We investigate analytically and numerically the nonstationary circuit QED setup in which N independent qubits interact with a single mode of the Electromagnetic field confined in a resonator. We consider the harmonic time modulation of some parameter (atomic transition frequency or the atom-field coupling strength) and derive the unitary dynamics up to the second order in the modulation depth for N = 1 and N 1. It is shown that all the resonant phenomena that occur for modulation frequencies ∼ 2ω0 (where ω0 is the cavity frequency) also occur for the halved frequencies. However, in the latter case the associated transition rates are significantly smaller and the modulation of the coupling strength is less effective. The transition rates are evaluated explicitly and the prospects of employing the second-order resonances in the phenomena related to the dynamical Casimir effect are examined.