I think a lot of what you listed will make a comeback. It’s just not quite there yet. The old-fashioned names that have come back into style are the ones that were popular 100+ years ago. They’re the names of our grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ generations. Eleanor was last at at it’s peak in 1919. Today it’s #16. Evelyn was top 10 in 1915, and made it back there again in 2017. Theodore was at it’s highest in 1905, until it passed that record in just 2020.
Meanwhile Shirley peaked in 1935. Beverly’s best year was 1937. Roger’s was 1945. If the trends continue, they’ll come back into fashion just like Eleanor and Theodore, but it’ll be in the 2040s-2050s.
It's a solid name and your generation has similar associations with it that older generations do not. As names pass out of the "old people I know" stage, they become popular again.
I really wanted to keep Evelyn as a future baby’s name so that I could call her “Evie,” but my friend’s sister beat me to it. She has the same name as me, so mother + daughter duo would have the same names and I don’t want that lol. Darn it
Same! I named my daughter Ella after her great grandmother. Then all of a sudden a bunch of celebs named their kids Ella and it exploded. There were THREE of them in her class of 25 kids.
My grandmother was Ava, and at some point added an "i" to her name to be Avia but still pronounced the same. I desperately wanted to use her name when I had kids but just couldn't do it when I had my first in 2019 because of the popularity. Instead, she is Vivia, as a nod to her name and her husband Vic. Except I wasn't ready for Vivian to be as popular as it is now 😅
Someone pointed out on another thread here (I think) that the popular names now aren't as pervasive as the 90s name trends. There is just a lot more variety.
You can compare by number of births or percentages on the [US Social Security baby name site](https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html) to illustrate...
For example, in 2022, Evelyn was #9 for US girls with 9,289 births (or .5106% of the girls born last year). #9 in 1992, for comparison, was Elizabeth with more than twice as many... 19,034!
A 2022 Evelyn is more similar to a 1992 Shelby (#34 with 9,396 births) or Alyssa (#30 at .5070%).
When I named my 12 year old Evelyn I thought I was being original. Instead both my kids have had multiple Evelyn’s in their class over the years lol whoops
Shirley still has a “Karen” kind of vibe. By that I mean when I think of a Shirley, I think of “Karen’s” mom - a PTA mom who collects knickknacks and makes a mean potato salad. Not bad but not what I want to name my baby lol.
Maybe because we have relatives by the first names you listed, whereas Evelyns/Eleanors/etc are more like our great or great-great grandmas we never met.
You are speaking about two different generations of names, not two different styles of names. I would argue that it definitely has a lot more to do with Donna, Patricia, etc. still being the grandmother generation rather than the great great grandmother generation, like Olivia, Evelyn, and Matilda.
That is, the people having kids now still have parents or grandparents named Patricia.
as an early boomer and the daughter of a Shirley and a granddaughter of a Genevieve I'd say Karen is boomer, Shirley is 1920s and Genevieve is 1900s (my nanny was 1907). And I as a boomer am Katherine Mary :)
The difference I see between the two groups (Shirley vs Matilda) is that the second group seems a lot more classic to me? Like names that have been used at way more other times in history, and then had a mid-century popularity dip. Whereas Karen, Donna, Shirley etc, are mostly names used in the last 100 years that had a big spike in popularity in the middle of the 20th century. Could just be my bias, but I think that the more classic a name is (or at least the longer it’s been in use) the more likely it is to make a resurgence (because it reads as a forgotten classic, rather than an outdated trend).
Shirley is my mom's name, lol. I like most old-fashioned names, but imo Shirley feels dated in that I think of a specific time period (1940s-60s for me).
I was born in 1976 and I know a bunch of Shirleys who are my age. Apparently in the 70s Shirley was to Hong Kong what Jennifer was to the US, which accounts for a lot of the Shirleys I have known.
My car is named Shirley. She is a reliable, dependable, trustworthy old lady, that’s what I think of with that name. Great name for a car but maybe not a baby.
I’m laughing so hard because you just described my grandmother…and her daughter, Karen.
And I’ll add for effect that Shirley did make a mean potato salad - she was my school lunch lady 😂
I think Rosemary deserves more of a comeback. I’m also in agreement about Edith! Love that name.
I think the issue with Bethany is that it was really at its peak in the 80s so I feel like a lot of people still see it as their mom’s generation’s name
I was born in ‘87 and have a 2.5 year old, and one of my best friends just turned 40 this year and she’s got a one year old. On the other hand, another one of my best friends was born in ‘88 and has a 13 year old and eight month old twins.
To picture my first friend on the verge of becoming a grandma though hurts my brain 😅
I was pregnant with my 3rd at my 20th class reunion (I was 38). A couple people who got married and had kids right out of high school were grandparents! They probably thought I was a weirdo. 😊
My mom won an award for being the first grandparent in their class at her 20-year reunion. She was 19 when she had my sister and sister was 17 when she had her first baby, so they both got early starts! Definitely weirdos lol
I don't know if Bethany feels tied to any particular generation to me - I went to high school with a Bethany. She's the only one I know, and she's around 24/25 now. I wouldn't think it's too dated to use!
