It seems like all the old female names of 100 years ago are coming back.

[Odin2005]

I've run into a lot of little girls with names like Evelyn, Emma, Lilian, and Anna. What next, are they going to bring back Mildred???

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. Tursa? (my stepgrandmother) Buehla? (my 5th grade German teacher) I think not.

[Odin2005]

2. Ingrid had always stayed popular here in the Upper Midwest.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

9. Aww heck, one of my favorite HS sweethearts was named Ehermghart (ingred) and I'm not

Anywhere near 100. Yet.

[begin_within]

3. My grandmothers were named Evelyn and Ethel

and my grandfathers, Eugene and Elmer. All E's...

[redwitch]

117. Mine were Monica and Marion.

Pop Pops were Raymond and Paul.

[Flaxbee]

4. Gladys and Margaret Dolores

Margaret is still going strong, the other two, not so much.

I like "Elinor" - the spelling from Jane Austen's time

[Momgonepostal]

8. I have an Elinor, she's 17

She likes her name.

[Flaxbee]

64. It's a lovely name. Glad your daughter likes it..

[blue neen]

5. Please not Myrtle...

or Thelma.

[yawnmaster]

7. why not? just curious. eom

[blue neen]

10. IMHO, it is a very old-fashioned and unappealing name.

I am quite thankful that my parents didn't name me after a great-grandma.

[yawnmaster]

11. nothing inherently wrong with old fashioned...

Mike, Dave, Mary, Rachel are about as old as you can get (yes I am speaking from a Euro-bias).
Now as to unappealing, that is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder.
And to that point I will agree with you, even though I'm sure some names will have different appeals between us.

[newcriminal]

25. I can see Myrtle coming back with the help of Harry Potter.

[greatauntoftriplets]

30. Or Florence.

It was my mother's name and she always threatened to disown us if we stuck a name like that on a kid. She wasn't joking! Judging by what my father called her, her name might as well have been "Honey".

[Odin2005]

31. That insurance commercial woman is named Flo.

[LeftishBrit]

121. I've met several kids called Florence.

[KamaAina]

155. And of course there's Florence Welch from Florence + The Machine.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

44. How about Bertha or Lois?

[blue neen]

61. Lois is not too bad.

Bertha, though...no can do. The one woman I know who has the name Bertha is a gorgeous, dignified lady in her 70's, but she has always despised her name.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

69. Ruby is another one you don't see too often anymore

It used to be common down south.

[ashling]

86. Ever since

she took her love to town?

[Inspired]

144. Ruby is making a comeback.

[kwassa]

76. I have a cousin named Lois.

[kcass1954]

78. Before I was born, my great-grandmother pitched a huge fit about the "girl" name that

my parents had picked out. She said that they just had to name me after my grandmothers, because it wasn't often that both grandmothers had the same name. My mother said, "No child of mine is going through life named Myrtle!"

(Thanks, Mom )

[blue neen]

79. I hear ya!

It probably was considered a beautiful name in its time, I guess.

[yawnmaster]

6. some names bridge generations. You have listed a few there. eom

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

12. I want to bring back my great-great grandmother Leucretia's name

I'm obsessed with antiquity, so my kids' names will likely sound like the register of nursing home.

[applegrove]

13. My grandmother was born Bertha because an aunt Bertha had died

Last edited Sat Nov 3, 2012, 03:11 AM - Edit history (1)

just before she was born. She changed her name to her middle name, Adeline, her first day of school when she was four. Glad I wasn't named 100 years ago.

[Ikonoklast]

137. Yeah, you'd be 100 years old.

[applegrove]

139. LOL!

[Blue_In_AK]

14. Gertrude? My fifth grade teacher's name.

My grandmothers were named Lily May and Elsie. Lily maybe, but I don't see Elsie coming back any time soon.

[Odin2005]

32. I've run into a couple little ones named Elsie.

[madinmaryland]

66. My mother-in-law's name.

[Patiod]

128. Although "Trudy" is really cute

A friend from a large family, mom European, was named Gertrude, but goes by Trudy.

[Blue_In_AK]

129. I agree, Trudy's not bad.

I think if I were planning to call my daughter Trudy, I'd just name her that to begin with. It's much better than Gertie, which could also be a possibility with the Gertrude name.

[We are Devo]

148. I'm Trudy!

That's my real full name, no Gertrude. I was born in '64 and it was old even then. My bro and sis were named Pam and Peter, I almost ended up being Portia or Patience. I think Portia would have been cool...Portia Penland.

