This is fascinating!

[nuranar]

It's a little Facebook link thingy, but SO COOL for historic stuffs.

http://time.com/3856405/baby-name-popularity/?xid=fbshare&fb_ref=Default"Get the name of the same popularity as yours for this year and for every decade back to the 1890s

Comments

[atherleisure]

Very cool. My name was #1 from the beginning of the list through the end of WWII. Then it wavered between #1 and #2 until 1965. Then people started getting creative, and it's been in constant decline. Still, my name is the only name I know that has a song about how great the name is.

Thanks for sharing.

[nuranar]

It IS a grand old name!

I get different and fun results from my middle name, too.

[atherleisure]

Points to you for knowing the song. (Though I'm not surprised you do.)

My middle name starts in the 20s and descends from there, though at the same time the closest alternate spelling becomes a little more popular. I have a very traditional name, and I like it that way!

[nuranar]

A couple of throwaway references in old radio shows. ;)

Ooh, it just starts in the 20s? How interesting! I tried Adelaide (my 1920s name) on the link that padawansguide provided, and it totally disappears from the 1950s to the 1980s. But it was certainly popular from the 1880s on.

[atherleisure]

No, I meant that it ranks on the order of 20-30, give or take by year, starting at the beginning of the listing. It's been a common and popular name for centuries. It would be interesting if it took all the variations in spelling into account to show the popularity of the name as pronounced rather than as spellt.

Supposedly Cohen wrote the song for his wife.

[chocolatepot]

I have a really nice recording of the song if either of you want it ...

[nuranar]

Ooh, yes! Who's the vocalist/band?

[chocolatepot]

Bernadette Boerckel - the album is called You're A Grand Old Flag, and the accompaniment is the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. She has a loooovely voice.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/mqph9s

[nuranar]

That is really pretty! And a lovely voice indeed. Thank you for sharing. :)