There was a similar massive upheaval with baby names in the mid-20th century in both America and Britain from about 1950 to 1965. Dozens of names in the former top 100 (e.g. Horace, Cyril, Edna, Phyllis) fell into obscurity quite quickly.
But more than that, things were being mixed up. Cross-culturally, to some degree with Slavic and Celtic names making a big influence. But probably most notable was the massive cross-sex pollination of names. Forms like Roberta and Alexandra popped up seemingly out of nowhere to become very common. While boys stopped being named Hilary or Courtney almost overnight.
There was a smaller wave in the 90s in America where everyone seems to have gotten a sudden urge to give their babies unisex names from American placenames and ethnic groups -- Nevada, Dakota, Cheyenne, etc.
Random flukes of history and culture are a big factor too, at least for individual names. A popular politician, artist or fictional character can have a lot of people named after them. And we're not going to have many Adolfs or Karens for a long, long time.
But more than that, things were being mixed up. Cross-culturally, to some degree with Slavic and Celtic names making a big influence. But probably most notable was the massive cross-sex pollination of names. Forms like Roberta and Alexandra popped up seemingly out of nowhere to become very common. While boys stopped being named Hilary or Courtney almost overnight.
There was a smaller wave in the 90s in America where everyone seems to have gotten a sudden urge to give their babies unisex names from American placenames and ethnic groups -- Nevada, Dakota, Cheyenne, etc.
Random flukes of history and culture are a big factor too, at least for individual names. A popular politician, artist or fictional character can have a lot of people named after them. And we're not going to have many Adolfs or Karens for a long, long time.