Names, through the lens of data.

Every name has
a trajectory.

Explore the history of names. Compare their paths, discover patterns,
and understand the evidence behind them.

Explore a name

NAMES CONNECT GENERATIONS

EleanorOliverFlorence✳old favorites, new beginnings

Still exploring? Find inspiration in a different generation.

Data: U.S. Social Security AdministrationMethodology

The name explorer

A whole era of possibilities.

Explore naming patterns over time →

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From—To

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Time period

Historical eras are browsing conventions; dates are clipped to available records.

Starts with Name length

Follow your taste. Every filter updates the list as you explore.

Finding your possibilities…

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Name & relative popularityRecorded births · share

List positions reflect the selected filters. Bars are relative to the leading result. Each spelling and recorded sex is a separate entry.

Side by side, through time

Compare their trajectories.

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NameRecorded sex

From yearTo year

Room for every possibility

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A name for everyday life.

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First nameMiddle nameSurname

Every name has a story

Recent movement

The latest 10 dataset years. A dash means no published record.

nymograph

Built for curiosity. Grounded in recorded history.

About the data & how to read it

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national name records. This dataset uses separate female and male categories; these describe the source records, not a rule about who can use a name. Small counts may be absent from published records. Missing records are not zero births.

Period share uses all published births in the selected years and sex categories, before spelling and length filters. Average annual share gives each year equal weight. Chart rates are per 10,000 published births within each series’ recorded sex. Rank 1 is most popular; ties in this dataset are ordered alphabetically. These are historical records, not counts of people living today.

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