Hidden Gems or Never-Agains?: Unusual Girl Names from the 1910s

We previously explored some of the most unusual boy names from the 1910s. Now it is time to take a look at some interesting names given to females from 1910-1919.

Now, there were so very many names to browse through and I'm sure there are dozens more that could be added to this list, but these are some of the top choices I could find. 

All of these had either 5, 6 or 7 births for the year within the decade of the 1910s. The names came straight from the US Social Security Administration's data.

Let's get started! While some aren't quite as unusual as others, browse slowly and try to imagine what it would be like to live with one of these names:

Albirdia Allien Almeter Alphild Amparo Appie Areather Arloene Bannie Beedie Bernetha Binnie Birchie Bird Birdella Blandina Bleeker Blossie Bonzie Boots Borgny Brooxie Brownie Bular California Casilda Cellie Clatie Clesta Clevie Cliffie Clister Clova Cozy Creasie Cumi Darthula

Delight Delitha Dester Dicksie Dimples Domitila Dotsie Dymple Earnie Edmae Eduvigen Equilla Ercie Esteller Eulogia Euple Exilda Ezola Fairie Ferol Fleeta Folia Freedom Fritzi Gurtha Gypsy Happy Hellon Henretter Icel Inus Iota Kansas Lapriel Lauretha Leafie Leather

Leler Lockie Loice Lubie Maclovia Majel Mayo Mertice Methyl Mimmie Missouria Modest Narcissus Neppie Nervie Nieves Ninfa Nobia Novice Novis Occie Ogie Okie Ozite Pairlee Panagiota Panzie Parthena Peaches Peachie Pebble Pecolia Persis Piedad Pinkey Pleasant Plina

Porfiria Pricie Providence Quessie Reathel Rebel Refugio Rettie Rilda Senora Shadie Siller Simmie Sirkka Sissie Snoda Spicie Statia Stellar Sueno Sunbeam Swannie Sweetie Tassie Tatsue Tenner Theckla Thekla Theopal Thetis Thurza Thusnelda Tishie Toini Toots Topsy Toy

Trannie Treasie Trieste Trilby Tinnie Vandora Vangie Vanilla Velvie Verbal Vermell Verneal Verniece Verva Vicy Viletta Virgin Walburga Wanna Wavie Wealthy Weeda Welcome Westonia Willola Wilsie Wincie Wreatha Yaeko Yoshi Zannie Zeffie Zetha Zolar Zorka Zuella Zylphia

What do you think of this list? Pick a few names that catch your eye and share your choices in the comments below! Do you know anyone with an unusual name?

Have You Heard of These Unusual Boy Names from the 1910s?

Today we are zooming in on the decade of the 1910s to discover some of the most unusual names given to boys at the time.

I analyzed the data from the Social Security Administration and looked at the names at the very bottom for each year from 1910-1919. I pulled interesting names that only had 5-7 births per year, and I did so for each of those years.

Take a look at this list and try to remember that these were once names given to baby boys. Some of the boy names that I found within the far-reaches of the data were straight up words.

Here are some of the most interesting ones:

Admiral Battle Bland Boss Boots Carless Castle Champion Chief Choice Colon Coma Commodore Concetto Converse Doctor Doll Dunk English Fess Flake Fleet Fort Friend Gentle

Glee Happy Hooker Jolly Math Method Normal Orange Other Perfecto Precious President Press Seaborn Shade Smiley Speed Square Swift Tiny Tip Watt Welcome White Worthy

Here are even more unusual names that I handpicked from several hundred options. It was hard to narrow it down and know which to include and which to ignore, but these ones made the cut:

Albino Alcide Anibal Argyle Ausby Australia Barksdale Bilbo Bolish Boysie Brack Brainard Broadus Broughton Broward Brownie Brownlow Bubber Bunion Burdette Capus Cataldo Cledith Cleother Clim Cloid Cooley Curlee Deloss Delphis Dolphus Drexel Elree Emo Erdman Erling Ettore Eulis Fermin Flavil Flory	Flournoy Garwood Gildo Glade Goldman Irby Haakon Hargis Harless Harm Hartsell Hazen Helge Helmuth Hezzie Hipolito Hjalmer Holsey Hyrum Iwao Kee Kermith Knowlton Landrum Lankford Legrand Ludie Man Mancil Mayo Miner Mont Moultrie Nesbit Oather Offie Ottaway Oval Ovid Ozro Quitman	Pervie Pincus Pinkney Pledger Plez Pliny Plummer Printes Procopio Proctor Prosper Purvis  Rice Rolla Sambo Sarkis Sears Selso Sewell Sneed Squire Starling Stelmo Stonewall Stoy Swain Telesphore Temple Thelmon Thurl Trygve Tyrus Vasco Vernice Vestal Volney Waclaw Welch Wick Wingate Zoltan

Would you ever consider any of the names listed above? Have you met someone with one of these names, or something equally unusual?

Molly

This featured name is pulled from the list of names that end with the letters "-ly". This list is one of the longest ones in this series so far. It was full of great options, but I decided to highlight Molly.

Not many people will realize that Molly comes from the name Mary. It developed as a diminutive based on Malle and Molle over time. Polly is in the same boat.

