What's In A Name?

Hey, I found this interesting. It came from this website (www.laputanlogic.com) and it shows the 800 year trend for the top male names from Britain and America. You'll see "Richard" was quite popular until about 1600, when it underwent a 200 year dive to near obscurity, until suddenly, in 1900, the name enjoyed a burst of renewed interest.


In the 1900s, the name grew back to (nearly) it's former prominence in a span of only 40 years, and then, yet again, began to lose favor. By the time I was dubbed "Richard" in 1966, the name was already losing favor.



Makes me wonder what clod in the 1600s ruined it for all of us "Richards" and messed up bad enough that no one for 200 years wanted to name their son "Richard". Also makes me wonder what happened in 1900 that temporarily reversed the trend.

All you history buffs, have any ideas?

Peace Love and Anthroponymy,

-The one proudly named "Richard"