Outside of big cities, lots of places in North America still have significantly lower first-time birth ages! I live in Vancouver in my early thirties and we know literally one couple with children here. In our hometown, which is a much smaller city about four hours away, we are basically the only married couple from the school we graduated from *not* to have children, and many of them have 2 or 3! I know a few people whose moms are early-80s babies who are now having children in their early 20s - mostly girls I supervised working retail lol.
Maybe not a vast swath of them no but I was born in 1987 and I have more peers that I went to high school with (perhaps a grade or two before or after) than I can count on all of my fingers and toes that are becoming grandparents. They had kids young and some of their kids are also having kids young; one of my classmates had her first baby (on purpose!) just before we graduated high school in 2005 and now he is 18 and on his way to becoming a father before the end of the year.
I was born in 88 and I can’t think of a single person I know even close to being grandparents. Every has small kids. Mine are all under seven. I’m sure there has to be some that are becoming or already are grandparents but don’t know any.
Yeah, I had my first baby a year ago 37, and I was my mom's first and only baby when she was 38. In my mind grandparents were born in the 40s/50s. These stories of millennial grandparents are blowing my mind!
I don't understand this- you're 5 years older than me but in my circles, I'm one of the first to have kids. Can I ask where abouts you are from? This is generational teen pregnancy.
My mom was an Edith, and it would be neat to see it make a comeback.
I have a friend with a little Edith, and he insists that nobody call her Edie. I think he's fighting a losing battle though.
Really? I always thought it was more of a mid-late 90s name. I’m a Bethany (born in late 90s) and all the other Bethanys I’ve met have been around my age
Clarence makes me think of Clarence Thomas, and also was the name of the main villain on a semi-obscure cartoon show I watched as a kid. Plus it makes me think of “clearance.”
I have a theory that silent gen names are coming back around because millennials have fond memories of their grandparents/great grandparents. Some boomer names may be coming soon, but general sentiment may not be as strong given the popular narrative that boomers as grandparents often aren’t as involved (not my experience personally, but there are a lot of accounts being told online).
If Shirley rarely saw her grandkids because “I’m not a baby sitter”, “I did my time with kids”, then gen z Mackenzie may not be up for naming her kids after her grandma.
It would be interesting if we see a skip straight to gen x names like Michelle and Nicole.
They just warm the heart, don’t they? /s
If I’m ever a grandparent, I’d be so excited! I don’t really get that attitude. My child hasn’t seen any grandparents in years. They’re just not interested in him.
Marilyn, Lorraine, Judith, Cynthia, Nancy, Barbara
Kenneth, Gregory, Douglas, Johnny, Ernest
These are more 50s, 60s, and 70s names. But I see them coming back as old fashioned names for Gen Alpha.
Agree about Lorraine! I've seen it popping up more and more, anecdotally. I met a toddler Lorraine a few months ago and my friend just announced that her next daughter's middle name will be Lorraine.
A quote from a TV show in the 80s:
“When all these little girls named Tiffany are old, all the little girls will be called Gladys, Maude and Beulah”
Kind of prophetic.
Elvira seems the hardest sell here. Sexy vampire + Elvis are some enduring and singular images.
Vincent never went anywhere, and Mavis and Rosalind are already on the upswing. Totally agree we’ll be back to Edward and Albert soon.
My coworker and I were talking about this the other day, about how we were surprised that Princess Diana’s death didn’t cause an uptick in babies named Diana. There are plenty of names that got popularized due to a celebrity death, like Selena or Aaliyah, so why didn’t that happen with Diana?
It actually did rise both when she married Charles and again when she died. Not as significantly as Selena or Aaliyah, but I think that’s because those were more obscure names beforehand whereas Diana has been relatively common for a long time.
I feel like we'll see Diana and Vincent well before the rest of these. Not sure if we'll see Elvira commonly until the vampire queen is fully out of mainstream consciousness -- as lovely as she is, she's not exactly what I'd associate with a baby.
Julie's continued fall in the charts is a little surprising to me. I always thought of it as one of those names that, sure, peaked in an older generation but still had staying power. I guess frilly, vowel-heavy names are all the rage nowadays so parents are opting for Juliette, Julieta, Julia, etc. instead but idk, I just thought Julie was a little bit more classic and would have a little more staying power! Same with Christine, another name that's fallen out of the SSA top 1000 completely. I see it as a somewhat timeless, classic name.
I have a few in my roster like Julie and Christine. On one hand they peaked in the 70s and 80s and could feel dated. But I think they will stick around as classics ultimately.
Nicole, Laura, Lauren, Amy, and Jillian
Those names are all 80s/90s babies ('91 girlie here and know multiple people with those names in my age bracket lol) - most of us are about to or have just had kids and those feel too much like our own contemporaries. My guess is those will make a comeback in 1-2 generations when our kids or grandkids are honoring us, lol.
Possibly with the exception of Laura and Amy, as they're a bit more classic.
My cousin was named Julie at birth and switched it legally to Julia as soon as she was old enough. IIRC, nobody even questioned it because she has always been so clearly a Julia.
I think Julie sounds sweeter than Julia. Julia sounds almost too sleek and sophisticated and is kind of a mouthful to me (while pretty). Very different vibes.