Now, Mary ultimately comes from the Greek Mariam and Maria, which were from the Hebrew Miryam. The meaning of Mary has never been absolutely certain, but meanings such as "sea of bitterness," "rebelliousness," and "wished for child" have been thrown about as possibilities. It's also likely that Mary was originally an Egyptian name derived from mry meaning "beloved". So by association, Molly and all of Mary's other forms, variants and translations, mean the same thing.

In the US, Molly has always fared well as a stand-alone name. Since 1880, it has consistently remained within the top half the Top 1000. Even with all the history, Molly's high-point for most usage in a year came rather recently in 1991 with 4,651 births and a rank of #74. Molly has spent a lot of time in the Top 100 in the past 30 years. However, she's slightly on the decline now as of 2015's data which listed her as the 144th most popular name in the country based on 2,235 births for the year.

This decline in usage could be a result of the drug "ecstasy" being nicknamed molly. Not as many parents are willing to commit to the name, but there's clearly many that still do, whether they are familiar with the association or not. Despite that, there have been many famous Mollys over time and the name is regularly heard throughout pop culture. One of the first associations came from James Joyce's 1920 novel "Ulysses" in which the wife of the main character was called Molly Bloom. 

There's also the American Titanic survivor Margaret Brown who was nicknamed Molly. Additionally, the Irish community have a folk heroine called Molly Malone; and there's a song titled "Good Golly, Miss Molly" by Little Richard. These are just a few references among dozens of other Mollys out there. Do you have a favorite Molly?

What do you think of this name? Is it on your list? If so, here are a few ideas for middle names and sibling names for Molly:

Sibling Name Ideas: 
Sisters: Amelia, Charlotte, Elise, Lucy, Olivia, Sadie, Tessa
Brothers: Arthur, Evan, Henry, Liam, Nathan, Raymond, Warren

Middle Name Ideas:
Molly Abigail
Molly Evelyn
Molly Caroline
Molly Harper
Molly Rae
Molly Vivienne

As a Middle Name:
Alexandra Molly
Christina Molly
Eleanor Molly
Julianne Molly
Sabrina Molly
Viola Molly

What would you pair with the name Molly? Share your thoughts below!

Baby Names Ending With The Letters "-ly"

To continue our series, let's take a look at the many names that end with the letters -ly.  This list is not necessarily exhaustive, but it is fairly long and full of great options if -ly is your favorite end-sound.

Girl names:

Ally Amberly Aracely Beverly Billy Blakely Bly Caily Caitly Callalily Carly Cecily Chantilly Chavelly Cicely Connolly Daily Dolly Donnelly Eily Emily Everly Gilly Haverly Havily Heavenly Holly Ily Irely Italy Jessaly Joely Josaly July Kaily Karly Keely Keily Kelly Kessly Kimberly

Kirrily Lily Linsly Lolly Lovely Marely Mariely Molly Nallely Nathaly Nelly Nerilly Noely Orly Paigely Pialy Polly Reilly Romilly Sally Shyly Sicily Siddaly Sonaly Tally Temily Tessaly Thessaly Tigerlily Tilly Truely Truly Tully Vally Verily Waverly Weatherly Yanelly Yanely Zaily Zeely

Boy names:

Anatoly Beverly Billy Chavelly Connolly Dally Daly Donnelly Early Huntly Karoly Kelly Kimberly Landly Linsly Manly Mihaly Neely Nelly Olly Pauly Reilly Romilly Scully Sly Stokely Sully Telly Tully Vally Vasily Vassily Vitaly Wally Wassily Waverly Willy

Which of these do you like the most? Pick 3, any gender combination, and pair middle names with them! Share your name combos in the comments!

How Well Did My Sibsets Match from My "Statehood Initial Challenge" Series? [Part One]

Way back in January 2015, I began a little series on Instagram that featured the two-letter abbreviations of states within the USA.

I started with Delaware, the very first state that was given official statehood, and then I continued on from there. This has been a very long and slow series, but finally, two years later, we've reached the halfway point.

With each post, I would ask you to name a boy and a girl using those initials as the basis. And each time, I would also post my name choices for those letters.

Let's take a look back and see how my impulse naming panned out. Over time, did I actually create a family tree of names that might match nicely? Or did those names vary greatly with each state? How many times might I have repeated a name? I'm willing to bet that my general naming style fluctuated greatly, but, if you've followed my blog since the beginning, perhaps you'd find me somewhat predictable.

If you'd like to play along with this name game, you can either browse through my Instagram posts, or visit this album on Facebook.

