US national debt

American parents have been naming their daughters Luna in close proportion to how much money the federal government owes, which is the kind of fact that makes you want to wake up the Treasury. Whether the babies caused the debt or the debt caused the babies remains, for now, an open question.

Both lines climb steeply for unrelated reasons. Luna became one of the fastest-rising US baby names through the 2010s as celestial and minimalist names took hold, while the national debt has grown almost monotonically through tax cuts, recession spending, stimulus packages, and chronic deficits. Two parallel rises with no causal connection beyond being modern.

So the correlation is the moon name and the federal credit card, on the same calendar. Both are getting bigger. Only one of them comes with diapers.