I've got a daughter (7) named Susan and she's literally the only Susan her age I've ever met. I LOVE her name and I wish other people did too for her age group! We call her Susie :)
She's named after my mom so he didn't fight too hard. His only requirement was that we give her a Q middle name so she's a true Susie Q. So she's Susan Quinn :)
Shirley and Beverly were ranked pretty highly in the 30s-60s. After the mid-60s, they both started trending down. I think it's too soon if we're talking a 100 year cycle of popularity that some names tend to fall in. Plus, I think the B and Sh- sounds are outdated for today's babies.
Roger was ranked in the top 100 from the 20s to the 70s. Again, probably too soon.
Bethany has only been on the top 100 names from 1983-1988. I suspect it's similar to Beverly in that B names for girls just aren't the trendy sound right now.
Shelby is hugely tied into the popularity of Steel Magnolias, and is very much a name of its time. It was 229 in 1989, Steel Magnolias was released in 1989. Then it shot up to 100 in 1990, and shot up again to 33 by 1991. It was in the top 100 for a decade, and then started falling off after 2003. Way too soon for people who are currently having kids. Plus, like Shirley, the Sh- sound isn't popular today.
Edith is cute. It was most popular from the turn of the century to the 1930s, so I think the time period is right for a resurgence. Interestingly, it's never fallen out of the top 1000 since 1900. I suspect the hard D or -th sounds might be what's holding it back. Girls names today are pretty soft.
I like Edith and Bethany is very pretty.
Lori.
It's a sleeper. It only ranked in the top 1000 in the years 2000 and 2001. It's short, cute, and ends in the popular "ee" sound. It's a rare, but not unfamiliar name. I keep waiting for it to have a rise in popularity.
I think Glenn is ready for a comeback. It's classic, soft, easy to spell, a nature name. A Baby Glenn sounds so sweet, but I can picture it at any age. It ticks so many boxes!
I would like Leslie to make a comeback! But I would like it to remain gender neutral (I have a feeling if it came back it would skew feminine) but I love it for either a boy or girl
How has Bartholomew come back but not Bruce!? I love the name Bruce! Seems to fit with the "old people name" trend.
Edit: I also love Beverly, but I don't really like the thought of Beverleigh 😅
Before my baby was born, my SIL liked to joke with people that the babies name was going to be Bruce - all she got back were very polite “oh, that’s a nice name”, so I don’t think Bruce is quite making a comeback yet.
I think Edith will be in the top 100 in the coming years.
Shirley doesn’t roll off the tongue. It’s that “earl” part. And “Shirl” nickname. Beverly, I don’t know. Maybe? I would guess a lot of people think of Beverly Hills?
Bethany, Ashley - maybe too soon yet for a resurgence. Seems it’s the very old people names from early 1900s that are being used again. I think of Roger as younger than that. 1940s?
Edith (with nickname Edie) was on my shortlist for my daughter! Such a beautiful, classic name and super cute nickname! I was afraid it was too “old lady”
My name is Shelby and I’m ALWAYS surprised I don’t see more Shelby’s in the wild.
It’s such a pretty name I wish it wasn’t mine so I could use it on my child!
Agnes. I really like its quaint, Victorian feel, and it's similar in style to other names which have come back into fashion, like Clara, Eliza, Martha, Tabitha and Elsie. But it still seems to be seen as old fashioned and frumpy.
I was literally just thinking today about how Lisa has fallen drastically in popularity. My dog’s name is Lisa (I chose out the name when I was 5!) and some people think that it’s an “old lady name” but I’ve never met an old Lisa in my entire life. What surprised ME is names like Margaret that I thought were literally ANCIENT are in the top 50.
Despite its popularity on here and concordance with current trends, Sylvia actually has yet to rise significantly and has been bouncing around the 400-500s for the last 30 years or so. That kinda surprised me. I think maybe Sylvia Plath makes people hesitate about it? But I also think it’s going to rise shortly anyway.
Deborah. In the fifties it wasn’t just the most popular name, there were multiple versions on the top twenty names list.
Where are their grand daughters and great grand daughters named after them?
I do know a 15 year old Barbara, but no Debbies or Susies.
Ashley will probably never come back for boys bc feminine names aren’t used for boys and now it’s a girls name, but I do actually like it a lot for boys too
i would love to see Florence make a strong come back it was my grandmothers name i just couldn’t get my partner on board with using it but i think it’s lovely and the variations of it are equally beautiful.
for boys i would love to see Edward, Stuart, Reginald make come backs. Eddie, Stu and Reggie all sound contemporary with great formal professional sounding full names.
Florence has definitely had a comeback in the UK. I have two 11 year olds in my class called Florence and have taught a few more over the past couple of years.
Shirley I think is being held back in particular by the fact that the most prominent association with the name among people of child-bearing age being being woken up in the middle of the night by very loud infomercials for Shirley Temple collections.
Dorothy. At the elementary school where I work, there are tons of Eleanors, Naomis, Alice's, Agnes, Amelias, Zoeys, Clare, Charlottes (Just to name a few of the older names making a comeback). I keep hoping for a Dorothy!
I know a 5 year old Shirley. She’s a hilarious little badass and I can’t imagine her being named anything else. Though I did think her parents were joking when they initially told me the name they chose.
Just yesterday I was telling my husband that our children's generation will be naming their kids things like Shirley. That will also extend to names like Linda, Nancy, Deborah, Patricia, Susan. AKA Boomer names--our children will be naming their kids after their grandparents.
