# Extinct Woman names **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840 "2009-02-14T18:06:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MissGypsy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@MissGypsy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissGypsy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/61 "2009-02-15T00:35:38Z")
My grandmothers were Velma and Bertha. My grandfathers were Lafayette and Oren. I have aunts and great-aunts named Dolly, Flossie, Maxine, Gertrude, Evelyn, Norma, Esther, Florence, Bette, and Phyllis. Needless to say, I didn’t name my kids after any family members, except… **Ivylass** , My oldest son’s (second) middle name is Vernon, after my grandfather’s middle name; he’s a fourth generation Vernon, because my uncle and my cousin have the same middle name. And it’s totally an old-man name. I had an Uncle Walter, too! Old man! I have a very old-lady name, myself. My four older sisters have normal names, yet I have a name like someone’s great-grandmother. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/62 "2009-02-15T00:36:20Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Funny, I would have thought Scarlett would have been very popular around the 1930s-40s, but it doesn’t show up until the 80s. > . Hmmm…yo joe? Time frame is about right… ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/63 "2009-02-15T01:03:25Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Actually, I went to grade school with a Dimple. We were in the same grade, so that would make her my age, 48. her middle name was Venitia. Well, cool! My first husband cheated on me once with a Venitia (before we were married). Gladys (Glad-Ass for the junior high set) will probably never make a comeback. Unless it’s spelled Gladyce with emphasis on the “dyce”. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/64 "2009-02-15T01:37:26Z")
I have great grandmas named Elsie or Elsa(not sure which she was), Lulu, and Johanna. My grandmas were Jean and Elizabeth(Betty.) While Elizabeth is as popular as ever, Betty has fallen out of favor as a nickname for it. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/65 "2009-02-15T02:21:04Z")
My great-grandmothers were Fanny, Fanny, Myrtle, and Hazel, none of which are currently very popular. Hazel’s mother was Araminta, which I think is a cool name, but a bit florid. Also in that family tree was Deliverance, which is an _awesome_ name, but not one that I could see my atheist self bestowing on any child. ---
**Author:** ![Teaira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9d8465/32.png) [@Teaira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teaira)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/66 "2009-02-15T02:28:25Z")
My grandma’s name is Evelyn. I haven’t seen anyone else with it. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/67 "2009-02-15T02:32:05Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Somehow “Noah” became popular for boys in the last decade. My daughter’s preschools are lousy with Noahs. It’s probably because there was a sympathetic character name Noah on some daytime TV soap opera. This is said to be one of the strongest trendsetters for children’s names. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/68 "2009-02-15T02:36:31Z")
> [@Teaira](#): > > My grandma’s name is Evelyn. I haven’t seen anyone else with it. I know loads of Evelyns, several in their 20s. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/69 "2009-02-15T02:59:51Z")
My grandmother’s name was Virginia – don’t see too many of those these days. She gave one of her daughters a middle name of Millicent, another (ugly, In My Aunt’s and My Opinion) out-dated name. A friend of mine moved to Alaska and found himself a girlfriend named Ethel. She’s 24. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/70 "2009-02-15T03:01:48Z")
I doubt that Hortense and Dorcas will be back anytime soon. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/71 "2009-02-15T03:46:45Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Somehow “Noah” became popular for boys in the last decade. My daughter’s preschools are lousy with Noahs. Weird. I guess Noah is better than Abraham. I work in paeds. Apart from the weird spelling names which still abound, we’re also knee deep in Noahs, Jonahs and Jacobs. I would have disputed the theory about our grandparents’ names a while back but I think it probably has something to it. One of my grandmothers was named Harriet, a name I would have thought as dead as the dodo. I’ve nursed three kids in the last year named Harriet. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/72 "2009-02-15T04:27:47Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > My young cousin (now in her late 30s) is named Agnes. Her parents are Hungarian, and the name is a lot more common there. > > Ed My wife’s name is Agnes, and she’s 40. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/73 "2009-02-15T04:45:25Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Gladys (Glad-Ass for the junior high set) will probably never make a comeback. Unless it’s spelled Gladyce with emphasis on the “dyce”. I came in to post this. That name just makes me shudder. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/74 "2009-02-15T05:15:03Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My sister’s name is Marian (she’s in her 70s). I’ve never known any other woman with that name. I went to high school (graduated in '82) with a couple of Marians, and I used to work with a guy whose daughter was named Marian. She’d be in her early 20s now, I think. > [@Muffin](#): > > Lucy… I teach preschool part-time, and Lucy is making a big comeback. We’ve had a couple of Lucys each year for the last several years. > [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Dorcas. … > [@winterhawk11](#): > > I doubt that … Dorcas will be back anytime soon. 🙂 My mother’s cousin is named Dorcas (she’s in her late 70s), and one of her granddaughters is named Dorcas. She’s in her late teens, IIRC. Ugh. It’s an awful name. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/75 "2009-02-15T05:43:20Z")
Any girls named Vera any more? Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/76 "2009-02-15T06:37:08Z")
Drusilla Rowena Eve Joan Beatrice Astrid Ingrid Pearl Dorothy Renee Louise Florence Edith Barbara Paula Cheryl Darlene Stella ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/77 "2009-02-15T06:53:30Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > For boys, I nominate Vernon. I don’t think anything screams “old man” more than Vernon. > [@AuntiePam](#): > > **ivylass** , yep, Vernon and Walter – they have to be at least in their 60’s. There’s a poster here at the SD whose RL name is Vernon, and he’s definitely not an old man. I don’t know his age for sure, but having spoken to him by phone, I’d say he’s probably somewhere between 20 and 40, probably more like 20 to 30, if I had to guess. I remember in the late 80s when everyone was utterly aghast that Sarah Ferguson named her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie. ---
**Author:** ![stanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/78 "2009-02-15T07:49:09Z")
One of my grandfathers was named Shadrach. One aunt was Adelaide. Twin aunts were Roetta and Rowena. Have never run across anyone else with those names in my 55 years, but they weren’t unusual 100 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/79 "2009-02-15T08:08:58Z")
Mildred and Prunella. I’ve met one Mildred in my life, and I know her for six years before I learned what ‘Millie’ was short for. I can’t believe those names sounded euphonius to anyone, at any time. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840/80 "2009-02-15T08:21:05Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > Mildred and Prunella. I’ve met one Mildred in my life, and I know her for six years before I learned what ‘Millie’ was short for. I can’t believe those names sounded euphonius to anyone, at any time. I can’t imagine a 2009 new mother calling her daughter either Prunella or Mildred but I know of two small girls called Prue and Millie (not the same family), so the derivatives aren’t extinct. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extinct-woman-names/485840.md?page=5)