SANTA FE – Here is the list of the top baby names in New Mexico in 2023 as compiled by the Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics.

Trends since the Department of Health began reporting names in 2014:

 

TOP GIRL NAMES

Oliviva

Amelia

Isabella

Emma

Sofia

Mia

Sophia

Aria

Luna

Camila

 

TOP BOY NAMES

Liam

Mateo

Noah

Santiago

Ezekiel

Elijah

Josiah

Sebastian

Ezra

Julian

 

Trends since the Department of Health began reporting names in 2014:

 

Eight of each of the top 10 girl and boy names from 2022 stayed on the top 10 list in 2023.

Oliver and James fell out of the top 10 from last year and are replaced by Josiah and Julian. ...

Newcomers attracted by jobs, lifestyle, low cost of living

For the second year in a row, New Mexico is one of the top ten states for inbound moves, with United Van Lines reporting more families are coming into the state for jobs, retirement, a better lifestyle, and a lower cost of living.

The 2023 United Van Lines National Movers study shows the company reported 59.6% inbound moves to New Mexico, ranking New Mexico the ninth best inbound location in the U.S.

Of those moving to New Mexico – 30% reported it was for a job; 21% for retirement; and 15.5% for New Mexico’s lifestyle. Also of note, no one leaving the state reported they were exiting due to the cost of living, while 5%...

The Gallup Sun is welcoming 2024 in with a new format: broadsheet. What this means is that the paper is now slightly bigger, allowing the staff to include more of the stories and photos that are important to the community.

“I decided to go broadsheet because of the size constrictions. Our size just kept getting smaller and smaller, and I’ve always loved broadsheet newspapers,” Sun Publisher Babette Herrmann explained. “I also love tabloids, but to me the size is just too small and if we’re going to stay competitive in a multi-newspaper market, I felt like [going to broadsheet] was the best move for us.”

The differences between a tabloid format and a broadsheet format mostly...

James Maiorano III just finished his first year as McKinley County Sheriff, and he’s already planning out everything he wants to accomplish in 2024. In an interview with the Sun, he laid out five goals he has for the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office in the new year.

 

HIRING MORE DEPUTIES

In an October 2022 Sun article, Maiorano (who was then only the Undersheriff) talked about how the MCSO was facing an officer shortage. At the time, they had nine open positions. To be fully staffed, the office would have 43 people. Now, at the beginning of 2024, Maiorano said they only have six open positions they need to fill.

He said that even though their numbers are better than what...