Every year, the Social Security Administration releases a list of the most-popular baby names from the previous year and the press treats the information like it's breaking news. "When kids born in 2005 head to kindergarten in a few years, a lot of them will be raising their hands when the teacher calls out 'Emily' or 'Jacob'," begins the Associated Press article about how—you guessed it—the names "Emily" and "Jacob" are America's most popular names for their respective genders. But what most media reports fail to tell you is how big those kindergarten classrooms would have to be—these names aren't really popular at all.

Just over one percent of the two million boys born this year in the US were named Jacob. And just over one percent of the two million girls born this year were named Emily. In fact, only 48 percent of boys were given any name out of the top 100, and only 34% of girls were.

Let's look at some historical data:

2005
Most Popular Boy Name
Jacob (1.2%)
Most Popular Girl Name
Emily (1.2%)
Percentage of Boys given a Top 100 Name: 48.0%
Percentage of Girls given a Top 100 Name: 34.2%

1985
Most Popular Boy Name
Michael (3.4%)
Most Popular Girl Name
Jessica (2.6%)
Percentage of Boys given a Top 100 Name: 67.1%
Percentage of Girls given a Top 100 Name: 51.6%

1965
Most Popular Boy Name
Michael (4.3%)
Most Popular Girl Name
Lisa (3.3%)
Percentage of Boys given a Top 100 Name: 72.7%
Percentage of Girls given a Top 100 Name: 57.9%

1945
Most Popular Boy Name
James (5.4%)
Most Popular Girl Name
Mary (4.4%)
Percentage of Boys given a Top 100 Name: 75.4%
Percentage of Girls given a Top 100 Name: 65.8%

If there is any news to be gleaned from the Social Security Administration's numbers, it's that American parents seem to be far less likely to pick a particular name for their children than ever before. And that parents put a bit more creativity into naming their daughters.