What’s funny is that yes, names do bob back up like corks, but some get left behind. And you wonder why? Bertha, for example, used to be a very popular name. A beautiful young woman’s name. That’s one that ain’t never coming back. See also: Beulah, Eunice, Irma.
The sushi restaurant we frequent is staffed by people from China who typically work a year or two, then are gone. The names they print on checks is their “American” name, assigned by the restaurant, like “Pete”, “Mike”, “Linda”.
I told one of the waiters that using their real names would be kinda cool. He told me his name. I tried to say it. He corrected me. I tried again, he winced again. OK then, Mike it is!
And you, a beacon shining brightly, represent western culture, huh?
Moderator Note
sonder999, I don’t know whether this is serious or intended to be sarcastic. Either way, it’s inappropriate for General Questions. Neither bigoted statements about ethnic groups, nor pokes at other posters, are permitted here. No warning issued, but don’t do this again.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I grew up in a place that was 60+ percent Asian-American. Maybe some daughters get their names by whatever’s easy for their immigrant parents to pronounce, but regional trends are just as likely. From my parents’ generation (baby boomers), Cheryl and Sharon and Donna were popular. So was Lei. We didn’t have a lot of Wendys, Kimberlys, and Tammys. Biblical names were common among Christians, so mostly Koreans and some Chinese. I had friends named Timothy, Eunice, and Sara(h).
As an Asian-American myself, I think it’s because first-generation immigrants do not have the familiarity with American society to know what names are really modern and which are not.
Imagine being an American, immigrating to Japan and trying to pick a Japanese name for your child. You might just go by a name dictionary and pick Ayako, Haranu or Souta, which are perfectly fine names, but would they be names that seem outdated?
Hypercorrection still, and Arnulfo sounds like a Goth king (it’s not, just German in origin). Apparently St Arnulf of Metz is the patron saint of beer 
Fidel is Eddie, Gloria is Ate (sister) Glo, Benigno jr is noy-noy but should be nonoy which means sonny or junior. Joker is really Joker.
Next time I see Arnulfo, I’ll have to invite him to have a Singha (not a lot of choices there, and it’s better than Chang)!
Some sources are predicting it will decline in popularity. It was already at 17th place, and now some new parents will shy away from it because of the royal association.
It’s kinda fascinating to me, because when I was a kid I thought almost all of my grandmothers and aunts had old-fashioned names that would go extinct. But surprisingly Selma and Amelia have made significant-seeming comebacks.
However Melva and Myrtle do appear to be dieing out as I expected.
Meanwhile my father’s name, George, which I thought entirely unremarkable as a kid, also seems to be on the decline ( at least anecdotally ).