Fanchon vs Fancy

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Fanchon Fancy

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 99 years in which either name was published, Fanchon for 51 years and Fancy for 48 years. The lead changed hands 13 times.

• 1897–1949 Fanchon ahead
• 1976–1985 Fancy ahead, apart from one short spell
• 1986–1990 Fanchon ahead
• 1991–2025 Fancy ahead

9 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.

Side by side

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Fanchons alive today are over 39; half the Fancys are over 25. That is 14 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

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