Friday, June 20, 2014

Just Another One Of The Crowd

A while back son Brian sent me a link to a website called NamePlayground, which is a fascinating look at first names in the United States since the 1800s.  One of the things it allows you to do is search for a specific name.  Thanks to the site (which uses information compiled by the Social Security Administration), I learned that the average age of women named Kathy is 54.64. The name's popularity peaked one year before I was born, when it was the 14th most popular name in the country.  After that it went downhill pretty fast; less than three percent of women under the age of 30 share my name.

What about you?  Is your name common or unique for your age group?

NamePlayground.com

12 comments:

  1. Joanne fell like a rock from its peak. Only 1700 women under the age of twenty are so named.

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    1. Yes, most Joannes I know are my age or older.

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  2. Well, that was fun!
    Elizabeth was most popular in the 1800's but had a few recurrences of popularity every 50 years or so. Betsy was most popular in the 1960's when I was born and was was it's only peak. Interestingly enough, I never went to school with another Betsy, even though it was its most popular time! I still only know of two others!

    I remember there being lots of Jeff's and David's in my school classes. Those must have been very popular names for babies in the early 60's.

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    1. Even though I'd consider it a fairly common name, I can't think of any Elizabeths or Betsys my age. Isn't that amazing? However, there was a girl named Elizabeth in my middle son's elementary school class, who's now in her late 20s

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  3. Interesting, I think my name is out of fashion these days

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    1. Although there may be more popular names for girls in the past few decades, I know several Christines in their 20s. I think it's a pretty name

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  4. Sprinkles wasn't listed, so I used my real name and it's apparently very unpopular! I'm not surprised, since I've only known of one other person with my name. It's a hideous name, so I'm not surprised that it's not very common.

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    1. Why am I NOT surprised that Sprinkles isn't listed?!? I know several people who don't like their given name and use it only for legal purposes.

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  5. It told me what I already knew:
    — Not found in Top 1000 Names from 1880 to 2006 —

    I am the only Delaine Zody in the United States.

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    Replies
    1. At least you can't get your personal information mixed up with anyone else.

      I'm curious...did your parents ever happen to tell you how they chose the name 'Delaine'?

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    2. Yes, and there are other Delaines out there.

      My sister's junior year yearbook had a girl in it named Delaine. My mother jokingly said, 'if I ever had another little girl,I'd name her Delaine.' By the end of my sister's senior year of high school, I was about to be born! My parents were 37 and 43 when I was born.

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