The Art of Naming

We previously took a look at female names that were well-used throughout the 1880s. Today, we'll move forward through time to the next decade and examine 10 names that were hot for girls in the 1890s. More specifically, we want to find names that ranked within the Top 200 back then, but also do not rank within the Top 1000 of 2014. So these names ranked then and do not rank now. What we want to consider is which of these may or may not have the chance to make a comeback for modern girls. Reviving these names would indicate that they would now receive enough usage to begin climbing back up the charts and potentially ranking within today's Top 1000 again. Many vintage names have already been revived lately, could any of the following do the same?: 1. Minnie (#13 in the 1890s)  Minnie is one of many nickname names that were fashionable around the turn of the century. Typically it is short for Wilhelmina, which comes from the German Willahelm meaning "will, desire&

Many of today's most-popular boy names have actually been rather popular for decades. The same few traditional choices have stuck around and lasted the test of time moreso than many of the popular female names have. While looking at the Top 200 Names of the 1880s via the Social Security Administration's data , it is no surprise that the hottest names of the decade include John, William, James, George, and Charles. While John, George and Charles have declined in usage, James and William still dominate the modern charts. How many interesting names from the 1880s could be revived and given to modern boys? In order to find these names, we will need to skip over the evergreen names that are still ranking well in 2014. We aren't interested in those right now. We want to find the names that have fallen from favor, names like Clarence or Earnest that were once well-used. Sticking to the collective data from the entire decade, we will take a closer look at 10 of those names

The baby girls who were born in 1950 are now grandmothers. They will turn 65 this year! It is safe to say, though, that a lot of their first names may not be getting passed down to their grand-daughters at the same rate that grandpa's name is probably being given to the boys. While the boys have some solid classics on their side --even their more dated options like Jerry are well-used today-- the girl names have not survived the test of time as well. Take a look at how the top girl names of 1950 rank then and now and see if you don't agree: Girls:             Linda Mary Patricia Barbara Susan Nancy Deborah Sandra Carol Kathleen Sharon Karen Donna Brenda Margaret Diane Pamela Janet Shirley Carolyn Judith Janice Cynthia Elizabeth Judy 1950:     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2013:                        643 121 680 838 844 689 814 766 1617 664 882 416 1340 634 181 1841

Let's take a look at the past! The year 1950 was smack dab in the middle of the century. Babies born that year will celebrate their 65th birthday this year. Many of them are grandparents now and may even be lending their own names to their grandchildren. The most popular boy names in 1950 were James, Robert, John, Michael and David. How did these names rank 63 years later in 2013? Well, most of them are classics that don't fade very far down the charts. In fact, James, Michael and David are still in the Top 20 today. Here's how the 1950's Top 25 names rank in 2013: Boys:          James Robert John Michael David William Richard Thomas Charles Gary Larry Ronald Joseph Donald Kenneth Steven Dennis Paul Stephen George Daniel Edward Mark Jerry Gregory 1950:     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2013:               13 62 27 7 18 5 140 61 57 578 477 403 20 415 187 136

Featured Dutch Names: Diederick  & Madelief This month for our World-Wide Wednesday segment, we will be examining Dutch baby names. These are classified as names that are mostly found in the Netherlands as well as the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium known as Flanders. Like many other countries, parents in  present-day Netherlands are attracted to internationally loved names like Emma and Luca: names that are a bit more anglicized and less traditionally Dutch. While some things tend to change over time, there are still plenty of traditional names being given to Dutch babies. This article will focus on the interesting traditional choices available and how they were used in the past. However, many of these names are difficult for non-Dutch speakers to pronounce. First, let's start with naming traditions. Like many other countries in the past, Dutch families tended to use and reuse the same few names over many generations. Patronymic names were big. According to DutchGenea