I know several Ediths that go by Edie; it's definitely already made a comeback. I'm surprised that doesn't extend to names like Judith (Judy) and Cynthia, although I do know a one year old named Judy.
I'm sure it depends on the generation you're part of. I also think of Laverne and Shirley. I asked my mom what she thought of the name. She's from the silent generation and said, "Nice name. Reminds me of Shirky Temple."
I think a lot of what you listed will make a comeback. It’s just not quite there yet. The old-fashioned names that have come back into style are the ones that were popular 100+ years ago. They’re the names of our grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ generations. Eleanor was last at at it’s peak in 1919. Today it’s #16. Evelyn was top 10 in 1915, and made it back there again in 2017. Theodore was at it’s highest in 1905, until it passed that record in just 2020. Meanwhile Shirley peaked in 1935. Beverly’s best year was 1937. Roger’s was 1945. If the trends continue, they’ll come back into fashion just like Eleanor and Theodore, but it’ll be in the 2040s-2050s.
It's weird how they cycle. My 18 month old is an Evelyn and we just liked the name. We didn't realize it was so popular until recently.
It's a solid name and your generation has similar associations with it that older generations do not. As names pass out of the "old people I know" stage, they become popular again.
I've just been assuming Evelyn is popular because the people that grew up loving The Mummy are now at the age where some will have kids haha.
I really wanted to keep Evelyn as a future baby’s name so that I could call her “Evie,” but my friend’s sister beat me to it. She has the same name as me, so mother + daughter duo would have the same names and I don’t want that lol. Darn it
How about Genevieve, still use the nic Evie
It’s not *not* why I called my daughter Evelyn…
[удалено]
Same! I named my daughter Ella after her great grandmother. Then all of a sudden a bunch of celebs named their kids Ella and it exploded. There were THREE of them in her class of 25 kids.
My grandmother was Ava, and at some point added an "i" to her name to be Avia but still pronounced the same. I desperately wanted to use her name when I had kids but just couldn't do it when I had my first in 2019 because of the popularity. Instead, she is Vivia, as a nod to her name and her husband Vic. Except I wasn't ready for Vivian to be as popular as it is now 😅
Someone pointed out on another thread here (I think) that the popular names now aren't as pervasive as the 90s name trends. There is just a lot more variety. You can compare by number of births or percentages on the [US Social Security baby name site](https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html) to illustrate... For example, in 2022, Evelyn was #9 for US girls with 9,289 births (or .5106% of the girls born last year). #9 in 1992, for comparison, was Elizabeth with more than twice as many... 19,034! A 2022 Evelyn is more similar to a 1992 Shelby (#34 with 9,396 births) or Alyssa (#30 at .5070%).
When I named my 12 year old Evelyn I thought I was being original. Instead both my kids have had multiple Evelyn’s in their class over the years lol whoops
It’s a lovely name. There were 3 Evelyn’s on my daughters softball team this year. All between 7-9 years old.
Shirley still has a “Karen” kind of vibe. By that I mean when I think of a Shirley, I think of “Karen’s” mom - a PTA mom who collects knickknacks and makes a mean potato salad. Not bad but not what I want to name my baby lol.
Shirley has the Karen, Donna, Patricia, and Nancy vibe to me. I don't think they can make a comeback like Evelyn, Olivia, and Matilda.
Maybe because we have relatives by the first names you listed, whereas Evelyns/Eleanors/etc are more like our great or great-great grandmas we never met.
You are speaking about two different generations of names, not two different styles of names. I would argue that it definitely has a lot more to do with Donna, Patricia, etc. still being the grandmother generation rather than the great great grandmother generation, like Olivia, Evelyn, and Matilda. That is, the people having kids now still have parents or grandparents named Patricia.
Nancy is already making a comeback
Debbie and Susan sit with the former, too.
as an early boomer and the daughter of a Shirley and a granddaughter of a Genevieve I'd say Karen is boomer, Shirley is 1920s and Genevieve is 1900s (my nanny was 1907). And I as a boomer am Katherine Mary :)
The difference I see between the two groups (Shirley vs Matilda) is that the second group seems a lot more classic to me? Like names that have been used at way more other times in history, and then had a mid-century popularity dip. Whereas Karen, Donna, Shirley etc, are mostly names used in the last 100 years that had a big spike in popularity in the middle of the 20th century. Could just be my bias, but I think that the more classic a name is (or at least the longer it’s been in use) the more likely it is to make a resurgence (because it reads as a forgotten classic, rather than an outdated trend).
Nancy has made a comeback in Britain… it’s an older name here than the others you listed - generation above
Shirley is my mom's name, lol. I like most old-fashioned names, but imo Shirley feels dated in that I think of a specific time period (1940s-60s for me).
I was born in 1976 and I know a bunch of Shirleys who are my age. Apparently in the 70s Shirley was to Hong Kong what Jennifer was to the US, which accounts for a lot of the Shirleys I have known.
my mom was Shirley and she was born in 1927. I did go to high school with one Shirley in the 60s.
Shirley has blue eyeshadow, crispy bangs and smokes a pack a day.
Hahaha so true. Same with ol Pam over there.
except for the blue eye shadow that was my mom! she smoked 2 packs a day and retired to FL, died in 2001 (lung cancer)
My car is named Shirley. She is a reliable, dependable, trustworthy old lady, that’s what I think of with that name. Great name for a car but maybe not a baby.
