# Names that became unusable, like Kermit **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 12, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362 "2006-09-12T02:34:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/41 "2006-09-12T14:22:55Z")
Eh, I know folks named Kermit, Dick, Clifford, Ronald, and Peter. I’m sure you could come up with some reason not to use _any_ name. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/42 "2006-09-12T14:25:32Z")
Both Clark and Lois have the smell put on them, albeit less with Lois. Betty & Veronica are less popular than they were. Both Archie and Reggie are out. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/43 "2006-09-12T14:35:54Z")
What about Gonzo, Fozzie and Rowlf? Are they unusable as well? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/44 "2006-09-12T15:06:55Z")
[QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] I wanted to name one of my sons Peter, because I’ve always loved that name, but I was talked out of it (Peter Pan, Peter-pumpkin-eater, etc.). [/QUOTE] I’m named Peter and my older sister is Wendy. This was unnoticed by ANYONE, even ourselves, for over 30 years until “Hook” hit the theaters. Then it’s all we heard about. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/45 "2006-09-12T15:34:30Z")
Barney. But whether it was killed off by a cave man or a dinosaur is debatable. That reminds me of Dino. I think Dino is a strong enough name that nobody can kill it off. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/46 "2006-09-12T16:20:05Z")
I doubt there are many Lolitas out there these days. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/47 "2006-09-12T17:12:42Z")
Looking at all of the LAN IDs for the company (200,000+ IDs) 7 Kermit 18 Lolita No Adolf, but 9 Adolfo and 2 Adolph 49 Clifford 7 Elvis No Barneys, but seven folks with Barney as their last name 66 Raquel 3 Linus I will not attempt to count how many “normal” names for comparison. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/48 "2006-09-12T17:27:48Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] I heard once that Richard Nixon pretty much single-handedly killed off the name Richard, but I can’t help but wonder if the nickname “Dick” is what did it in. [/QUOTE] Huh? I know at least a dozen Richards, many of them born after Tricky Dick’s administration. None of them go by Dick though. I don’t know any younger people named Norman (Bates), Bart (Simpson), or Felix (Unger, as well as The Cat). Plus a lot of names that weren’t killed by celebrities or fictional characters but have phased out of use: Mildred, Morris, Philomena (which was like my favorite baby name when I was a kid, but nobody under 80 has it). Also Gertrude, which I don’t like because I really like the nickname Trudy for a little girl, but the base name is totally fuddy-duddy. Somehow I doubt there are a lot of little Eastern European children named Vlad running around. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/49 "2006-09-12T17:29:49Z")
I doubt that Ghengis is all that common. Beria seems to have taken a bit of a dive too. Torquemada is not very popular, but I guess you expected that. I do not recall meeting an Atlas either, though I have come across a Hercules. Myra isn’t all that common in the UK, but then, who would want to have the children under their feet having a name like that. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/50 "2006-09-12T17:50:51Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] Barney. But whether it was killed off by a cave man or a dinosaur is debatable. That reminds me of Dino. I think Dino is a strong enough name that nobody can kill it off. [/QUOTE] I know a Dino. He predates the Flinstones, though. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/51 "2006-09-12T18:12:00Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] Barney. But whether it was killed off by a cave man or a dinosaur is debatable. . [/QUOTE] How I Met Your Mother will probably bring it back from the dead. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/52 "2006-09-12T19:03:47Z")
There’s a guy two offices down from me named Charlie Brown. He’s in his 50s so I guess he predated the whole \*Peanuts \* thing. In college, the guy who led our dorm Bible study group was named Damien. I kept waiting for his head to start spinning around or something. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/53 "2006-09-12T19:35:45Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] The Lutheran church I attended as a kid was loaded with old men named _Elmer_. The name probably went extinct after Elmer Fudd was created. I wonder how many kids nowadays get named _Bruce_, considering how that name – really, 'Bruth" – is now considered the quintessential “gay name”. I wonder if _Lance_ and _Todd_ got hit by their stereotypically gay association as well. [/QUOTE] I’d rather be an Elmer than an Elmo!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/54 "2006-09-12T20:13:31Z")
[QUOTE=davenportavenger] Huh? I know at least a dozen Richards, many of them born after Tricky Dick’s administration. None of them go by Dick though. [/QUOTE] Really? I don’t know anyone under age about 40 with the name Richard. I’m sure it’s still around to a degree, but it sure has fallen off since the 40s & 50s (put the name into [this website](http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html) and you will see how far it has fallen off (ok, maybe not as much as Adolph, but still…) ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/55 "2006-09-12T20:19:24Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] I’m named Peter and my older sister is Wendy. This was unnoticed by ANYONE, even ourselves, for over 30 years until “Hook” hit the theaters. Then it’s all we heard about. [/QUOTE] _Really??_ What about the book, the Disney movie, and the stage version? All those famous versions of one of the most popular kid’s stories of all times, and no one ever made the connection until _Hook_ came out?? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/56 "2006-09-12T20:25:24Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] If **Walloon** or **Exapno** were here, they’d link to [this site.](http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html) It would show you that Richard had already been losing popularity for 30 years before Nixon, and that if anything the decline seemed to slow a little in the 70s. And Kermit lost its popularity way before the Frog came along. [/QUOTE] Do you understand how long Nixon had been around? He was a well-known senator in the late '40s, and Vice-President in the '50s . . . exactly when the decline started. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/57 "2006-09-12T20:51:42Z")
[QUOTE=davenportavenger] Huh? I know at least a dozen Richards, many of them born after Tricky Dick’s administration. None of them go by Dick though. I don’t know any younger people named Norman (Bates), Bart (Simpson), or Felix (Unger, as well as The Cat). Plus a lot of names that weren’t killed by celebrities or fictional characters [/QUOTE] I suspect that’s most of the names mentioned. I’ll buy that names like “Adolf” and “Homer” have been killed off by Hitler & Simpson respectively. But names like “Clifford” and “Felix” likely died off on their own. And “Elvis” probably got more popular because of Presley. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/58 "2006-09-12T21:56:48Z")
I met a handsome young man named Kermit when I was in college. He should be around 40 now. Maybe he’s **el Perro Fumando** ’s teacher. I don’t follow the logic about the name Homer. Seems to me that he’s a wildly popular pop culture figure and if anything his name should be hugely popular. For some reason it isn’t, and neither is Bart. ---
**Author:** ![Carm6773](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2bfe46/32.png) [@Carm6773](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carm6773)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/59 "2006-09-12T22:47:25Z")
[QUOTE=ouryL] I’d rather be an Elmer than an Elmo!! :eek: [/QUOTE] I’m thinking Grover, Oscar, and Zoe are out too. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362/60 "2006-09-12T22:53:06Z")
[QUOTE=Carm6773] I’m thinking Grover, Oscar, and Zoe are out too. [/QUOTE] Nope, Zoe’s huge. Just outside of the top 50 names in 2003, 2004, and 2005 (so says Baby Name Wizard). Modern Parents love crazy shit in names, and the letter Z is a pretty basic beginner crazy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-unusable-like-kermit/372362.md?page=4)