What's in a name?

Ask any new parent who has spent weeks, months, or even years trying to pick the perfect name for their new bundle of joy. There's always that fine line between going with something safe and avoiding the potential of long-term trauma for the child or opting for something more memorable.

So what have been the naming trends in South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota as we transition through the generations?

Recently, the language blog Wordtips looked at the 100 most popular boys’ and girls’ names, state by state in the U.S., for each year since 1965 (using data from the Social Security Administration).

The results were then published in a Mental Floss story under the title 'Every U.S. State’s Most Popular Name by Generation'.

MOST POPULAR NAMES BY GENERATION

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