Fewer parents choosing 'Katrina' as baby name following hurricane

WASHINGTON -- As baby names go, Katrina isn't in vogue these days. But she hasn't disappeared either.

From its peak in the 1980s -- when it regularly ranked among the 100 most popular names that parents chose for their daughters -- it had gradually slumped to 247th by 2005, even before Hurricane Katrina smashed the Gulf Coast in late summer of that year.

The name's association with the catastrophe has now knocked it out of consideration for most parents, sinking its popularity to the lowest ebb since the 1950s.

Only about 850 baby girls in the United States were named Katrina last year, according to new data released Friday by the Social Security Administration, dropping it more than 100 slots on the popularity list. At a rank of 382nd, it now sits just below Brenna.

Overall, the country's most popular names haven't changed much since 2005. Emily and Jacob remain atop the list.