Watch How Baby Name Popularity Changes Over Time

Let’s take a moment to pity America’s kindergarten teachers. Chances are that their classes have more than one Liam, Noah, Olivia, or Emma to check off the attendance sheet. From Generation Alpha to Boomers, each generation has its own favorite baby names, and in the past couple of decades the choices have changed dramatically compared to the most popular names from a century-and-a-half ago.

John was the most popular boy’s name every year from (at least) 1880 until 1924. But even John can’t match the dominance of 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.

This pair of videos from Abacaba shows the popularity of baby names as the years tick by. It also gives you a sense of how the overall naming landscape evolved over time, including cultural and historic details for why certain names shot up or fell off. One of the more interesting trends is how the bubble size (and relative name distribution) evens out over time. Check out the difference between the breakdown of boys’ names in 1880 ...

... compared to 2014, the last year for which the videos compiled data:

The difference is stark as the population becomes more diverse and people become more likely to give their children distinct names. Some parents may be less concerned with naming their children after older family members or with traditional religious names; there’s also a strong trend toward naming babies after musicians, sports stars, and other celebrities.

Check out the videos below to watch the full evolution of girls’ and boys’ names in America.

America’s favorite first names have changed a lot in the past 130 years, but some popular middle names have remained pretty constant (looking at you, Marie).

Discover More Stats About Popular Names:

A version of this story was published in 2015; it has been updated for 2024.