1. DE -  Dante Evander & Dahlia Emmeline
2. PA -  Pierce Averill & Posey Augusta
3. NJ -  Nash Julian & Nova Jessamine
4. GA - Gregor August & Gesine Abigail
5. CT - Calvin Thomas & Cora Tamsin
6. MA - Maximus Alexander & Madeline Alice
7. MD - Malcolm David & Minerva Dawn
8. SC  - Stetson Cole & Sable Cressida
9. NH - Nicolai Harris & Nova Helene
10. VA - Vadden Alexis & Vienne Augusta
11. NY - Nathaniel York & Natasha Yve
12. NC - Noble Carlisle & Nova Caroline
13. RI - Rafferty Iwan & Rowan Isabelle
14. VT - Valor Thaddeus & Vella Temperance
15. KY - Killian Yannick & Kensington Yve
16. TN - Tristram Noel & Tabitha Nell
17. OH - Oscar Hadrian & Olive Hettienne
18. LA - Leopold August & Lavinia Aveline
19. IN - Isadore Noel & Isla Natalie
20. MS - Malcolm Silas & Mabel Sabrina
21. IL - Irving Lawrence & Ida Laurel
22. AL - Alexander Lincoln & Augusta Lily
23. ME - Marlon Elliott & Mavis Eleanor
24. MO - Miles Oliver & Maisie Octavia
25. AR - Asher Ramsey & Avara Raine

What are your thoughts about my choices? Remember, these are spread out over 2 years and I chose them rather spontaneously with each post. I didn't go back to see what other names I had used previously. I simply went with what I liked at the time. As a result, there are a few repeats.

Repeated Names:

Augusta: 3 / August: 2
Nova: 3
Alexander: 2
Malcolm: 2
Noel: 2
Yve: 2

What these names show me is that some weeks I was feeling bold, so I would pick something more unusual like Hettienne, Gesine, Vadden, Averill, Cressida, Vella or Avara.

Other times, I was in a bit of an old-fashioned mood so I went for names like Irving, Gregor, Marlon, Mavis, Malcolm, Mabel, Lawrence, Ida and Laurel.

And sometimes I would play it safe and go for something common and classic, such as Oliver, Alexander, Thomas, Lily, Caroline, Abigail and Isabelle.

If I had to choose one name that does not belong here, it would be Kensington. It's much more trendy than the rest and isn't usually my kind of name. I might also toss Stetson in the same category.

Overall, if there weren't any repeats, I'd say this would be quite an interesting family tree to be part of. What do you think? Did I choose any that catch your eye? Are there any that just don't belong?

Whenever the statehood series is finally concluded, (even if its another two years from now), I will post that set of 25 twins and see how they match up. Hopefully I won't repeat any from here on out but I can't guarantee it! Stay tuned!

Rocky

This name comes from our list of names ending with the letters "-ky". If you saw that article, you know that this is a very limited club of names, but there are definitely some cool choices. One of the coolest options from the list is Rocky.

Rocky is given as a full name, but it is also treated as more of a nickname. It could be considered a diminutive of the name Rocco which is a Germanic name from the element hrok which means "rest". Rocco is the patron saint of the sick.

However, as you may know, Rocky is not so much a saint as a famous fictional boxer. The Rocky franchise of movies starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky began in 1976 and is possibly the most well-known association with this name. Another association comes from the old cartoons "The Bullwinkle Show" and "Rocky and His Friends" both of which aired in the 1960s. These featured a flying squirrel named Rocky and his moose pal experiencing a variety of adventures. Interestingly, Rocky was short for "Rocket", which would definitely be a bold choice for a baby name today.

As a baby name in the US, Rocky appeared on the charts in 1913. In 1942, it entered the Top 1000 chart and had a great year in 1957 with its record-high 911 births for a single year. It had its ups and downs but has mostly remained within the Top 1000 except for the years 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2008-2012. Nowadays, Rocky still lingers in the #900s as a viable option for usage on a modern boy. There have even been a handful of female Rockys, including 6 in 2015, but mostly given between 1949-1984. Do you know anyone named Rocky?

If not, perhaps it would be an appealing choice for your child. If so, here are some ideas for middle names and sibling names for Rocky if you were to use it:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Ada, Dolly, Frankie, Laurel, Minnie, Robin, Vona
Brothers: Daryl, Jack, Jett, Lou, Mickey, Russell, Val

Middle Name Ideas:
Rocky Allen
Rocky Carter
Rocky James
Rocky Lucas
Rocky Oliver
Rocky William

As a Middle Name:
Alvin Rocky
Donald Rocky
George Rocky
Laurence Rocky
Max Rocky
Vince Rocky

These may be a bit unconventional and over-the-top, but they work if you strictly remain in the same tough, nicknamey vein as Rocky. What would YOU pair with Rocky?

Names Ending With The Letters"-ky"

We've covered nearly half the alphabet already. Sure, there are some letters that just won't fit into this category, so we have skipped a few of them. But here we are, arriving at letter K for a compilation of "-ky" names!

How many can you name off the top of your head? Luckily, you don't have to since I did the legwork for you! I even went so far as to include names ending with "-kie" since the choices were slim for "-ky" names.  Enjoy:

Girls: Becky   Jacky Lucky Nicky Pinky Ricky Sky Suky Vicky Beckie Cookie Frankie Jackie Lockie Markie Mickie Nickie Pinkie Rickie Rivkie Saskie Sookie Sukie Vickie

Boys:   Chucky Dicky Franky Jacky Ky Melky Nicky Ricky Rocky Sky Starsky Dickie Frankie Mackie Mickie Nickie Rickie

Can you think of any that I missed? Would you use any of these?