Just like last week's post about boy names from 1920, here are some wonderful vintage classics for girls as well as some names that are no longer very fashionable. It is interesting to see how many names remain popular over time and how many have returned to the limelight after a vacation from the Top 1000. Which of these do you like most? Enduring Classics Names that are in the Top 100 for both 1920 and 2013 and have always been within the Top 1000: Elizabeth #8 in 1920 #10 in 2013 Anna #10 in 1920 #35 in 2013 Evelyn #12 in 1920 #20 in 2013 Lillian #18 in 1920 #26 in 2013 Ruby #26 in 1920 #93 in 2013 Grace #37 in 1920 #22 in 2013 Katherine #45 in 1920 #77 in 2013 Emma #46 in 1920 #2 in 2013 Sarah #50 in 1920 #48 in 2013 Julia #55 in 1920 #75 in 2013 Eva #58 in 1920 #88 in 2013 Charlotte #79 in 1920 #11 in 2013 Lucy #94 in 1920 #66 in 2013 Returning Vintage Faves Names that were within the Top 200 in 1920 but fell out of

The year 1920 was big and booming for many baby names. I thought it would be fun to take a look at a few different categories of names from 1920 and see how they compare to the recent 2013 list. Enduring Classics Names in the Top 100 both in 1920 and 2013: John #1 in 1920 #27 in 2013 William #2 in 1920 #5 in 2013 Robert  #3 in 1920 #62 in 2013 James #4 in 1920 #13 in 2013 Charles #5 in 1920 #57 in 2013 Joseph #7 in 1920 #20 in 2013 Thomas #11 in 1920 #61 in 2013 Henry #17 in 1920 #37 in 2013 Jack #20 in 1920 #40 in 2013 David #25 in 1920 #18 in 2013 Anthony #43 in 1920 #19 in 2013 Samuel  #44 in 1920 #25 in 2013 Andrew #49 in 1920 #22 in 2013 Michael #50 in 1920 #7 in 2013 Daniel #52 in 1920 #10 in 2013 Benjamin #83 in 1920 #14 in 2013 These names just keep hanging in there as the years pass by. Other names have not been so lucky. Faded Memories Names in the Top 100 in 1920 that are no longer in the Top 1000 in

In 1900, there was a big trend occurring among baby girl names. Parents loved the cutesy style of names that ended in -ie. These were not nicknames, they were given names. As you can see by the list below, there was a plethora of options just within the US Top 1000 names .  We're seeing a few of these threaten to come back into style today while others, like Sophie, Ellie and Sadie, are already hot! Drew Barrymore just used the name Frankie for her daughter last month! Did your [great] great-grandmother have a name like this? If so, do share it with us in the comment section below! Which of these -ie names are your favorite? Would you ever use it? Abbie                   Addie Aggie Allie Amie Ammie Angie Annie Arie Arlie Arrie Artie Audie Bennie Berdie Bertie Bessie Bettie Billie Birdie Bobbie Bonnie Callie Carrie Cassie Charlie Christie Classie Clemmie Cordie Corrie Dessie Dicie Dixie Dollie Donnie Dottie Dovie Dulcie Eddie Ef

We see plenty of interesting and odd baby names being used today but it is not a new concept. People have always had strange names. I thought it would be fun to take a look in the past and see what kind of names were being given to the peers of our [great] great-grandparents. Way back in 1900, I found some interesting choices for baby boys. These were all listed on the US Top 1000 chart for boys 114 years ago. Do you think any are actually usable or are they too out there? Admiral                             Alford Brown Buddie Burl Cleve Cloyd Collis Colonel Connie Curley Doctor Dorsey Earlie Early Effie Elige Ellsworth Elmore Elzie Ewell Fate Foy French Furman Gaylord Goebel Green Gust Hamp Henery Hobart Hosie Hyman Junious Lemon Less Lige Luster Mearl Moody Norval Otha Pink Pinkney Pleas Pleasant Rolla Rosevelt Rossie Sim Son Spurgeon Tallie Vester Wash Wayman Zollie Sometimes names that we consider "female-o