What would your name have been in 1890?Getty Images
Baby names pass in and out of fashion as often as anything else as obsessive fans name their children after their favorite musicians, actors and fictional characters. (I know a brother and sister named Meg and Ryan – do kids even know who she is now?)
You can now learn how your name's popularity ranking changed thanks to an addictive new baby name generator developed by Time.com. The generator tells you what your name would have been in any given decade based on its popularity at the time of your birth. The generator can show you how your moniker may have varied over the years from the 1890s to today.
For example, if you were named Mary when you were born in 1972, you had the 13th most popular name for girls. This means that if you were born today you would have been named Avery as that is currently the 13th most popular girls' name. If we go back to the 1900s you would have been named Gladys and you would have gone by Tiffany in the 1990s.
The name trends were provided by the Social Security Administration and may not be a completely accurate representation of what you would have been called in the 19th century, but it’s a nice little trick anyway! Simply put in your name, year of birth and sex to get started.
We looked at the current crop of top Irish baby names to see just how much the popularity of names has altered over time.
Boys
1. Jack - Father Jack may have been Father Floyd in 1930.
- 1890s Martin
- 1900s Claude
- 1910s Cecil
- 1920s Theodore
- 1930s Floyd
- 1940s Ray
- 1950s Howard
- 1960s Laurence
- 1970s Jon
- 1980s Raymond
- 1990s Taylor
- 2000s Cole
2. James - Could Prince William have been Prince James if he'd been born now?
- 1890s Harry
- 1900s Edward
- 1910s Walter
- 1920s Thomas
- 1930s Joseph
- 1940s George
- 1950s Gary
- 1960s Timothy
- 1970s Kevin
- 1980s William
- 1990s Ryan
- 2000s John
3. Daniel - Edward, Charles and Larry all ranked at the same popularity as Daniel at some point in time.
- 1890s Thomas
- 1900s Henry
- 1910s Albert
- 1920s Harold
- 1930s Edward
- 1940s Jerry
- 1950s Larry
- 1960s Charles
- 1970s Steven
- 1980s Eric
- 1990s John
- 2000s Zachary
4. Conor - We think all of today's Conors have had a lucky escape with this group of names.
- 1890s Armond
- 1900s Minor
- 1910s Courtney
- 1920s Golden
- 1930s Gust
- 1940s Lafayette
- 1950s Alvie
- 1960s Arnie
- 1970s Bertram
- 1980s Coby
- 1990s Brittany
- 2000s Brant
5. Adam - All the newborn Adams this year could have been named Homer in the 1930s.
Image: Witchblue/WikiCommons
- 1890s Nathan
- 1900s Manuel
- 1910s Lonnie
- 1920s Orville
- 1930s Homer
- 1940s Sam
- 1950s Jim
- 1960s Brad
- 1970s Kelly
- 1980s Jay
- 1990s Randy
- 2000s Erik
Girls
1. Emily - Back in the 1920s, baby Emily could have been baby Elizabeth which is coincidentally when Queen Elizabeth was born.
- 1890s Bertha
- 1900s Ethel
- 1910s Marie
- 1920s Elizabeth
- 1930s Doris
- 1940s Shirley
- 1950s Donna
- 1960s Deborah
- 1970s Christine
- 1980s Kimberly
- 1990s Nicole
- 2000s Lauren
2. Sophie - Quite an eclectic list from Estella to Angel.
Getty Images
- 1890s Celia
- 1900s Estella
- 1910s Adeline
- 1920s Estelle
- 1930s Beulah
- 1940s Geneva
- 1950s Ethel
- 1960s Lynne
- 1970s Shawn
- 1980s Angel
- 1990s Susan
- 2000s Desiree
3. Emma - Is Emma the new Mary?
Mary Robinson.
- 1890s Mary
- 1900s Mary
- 1910s Mary
- 1920s Mary
- 1930s Mary
- 1940s Mary
- 1950s Linda
- 1960s Mary
- 1970s Jennifer
- 1980s Jennifer
- 1990s Jessica
- 2000s Emily
4. Grace - In the 1910s, the Graces you know could have been Lucilles or Barbaras in the 1970s.
Image: Allan Warren/WikiCommons
- 1890s Cora
- 1900s Sarah
- 1910s Lucille
- 1920s Edith
- 1930s Marjorie
- 1940s Ann
- 1950s Marilyn
- 1960s Laurie
- 1970s Barbara
- 1980s Erica
- 1990s Crystal
- 2000s Alexandra
5. Ella - Carrie ranked as Ella does now in the 1890s.
The world's most famous Carrie portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker.
- 1890s Carrie
- 1900s Ida
- 1910s Thelma
- 1920s Eleanor
- 1930s Marie
- 1940s Beverly
- 1950s Gloria
- 1960s Cindy
- 1970s Denise
- 1980s Andrea
- 1990s Kimberly
- 2000s Kaitlyn
H/T: www.today.com