American baby name history & trends since 1880
Every name rides a wave.
The pulse of American births since 1880 — the tide that carried Michael, Jennifer, Ashley, and every other name through history. Search any name to see where it peaked, fell, or vanished.
No account. No tracking. Just the story a name leaves in the data.
Cultural weather
On the radar
A few names with obvious cultural patterns: collapse, recovery, endurance, and the occasional national event.
A mid-century giant now living mostly in memory.
TheodoreFull recoveryThe old name returned with institutional confidence.
AshleyRapid declineA generation-defining spike that became timestamped.
KarenCultural eventA normal name forced into public mythology.
HazelResurgentA dormant classic reissued for a new century.
Name graveyard
Dormant names are cultural fossils.
Not bad names. Not gone forever. Just waiting below the statistical floor, carrying a century of dust.
Current census
Popular right now
Top names from the latest year on record, included as a living control group.