Washington D.C., Feb 3, 2011 / 01:04 am
A new analysis shows that although Biblical and saint names are still popular among parents, the use of “Mark” and “Mary” as baby names has sharply declined over the decades.
Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) tracked the popularity of baby names in America from 1910 to 2009 with data from the Social Security Administration website.
A Jan. 20 post on the center's research blog showed that from 1910 to 1965, Mary was either the top or second most popular name for girls in the U.S.
In 2009, however, the name Mary dropped out of the top 100 for the first time and is currently listed as number 102. The name Joseph has remained consistently popular, however, coming in at number 16, it's lowest rating since since 1910.