Vola vs Volney

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Vola Volney

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 74 years in which either name was published, Vola for 39 years and Volney for 35 years. The lead changed hands 24 times.

• 1880–1890 Volney ahead
• 1891–1929 Vola ahead, apart from 2 short spells
• 1941–1986 Volney ahead, apart from one short spell

19 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 Volas alive today are over 85; half the Volneys are over 73. That is 12 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

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