Changes in Boys' Names over the Decades

[moparedtn]

It has occurred to me more than once that he popular nicknames of guys I knew and grew up with have slowly changed over the decades.
"Every Tom, Dick and Harry" doesn't really work these days when describing commonly used names for males of this society today...
So this mornings' "Ed is up all night with nothing better to do" exercise is to compare and contrast the most common male names given babies in 1970 vs. today:

TOP 20 MOST COMMON MALE NAMES USED IN 1970 BIRTHS
1 Michael 707,588 ("Mike")
2 Christopher 475,597 ("Chris")
3 Jason 462,916
4 David 445,926
5 James 444,900 ("Jim")
6 John 402,813 ("Johnny")
7 Robert 397,376 ("Bob")
8 Brian 322,803
9 William 283,522 ("Bill")
10 Matthew 277,918 ("Matt")
11 Joseph 244,922 ("Joe or Joey")
12 Daniel 244,557 ("Dan")
13 Kevin 212,331
14 Eric 211,554
15 Jeffrey 202,926 ("Jeff")
16 Richard 202,861 ("Richie", "Dick or Dickie")
17 Scott 194,640
18 Mark 194,389
19 Steven 188,148 ("Steve")
20 Thomas 186,852 ("Tom/Tommy")
These names look very common and familiar to me, as I'd imagine they would to
anyone of my generation.

Ok, let's have a look at a more recent list for comparison:
TOP 20 MOST COMMON MALE NAMES USED IN 2010 BIRTHS
1 Noah 183,076
2 Liam 173,797
3 Jacob 163,027
4 William 159,773
5 Mason 157,718
6 Ethan 148,956
7 Michael 144,902
8 Alexander 141,971
9 James 139,468
10 Elijah 136,822
11 Benjamin 134,349
12 Daniel 133,732
13 Aiden 129,482
14 Logan 126,705
15 Jayden 125,896
16 Matthew 124,927
17 Lucas 118,538
18 David 116,507
19 Jackson 116,117
20 Joseph 115,497

Interesting how much things have changed over the years, eh?
The "whys" and "hows" can of course be debated ad nauseum....
as well as if these results have any meaning whatsoever.
I just found them interesting - and honestly, about as I expected them to be.

I'd like to toss in (personal opinion here) that it was very common
for every fella to have a nickname (like those shown in bold above next to several
"formal" names) back up through at least the 70's - and for guys to not like being
called by same said "formal" names instead.
Heck, sometimes being called your full name by another was fightin' words!

Of course, if your mother ever called out to you in your full name - you knew your
*** was grass, too.

These days though, it's a whole different matter - most males insist on being called
their "Full" first names and resist, even bristle, when someone tries to use the common
nickname instead.

Source of all this useless trivia:
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1970s.html
(You can input different decades and see other results on this page as well)

 

[Photon440]

1. Liam+2
2. Jackson-1
3. Noah-1
4. Lucas+0
5. Oliver+1
6. Grayson+6
7. Leo+2
8. Jack+5
9. Benjamin-4
10. William+1
11. Luca+15
12. Logan-2
13. Ethan-6
14. Levi+17
15. James-1
16. Henry+25
17. Mateo+2
18. Jacob-10
19. Elliot+15
20. Mason+2
21. Miles+21
22. Theodore+8
23. Nathan+5
24. Owen-1
25. Alexander+0
26. Jayden+1
27. Theo-10
28. Daniel+7
29. Ryan+27
30. Aiden-15
31. Maverick+32
32. Caleb+1
33. Gabriel-12
34. Lincoln-18
35. Thomas-17
36. Hudson-16
37. Adam+6
38. Kayden-14
39. Carter+1
40. Hunter-11
41. Samuel+8
42. Isaac-3
43. Connor-11
44. Nicholas+8
45. Elijah+0
46. Wyatt+5
47. Charlie+25
48. Max+10
49. Austin-13
50. Easton

And here are the top names for 2020, just to add to your interesting list.

 

[multimopes]

And then there are those of us without a formal "nickname", who would answer to many other "descriptive" nicknames, like "Dimbulb", "Dipshit", "Dumbass". "Sh-thead", "Zipperhead", "Asswipe"," Numbnuts",
"A-hole", "Dumbutt", Etc,Etc.........! As long as they are looking at you when the "name" is used, you know it's You!

 

[maxwedgechar]

Notice Charles is not on any of the lists! In 1970 I worked at a design office and I was one of seven! When somebody said Charlie half the group stopped work! I credit the dearth of Charles to Prince Charles. I think nobody wants to be associated with him! But how many little girls are named Charlotte after the Princess. Charlotte who lives next to me is named after me, Charley!

 

[493 Mike]

Ah! We have come so far since Cain or Able.
Mike (Michael)

 

[moparedtn]

Notice Charles is not on any of the lists! In 1970 I worked at a design office and I was one of seven! When somebody said Charlie half the group stopped work! I credit the dearth of Charles to Prince Charles. I think nobody wants to be associated with him! But how many little girls are named Charlotte after the Princess. Charlotte who lives next to me is named after me, Charley!

True.
Although Charles was 17 in 1960, it was 23 in 1970 and 49 in 2010.

