I've generated some animations that show the popularity of select names in the States between 1960 and 2010. Some of the animations illustrate that there was a region where the name first became popular. Others demonstrate how rapidly some names rise and fall.
Follow this link and choose the name at the bottom of the screen.
http://www.behindthename.com/top/state.php?name_gender=amanda_f&speed=
(note, you need a modern browser to view the animations - eg Firefox, Safari, IE9)