Watch How Baby Name Popularity Changes Over Time

John was the most popular boy's name every year from (at least) 1880 until 1924. But even John can't match the dominance of Mary, which ran away with the top spot for girls all the way until 1947, when it was finally overtaken by Linda for a brief stint before enjoying another decade atop the charts starting in 1953.

This pair of videos from Abacaba shows the popularity of baby names as the years tick by. It also gives you a sense of how the overall naming landscape evolved over time, including cultural and historic details for why certain names shot up or fell off. One of the more interesting trends is how the bubble size (and relative name distribution) evens out over time. Check out the difference between the breakdown of boys' names in 1880 versus 2014:

The difference is stark as the population becomes more diverse and people become more concerned with giving their children distinct names.

Check out the videos below to watch the full evolution of girls' and boys' names in America:

[h/t Digg]