Hunter Paul Stroh was born at 1:30pm Jan. 1, 2017, the first baby of the new year at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. His parents are Chad and Andrea Stroh of Eau Claire. Photo: Mayo Clinic Health System

The Chippewa Valley said “hello” and “awwwwwww!” to a lot of Jacksons and Madelines in 2016 – as well as to a bouncing bundle of Owens, Harpers, Sawyers, and Adelines. These were among the top names bestowed on newborns at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire during the just-completed year.

Ten boys named Jackson were born at Mayo’s Eau Claire hospital in 2016, while the No. 1 girls’ name was Madeline, which was placed on 11 birth certificates. Owen and Sawyer tied as the No. 2 name for boys (both with nine) while Harper was in second place for girls (also with nine). For the sake of comparison, Owen and Jackson were the No. 1 and No. 2 boys’ names (respectively) in 2015 at the hospital, while Evelyn and Avery were tops for girls that year. (Neither of the latter names cracked the top six among girls in 2016.)

Meanwhile at Mayo’s Menomonie hospital, Jackson was also the most popular name for boys in 2016 (six were born) while Leah and Scarlett was No. 1 for girls (with four each). Here are the rankings of top names at both hospitals for 2016:

Eau Claire 

BOYS

Jackson (10)
Owen (9)
Sawyer (9)
Carson (7)
Grayson (6)
Henry (6)
Landon (6)
Liam (6) 

GIRLS

Madeline (11)
Harper (9)
Adeline (8)
Raelynn (8)
Grace (6)
Olivia (6) 

Menomonie

BOYS

Jackson (5)
Levi (5)
Christopher (3)

GIRLS

Leah (4)
Scarlett (4)
Aubrey (3)
Emma (3)
Hannah (3)
Piper (3)
Sophia (3) 

Overall, 994 babies were born at Mayo in Eau Claire in 2016 (455 girls and 539 boys) while 271 were born in Menomonie (138 girls and 133 boys).

And finally, the new year’s first baby in Eau Claire also came at Mayo: Hunter Paul Stroh was born at 1:30pm Sunday, Jan. 1, to Andrea and Chad Stroh of Eau Claire. Baby Hunter arrived a bit early (he was due on Jan. 17), weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces, and was 19 inches long.