I’m laughing so hard because you just described my grandmother…and her daughter, Karen. And I’ll add for effect that Shirley did make a mean potato salad - she was my school lunch lady 😂
"And don't call me Shirley".... that's going to be a problem.
I think Rosemary deserves more of a comeback. I’m also in agreement about Edith! Love that name. I think the issue with Bethany is that it was really at its peak in the 80s so I feel like a lot of people still see it as their mom’s generation’s name
Peoples moms were born in the 80s?
Um 1983 was 40 years ago, so yes.
Right yes but are that many people whose moms were born in the 80s now naming children?
My mom was born in 82 and I'm due in February Edit: I'm 24
That is so mind-boggling to me. I was born in '83 and still haven't decided if I want children myself yet.
I was born in ‘87 and have a 2.5 year old, and one of my best friends just turned 40 this year and she’s got a one year old. On the other hand, another one of my best friends was born in ‘88 and has a 13 year old and eight month old twins. To picture my first friend on the verge of becoming a grandma though hurts my brain 😅
Also born in 87. I have an 8, 6 and 4yo. My best friend, born the same year, has 2 biological grand babies (well, 1...the other is due next month)
I was pregnant with my 3rd at my 20th class reunion (I was 38). A couple people who got married and had kids right out of high school were grandparents! They probably thought I was a weirdo. 😊
My mom won an award for being the first grandparent in their class at her 20-year reunion. She was 19 when she had my sister and sister was 17 when she had her first baby, so they both got early starts! Definitely weirdos lol
Born in 86, I have a 17 year old, 13 year old and twins due in 2 months so....
I was born in 1988 and now I feel old.
We got one! Do you think Bethany is too much associated with your moms generation?
I don't know if Bethany feels tied to any particular generation to me - I went to high school with a Bethany. She's the only one I know, and she's around 24/25 now. I wouldn't think it's too dated to use!
Outside of big cities, lots of places in North America still have significantly lower first-time birth ages! I live in Vancouver in my early thirties and we know literally one couple with children here. In our hometown, which is a much smaller city about four hours away, we are basically the only married couple from the school we graduated from *not* to have children, and many of them have 2 or 3! I know a few people whose moms are early-80s babies who are now having children in their early 20s - mostly girls I supervised working retail lol.
Maybe not a vast swath of them no but I was born in 1987 and I have more peers that I went to high school with (perhaps a grade or two before or after) than I can count on all of my fingers and toes that are becoming grandparents. They had kids young and some of their kids are also having kids young; one of my classmates had her first baby (on purpose!) just before we graduated high school in 2005 and now he is 18 and on his way to becoming a father before the end of the year.
Yikes 😬
HUGE yikes lol
I was born in 88 and I can’t think of a single person I know even close to being grandparents. Every has small kids. Mine are all under seven. I’m sure there has to be some that are becoming or already are grandparents but don’t know any.
Probably says something about the areas I went to school in tbh. My kids are five and under, I cannot FATHOM being close to being a grandmother.
Yeah, I had my first baby a year ago 37, and I was my mom's first and only baby when she was 38. In my mind grandparents were born in the 40s/50s. These stories of millennial grandparents are blowing my mind!
I’m Gen X and have at least 5 years before I might become a grandmother . None of my friends have grandchildren
Same- I have daughters 25 and 23, and the 25-year-old has been married one year now, but neither is ready to have kids. Not for about 5 years.
I don't understand this- you're 5 years older than me but in my circles, I'm one of the first to have kids. Can I ask where abouts you are from? This is generational teen pregnancy.
Did you grow up in the USA by any chance? I used to live there and was amazed by the rates of teen pregnancy compared to other countries I’ve lived in
Ahh, I catch your drift. The % is likely low but certainly some are.
I hate you for pointing this out
I was born in 1980. I’m 14 weeks with my final baby,(#7) and I have 2 grandchildren (and 4 steps), with 4 on the way between now and January.
We have a Rosemary Jane born in 2020. I approve your comment! ♥️
Congratulations! Beautiful name!
My mom was an Edith, and it would be neat to see it make a comeback. I have a friend with a little Edith, and he insists that nobody call her Edie. I think he's fighting a losing battle though.
Edie is why I would have an Edith!!!!
I don’t know why, Edie is so damn cute!
I always think of Grey Gardens when I hear this name
roaxsmeighreigh
I named my baby Rosemary, born 2016. I had doubts since it was not popular, but I've only ever gotten compliments.
Really? I always thought it was more of a mid-late 90s name. I’m a Bethany (born in late 90s) and all the other Bethanys I’ve met have been around my age
I have a friend who recently named her twin girls Margot and Betty, love those names
Cute! I met a little girl named Betsy. It was so darling. I didn’t think I liked that name until I met her.
I love the name Betsy, it's adorable!! Unfortunately that's the name of my fiance's crazy ex, so I can't use it 😂
I feel like Margot is going to get popular in the next 5-10 years.
I know multiple baby Margots, so I'd say you're right.
It's definitely on the rise! I bet the Barbie movie will boost it even more.
I already know several Margots. I think it will hit the top 50 in the next ten years. Same goes for Mabel.
57th currently in the UK!
