July 15, 2004

My Irresistible Rise

Posted by Kieran

Speaking of accepting responsibility, I am planning to take the credit for this trend (also pdf, to print out and hang on your wall). Go to the Social Security Administration Website and investigate some trends for yourself. See the decline of the Heathers, the sudden, spectactular rise of the Ellas, and the terrible Hillary crash of 1993. Then read Stanley Lieberson’s A Matter of Taste for the sociology.

Posted on July 15, 2004 11:06 AM UTC
Comments

I note that John is far more popular than in the UK where it’s been totally displaced by Jack.

But the crucial link for a post like this is Baby’s Named a Bad, Bad Thing

Posted by John Quiggin · July 15, 2004 12:17 PM

I laughed my tea out my nose.

On the other hand, the attack on Irish names cut close to the bone…

Posted by Kieran Healy · July 15, 2004 01:40 PM

Just a pity they can’t spell it, then…

Posted by Ciarán · July 15, 2004 01:56 PM

So I checked “Jenna” and “Barbara,” both of which show a trendline downward since 2000 (the “Barbara” line has been going down since before then; the “Jenna” line peaked in 2001 and remains above its 2000 level).

Should we interpret this as a negative for the Bush administration?

Posted by Ken Houghton · July 15, 2004 02:06 PM

Don’t get Irisher-than-thou with me.

Posted by Ciarán Ó hEalaithe · July 15, 2004 02:07 PM

interestingly, “W” was the 61st most-popular name from 1900 to 1909.

Posted by cleek · July 15, 2004 03:34 PM

Monica is on a downer too!

Posted by q · July 15, 2004 03:59 PM

My daughter (7 months old) is on the Ella bandwagon. But her name was picked out years before she was born, and we had no idea there was an Ella upsurge when she was born. Very strange.

Posted by nate · July 15, 2004 04:08 PM

Neither of my daughter’s names made the Top 1000, which means that they finished behind Destiny (37), Destinee (470), Destiney (890), and Destini (892).

Also, can anyone account for the sharp drop in popularity in Deborah, which was never Top 10 material, but has been plummeting sharply every year since 1990 from to 200s down into the 600s? Have there be a steady stream of vaguely annoying Deborahs that have turned people off of the name?

Posted by Richard Bellamy · July 15, 2004 04:53 PM

Ella looks like an echo of the even faster-rising Isabella. Explanations welcome.

Posted by DCA · July 15, 2004 05:34 PM

A shame about Barbara. It’s the BEST name.

Also, I was shocked that the list of Welsh names left out Bronwyn, Blodwyn, and Myfanwy. (So happens I have distant cousins in Wales named Bronwyn, Blodwyn, and Myfanwy.)

Posted by maha, aka "Barbara" · July 15, 2004 05:44 PM

I did something about this awhile back. Since about 1950 names have become more volatile, especially for girls. The top ten girls’ names changed completely every ten years, and only half the top ten names of 1999 were on the 1990-1996 list.

In pontificationary terms, it seems that there was a movement from stability and normality as a principle to originality as a principle. Parental drug use are the cause of this.

“Michael” rose to “1 during the XXc, after being being #10, whereas Robert rose to #1 and then fell out of the top ten.

During the first 70 years of the century Mary and Marie or Maria were in the top ten together, but no more.

I suggested the name “Ebola” for my niece’s daughter, but she didn’t like it for some reason. My brother was working in medicalrecords once and came across the newborn name “Darvon”, though it was probably a hoax.

Posted by Zizka · July 16, 2004 01:39 PM
Followups

This discussion has been closed. Thanks to everyone who contributed.