Baby names are an important cultural feature of a certain era, and as in all areas, names also change over time. What we call our children today is not the same as they did a century ago.
The INE (National Statistics Institute) has prepared a statistic of baby names since 1920, for decades, until now That has thrown some curiosities.
Of the 10 most common male names born before the 1920s, not one coincides with the 10 most frequent of the 2,000. Let's see. The most frequent male names before 1920 were: José, Antonio, Manuel, Franscisco, Juan, Pedro, Miguel, Luis, Ramón, and Angel.
While the most frequent male names of the 2,000 are:
Alejandro Daniel David Pablo Adrián Javier Alvaro Sergio Carlos Iván
As for the names of women, there is a very significant fact. The most popular name before the 1920s is María, while it is also the most frequent name among girls in the 2000s, although 76.4% in a smaller proportion then compared to 42.5% today. Of the rest, none is repeated.
Let's see. The most frequent female names before 1920 were: María, Carmen, Josefa, Dolores, Francisca, Antonia, Isabel, Teresa and Pilar.
While the most frequent female names in the 2,000 are:
María Lucía Paula Laura Andrea Marta Alba Sara Ana Nerea
However, and paradoxically for the power of the Marias, although Alejandro has remained immovable as the name of a favorite child by the Spanish in recent years, María has alternated first place with Lucia, who has been the most popular for the last five years. And you, do you choose old or modern names?
