The Social Security Administration has released their annual listing of most popular baby names for 2004, and my own name, Christopher, remains among the top ten but has dropped from #9 to the last spot. In 1965, the year I was given the name, it was ranked 18th in popularity for boys names. But it was climbing, and by 1972, when I was seven, it had jumped four spots in one year, from 6th to 2nd place in the list. And for 23 years, from 1972 to 1995, Christopher held the #2 or #3 spot on the list, including a stretch of 16 consecutive years (1979-1994) at #2!
But in 1996, the slide began, two years in 4th, four years as #5, then three consecutive drops to #8, #9, and now to 10th. It seems apparent that “Christopher’s” shot at the top spot is quickly slipping away. What went wrong? Why did my name do so well for so long, but just couldn’t grab the gold medal!
Still, #10 is nothing to sneeze at. From 1880 to 1940 Christopher didn’t even break into the top 100 most popular boys names. The low point came in 1933 when it sank to #376. But from that point on it was a steady climb up the charts, until the recent long run at #2, and now the new downward trend.
None of my children’s names have ever reached #1 status. The strongest performer is ‘William‘ which has spent plenty of time in the top 10, but never reached the first spot. But Jennifer (my wife and sister’s name) owned the #1 spot for girls for an amazing 15-year run from 1970 to 1984. But all things pass, and Jennifer has now dropped to #38.
Oh yeah, the name that kept Christopher out of the #1 slot for all those years it was stuck at #2… Michael. But after 38 consecutive years at #1, Michael has now been stuck in second for the last six years. See how if feels Michael! Christopher will be back!