In 1986, I was named after my great-great grandmother. That year, the popularity of the name Emily was on an upswing, and from 1996 – 2007 it was the #1 girl’s name in the United States and has been in the top 10 since 1991. However, I do like to make the case that since I was named after my grandma who was born in the 1800’s, there were fewer than 500 girls a year named Emily before 1880.
Following that same logic, what were some of the least popular baby names 100 years ago? Check out this list to find some of the most unique names from over a century ago that had less than 50 children given that name. And following each name, I have added how many children were given that name in that time. The neutral category consists of names that were found in both lists, OR they are “ironic” names, which fell into the opposite category in which they – hopefully – should have been.
From sifting through hundreds of names, I do have a few observations and questions:
What If you are a fan of marshmallows? Then maybe Melton or Mello would be ideal? Or if you are a fan of those awesome Cliff bars, your son would be a daily reminder of your obsession.
For Disney fans there is Gaston, which is quite appropriate if you want your son to turn out to be a macho, gym rat. Or Denzel, if you love you some Washington high intensity action and arse kicking. And there is even Elvis on this list, so you could play dumb and say you were looking at old names and it was at the bottom of the list 100 years ago.
Or you could set your daughter up to be prophetic and poetic by naming her Hildegard, after the 12th century mystic and saint from Germany. Or Hertha? she was a Germanic goddess of fertility as described by the Roman historian Tacitus in the 1st century. Or your son could end up as Einar, from the Old Norse meaning “lone warrior” or Walter, meaning “ruler of the army” he is destined to be a hero. Or if you are the peaceful type Kirby might be the way to go, which means “church settlement” or Elisha, which means in Hebrew “my God is Salvation, or Hezekiah which means “Yahweh strengthens”
And lastly, there are those few names that are so ironic, you are wondering if these parent’s were naive or just plain evil? There is Ransom, that makes me wonder how many of these were single mom’s trying to lure back a loose husband. And Concepcion – because we obviously didn’t know how this baby was made? Or Annis and Ennis, I mean, come on, the name doesn’t even sound pretty.
And then all those poor children that were given names like the song “A Boy Named Sue”, I’m sure those boys named Anna and Rose and girls named Thomas and Harold were spitting screaming all the way through life.
So how unique are you willing to go? Here is a list of over 100 unusual baby names that will make your child unique:
Boys
1. Stanilaus, 32
2. Chalmer, 32
3. Gaston, 32
4. Arch, 33
5. Melton, 33
6. Mello 33
7. Rexford, 34
8. Cliff, 34
9. Alma 34
10. Ardel, 35
11. Hayward 35
12. Verl, 35
13. Einar, 36
14. Ernie, 36
15. Gino, 36
16. Adolf, 37
17. Angel, 37
18. Ewell, 37
19. Armin, 38
20. Kirby, 38
21. Norval, 38
22. Ewald, 39
23. Ocie, 39
24. Denzil, 40
25. Milburn, 40
26. Ransom, 40
27. Attilio, 40
28. Beryl, 40
29. Ennis, 41
30. Foy, 41
31. Hezekiah, 42
32. Vernie, 42
33. Hobert, 43
34. Tillman, 44
35. Norton, 45
36. Loy, 46
37. Rollie 47
38. Elvis 48
39. Dayton, 49
40. Reinhold, 50
Girls
41. Allean, 36
42. Ettie, 36
43. Leda, 36
44. Vella, 36
45. Emmer, 37
46. Malvina, 37
47. Ressie, 37
48. Drusilla, 37
49. Eudora, 38
50. Nila, 38
51. Eulah, 39
52. Ara 40
53. Flonnie, 40
54. Dorthea, 41
55. Hassie, 41
56. Hermina, 41
57. Lavera, 41
58. Albertine, 42
59. Bernadine, 42
60. Inga, 42
61. Charlene 43
62. Matalda, 43
63. Hildegard, 44
64. Mella, 44
65. Venita, 44
66. Elvina, 45
67. Signe, 45
68. Adelia, 46
69. Annis, 47
70. Exie, 48
71. Ada, 48
72. Delta, 48
73. Freeda, 49
74. Hertha, 49
75. Thora, 49
76. Eugenie, 50
77. Tennie, 50
78. Hazle, 50
Neutral
79. Terry, 37
80. Walter, 37
81. Odie, 38
82. Stacy, 32
83. Doris, 32
84. Frankie 33
85. Lillian, 33
86. Harold, 38
87. Claire, 35
88. Maxie, 36
89. Whitney, 36
90. Jodie, 36
91. Mildred, 36
92. Paul, 43
93. Lindsay, 38
94. Rose, 38
95. Anna, 40
96. Dorothy, 40
97. Edward, 40
98. Thomas, 48
99. Concepcion, 49
100. Jones, 41
101. Ashley, 42
102. Audrey, 42
103. Elisha, 42
104. Lauren, 42
105. Blair, 43
106. Ruby, 43
107. Tracey, 43
108. June 44
109. Green, 45
110. Margaret, 46
111. Ruth, 46
112. Casey, 48
113. Allison, 49
114. Bonnie, 49
Featured photo credit: Reggie fun via flickr.com
