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Comment by jaxytee | Hacker News Reader

The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939, so it makes sense that the median age for Dorothy's is around 75 years of age.

I wonder what other pop culture events influenced naming trends.

A few examples:

Tabitha http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=tabitha Rise begins right around the second season of _Bewitched_ when the character Tabitha was introduced; peak (maybe coincidentally) appears to be around the short-lived 1977 spinoff series.

Michelle http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=michelle The rise in popularity was probably influenced by the Beatles song (released in December 1965).

Shirley http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=shirley The peak appears to correspond to the height of Shirley Temple's film career in the mid-to-late 1930s.

I'm guessing that the Twilight book and movie series has something to do with the rapid rise in popularity of the name "Isabella."

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=isabella

I bet Liam Neeson is the reason for the new wave of Liams, but I can't decide whether the Karate Kid remake is the reason for the wave of Jaydens, or if it's just a coincidence.

http://names.yafla.com/#n=Jayden&s=mt

Coincidence. The name started its ascent in the mid 90s.

Not necessarily. Liam Neeson was the star of the 1993 film "Schindler's List." It won 7 Academy awards in 1994, including best picture.

Jayden from the Karate Kid is part of the wave of Jaydens (and -dens in general).

You'll like this. Maps of top girls names by state by year.

http://jezebel.com/map-sixty-years-of-the-most-popular-names...

Wouldn't we expect the mode to be 75, while the median and mean would be younger? Assuming, of course, that Wizard of Oz produced any sort of lasting increase on the popularity of Dorothy as a name.

The median is actually not 75 exactly, I looks to be 74ish on the graph. This makes sense.

I wouldn't expect a lasting increase more of a S curve. Movie comes out, there is a spike in Dorothy usage. A few years pass and the original spike slows down. Then the movie is seen as old fashioned and you start to see a negative trend. Then Dorothy is seen as an old lady's name so it sees an even sharper decline.

True, and with the population growing generally we'd see it pushed back toward that spike...

I've noticed my name, Bret, spiked in popularity in 1959 and 1982, corresponding nicely with the TV shows 'Maverick' and 'Bret Maverick'. http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=bret

Samantha was an obscure name until 1964:

http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2010/7/samantha-the-u...

Check for patterns here: http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/top5names.html

From 1954 - 1998 The boy name Michael reigned supreme. I'm sure this run had a lot to do with the ArchAngel, the Basketball player, and the pop star.

Don't forget about the kid who liked Life cereal.

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