Unique boys, normal namesMy name, Lisa, was the No. 1 name given to baby girls during the '60s, according to the Social Security Administration. Which means there are a lot of Grandma Lisas out there. Or soon will be.

The decade before, Mary was the No. 1 name for females. One glance at the list of Grilled Grandmas confirms there certainly are a lot of Grandma Marys — as well as oodles of variations on the name — out there, too.

For both decades as well as the decades before, names in the top 1000 — which according to SSA make up 73 percent of all names for a given period — included more than a few handfuls of Rebeccas, Debras, Patricias, Katherines, Karens, Lauries, Susans, and others (you know who you are), along with variations on all of the above.

Which means, as folks of those decades make up the current generation of grandmas, there are lots of grandmas going by all those names.

Pretty normal, common, reasonable names ... for babies as well as for grandmas.

What I've wondered of late, though, is how normal, common, and reasonable today's crop of names may be ... for babies as well as for the grandmas — and grandpas — they will eventually become.

Take a look at a few of those in the top 1000 for 2010 (which, like I mentioned above, are 73 percent of names given for the year):

For little girls and future grandmas, you've got the basic names such as Isabella, Ava, and Abigail. But then there's Yamileth, Xiamara, Milagros, and more unpronounceable monikers. And those aren't even the ones at the very bottom of the list.

Little boys and future grandpas don't fare much better. Sure, there will always be Jacobs, Daniels, Michaels, and more. New additions, though, include Yair, Keon, Pranav, and Legend. Legend? Are they kidding?

I just don't get it.

But then again, I'm of the year that Cyril and Consuelo were at the bottom of the list. While likely seemingly odd way back in the day, those are now pretty much accepted and common names in the general population. So maybe fifty years from now, when today's newborns become tomorrow's grandparents, Grandma Xiamara won't seem all that strange after all.

Of course, after school years plagued by having to correct others on the pronunciation of her atrocious name, little Xiamara just may change that name the very second she becomes an adult. To something that rolls a little more easily off the tongue, something more pleasant to say and spell and hear.

Something simple.

Something like Lisa.

Today's question:

If you had the opportunity to name a newborn entering your family something completely of your own choosing, what name would you choose?

This week's Grilled Grandma shares the name of the grandma I grilled just two weeks ago: Cherylann (although the first one went by Cheryl Ann).

I thought it was kind of interesting that I came to know two grandmas with that name in such a short period of time -- especially considering that I'd never before met anyone named Cheryl Ann ... or Cherylann ... before.

Incidentally, I recently read a post on Susan's Grandparents Blog (Susan being the About.com Guide to Grandparents and a regular Grandma's Briefs reader) about a feature on the Social Security Administration's website that allows curious minds to research Popular Baby Names. So, being of a curious mind and all, I typed the name Cheryl into the nifty search engine and found that it was among the top 20 baby names from 1955 to 1961 -- prime years for today's crop of grandmas!

I'm honored two of those Cheryls have graced the Grilled Grandmas page and am happy to introduce you to the latest. You can meet this week's Cherylann right HERE.

If your name is Cheryl and you'd like to be featured as a Grilled Grandma -- or if you have a name of a different sort and want to be a Grilled Grandma -- be sure to contact me with your first name (Cheryl or not) and your e-mail address and I'll add you to the schedule of upcoming grillings.

Today's question:

How do you feel about your name?

My answer: I've always liked my name, especially because the E on the end of my middle name (Anne) made me just a little bit different -- even though I've always been one among many Lisas in the room, as a child and as an adult. That covers my first and middle name. My maiden name, I was happy to be rid of because no one could ever pronounce it correctly and it led to me being nicknamed "Aquawoman" in elementary school. (Dummy classmates had no idea I couldn't swim, which made the nickname all the more moronic.)