# How popular is your name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 10, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792 "2005-06-10T20:51:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/21 "2005-06-10T22:56:04Z")
Oh, and The **Perfect Master** ’s name was #187 in the 1880’s, peaked at 71 in the 1900’s, and is currently not in the top 1000. That’s assuming hs is, in fact, male. (Do we know for sure?) ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/22 "2005-06-10T23:05:10Z")
Hmm, my name peaked in popularity (around 70) right when I was born. Into the 90s it dropped, now it’s on the upswing again. Interesting. My Mother will be thrilled to know her name dropped off the chart around 1970. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/23 "2005-06-10T23:11:35Z")
Oh my Og! Abigail is skyrocketting! From the 1900s to the 1940s it wasn’t even in the top 1,000. In the 1970s it was 375. In the 80s (when I was born) it climbed to 148. Now it’s #6! That means that I’m going to go from hardly ever meeting anyone with my name to meeting lots of people about 20 years older than I am. How strange. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/24 "2005-06-10T23:14:58Z")
Angelique 542 when I was born in the 80s. 607 now. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/25 "2005-06-10T23:21:32Z")
Wow, my father’s name has really dropped, and it’s not even that old-fashioned a name. Apparently, there’s been no one named “Eulalie” since the 1900s. “Addison,” my father’s middle name, dropped off in the 1903s as an exclusive boy’s name. It’s making quite a comeback as both a boy and a girl’s name now. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/26 "2005-06-10T23:38:04Z")
With the exception of the 50s (109), my first name has stayed in the top 100, peaking at number 4 in the 90s. My middle name was least popular in the 40s (23) and most popular in the 1900s (6). People have actually named their baby girls David. WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/27 "2005-06-11T00:12:18Z")
Mine peaked in the 1950s at number 11 and is now 222. Hubby’s peaked in the 1880s (!) at 143 and is now 614. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/28 "2005-06-11T00:14:26Z")
My name was never in the top 1000 in any decade. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/29 "2005-06-11T00:41:19Z")
I don’t even have to look to know that my name has never been on the top 1000 of any popularity list, ever, due to the unusual spelling. The only other person I’ve ever heard of with the same first name is a granddaughter of Ringo Starr. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/30 "2005-06-11T01:00:51Z")
Mine first appears in the 1930’s, rises continuously to it’s peak at #10 in the 1960’s, and has been declining since then. It shows at #149 last year. Quite interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/31 "2005-06-11T01:12:51Z")
Oh no, I was a trendy name baby! Well, my name hit it’s peak popularity in the decade after my birth. And then took a nose-dive into obscurity, which is fine with me because I don’t like sharing. Plus, it’s much more popular in Mexico-- I was Ashes Number Three in grade school, if I ever get lonely. Hmm, just about everyone in my family has a name that was at it’s most popular around when they were born. Except my aunt Thedadell, which make that site angry. My sister’s name didn’t exist, then become popular the decade after she was born and then more for boys than girls. Currently it doesn’t exist anymore. That’s what you get when you play around with the spelling of a name, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![RunAmok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RunAmok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RunAmok)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/32 "2005-06-11T01:24:34Z")
My first name was only 146th for the decade when I was born, is currently 34th, but peaked at #16 in the 1980s. Middle: Relatively steady decline in popularity since the 1880s – from fourth then to tenth now 😃 . Oddly enough, my son’s name (traditional and biblical,) was not on the charts before the 1940s, while my younger daughter’s fairly non-traditional name “hit the charts” in the thirties. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/33 "2005-06-11T01:42:55Z")
Neither my name nor my sister’s name appear on that list at any time. I can tell you from census records from 1930 that 3 people in the US had my first name. Seeing as how I’ve just recently heard of another American with it (the first in my 30 years) I guess it’s slowly gaining ground. Our practically unique names came about because my mother’s name peaked at 2 in the 1920s. And my dad his 27 in the 30s. He was always one of a million Bobs and didn’t like it. P.S. I wonder if Unknown was a real name for those kids or rather their name wasn’t known when reported? I mean it did hit 351 in the 50s for boys. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/34 "2005-06-11T01:47:51Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > My name at birth: 389. Now: 84 Damn you, **Ethilrist**. Someday I’ll beat you to one of these. Someday. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/35 "2005-06-11T01:49:25Z")
Mine peaked in the fifties. Guess that is because I was named after a president from that era. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/36 "2005-06-11T01:58:15Z")
Numero 941 in the 70s, when I was born. Now it’s 162. I can’t decide whether to be horrified that my name is becoming more common or hopeful that people will start spelling/pronouncing it right. Oh wait, Kayla was 18th most popular name last year for girls, so never mind. :: sigh :: People, never name your kid Kayla, mkay? You’re making the Kylas out there miserable. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/37 "2005-06-11T02:02:09Z")
It’s interesting to see the curve for all letter names. Like F names. Those have collapsed. From 42,000 to about 5,000 per million. Damn, look at I. From 15,000 per million in the 20s, down the 2,000 in the 60s and then back up to 15,000 today. In fact all vowel names have a similar curve. For U I think you have to toss out unknown. It’s a coding error I believe. I read the FAQ. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/38 "2005-06-11T02:02:50Z")
I’m sick of being Laura. I’ve been in an employment situation where someone approached me and two of my co-workers and rudely commented “Approaching Laura, Critical mass!”" Whic is both funny and also SAD if your name is Laura. i want to chang eto Esmerelda or Isolde or something exotic. I want toi be unique!!! Help! L ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/39 "2005-06-11T02:10:51Z")
> [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](#): > > I’m sick of being Laura. I’ve been in an employment situation where someone approached me and two of my co-workers and rudely commented “Approaching Laura, Critical mass!”" Whic is both funny and also SAD if your name is Laura. i want to chang eto Esmerelda or Isolde or something exotic. I want toi be unique!!! I’ve never met a Laura I didn’t like. My name was 216th when my grandfather got it in the 1890s, 298th when I got it in the 1960s, and it’s now at its all-time high at 141st. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792/40 "2005-06-11T02:43:57Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I’ve never met a Laura I didn’t like. > > My name was 216th when my grandfather got it in the 1890s, 298th when I got it in the 1960s, and it’s now at its all-time high at 141st. So what IS the all-time high 141st name? I’m dying to know! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-is-your-name/307792.md?page=3)