NameVoyager

An interesting Java app that interactively graphs first name popularity from 1880 to the present.

Try typing in various names. Some are one-time spikes, while others are making comebacks after nearly a century of unpopularity; Amelia, for example.

It can also provide social insight. Take the name Charles; it was declining in popularity in the first part of the 20th century, but there was a sudden resurgence of popularity around the 1930's, before it fell off again. If you can't figure out why, you really need to watch the History Channel more often.