US GDP per capita

As GDP per capita has grown, more babies have been named Maverick, a correlation of 0.976 that connects national wealth to naming boldness with the economic confidence of a chart observing that richer nations produce more daring names. When the economy is strong, parents feel bold. When parents feel bold, they name their children after fighter pilots. The GDP is the wind beneath the Maverick's wings.

GDP per capita grew from about $42,000 to over $76,000. Maverick grew to over 4,000 per year. Both eighteen-year upward curves. Economic confidence correlates with cultural confidence: in prosperous times, parents feel freer to choose unconventional names. The shared variable is the same economic optimism that drives both spending and self-expression.

Eighteen years of GDP and Maverick is a correlation between economic confidence and cultural audacity: a wealthy nation names its children boldly because it can afford to be unconventional. The income rises, the name defies, and both trends measure the same prosperous culture expressing itself through different channels.