Besides the gender, the name of a newborn baby is arguably the second most important distinction of an individual.

While names tend to trend over time, students in OHS have a variety of common and one-of-a-kind names.

According to the official roster of all OHS students, the most common girls name of students is any of the 17 females who have variations of the names Madison, Madeline, Madelin, Madelyn Maddie, Maddy, and Madi.

The most common male names, on the other hand, are split between the 17 Alexs or Alexanders and the 17 Jacobs or Jakes.

While Jessica and then Emily topped the list for all girls born between 1995 and 1999, the name Michael ranked highest from 1961 to 1998, when Jacob moved up to the most common boys name in America, according to the number of newborns registered through the Social Security Administration.

Since 1999, Jacob has remained the most popular name in the nation through 2012 registered to the  Social Security Administration.

10 of the 17 students with forms of Madison, Madeline, and Maddie originate in the senior class.

Used to dealing with multiple Maddies or Madisons in the class, the 10 girls–who were arranged in the ‘Maddie Row’ in Jeremy Buch’s sophomore accelerated biology class–have bonded over their commonality throughout high school.

“It’s confusing when you are in the halls or [are] in a class with a bunch of other Maddies and someone says your name and then you all reply” senior Maddie Singleton said.

In addition to Buch’s accelerated biology class, other teachers have adjusted to the numerous Maddies in the senior class.

While calling on students to answer a question in class “I can use Madison because half the classroom is named Madison” social studies teacher Doug Erickson said.

Despite the high number of similar names, there are some individuals who are the only student in OHS to have his or her name.

After having three older brothers who were all going to be named Paulina if they had been a girl, junior Paulina Gabos was named Paulina instead of Elizabeth because “when I was born, the doctors said I was a girl and [my parents] were like, ‘Paulina,’” Gabos said.

Despite “never [being able to] find stuff in the souvenir places” with her name on it, Gabos has grown to like her first name because she likes being unique and having people tell her that she is the first person named Paulina that they have ever met.

While most OHS students were born in Minnesota, senior Nash Rossi’s place of birth has additional significance. “I was born in Nashville, TN and my parents thought [the name Nash] was a good fit,” Rossi said.

Despite “want[ing] a more normal name like my friends” as a child, Rossi has grown to like his “simple yet kind [of] unique type of name,” however, he does not like all of the numerous nicknames he has been given, such as “Nashpotatoes.”

Freshman Mattea Rice, who goes by Mattie, was actually named Emily for the first couple of days of her life. “[My parents] saw tags of three other [babies] named Emily” in the nursery and they noticed that the “[name] was too common, so they changed it to the Hebrew name Mattea,” Rice said.

Rice changed her name in third grade to Mattie because she hated when substitute teachers and others mispronounced Mattea. Despite going by Mattie now, Rice plans on changing her name back to Mattea before she goes to college because “it sounds more adult-like.”

In contrast, some OHS students have chosen to be referred to by their middle names, as opposed to their first names.

Sophomore Carmen Zujayla Ramon, otherwise known as ZuJy, has chosen to “go by ZuJy because I don’t like my first name,” and “it just sounds better,” Ramon said.

Senior Cristina Guallpa, whose given first name is Maria, has chosen to be called by her middle name, Cristina, because the first name Maria is also shared by both her mother and her two older sisters.

Guallpa goes by Cristina to avoid confusion between her mother and her sisters. “I love my name because…I am the last Maria Guallpa in the family” and “I like to carry my mom’s name because I know [that] I won’t have my mother forever but at least I got her name,” Guallpa said.