Popularity of A Name

Which names were popular in the 1880s that are not popular now?

Executive Summary

Have you ever been introduced to someone and you instantly thought that their name sounded like something that your grandparent or even great-grandparent would be named?

Have you ever wondered why? This second installment of Urban Legend Debunking seeks to answer that very question by comparing data from 1880 to 2016 to see if there are names that are no longer used, common names that are now uncommon, and names that essentially died out that only elderly people commonly have.

Maud, Nannie and Willie (as a woman’s name) were once commonly used names as Americans used these names as their full first names when they registered for social security. Men’s names such as Adelbert, Arch, and Pink were also used to apply for benefits in 1880, but unsurprisingly, did not register in 2016. (United States of America Government, 2018)

William and James were very common names in 1880 as they were the only names to be in the top ten names by occurrence in 1880 and 2016. John, the most common name of any gender was a respectable 40th overall. However, it was behind Liam, Ethan, Lucas, Aiden, Sebastian, Carter and Jayden which did not register in 1880.

“John was the most popular boy's name every year from (at least) 1880 until 1924… Mary, which ran away with the top spot for girls all the way until 1947, when it was finally overtaken by Linda for a brief stint before enjoying another decade atop the charts starting in 1953.” (Keyser, 2015)

             The reasons for changes in popularity of a given name range from the formalization of names for government documents, changes in the “accepted” spellings, the effects of celebrity, and gender specific name changes. To determine which names have had the greatest decrease in popularity, percentile and overall ranking methods are used. For names that did not register in 2016, a list of no longer used names are compiled, as Nannie, Maud and Willie, all female names top the list. For names that registered in 2016, but did not register in 1880, a list of “New Names,” is compiled, as Liam, Mia, and Ethan top the list.

             Finally, a list of the top ten most declining names with the overall name in most decline is developed, as this name can used with assertion that only your great-grandmother was named this and why did your parents give you such an old sounding name. Names 10-6 are below with the full list at the end of the report.

10- Young (Men's Name)

9-Lucretia (Women's Name)

8-Dee (Men's Name)

7-Orpha (Women's Name)

6-Madge (Women's Name)

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