For dads who name their sons after themselves, it can be a very public way to let the world know: This is my son. This one belongs to me. It can also be a mother's way of honoring her hubby — or, in the case of some unwed parents, Mom's ploy to coax Daddy to stick around.

But the American Junior — not to mention IIIs, IVs and Vs — is something of a dying breed, says Cleveland Evans, a psychology professor at Bellevue University in Nebraska who specializes in omnastics, or the study of names.

"The percentage of juniors has been going down in American culture in general over the last 40 years at least," says Evans, adding that in the Hispanic community it remains a popular naming trend.