July 10, 2008
names
I found this name chart the other day that for some reason really fascinates me. I've been interested in name trends since I was little, I have newspaper articles cut out and journal entries contemplating the topic, and this chart makes it all visual and dynamic.
You have to get used to the change in the graph between names, but it's so much fun to see how names go up and down. I wish they had it documented farther back. Interesting that Michael was the top boys name of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Linnea had it's day in the sun back in the 40s, actually making it to the top 1000.
I wish they would do something like this for names in childrens stories and names in fantasy books ("oh look, Elora and Rowena were very popular in the 80s, but the 90s writers opted for the more ordinary Eleanor and Catherine"). And then I want them to do another list just of hipster kid names. These people on the BabyNameWizard blog keep talking about hipster parents and the outrageous things they name/would name their children (Hepzibah being one of the most discussed) and it's made me curious to see stats.
Posted by linnea at July 10, 2008 8:55 PMI met a Swedish couple recently who named their firstborn Linnea. I told them that I have two friends named Linnea, and they said, "Are they Swedish?" They couldn't believe there were at least two women in America named Linnea. Funny.
Posted by: Anna at July 11, 2008 4:26 AMi've had a lot of fun w/ that. wonder if marlowe is on there
Posted by: Jeannette at July 11, 2008 10:00 AMHepzibah probably was common back in the 18th century when more Bible names were used, like Ebenezer.
And these are names only in America, I take it.
Oh, and we don't want Linnea to be a common name!!!!!
I think you've been fascinated with names your whole life!
Ooooo, I've been having fun with that website typing in all kinds of names. Did you know Dorothy was #2in the 1920's? And Elsie peaked in the 1890's at #20 or something like that. Your grandmother's names. I ought to try Jenny and Georgia for mine.
Posted by: sperlonga at July 11, 2008 11:37 AMhmmm...This chart confirms my suspicion that every 5th person was named Sarah and that I should just go by the infinitely cooler and less likely "funke."
In my parent's defense, they choose Sarah because it was what my grandmother had wanted to name a girl if she had ever had a daughter rather than five boys. Sarah was much less popular in the 50s/60s. I was just born too late.
Posted by: funke at July 13, 2008 8:48 AM