Name timelines

We all know that baby names go in and out of fashion.  But recently, the website fivethirtyeight.com looked at Social Security Administration records going back to the 1880s, to determine the median age of people with different first names.

The results?  The oldest female names are Gertrude (median age 80), Mildred, Opal Beulah, Myrtle and Blanche (77), Florence and Mabel (76).  The “oldest” list also includes Agnes, Ethel, Viola, Thelma, Bessie, Lula, Nellie, Bernice, Dolores, Elsie, Dorothy and Gladys.

The youngest, trendiest new baby names for girls: Ava (median age 5), Isabella, Lily, and Mia (6), Chloe and Sophie (7), Kaylee, Gabriella, Zoe and Ella (8).  Also on the youngest list: Isabelle, Hailey, Alexa, Emma, Madison, Abigail, Amelia and Olivia.

The average median age of men named Elmer is 66, and the next oldest is Willard, at 65.  The median Fred, Harold and Bob are 64, while your average Harry, Herbert and Harvey are 63.  Also on the oldest man’s name list list are Bill, Eugene, Norman, Jimmie, Wallace, Clyde, Gene and Herman.

Young boy names include Liam (3), Jayden and Aiden (4), Mason, Landon and Carter (6), along with Wyatt, Jackson, Owen, Sebastian, Gavin and Elijah.

You can see a variety of charts and graphs here: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-to-tell-someones-age-when-all-you-know-is-her-name/?ex_cid=538twitter, and you’ll discover that a few names have continued to be popular for the lifespan of the average Gertrude.  The female list of enduring names includes Violet, Lola, Lillian, Stella, Genevieve, Cora, Evelyn, Lucy, Clara, Ruby and Eva—all names that never became trendy, which may account for their steady popularity.  Men’s names with staying power through the decades: Leo, Jack, Everett, Henry, Charlie, Edwin, Sam, Marshall, Calvin and Edgar.