Utah may be something of a trendsetter when it comes to baby names.
Last year, YouTube video publisher Abacaba shared a video that showed the top baby names by state from 1910 to 2014. The video, set to techno-like elevator music, shows each state’s most popular name change from year to year.
And Utah, on more than one occasion, tends to start the trends of baby names across the country.
Here’s an example: In 1924, Utah, along with Nebraska, Oregon and Washington, have “Betty” as the most popular baby girl name.
By 1928, the name had spread.
Not convinced? How’s this: In 1940, Utah was the only state to have Linda as its most popular baby name.
Flash forward to 1947 and you get this:
Then, in 1953, Utah was one of the first states to see Debra climb the charts.
And here’s the country two years later:
Utah was among the first states to list Lisa at the top, too, in 1961.
A few years later … (1965)
Utah bucked the national trend, making Jennifer the top name in 1969.
The nation follow suit in 1972 until about 1984.
In 1985, Jessica and much of the western United States championed the name Jessica before the rest of the country embraced it.
And that’s really it.
As for boy names, the trend doesn’t move as much. In 1993, Utah was one of the first states with “Tyler” as the most popular name.
And that’s pretty much it.
So is Utah a trendsetter? You decide.