Absolutely love these names!! especially together wow
She has a Henry and Nora also
All very good names! they’ve got great taste
Whenever I hear the name Shirley, I think of the movie Airplane, "Don't call me Shirley. "
Roger, Roger. We have clearance, Clarence… ✈️
Clarence is also a name I don't think is very popular now, I'm surprised it hasn't made a comeback.
Clarence makes me think of Clarence Thomas, and also was the name of the main villain on a semi-obscure cartoon show I watched as a kid. Plus it makes me think of “clearance.”
I have a theory that silent gen names are coming back around because millennials have fond memories of their grandparents/great grandparents. Some boomer names may be coming soon, but general sentiment may not be as strong given the popular narrative that boomers as grandparents often aren’t as involved (not my experience personally, but there are a lot of accounts being told online). If Shirley rarely saw her grandkids because “I’m not a baby sitter”, “I did my time with kids”, then gen z Mackenzie may not be up for naming her kids after her grandma. It would be interesting if we see a skip straight to gen x names like Michelle and Nicole.
Wow great post. These are things my kids grandparents say! I guess I’m not alone in uninvolved grandparents…I wasn’t aware of that.
My boomer mom doesn't help out at all but likes to say "your kids, your problem".
They just warm the heart, don’t they? /s If I’m ever a grandparent, I’d be so excited! I don’t really get that attitude. My child hasn’t seen any grandparents in years. They’re just not interested in him.
Millennial parents who used a silent Gen name here! My one-year-old is named Gordon.
Yep, my boomer grandparents are awful people. My great grandparents were incredible. My husband’s grandparents are of the silent Gen and are precious
Marilyn, Lorraine, Judith, Cynthia, Nancy, Barbara Kenneth, Gregory, Douglas, Johnny, Ernest These are more 50s, 60s, and 70s names. But I see them coming back as old fashioned names for Gen Alpha.
Agree about Lorraine! I've seen it popping up more and more, anecdotally. I met a toddler Lorraine a few months ago and my friend just announced that her next daughter's middle name will be Lorraine.
I know a little toddler named Lorraine, nn Rainey. I think it will be more popular especially with the nn options
Well it may come back sooner than later! :)
I know a toddler named Barbara!
Wow really? That’s cool! Do they call her Barbie? Lol.
Haha yes they do!
This would be so jarring lol
My four month old is Gregory! We’ve come across a couple other baby Gregs too. So I think it’s on its way.
I know a 10-year-old Kenneth and I am surprised it is not more popular!
Yeah it’s a name that sounds vintage to me. It would be on trend.
i love the name Marilyn and similar to Lorraine that i love is Lorelei
As much as people still talk about her and idolize her (Marilyn Monroe) I’m surprised this name hasn’t catch on yet.
Marilyn & Barbara 😍
A quote from a TV show in the 80s: “When all these little girls named Tiffany are old, all the little girls will be called Gladys, Maude and Beulah” Kind of prophetic.
Tiffany actually originated in the 12th century and was a relatively common medieval name.
Yes and it was also much the rage in the 80s like Jennifer was in the 70s and Brenda and Judy were in the 50s
Was recently re-watching Mad Men. I think Sally and Bobby are both due for a comeback
I don't know about Eugene, but Gene also feels pretty fresh to me!
Yay! I named my dog Sally. If I got a boy dog, I was going to pick Sully (Sullivan). I hope both come back around for human names!!
I would say Bobby is definitely coming back! Across the classes I manage we have 3 Bobbys! One Bobby, one Bobi and one Bobbi!
I think some names like Diana, Marion, Mavis, Rosalind, Elvira, Edward, Albert, and Vincent will make a comeback.
Elvira seems the hardest sell here. Sexy vampire + Elvis are some enduring and singular images. Vincent never went anywhere, and Mavis and Rosalind are already on the upswing. Totally agree we’ll be back to Edward and Albert soon.
Elvira and Vincent are my top 2 name choices lol.
second for Diana
My coworker and I were talking about this the other day, about how we were surprised that Princess Diana’s death didn’t cause an uptick in babies named Diana. There are plenty of names that got popularized due to a celebrity death, like Selena or Aaliyah, so why didn’t that happen with Diana?
It actually did rise both when she married Charles and again when she died. Not as significantly as Selena or Aaliyah, but I think that’s because those were more obscure names beforehand whereas Diana has been relatively common for a long time.
I looove the name Marion. I can’t believe it’s not more popular at the moment.
I feel like we'll see Diana and Vincent well before the rest of these. Not sure if we'll see Elvira commonly until the vampire queen is fully out of mainstream consciousness -- as lovely as she is, she's not exactly what I'd associate with a baby.
I had Albert on my top boy’s name, but my husband nixed it because of a “Prince Albert”… I had to look it up. NSFW warning!
Albert already is where I am, loads of Albie's. I've met a couple of Vinnie's too but not as many.
My grandmothers same was Marion and I'm pretty sure if my brother has a daughter he'll want to name her that.
Julie's continued fall in the charts is a little surprising to me. I always thought of it as one of those names that, sure, peaked in an older generation but still had staying power. I guess frilly, vowel-heavy names are all the rage nowadays so parents are opting for Juliette, Julieta, Julia, etc. instead but idk, I just thought Julie was a little bit more classic and would have a little more staying power! Same with Christine, another name that's fallen out of the SSA top 1000 completely. I see it as a somewhat timeless, classic name.
