Names you don't hear much these days

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

We’ve got yet another thread about flaky names parents give their kids, but it got me to thinking about the names of my younger days that have fallen from popularity.

For example, among my close friends in high school were Denise, Jeanette, Mary, Karen, Patricia, and Ruth. Others names among my classmates were Janice, Pam, Gail, Richard, Frederick, Don, and Phil. For a frame of reference, I graduated high school in '72.

And from my parents’ generation, there’s Loretta, Stella, Jean, Joe, Walter, Eleanor, Dorothy, Harold, Connie…

I’m not suggesting that no one chooses these names, but they’re certainly not as common as they used to be. So, what names did you hear a lot in your youth that don’t seem to be as popular these days?

2

I’m from the Sarah/Jennifer/Jessica days of those of us born in the late-70s and early-80s. I have no idea if anyone’s naming their kids Jennifer and Jessica any more. I think Sarah’s pretty classic, though, isn’t it?

It’s a lot of fun to play around on the Social Security Admin’s baby name website. I’m embarrassed to admit how much time my husband and I have spent there putting in every name we can think of and looking to see when its peak was in the last 100 years. Pretty interesting really.

3

FairyChatMom, I’m about the same age as you. And even if you hadn’t put your graduation year in that post, I’d know it from the names you listed.

Linda
Cheryl
Debbie

David
Bruce
Allen

I’m getting a kick out of the fact that a lot of new babies these days have what I always thought of as old lady names. Sophie, Grace, Lucy, etc.

4

Check out the Baby Name Wizard and look at the historical trend for names.

For example, naming a baby “Denise” peaked about 1960, while the name “Loretta” peaked 30 years earlier.

Sorry, but “FairyChatMom” isn’t listed, but “Fairy” peaked in 1900 and was gone by 1930.

5

Ah yes, old lady names… One of my daughter’s friends had a baby recently and named her Frances - I love it!

6

It was all Barbies, Debbies, Jackies, Kellys, and Pattys when I was growing up (graduated HS in 1980). All the cheerleader names. All of them ending with a y or an ie, except for a few unfortunate nerds like me.

The guys were all Mikes, Dans, Johns, and Bobs. You can practically see the flattop haircuts and plaid shirts of the elementary school years. You still see plenty of these names, but not the girls names so much.

7

Holy sh!t.

My given name was number one for a decade and a half, a top 10 name until the late '80s and now is barely clinging to top 50 status!

8

My name, Michelle, was 93 in the 50s when I was born, then jumped to 9 in the 60s, and 4 in the 70s. Last year, it was 103. I guess it peaked after the Beatles immortalized it.

9

I went to school with herds of Jennifers, Michelles, and Melissas. (I was born in 1970.) There were at least two dozen of each in my class, I know, and often 4-5 in the same classroom. Very confusing!

Yet I haven’t met a person under 20 with any of those names in the past decade.

10

Here’s one that really confuses me. I was a kid in the early 1970s, and there were always several boys named Toby at my school. I always think of it as a very 1970s name.

But now, I cannot think that I have ever met someone as an adult named Toby. Where did they all go?

11

My name peaked in the 1930’s and has swirled downward towards obscurity since then.

THANKS MOM!

12

I’m a Frances, and I almost never meet anyone my age (I graduated h.s. in '76) named Frances, although I hear all the time, “My [grandmother, aunt, mother] was named Frances!”

(On a totally unrelated note, I have a simple mnemonic I use to help people remember that Francis is the boy spelling and Frances is the girl spelling. Ya see, the “e” in Frances has a hole in it, and the “i” in Francis sticks up straight!)

13

I had an aunt Frances!

That’s as bad as my mnemonic for remembering which Superman was Reeve and which was Reeves. (There’s only one s between the first and last names for both, so Christopher Reeve but George Reeves.)

14

If I have a son, I’m naming him Robert. There’s no Bobs anymore, and I think it’s a shame.

15

I have three, count 'em three Yolandas in my family and have never come across another. Big fan of Otis too, which seems to have disappeared.

16

I’ve heard the same thing all my life about my own name. I’m a good twenty years past my time. But I think it’s coming back. I’m hearing about more baby Alices these days. I dont’ know if it’s just cycled around, or if there’s a celebrity I don’t know about.

17

There’s a category of womens’ names that I think of as “baby boomer names,” though they were popular for a bit before that, too. They’re usually short, 5-6 letters and have two syllables. They are just nice, simple, no-nonsense names that NOBODY is using any more! How long has it been since you’ve met a baby named…
-Donna
-Linda
-Susan
-Karen
-Paula
-Janet
-Ellen

Okay, I think I just named most of my mom’s friends! My mom is a Julie. There are Julias galore, but not Julies. We met a baby named Julie a few months ago, and we all nearly fainted.

Anybody have other names that fit into this category?

They’re hanging out with the Damians. I had three in my 3rd grade class! Now I can’t find a Damian anywhere.

On preview, in response to thirdwarning–I think Alice has just cycled around, and it’s part of the old-fashioned name trend. I think it’s a lovely name, so I’m glad it’s back. My cousin’s step-granddaughter is an Alice–but they live in Italy, so it’s pronounced A-lee-chay!

18

I LOVE the name Agnes and want to bring it back when I have a daughter. My husband disagrees. I’m also a fan of Gladys. Aren’t these cute names? Gladys just makes you smile when you say it!

19

Wonder how much the movie franchise of the same name had to do with it.

[Checking]

Hmm. Slight uptick after the first movie came out, skyrocketed 10 years later.

20

I know both an Otis and a Yolanda. I’ve never met a white person with either of those names, though.