the baby name wizard is a neat visualization of baby name trends (which i spotted days ago on metafilter). i noticed a few trends: names that are popular today were unpopular in the 1960s, there are fewer names popular today, and the 60s names tend to start with vowels, Q, X and Z. i can't think of explanations for any of this, but the visuals make it appear to be more than mere coincidence. for example, compare "peter" and "patrick" with "oliver" and "owen" or "beth" and "becky" with "anna" and "abby." or just flip through the alphabet and watch which letters peak on the end(s) or the middle. hmm.
name graphs
this web site is amazing! i realize it's all about baby names and whatnot, but i've passed it on to several people (none of which are having babies (or naming them) and many of which were not girls) it's pretty great how a good visual design can pull you into something you never knew you were interested in.