Michael, your day in the sun is finally over.

In this case, that day lasted 49 years.

Michael was the most popular name for newborns for nearly half a century in New Jersey, according to an analysis of federal social security data, before finally being knocked down in the last few years. Jennifer had its own impressive run, holding onto the top spot for girls for many years, but has since dropped out of the top 10 entirely.

We are now in the age of “Liam” and “Emma.”

Data shows while Michael and Jennifer dominated for decades, the most popular names in New Jersey have shifted dramatically in recent years. While in the 60s and 70s a small group of names dominated, as time has progressed the pool of names used by new moms and dads has expanded.

Today, the list of most popular names shifts on an almost annual basis.

N.J. parents seemed to prefer names beginning with a 'J' — Jennifer, Jessica, John, James etc. 74 names started with the letter J, while the most uncommon name began with an X (all of them were ‘Xavier’).

They were also far less creative with naming their boys than their girls. Over the 58-year period, boys had 264 unique names while girls had 349. The most unique boy name in the top 100 list was Julio, with only 60 boys being named so over the course of half a century.

New Jersey parents were not ones to fall prey to popular naming trends. ‘Meghan,’ a name that grew in popularity nationally — obviously thanks to Meghan Markle — was nowhere on the top 100 list for N.J. The most uncommon baby girl names were Nova and Josephine. See how the naming trends were for baby girls:

Disha Raychaudhuri may be reached at disha@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Disha_RC.