Chart assignment
Charts to read and discuss
Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.
Chart 1 of 1 · Baby names
How many babies get one of the year's 10 most popular names?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
In 2025, 7.5% of babies got one of that year's 10 most popular names for their sex, down from 35% in 1880 and 29% in 1950. Parents now spread across far more names. The share counts babies of both sexes with a top-10 girls' or boys' name. Social Security leaves out any name given to fewer than 5 babies in a year, so the total is slightly short.
Questions to discuss
- In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
- Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
- Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications (national data) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
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