• @exasperation@lemm.ee
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    71 day ago

    Seems like there’s a way to analyze this in a systematic way, from social security name data. Any name that popped up as a newly popular name and fell back off within a decade or two would probably eventually become a marker of that generation.

    Gladys was popular between 1900 and 1920, and became known as an old lady name by the 80’s or 90’s.

    Karen was popular between 1945 and 1965, and is regarded a prototypical boomer name.

    The Baby Jessicas of the 80’s will be retirees in the 2050’s. Ashleys and Emilys will probably be that in the 2060’s. There will be Britneys and Emmas.

    But the methodology could probably be applied to the data in a systematic way.