The Deal with "Trendy" Names

There have been debates on name blogs about the problems with using "trendy" names that date themselves to an era. Many of them argue that, since most names eventually "date" anyway, there really is no problem with Everly and Mason.

Even though most names cycle in and out of fashion, some currently declining names remain usable. There are plenty of names popular in the 1990s and 2000s that still work today; Paige and Trevor may not be current, but they don't sound as dated as, say, Brittany and Tyler. 

I have gathered 26 revival names from the girls' top 100 and 11 from the boys' top 100. After researching each name's cycles, I found that of the 20 girls' names that remained in the top 1000, 11 came back within 80 years after dropping out. In contrast, four out of the six names that left the top 1000 came back within more than 80 years after falling out. For the boys, eight out of eleven names returned within 80 years. 

This is not a ban on Luna and Mateo, but the results above suggest names have an easier time regaining their popularity if they remain within the top 1000 and sound timeless. 

Elaine only left the top 100 in 1958, for instance, but it has already made a huge jump from its low point at #797 in 2010 to #381. Likewise, Dean left the boys' top 100 in 1970 yet has risen to #159 since its low point in 2006. Both names, because of their timelessness, might return within the next ten years. 

Of course, this is not to say a name has to return within 80 years of its dropout to count as timeless. For instance, Marie, having left the top 100 in 1958, shows little signs of moving back into the top 500. Louis, having left in 1960, is rising at a slow pace. Even if they do not complete their revivals over the next 20 years, both remain timeless in sound. 

Do you think this is the deal with "trendy" names?