海角大神

We wrote Monday about how the Social Security Administration had released its most popular baby names of 2011, with Sophia leading the pack for the girls and Jacob holding steady as the country鈥檚 No. 1 boy name.

Today, we take a peek at what鈥檚 happened to some of the other top names from the past few decades. And it turns out that Sophia, Isabella, and Emma should be afraid. Very afraid.

As we mentioned before, the administration keeps a going back to 1880.聽 A user can browse the names by popularity or year, which can turn into a mesmerizing look at American groupthink 鈥� or at least pop culture creep.

Sociologists, psychologists and those specializing in onomastics (the study of names) have theorized why it is that parents 鈥� even those scouring baby name books for the perfect, unique moniker 鈥� tend to end up as part of a country-wide trend.

Names, the prominent theories say, are typically driven by fashion. And while many parents today might be trying to pick a 鈥渦nique鈥� name (a new trend in and of itself), they usually don鈥檛 want something totally outlandish. So they鈥檒l try to make a little twist on an existing popular name; for instance, turning 鈥淓mily鈥� (No. 1 from 1996 to 2007) into 鈥淓mma.鈥澛�

The thing is, everyone else is doing the same. ("Emma" went from No. 53 in 1996 to No. 1 in 2008). Because you can鈥檛 actually be fashionable and unlike all the others.

This is also why a name that sounds culturally 鈥渉igh class鈥� quickly 鈥渇ilters down鈥� in socio-economic standing. (鈥�Freakonomics鈥� authors Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner wrote about this.) As the masses decide to name their children, say, "Chloe" (today鈥檚 No. 10, up from No. 853 in 1982), Chloe becomes, by definition, less elite.

If parents really wanted unique, they鈥檇 pick one of those names that they heard every day in elementary school.聽 鈥淛essica鈥� 鈥� No. 1 or 2 from 1981 to 1997 鈥� has dropped from No. 11 in 2001 to No. 120 in 2011.聽 鈥淛ennifer,鈥� top ranked from 1970 to 1984 is now at spot 134.

But these are names that parents already have. Or that they associate with friends, enemies, frenemies, sisters, whomever, and don鈥檛 want to revisit. This is, we suspect, what has happened to Barbara, Carol, Deborah, et al. 鈥� top names from the 50s.

Barbara sat in the top 10 baby girl names from 1927 to 1958. Today? She鈥檚 No. 764.

Carol? Top 10 from 1936 to 1950. Today, No. 972.

Deborah, who enjoyed top 10 standing from 1950 to 1962? Now No. 808.

Take heed, Isabella. (No. 2 this year, already on her way down.)

Jacob and William (No. 1 and 2) don鈥檛 have to worry quite as much. Boys names tend to have less variation.聽 Sixth-ranked 鈥淢ichael,鈥� for instance, held the No.1 or 2 spot from 1954 to 2008. And he鈥檚 never dipped below No. 60 in the last 100 years.