Laban vs Laberta

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Laban Laberta

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 91 years in which either name was published, Laban for 65 years and Laberta for 26 years. The lead changed hands 14 times.

• 1886–1914 Laban ahead
• 1915–1941 Laberta ahead, apart from 2 short spells
• 1950–1960 Laban ahead
• 1964–1968 Laberta ahead
• 1970–2021 Laban ahead

8 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 Labertas alive today are over 82; half the Labans are over 32. That is 50 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

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