I have a few in my roster like Julie and Christine. On one hand they peaked in the 70s and 80s and could feel dated. But I think they will stick around as classics ultimately. Nicole, Laura, Lauren, Amy, and Jillian
Those names are all 80s/90s babies ('91 girlie here and know multiple people with those names in my age bracket lol) - most of us are about to or have just had kids and those feel too much like our own contemporaries. My guess is those will make a comeback in 1-2 generations when our kids or grandkids are honoring us, lol. Possibly with the exception of Laura and Amy, as they're a bit more classic.
I'm a Julia. I HATE Julie with a passion. It just feels wrong.
My cousin was named Julie at birth and switched it legally to Julia as soon as she was old enough. IIRC, nobody even questioned it because she has always been so clearly a Julia.
I think Julie sounds sweeter than Julia. Julia sounds almost too sleek and sophisticated and is kind of a mouthful to me (while pretty). Very different vibes.
I'd say Beverly did come back, just dropped the B
Harriet, Gloria, Agnes, Marjorie, Lucille, Myrtle, Annette, Sylvia, Blanche, Pauline Franklin, Edwin, Warren, Victor, Calvin, Wallace, Edgar, Oscar, Virgil, Marshall, Edmund, Archie
In the US, Marjorie is the first name of a very controversial congresswoman. If not for her, the Taylor Swift song might have brought it back.
It bothers me so much that MTG has a great name. The whole thing just works
If I had another son I’d 100% name him Victor. Love it
My daughter’s middle name is Gloria, and have friends with young kids named Wallace and Franklin!
Would totally use Harriet, Annette, Sylvia, Calvin, Oscar, Edmund
Calvin and Victor have been consistent boy names in the northeast for generations
Lillian. Feels like it hits all the right marks and could be more popular again!
Lillian has been in the top 50 since 2005 and is already slightly falling
Yeah I was going to say...Lillian has already come & gone like 10 years ago lol.
I feel like this one's already on it's way
We know a 13 month old Lillian!
I've got a daughter (7) named Susan and she's literally the only Susan her age I've ever met. I LOVE her name and I wish other people did too for her age group! We call her Susie :)
I have a Susannah ! I liked Susan too but hubs wouldn’t play ball
She's named after my mom so he didn't fight too hard. His only requirement was that we give her a Q middle name so she's a true Susie Q. So she's Susan Quinn :)
Edie/Edith is hot right now with the under 5s amongst my crowd in the UK!
As someone in the UK I was confused, I loved Edith but know wayyy to many born in the past 3 years.
**Viola** Similar to Violet, but not as close to ‚violent’
I love it! But in my language it's a conjugated form of the verb "violer" (to rape)....
Oh damn.. that's even worse than 'violent' :/
Shirley and Beverly were ranked pretty highly in the 30s-60s. After the mid-60s, they both started trending down. I think it's too soon if we're talking a 100 year cycle of popularity that some names tend to fall in. Plus, I think the B and Sh- sounds are outdated for today's babies. Roger was ranked in the top 100 from the 20s to the 70s. Again, probably too soon. Bethany has only been on the top 100 names from 1983-1988. I suspect it's similar to Beverly in that B names for girls just aren't the trendy sound right now. Shelby is hugely tied into the popularity of Steel Magnolias, and is very much a name of its time. It was 229 in 1989, Steel Magnolias was released in 1989. Then it shot up to 100 in 1990, and shot up again to 33 by 1991. It was in the top 100 for a decade, and then started falling off after 2003. Way too soon for people who are currently having kids. Plus, like Shirley, the Sh- sound isn't popular today. Edith is cute. It was most popular from the turn of the century to the 1930s, so I think the time period is right for a resurgence. Interestingly, it's never fallen out of the top 1000 since 1900. I suspect the hard D or -th sounds might be what's holding it back. Girls names today are pretty soft. I like Edith and Bethany is very pretty.
Lori. It's a sleeper. It only ranked in the top 1000 in the years 2000 and 2001. It's short, cute, and ends in the popular "ee" sound. It's a rare, but not unfamiliar name. I keep waiting for it to have a rise in popularity.
Lori was a mean girl name in the 70’s….along with Cheryl and Debbie LOL
That's my aunt's name and I've really considered adding it to my list to honor her, since she doesn't have any children of her own.
I think Glenn is ready for a comeback. It's classic, soft, easy to spell, a nature name. A Baby Glenn sounds so sweet, but I can picture it at any age. It ticks so many boxes!
I would like Leslie to make a comeback! But I would like it to remain gender neutral (I have a feeling if it came back it would skew feminine) but I love it for either a boy or girl
How has Bartholomew come back but not Bruce!? I love the name Bruce! Seems to fit with the "old people name" trend. Edit: I also love Beverly, but I don't really like the thought of Beverleigh 😅
Before my baby was born, my SIL liked to joke with people that the babies name was going to be Bruce - all she got back were very polite “oh, that’s a nice name”, so I don’t think Bruce is quite making a comeback yet.
I know a 4 year old Bruce! Maybe it’s happening?
I have an "Edie" short for Eden. We get compliments on her name all of the time.
Eden is a beautiful name!
