Laban vs Labaron

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Laban Labaron

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 84 years in which either name was published, Laban for 72 years and Labaron for 12 years. The lead changed hands 14 times.

• 1886–1958 Laban ahead
• 1960–1968 Labaron ahead
• 1973–2021 Laban ahead, apart from 2 short spells

10 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 Labarons alive today are over 42; half the Labans are over 32. That is 10 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

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