FROM THE REGISTER — CRITICALLY LOW
REPORTED IN 2025: 5 BIRTHS — THE LINE IS 5
One syllable of the fifties, standing on the line. The record holds 54,531 of them, 3,201 in 1956 alone. In 2025 there were 5. The reporting line is five; below it, the record prints nothing at all.
| First reported | 1911 |
|---|---|
| Last reported | 2025 — 5 births |
| Peak | 1956 — 3,201 births |
| Total recorded, 1911–2025 | 54,531 |
| Years above the line | 108 of a possible 115 |
| Longest absence | 3 years (2022–2024) |
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national names file (1880–2025). Names below 5 occurrences in a year are not reported.
Somewhere, a grandmother is unsurprised.
A collection of THE MUSEUM OF HOPEFUL MACHINES