# Estimate an American's age from their first name **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2015, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098 "2015-05-15T12:11:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/1 "2015-05-15T12:11:24Z")
[The median living boy named Sue was born around 1961 and ranges from 28 to 69 years old.](http://rhiever.github.io/name-age-calculator/index.html?Gender=M&Name=Sue) And they _all_ had to get tough or die. The data is pulled from the American Social Security database, [which explains the precipitous decline in the popularity of Osama circa 2001.](http://rhiever.github.io/name-age-calculator/index.html?Gender=M&Name=Osama) ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/2 "2015-05-15T12:18:00Z")
If I posted my first name you could name the year I was born, just based off those name popularity sites. There is a very small spike for one year, but it was obscure even for that year. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/3 "2015-05-15T12:28:04Z")
They got me right. My first name peaked in births and people alive over the year of my birth. My wife’s first name hit the median on the dot. Of course both of those may have been affected by the baby boom as probably many common names are. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/4 "2015-05-15T13:33:13Z")
I was born in 1976. My name was just becoming popular then, and peaked around 1990. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/5 "2015-05-15T13:53:07Z")
Got mine wrong, but my wife’s dead on. My parents were also dead on. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/6 "2015-05-15T14:15:23Z")
The peak for mine was about 8 years before I was born but still fairly popular by the time I came along. Looks like as of 2015 it’s pretty rare. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/7 "2015-05-15T14:18:16Z")
Mine doesn’t even fall within the range of the median. My mom was 19 years ahead of the times. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/8 "2015-05-15T14:18:53Z")
Hmmm, I always thought 1979-1980 was the leading year for Jessicas (one would think so if you visited my school) but turns out I was 10 years ahead of the peak (1990). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/9 "2015-05-15T14:32:07Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Hmmm, I always thought 1979-1980 was the leading year for Jessicas (one would think so if you visited my school) but turns out I was 10 years ahead of the peak (1990). There was a cartoon about Mrs. Somebody’s 3rd grade class with the caption of their names: Scott, Scott, Jessica, Scott, Jessica, Jessica, Scott, Scott, Scott, Jessica, Scott, Jessica, Jessica, Jessica… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/10 "2015-05-15T15:57:29Z")
My name had its peak about 1910, with a smaller peak around the year of my birth in 1951, and then underwent a precipitous decline. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/11 "2015-05-15T16:06:47Z")
I was born in 1949 (and named for a grandfather). My name peaks in late 60’s to early 70’s, which I suspect is due to a certain 4-some having someone in their band with the same first name. Now it’s almost non-existent. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/12 "2015-05-15T16:23:52Z")
I’m forty. My name peaked in 2003. My name is Italian and thus very rare in the states. I was one of two in my university of 20,000 students. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/13 "2015-05-15T16:37:52Z")
It’s fun to look at the graph for ridiculous girls’ names like Madison and Addison and realize they’re the Gladyses of the future. The median Gladys is dead. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/14 "2015-05-15T16:58:31Z")
My formal name (which I go by as an adult) peaks about 30 years after I was born. The diminutive, however (one that I went by as a kid) correctly places me during the median of late baby boomers. Finding myself one of several with the same first name too many times was the original reason that I began using the formal one. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/15 "2015-05-15T17:00:29Z")
:eek: Verrryyyy interesting. Much to surprise my very uncommon first name appears to be in its ascendancy. The tail of the graph is going straight up and the median was born around 2002, with an age range of 6-22. I’m 47. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/16 "2015-05-15T18:32:10Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I was born in 1949 (and named for a grandfather). My name peaks in late 60’s to early 70’s, which I suspect is due to a certain 4-some having someone in their band with the same first name. Now it’s almost non-existent. The graph for ‘Ringo’ is pretty interesting. It’s either very popular or not at all, depending on the year. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/17 "2015-05-15T19:05:27Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > The graph for ‘Ringo’ is pretty interesting. It’s either very popular or not at all, depending on the year. And surprisingly the median is around 1980. I wouldn’t say it’s ever “very popular.” It maxed out at only about 16 cases in the early 1960s. At the same time my name was at over 10,000 per year. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/18 "2015-05-15T19:07:01Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > The graph for ‘Ringo’ is pretty interesting. It’s either very popular or not at all, depending on the year. And from the shaded area it shows that no American Ringo could ever have lived more then 18 years! Edit: Oh, wait. That shows people from then still alive now, not in the year on the graph. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/19 "2015-05-15T19:22:20Z")
The median man with my name is ten years older than I am - I just barely made it into the given age range. And based on the medians only, my son is two years older than I am! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098/20 "2015-05-15T19:59:51Z")
My name peaked a few years after I was born. It had a pretty steep rise from low numbers and a much slower decline after the peak. As one of the mid-late baby boomers I’d be curious to see those graphs recast as percentage of births. IOW, many names’ graphs show a huge spike between 1944 and 1951. How much of that spike is just more kids total and now much is that name becoming more popular compared to other names. We can’t tell from the graphs as they are. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estimate-an-americans-age-from-their-first-name/720098.md?page=2)