The Names, They Are A Changing

The popularity of the first names of my grandparents, in the years of their birth (all in the last three decades of the nineteenth century):

Joseph - 7th (all ranks from the Social Security index of popular baby names)
Delia - 126th
Ernest - 24th
Hazel - 26th

As of 2007:

Joseph - 13th
Delia - 989th
Ernest - not in the top 1000
Hazel - 361st

Whereas, in 2007,

Anthony was 7th among male names (103rd when Joseph was born);
Serenity was 126th among female names (not in top 1000 when Delia was born);
Nathan was 24th among male names (136th when Ernest was born); and
Kayla was 26th among female names (not in top 1000 when Hazel was born, probably not a name then).

In 1908, the five most popular female names were Mary, Helen, Margaret, Ruth, and Anna. In 2007, the five most popular female names were Emily, Isabella, Emma, Ava, and Madison. The top five male names in 1908 were John, William, James, George, and Robert; in 2007 the top five male names were Jacob, Michael, Ethan, Joshua, and Daniel -- an ironic turn toward the Old Testament in this secular age.

My own name -- which is associated mainly with an Apostle -- stood at or near 10th place from 1880 through the mid-1960s. It has slipped to 51st place.