Call me an etymology-geek, but I find the Baby Name Wizard NameVoyager
at iVillage simply fascinating. It provides a portrait of name use in
the U.S. over the past 100 years or so, and it's an astounding glimpse at
trends in baby naming over that time.
Scintillating information gleaned from this tool:
1. There was a small spike in the number of girls named "Santa" in 1910.
2. The most-popular "Z" name by far for either boys or girls is Zachary.
3. Although "Metallica" doesn't seem to make the list, "Meta" was a popular girl's name in the 1880's and 1890's.
4. Oddly, my own first name makes the list as a boy's name in the 1950's and 1960's. I'm sorry.
5. "Eustace" does not make the list at all. And with good reason.
My kids' names ranked 69, 362, and 67 respectively in 2005. Which means
that their names are fairly unique without being too odd. Score!
Go ahead. Check out your kids' names.
