This is the trendiest American baby name of all time

As far as baby names go, there are popular ones (old standbys that have remained favorable for decades) and trendy ones (fresh options that come and go and are often inspired by some sort of cultural phenomenon). In 2017, for example, the name Moana got a 64 percent increase, thanks to the popular Disney flick of the same name. Make sure you know the 50 best family travel destinations in every state.

While it’s easy to determine the most popular baby names of all time (they’re Mary and James, if you were wondering), determining the trendiest ones is a bit more difficult. In order to do so, one must consider a name’s popularity plus the rate of its rise and decline. Fortunately, David Taylor, a biotechnologist and blogger, made it his mission to do just that with his chart of the 100 trendiest baby names.

According to his calculations, the winner of the trendiest name ever (in the United States, at least) is Linda.

The name Linda was first made popular by musician Jack Lawrence’s 1946 hit song “Linda.” A year later, 5.5 percent of baby girls born that year were given the name. Linda stayed popular for about 20 years before it started to lose its luster, until it finally petered out by 1969. Since then, no other name has trended so much in such a short period of time. According to the Social Security Administration, more than 1,447,000 women have had this name in the last 100 years.

Using the same metric, the next trendiest girl’s names are Brittany, Debra, and Shirley. For boys, the trendiest names are Dewey, Jason, and Grover.

We extend our sincerest congratulations to all the Lindas for this newfound honor, but be warned: You may not hold the title for long. Next, find out what your state is best and worst at.

The post This Is the Trendiest American Baby Name of All Time appeared first on Reader's Digest.

See this past year's most popular boy's names: