Baby Names That Came Back After Years Away

How this was counted: Gap = consecutive years absent from the national top 1000 immediately before the name's current continuous run in the top 1000 (the run ending in 2025). Qualifying gap >=10 years, with the name in the top 1000 before the gap. years_away = gap length; first_year_back = first year of the current continuous run; last_year_before_gap = last year in the top 1000 before the gap. Names whose early return was followed by further long absences are therefore dated from their sustained return, not the flicker. The 15 entries shown are the 15 matching names with the highest count_2025, in that order (not the 15 longest gaps). Top-1000 membership is by competition rank (rank <= 1000); names tied at the boundary count as in.

Counts come from SSA’s published state files for the 50 states and DC. A name is published in a state only when at least 5 babies of one sex received it there that year, so totals are slightly smaller than true births. National ranks are competition ranks of the summed counts; ties share a rank.