# Uncommon Given names of the past you never see much of anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 11, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513 "2016-11-11T17:15:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/41 "2016-11-13T18:10:06Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > Looking into one branch of my family tree, I see Thankful, Mindwell, Relief, and Mercy. Hot names of the American colonies in their day. I just couldn’t read the name ‘Mercy’ in anything other than a Roy Orbison growl…🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/42 "2016-11-13T18:52:38Z")
I love the name Dorcas and my daughter is so happy I didn’t name her that. It simply doesn’t work for a 21st century kid. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/43 "2016-11-13T19:12:52Z")
I had aunts on my Dads side named Winifred, Velma Martha and Elva. My uncle was Cecil. My dads name was John. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/44 "2016-11-13T20:29:00Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I love the name Dorcas and my daughter is so happy I didn’t name her that. It simply doesn’t work for a 21st century kid. According to [this](http://howmanyofme.com/search/), there are 8094 people in the US with the first name of Dorcas. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/45 "2016-11-13T21:46:18Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > One Grand **father** ’s name was Marion. That was John Wayne’s original first name, as you might already know. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/46 "2016-11-13T22:26:31Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > In my family tree, there are a couple of German women with the first name of Kunigunde (or Cunigunde). I’d never heard that name before in my life, and I daresay it isn’t common in Germany these days, either. Its etymology is kind of badass, though – “kuni” means “family” and “gund” means “war”. The name existed in French, too. Cunegonde was the name of the lady love interest in Voltaire’s Candide, written in the late 18th century. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/47 "2016-11-14T05:29:15Z")
In my ancestry, and in my living memory, I’ve found some fun ones: A gx4 grandfather Aquila. (Turns out it’s Latin for “eagle,” I think.) He had a son named Granberry. A Desdemona in the same immediate family. My Grandpa had sisters named Minnie and Maxie. Not twins. My Granddaddy’s family liked political names - there was a whole line of Grover Cleveland Lastname (Senior, Junior, etc.), plus a Talmadge and a McKinley. On Grandmother’s side, my great aunts were Willie, Frankie, Daphne, and Dot. (Dot was actually Dorothy. No one in the world ever called her that.) I refer to Grandmother’s aunts as The State Sisters: Georgia Mae, Virginia, Missouri, and Mississippi. Grandma’s siblings had normal-ish names for south Georgia farmers of Irish descent - Lillie Mae, Pat(rick), Mittie, Bessie, etc. But I had no idea what their names were. They all called one another nicknames: Jeff, Buddy, Charney, etc. I once spent an hour reading and re-reading the obituaries, trying to find out when Aunt Buddy’s funeral would be held. Finally called Mama, who informed me that she was actually Mittie! Grandpa’s father was Absolem. I don’t expect that name to resurface any time soon. Doing genealogical research, it’s kind of pleasant to find the oddball names, since about half of my ancestors are named John, Nancy, Elizabeth, or some combination of those! ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/48 "2016-11-14T12:04:22Z")
My Dad’s name was Royal (and he went by that, _never_ Roy) His dad’s name was Dwight. My nephew & wife just named their daughter Estella. A friend has a 12-is yo son named Silas. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/49 "2016-11-14T12:19:56Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I was entering Census data for [Familysearch.org](http://Familysearch.org) and jotted down some of the names that stood out. I wonder how many of these are just what the census taker heard. For example, Francies - looks to me like they started to write Francis, and when someone realized it was going wrong (Frances being the female version) they tried to correct it but Francies is how it ended up. My family has very little in the odd name department. My mother’s side is full of Elizabeths, Marys and Katherines. My father’s side has a few that are unusual or just not heard much anymore: there’s an Ovia and a couple of Clydes and an Enver. ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/50 "2016-11-14T14:33:15Z")
(Vera is Faith in Russian, and isn’t an uncommon name in that neck of the woods.) Faith and Charity, in English- only met one of the latter. Adelaide. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/51 "2016-11-14T19:59:35Z")
What, no Frogmellas? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/52 "2016-11-14T21:09:00Z")
Beulah, Bertha, Claude, Arthur, Nola, Festus ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/53 "2016-11-14T22:21:40Z")
My favorite ancestor name is Wrestling. More recently, I grew knowing a couple of older men named Thurlough. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/54 "2016-11-14T22:49:14Z")
My grandmother was Lela. Her sister was Sadie. Neither name is popular anymore. I have heard of one Sadie on Duck Dynasty. Jewel used to be a guy’s name. The only Jewel today is the singer. My dad and my grandfather were named Henry. My dad had a brother named Chester. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/55 "2016-11-14T23:36:40Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > My mother’s father was named Elsie… I had a great great aunt (b1899) names Elsie. She went by Bobbie and was married to an Ernest, another seldom-heard name. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/56 "2016-11-15T00:04:32Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > My mother’s father was named Elsie (I would not be surprised to find it’s a spelled-out acronym–L. Z.). Wouldn’t L. C. work better here? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/57 "2016-11-15T02:05:16Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Wouldn’t L. C. work better here? No, it was pronounced L-Z; funny, I never made the connection with the Borden cow name (L-C, the cow, right?). Plus, Elsie (non-) junior was always called “Pap.” 😕 Grandpap was born around 1905, was Elsie given to either gender at that time? Hmm… . ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/58 "2016-11-15T16:23:51Z")
Virgil Verne Edmund Ralph ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513/59 "2016-11-15T18:58:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My dad and my grandfather were named Henry. My dad had a brother named Chester. Buddy of mine just named his kid Henry. I would have named mine Henry if I had had a boy, at least that was one of the names we came up with. My daughter’s middle name is Lavinia, after my ex’s aunt. There are plenty of names I’ve never heard outside of people born prior to the 1900s, Hezekiah and Ezekiel are two I can think of off the top of my head. I don’t see many Suzanna(h)'s running around any more either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncommon-given-names-of-the-past-you-never-see-much-of-anymore/771513.md?page=2)