What Is The 100-Year Rule For Baby Names?

When I first brought my son to daycare, and later when I worked as a substitute teacher in his elementary school, I was struck by the names of his fellow classmates (particularly the girls). His very first best friend in the infants' room was Violet. Later, I met two siblings with the most adorable, cohesive names: Betty and Birdie. Perhaps I was behind the times, but I wasn't expecting to encounter so many classic monikers from decades past (which these children were absolutely rocking — the old names seemed to fit their personalities perfectly). Then I learned about an approach that I suspect parents in my community (and throughout the world) might be using to reinvigorate vintage names: the 100-Year Rule.

The rule is a term coined by authors Pamela Redmond and Linda Rosenkrantz in their 1988 book: "Beyond Jennifer & Jason." It states that each name enjoys its time in the spotlight, fades in popularity, then circles back around every hundred years. A look back at U.S. census data spanning centuries seems to confirm that the rule is true, at least for some names. Joseph, for example, was the sixth most popular boy's name in the 1890s. It fell slightly in the mid-1900s and came back around to the 10th most popular spot in the 1990s. The same is true for Elizabeth — the fifth most popular girl's name in the 1890s, which dipped mid-century (falling out of the top 20) and rose back up to eighth place in the 1990s. In retrospect, my husband and I were about 40 years premature with our son's name, Byron, which peaked in the United States in 1960, and thus, will likely have its moment again in 2060. 

Armed with the knowledge of the 100-Year Rule, parents can endeavor to get ahead of the trend, predicting which baby names will be popular in the near future. If you're currently pregnant, names that peaked in 1930 and 1935 that are not saturated today could be the next up-and-coming in the 100-year cycle. Names to consider include Aurelio (for a boy) and Aurelia (for a girl) with Italian-Spanish origin; Claudine, which is a French female variation of Claude; and Delmer, a boy's name that combines Delmar (meaning "of the sea") with Elmer.

Then there's the long-held tradition of honoring grandparents, great-grandparents, and ancestors. A 2022 poll by YouGov found that 27% of American parents gave their child a first name that honored a family member, and 43% did so with their child's middle name. If you're one of those parents hoping to add sentimental value to a name, or perhaps you're hoping certain qualities of beloved family members might be passed down to your baby, then your nod to the past might coincide with the 100-Year Rule. One mother shared her experience with generational naming on Reddit, saying, "After my daughter was born and we named her for my grandmother, I found out she (my grandmother) was also named after her great-grandmother and the name dates back to 1857 within our family. I think it's so cool!"