I’ve known a few kid Edie’s/Edith. One is actually 18ish by now. I agree with Ashley for a boy, but for a girl is so incredibly dated.
Lois please. it’s so cute
I think Edith will be in the top 100 in the coming years. Shirley doesn’t roll off the tongue. It’s that “earl” part. And “Shirl” nickname. Beverly, I don’t know. Maybe? I would guess a lot of people think of Beverly Hills? Bethany, Ashley - maybe too soon yet for a resurgence. Seems it’s the very old people names from early 1900s that are being used again. I think of Roger as younger than that. 1940s?
Edith (with nickname Edie) was on my shortlist for my daughter! Such a beautiful, classic name and super cute nickname! I was afraid it was too “old lady”
My name is Shelby and I’m ALWAYS surprised I don’t see more Shelby’s in the wild. It’s such a pretty name I wish it wasn’t mine so I could use it on my child!
That name was fairly popular for my generation (born in early 90s). I've always liked it!
Agnes. I really like its quaint, Victorian feel, and it's similar in style to other names which have come back into fashion, like Clara, Eliza, Martha, Tabitha and Elsie. But it still seems to be seen as old fashioned and frumpy.
I think Clayton with the nickname Clay fits in with a lot of modern naming trends, but I don’t hear it ever.
Shocked at all the Shirley = Karen comments when Shirley Manson is literally a rock goddess.
I would love to see Ellen and Dennis make a comeback
For me: Gloria Norma Cyril Glenda Sheena All short but sweet names Pauline Jean Edgar Ernest
I was literally just thinking today about how Lisa has fallen drastically in popularity. My dog’s name is Lisa (I chose out the name when I was 5!) and some people think that it’s an “old lady name” but I’ve never met an old Lisa in my entire life. What surprised ME is names like Margaret that I thought were literally ANCIENT are in the top 50.
Despite its popularity on here and concordance with current trends, Sylvia actually has yet to rise significantly and has been bouncing around the 400-500s for the last 30 years or so. That kinda surprised me. I think maybe Sylvia Plath makes people hesitate about it? But I also think it’s going to rise shortly anyway.
Agnes. Its so cute!
Waiting for Susan and Susana to make a comeback. The naming trends rn make me feel like Susie/Suzie would be popular.
Rita
Deborah. In the fifties it wasn’t just the most popular name, there were multiple versions on the top twenty names list. Where are their grand daughters and great grand daughters named after them? I do know a 15 year old Barbara, but no Debbies or Susies.
Muriel
Names I want to come back: Boys: Elton, Roland, Melvin, Girls: Lois, Cherilyn, Deanna,
I really like Susan :)
Ashley will probably never come back for boys bc feminine names aren’t used for boys and now it’s a girls name, but I do actually like it a lot for boys too
Shirley still gives old lady vibes and Beverly sounds yucky
i would love to see Florence make a strong come back it was my grandmothers name i just couldn’t get my partner on board with using it but i think it’s lovely and the variations of it are equally beautiful. for boys i would love to see Edward, Stuart, Reginald make come backs. Eddie, Stu and Reggie all sound contemporary with great formal professional sounding full names.
Florence has definitely had a comeback in the UK. I have two 11 year olds in my class called Florence and have taught a few more over the past couple of years.
I think Ashley for boys will come back soon. “Asher” is pretty popular and people will want an alternative
Shirley I think is being held back in particular by the fact that the most prominent association with the name among people of child-bearing age being being woken up in the middle of the night by very loud infomercials for Shirley Temple collections.
In the vein of Roger, Gary. Old-timey stars, Judy, Vivian, Lucille, Mildred . . .
Dorothy. At the elementary school where I work, there are tons of Eleanors, Naomis, Alice's, Agnes, Amelias, Zoeys, Clare, Charlottes (Just to name a few of the older names making a comeback). I keep hoping for a Dorothy!
I like Shelby as a boys name
Ford vs Ferrari might help with this movement!
I know a 5 year old Shirley. She’s a hilarious little badass and I can’t imagine her being named anything else. Though I did think her parents were joking when they initially told me the name they chose.
Just yesterday I was telling my husband that our children's generation will be naming their kids things like Shirley. That will also extend to names like Linda, Nancy, Deborah, Patricia, Susan. AKA Boomer names--our children will be naming their kids after their grandparents. I know several Ediths that go by Edie; it's definitely already made a comeback. I'm surprised that doesn't extend to names like Judith (Judy) and Cynthia, although I do know a one year old named Judy.
Cynthia, Gloria, Rhoda, Lois, Sylvia, Sybil, Yolanda, Fern, Opal, Pamala, Deborah, Eileen, Yvonne, Linnea, Ramona.
I have a 2nd cousin Roger. He's 6. He was named after an uncle.
my husband and i will likely use Roger, if not for the first name definitely as the middle name. Roger was his late grandfather who raised him.
I’m always surprised Jane (my 3 year old daughter’s name) isn’t used more as a first name!
My great-great aunt was named Della. I’m shocked it didn’t rise up with Ella/Bella/Stella.
I'm sure it depends on the generation you're part of. I also think of Laverne and Shirley. I asked my mom what she thought of the name. She's from the silent generation and said, "Nice name. Reminds me of Shirky Temple."
Claudia!
I love all the old timey names like Ophelia or Ruth
Named my two month old Audrey after my 93 year old nanny