[Blue_In_AK]

150. Ha! I almost ended up being Ernestine.

I loved my dad, Ernest, but I don't think I would have ever forgiven him if he had named me that. . Pleased to meet you, Trudy.

[We are Devo]

152. Haha

Sounds like you dodged a bullet! Nice to meet you too

[Aristus]

15. I always thought Enid was one of the ugliest names I'd ever heard.

n/t

[Populist_Prole]

47. +1 That must have sounded archaic even then

Euphonious it aint. Another I heard in an old movie was 'Bloggett'.

Main those must have been somber times. Of course, the whole world was in black & white then too

[ashling]

87. I used to have a crush on Enid who lived across the street

She was younger than me, however, and for some reason that was a problem in second grade

I sill can't get this out of my head:

"John and Enid
sitting in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G .....

I hated that
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Turns out she had cooties.

[hunter]

16. Fannie used to be the most popular girl's name...

... but I don't think it's coming back.

[cemaphonic]

19. Yep, dead as a doornail since the '60s

http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=fannie&ms=true&sw=f&exact=false

[Blue_In_AK]

21. A lot of once popular names aren't so much anymore

My name is Linda. When I was young there were always two and sometimes even three Linda's in all my classes, but you don't hear of too many little girl Linda's now. It's not a bad name, really. And I know there's not supposed to be an apostrophe there, but my iPad is grammatically challenged and I don't feel like fixing it.

[LiberalEsto]

29. I always wished I'd been named Linda

because it's a traditional Estonian name as well as popular in the early 1950s when I was born.
My name is not that common and I always disliked it.

But I guess the grass is always greener...

[Art_from_Ark]

143. "Linda" is the feminine form of the Spanish word for

"beautiful".

[Odin2005]

33. To me Linda and Bob are the stereotypical Boomer names.

[LiberalEsto]

38. There's also Barbara, Debbie, Donna, Patricia and Susan.

I think Barbara was the most common name when I was in high school.

[PassingFair]

51. You forgot "Mary"...

Growing up, my best friend's name was Mary Patricia.
I'm Patricia Mary.

[LiberalEsto]

54. I don't recall any Marys in my school.

We had a one or two Mary Lous, Mary Anns and Mary Janes. It's possible the Marys in our town went to Catholic school, though

[jumptheshadow]

147. Yep, Mary was a very popular Catholic name (nt)

[cemaphonic]

89. Mary isn't so much a Boomer name as just a perenially popular one.

Looks like it actually peaked in the 1920s and dropped off a fair bit during the 60s. Still, it spent a lot of time in the top 5, and still hasn't dropped off the top 100.

http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=mary&ms=false&exact=false

(I know I keep flogging that website in this thread, but really, it is an amazing resource for anyone interested in naming trends)

[jmowreader]

115. Names from the Bible will always be popular

I wonder what people would do if you named your daughter Jezebel and your son Pontius.

[a la izquierda]

67. Three women in my family have those names...

all Boomer babies.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

83. Boomer names: Kathy, Debbie, Sherry, Vicki, Linda, Karen, Sharon, Sandy, Carla.

Connie, Donna, Darla, Julie, Janet, Susan, Diane, Deanna, Nancy, Joanne, Rhonda.

Guys: Steve, Mark, Mike, John, Larry, Jerry, Terry, Chuck, Ronnie, Raymond, Patrick, Don, Gerald.

Boomer names.

Barbara was popular thru the 30s, 40s and 50s. Betty was quite popular in the 20s and 30s.

Variations on Cheryl: Sheryl and Sherrill. (Sherrill Milnes is a famous male baritone.)

[LiberalEsto]

95. Also Sheila - there were 3 Sheilas in my high school

Joan, Lois, Beth, Jo-Ann, Beverly, Leslie, Annemarie and Marianne were fairly common too.

You never hear of anyone naming a girl baby Lois, Sheila, Susan or Debbie these days. Or Patricia, Donna, Susan, Nancy, Janet or most of the others. Those are grandma names now.

I never heard of anyone actually named Rhonda, just the Beach boys song. Of course it might have been a regional thing somewhere in the U.S. - I can only speak for New Jersey and the states near it.

As far as boys' names, Richard was a popular one for boys born in the '50s, along with Joseph, James and Paul. Barry, Glen, Harold, Gene and Martin/Marty were other names I ran across several times in college, etc.

[hifiguy]

119. I knew a Rhonda in junior high.

And there's Rhonda Shear.

[Patiod]

130. Regional names!

So I was sitting at a sushi bar in Los Angeles, and a middle aged brunette woman (much like myself) sits down next to me.