 

[moparedtn]

1. Liam+2
2. Jackson-1
3. Noah-1
4. Lucas+0
5. Oliver+1
6. Grayson+6
7. Leo+2
8. Jack+5
9. Benjamin-4
10. William+1
11. Luca+15
12. Logan-2
13. Ethan-6
14. Levi+17
15. James-1
16. Henry+25
17. Mateo+2
18. Jacob-10
19. Elliot+15
20. Mason+2
21. Miles+21
22. Theodore+8
23. Nathan+5
24. Owen-1
25. Alexander+0
26. Jayden+1
27. Theo-10
28. Daniel+7
29. Ryan+27
30. Aiden-15
31. Maverick+32
32. Caleb+1
33. Gabriel-12
34. Lincoln-18
35. Thomas-17
36. Hudson-16
37. Adam+6
38. Kayden-14
39. Carter+1
40. Hunter-11
41. Samuel+8
42. Isaac-3
43. Connor-11
44. Nicholas+8
45. Elijah+0
46. Wyatt+5
47. Charlie+25
48. Max+10
49. Austin-13
50. Easton

And here are the top names for 2020, just to add to your interesting list.

What is your source for this list?
Observations:
"Luca"? What the heck is that?
"Maverick"? What the hell, man?

Notice the strong comebacks for Henry (bet almost none will be known as "Hank", though)
and they're not even bothering with "Charles" now apparently, formally naming them
Charlie from the get-go.

Personal observation:
The grandkids from one daughter-in-law's family were named Lucas, Logan and Landon.
I used to give their daddy grief, said it sounded like he was naming western wear brands
instead of sons.
(He thinks doing so kept them "Irish", since his family is and they live a little north of Boston).
Then a while later, an unexpected 4th came along and what did they name him?
Noah.

 

[Hey-O]

And then there are those of us without a formal "nickname", who would answer to many other "descriptive" nicknames, like "Dimbulb", "Dipshit", "Dumbass". "Sh-thead", "Zipperhead", "Asswipe"," Numbnuts",
"A-hole", "Dumbutt", Etc,Etc.........! As long as they are looking at you when the "name" is used, you know it's You!

 

[Hey-O]

I knew a dentist named Dr. Harry Weiner. How do you run from that name and what were his parents thinking, or obviously I must have a dirty mind...........

 

[maxwedgechar]

I knew Harris Burger and a customer at the Audi dealer was Dr Frankenstein! And mom knew Dr Bracegirdle.

 

[gkent]

And then there are the black names

 

[snakeyes]

What is your source for this list?
Observations:
"Luca"? What the heck is that?
"Maverick"? What the hell, man?

Notice the strong comebacks for Henry (bet almost none will be known as "Hank", though)
and they're not even bothering with "Charles" now apparently, formally naming them
Charlie from the get-go.

Personal observation:
The grandkids from one daughter-in-law's family were named Lucas, Logan and Landon.
I used to give their daddy grief, said it sounded like he was naming western wear brands
instead of sons.
(He thinks doing so kept them "Irish", since his family is and they live a little north of Boston).
Then a while later, an unexpected 4th came along and what did they name him?
Noah.

Luca may have come from this song

 

[Hey-O]

And then there are the black names

I knew a young man who worked in admitting in a hospital. A woman came in and when she filled out the paper work he asked her how to pronounce her name. She said It's pretty obvious, La - a, just like it sounds. La dash a.

 

[69a100]

I knew a dentist named Dr. Harry Weiner. How do you run from that name and what were his parents thinking, or obviously I must have a dirty mind...........

There was a fellow Boom Operator in my Squadron that had the same name, even though his first name was Harold. Even the ladies in the unit would even joke with him about it!

 

[Photon440]

What is your source for this list?
Observations:
"Luca"? What the heck is that?
"Maverick"? What the hell, man?

Notice the strong comebacks for Henry (bet almost none will be known as "Hank", though)
and they're not even bothering with "Charles" now apparently, formally naming them
Charlie from the get-go.

Personal observation:
The grandkids from one daughter-in-law's family were named Lucas, Logan and Landon.
I used to give their daddy grief, said it sounded like he was naming western wear brands
instead of sons.
(He thinks doing so kept them "Irish", since his family is and they live a little north of Boston).
Then a while later, an unexpected 4th came along and what did they name him?
Noah.

Source: https://www.babycenter.ca/2020-top-baby-boy-names

Note: It's a Canadian list, so I'd expect regional differences compared to the USA.

 

[TBONE]

Luca sleeps with the fishes.

 

[Ron H]

I knew a dentist named Dr. Harry Weiner. How do you run from that name and what were his parents thinking, or obviously I must have a dirty mind...........

Lol, knew a guy; manager in another branch named Richard (Dick) Woody...

 

[1 Wild R/T]

HMFIC at a major plant I've worked at Dick Burns.... Doesn't want to be referred to as Richard... "Call me Dick" LOL

 

[Ron H]

Interesting topic moparedtn. Didn’t see Fred or Chad on the list…or mine, lol. Some may have asked their folks why they gave their offspring their handles. Some like to name them after beloved old or deceased relatives or swap middle to first names. My mother named me after a movie star she had a crush on; not Ronald Reagan, Coleman from the 30’s, lol. Few probably remember him. Was close to being named Steve; but she encountered a co-worker by the name she thought was an asshole, so that was tossed. Then wow, my niece gave her boy the middle name of Xavier! Huh? Some should obtain some counseling before choosing their kid’s names. Lol.

Then recall the tune by Johnny Cash…”Boy named Sue"

 

[#41]

Mike was at the top or near it post-war for 20 years. Now Mike is in the same class as Jebediah, Archibald, Herbert, Mortimer, Percival, etc.

And the world turns...