100 YEARS OF BABY NAMING

Social Security has put together a ranking of the 100 Most Popular Names from the last 100 years. Do these names still appeal to parents today? You tell me.

Here are the Top 20 Names from 1910 to 2009:

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

MARY

PATRICIA

JENNIFER

ELIZABETH

LINDA

BARBARA

MARGARET

SUSAN

DOROTHY

JESSICA

BETTY

SARAH

NANCY

KAREN

LISA

HELEN

SANDRA

DONNA

CAROL

KIMBERLY

THE BREAKDOWN: Girls

Comparing this list with today’s Top 20 is definitely an interesting study in style. Relatively few of the girls’ names are on top of the current charts. I think this hundred year retrospective illustrates that while some names maintain a timeless charm – Elizabeth and Sarah – other names lose that sense of cool and now sound unfashionable – Patricia and Carol.

How can you predict which names will stay fashionable and which names will lose their cool?

Fashion can be unpredictable. For example, I have no clue why skinny jeans are still popular when so few people can actually pull them off. Luckily, I have a better handle on name fashions. One thing you’ll notice about the timeless classics – Elizabeth, Sarah, James and Michael – is that most have a Biblical connection. These names have been around for millennia and haven’t had their popularity tied to a trend or fad. Names that become popular quickly or are related to a celebrity tend to fall out of favor before too long.

Translation: In the years to come, watch for trendy names like Miley and Jayden to fall onto the unfashionable list, while names like Elizabeth hold their ground.

Name to watch: BETTY. I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about this name lately. I’ve even heard of a handful of babies bestowed with the name Betty (some as a middle name). I also know of a cat named Betty, but I’m not sure that counts. And don’t underestimate the resurgence of love we’re all feeling for Betty White these days. As mentioned, celebrity has a huge influence on baby naming.

On to the boys:

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

JAMES

JOHN

ROBERT

MICHAEL

WILLIAM

DAVID

RICHARD

JOSEPH

CHARLES

THOMAS

CHRISTOPHER

DANIEL

MATTHEW

DONALD

PAUL

MARK

ANTHONY

GEORGE

STEVEN

KENNETH

SOURCE: Social Security

THE BREAKDOWN: Boys

Boys’ names don’t change in style as dramatically as girls’ names do. That’s why the boy’s list still looks fairly current, with a few exceptions like Donald and Kenneth. Nearly half of the boys’ names are still in the Top 20 today. That’s pretty remarkable! What it tells us is that quite a few parents still gravitate toward traditional, classic boys’ names.

The 100 year’s list and today’s Top 20 both include: MICHAEL, WILLIAM, DANIEL, ANTHONY, CHRISTOPHER, MATTHEW, DAVID, JOSEPH and JAMES.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Why does the popularity of girls’ names change more than boys’ names? Tell me why you chose a traditional name (or why you didn’t!). You can email me or leave a comment and share your thoughts about this list. When you leave your first comment, you’ll need to take a couple seconds to “register.” It’s a way to prevent spammers from clogging up comment sections with off-topic advertisements. Once you do register though, you won’t have to worry about it again and can leave all the comments you want.

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES