‘90s FAMILY

A Rose By Any Other Name Might Be a Haylie or Carissa

Unisex monikers such as Taylor, Jordan and Alex are among today’s hottest names, according to Working Mother magazine. Susan Eyres of Sue’s Names in San Diego charges $45 for a list of 50 custom-picked names.

Eyres, who is quoted in the magazine, says that among her clients, names such as Dallas and Dakota are also “in,” along with last names used as first, such as Connor and Holden. Other bestsellers for boys: Cody, Austin, Dylan, Colin, Hunter, Spencer and Garrett. Popular names for girls: Haylie, Caylin, Taryn, Kelsey, Carissa and McCaela. Traditionalists will be happy to hear there’s still a demand for old favorites, Eyres says, such as Emily, Rebecca, Sarah, Jacob, Matthew and Daniel.

Your Empty Nest May Soon Be Full of Children Again

Just when you thought the kids were moving out, they’re back again. Or so it is in a third of American homes, a new study from the University of Michigan has found. A research team that gathered detailed information on the lives of 932 men and women who were 23 years old in 1985 discovered that while 80% of young adults move out of their parents’ homes by age 23, one-third of them move back in within three years. Sociology professor Arland Thornton, who directed the study, said the results show that “in the last several decades, the way young people make the transition to adulthood has been changing.”

Hillary’s a Busy First Lady, but She’s Not That Busy

Early in the Clinton Administration, a story made the rounds that when First Daughter Chelsea needed permission at school to get some aspirin, she told the school nurse: “Call my dad, my mom’s too busy.”

But at a forum on women as caregivers, her busy mom set the record straight. “The story about the school nurse is not true, but it’s a good one,” said Hillary Rodham Clinton at a recent meeting of the International Women’s Media Foundation.

Sweden Joins in Approving Partnership Law for Gay Couples

Sweden has joined Denmark and Norway in legalizing gay marriages, beginning in 1995. Sweden’s partnership law, approved last week, gives gay couples the same inheritance, tax and other benefits and obligations as married heterosexuals. But the new law stops short of allowing homosexuals to adopt or to have children through artificial insemination.