two-year grip on the top spot for baby boys, however, was tenuous with a razor-thin lead over the ever-popular Michael – 1,466 to 1,461. Parents of newborn boys in Illinois had chosen Michael more times than any other name for more than three decades until Jacob moved ahead in 2000. Following Jacob and Michael were mainstays Matthew, Daniel, Nicholas and Joshua. Alexander was the only new name to break in to the top 10 boys names at number 10.

The most popular names are part of the Department's annual compilation of vital statistics. More than a half million vital record events are logged each year as mandated by state statutes and federal uniform data collection requirements and, in 2001, included 184,022 births, 104,858 deaths, 89,469 marriages and 37,294 divorces.

Other vital statistics recorded were the largest baby (13 pounds, 12 ounces), the day most births occurred (July 17, 654), the day with the fewest births (Dec. 25, 291), the month with the most births (August, 16,321), the month with the fewest births (February, 13,974), the oldest mother (54) and the oldest father (83).

The oldest groom was 94 and the oldest bride was 95. The month with the most marriages was June with 10,252, and the month with the least number of marriages was January with 4,196.

The most deaths occurred on Jan. 1 (355) and the fewest deaths were recorded on July 26 (226). March had the most deaths of any month (9,499), while September had the fewest (8,368). The oldest man who died in 2001 was 108 years of age and the oldest woman who died in 2001 was 112.

The month with the most divorces was May (3,430) and the month with the least was September (2,634). The oldest man divorcee was 92 and the oldest woman divorcee was 88.