Sophia, Noah tops with Arizona babies in 2014

PHOENIX — Want to track popular culture?

Just track baby names.

Consider the name Sarah which 35 years ago was one of the most popular for Arizona parents to name their newborn girls.

Two decades later, records kept by the state Department of Health Services showed it had dropped off the Top 10.

And now? It’s barely hanging on to the Top 100 list at No. 92.

It’s even more pronounced for Jennifer, the top name for girls in 1979. It fell off the Top 100 list entirely this year.

Boys names are not quite as volatile, in part because new parents have relied heavily on names the Bible and derivatives for choices. So while Michael was tops in 1979 it still is No. 8 this year.

Christopher, No. 2 in both 1979 and 1989, fared a bit worse, coming in this year at No. 27.

But Daniel has been a perennial on the Top 20 list for more than three decades.

Once you get away from The Good Book for choices, however, then everything changes.

Robert, for example, was one of the more popular names 35 years ago. Even a decade later it remained near the top.

This past year, however, it logged in at 78, barely beating out Lincoln.

Still, having a biblical name does not always protect against changes that come with time: Sarah went from No. 5 just a quarter century ago to 92 now.

The transformation in parental thinking works the other way, too.

Sophia topped this year’s list of girls’ names. And that’s not even counting the version spelled Sofia which scored at No. 9.

Yet just a decade ago neither was among the Top 20.

Sebastian moved from No. 34 for boys in 2011 to No. 7 now.

And Charlotte, which wasn’t even popular enough to make the Top 100 list just three years ago now is No. 11.

Some names are new to the list. But the “why” behind that may be harder to discern.

Consider Ximena at No. 42.

There is the 2010 Miss Universe from Mexico named Ximena Navarrete. Only thing is, she was known as Jimena at the time.

Or perhaps it could be singer and songwriter Ximena Sariñana.

And it’s hard to say whether Scarlett showing up at No. 17 is because of actress Scarlett Johanssen whose movie “Her” was released in 2013, or perhaps a much older memory of Scarlett O’Hara, the heroine of “Gone With The Wind.”

One big change for boys comes in what had traditionally been Hispanic names.

Jose peaked as the top name for boys born in 2005. Jesus was No. 7 that year.

This year Jose did no better than 40th on the list. And Jesus was two slots behind that.