She said her name was Gina, and I told her two of my best friends were named Gina. She said "you must be from back East because NO ONE in LA is named Gina". I told her I was from SE PA and she laughed and said she was from NJ originally.

[tabbycat31]

116. Kathy is an example of nicknames shifting

Most boomer Kathys I know are really Katherine (or a various spelling).

Younger (under 40) Katherines seem to go by Kate/Katie instead.

[LWolf]

111. Jennifer. nt

[Manifestor_of_Light]

136. 1970s New Yorker cartoon.

class photo:
Jennifer, Jason, Jason, Jennifer, Jennifer, Jason, Jason
2nd row: Jennifer, Jennifer, Jason, Jason, Jennifer.......and so on.

Now all those
Jennifers are adults.

[marzipanni]

107. Here's a contemporary Fanny

http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/fooddrink/ig/Slow-Food-Nation/Alice-Waters.htm

[hunter]

113. It's a common name in my family tree.

Perhaps I'm overly sensitive to the issue of schoolyard taunts.

But my name wasn't the reason I was an outcast. I was simply an odd kid.

Traditionally names are pretty fluid in my family. I'm not sure where that comes from. At least half my relatives don't go by the names on their birth certificates.

[DearHeart]

17. I like old fashioned names! They're unique! :D

Not to mention, you don't have an entire generation of old women in their 60s and 70s with the names Tiffany, Heather, Amber, etc. At least with the old fashioned names, you can have a nickname (Debbie, Patty, Lily, etc.) when you're younger and when you're older, you can use the more formal name, if you choose.

Think of it...Grandma Tiffany, or Grandma Amber!

[Odin2005]

35. My sister's name is Heather, LOL

My niece will be 14 in January, so in 10 years my sis may be a grandma!!

[DearHeart]

60. Although, come to think of it, Grandma Tiffany

has a wonderful ring to it!

[Danmel]

90. was that pun intended

[DearHeart]

91. Not intended! LOL

Didn't even realize I had made a pun until you pointed that out! Good catch!

[pipi_k]

37. I was thinking

the exact same thing.

Women in nursing homes with cutesy little names.

Not that the staff would call them by their first names anyway, but still.

[cemaphonic]

18. Along with being a bit old-fashioned, they're also very vowely, which is extremely trendy these days

http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2012/7/the-rise-of-liquid-names

So no, probaby not Mildred or Florence, yes on Amelia and Madeline (I know 2 of each below age 6).

That website, btw has a lot of interesting articles on naming trends, including a recent one about why the hell anyone would have named their child "Willard."

[Odin2005]

36. That's a great site.

[DearHeart]

92. I like the names Amelia and Madeline..very pretty :)

I also like the names Olivia, Grace, and Abigail.

I had a great grandmother with the name Zilpha (talk about old fashioned and odd!) and a grandmother with the middle name of Elva. Thought Elva was weird when I was younger, but now, I really like that name.

[LeftishBrit]

122. I know kids with all the names you mention liking

I've never met a Zilpha or an Elva of any age; though I know of the children's author Zilpha Keatley Snyder.

[DearHeart]

134. Don't think that anyone is named Zilpha or Elva anymore...

probably not too many when they were alive! Had another great grandmother with the middle name of Martelia, never heard of this name either! But, it's kinda pretty

[PopeOxycontinI]

20. I was wondering...

if maybe there was some sort of cycle here. I just met an Isabel born in 1990.
The last Isabel I knew was my great aunt born in 1903. So in the 2060s or so, Matt
and Mike will become popular boys names again. Very common among guys born in the 70s and 80s, but not so much anymore.

[AllenVanAllen]

22. I love the names Anna, Evelyn, Emma, Lilian....

Mildred...not so much.

[pipi_k]

39. Ewwww

Evelyn is my middle name.

I've always detested it. Even more than I hated my first name.

It always sounded so...I don't know...awkward.

Then I heard it pronounced "Eve-lin" instead of "Ev-ah-lin" and decided that sounds way nicer.

[AllenVanAllen]

48. Aww, it's not so bad.

But I'm glad you found a pronunciation that sounds better to you, pipi_k.

[JI7]

23. Emma and especially Anna have still been kind of popular ,

[LiberalEsto]

96. My mother's name was Anna

She was born in 1920, in Estonia.

My grandmothers, also in Estonia, were Pauline and Emilie

[sarge43]

24. Well, mine was very popular o/a a hundred years ago.

I was named after my grandmother who was born in the 1890's.

It's a feminine name, doesn't lend itself to cutesy or silly nicknames, doesn't automatically date me like some of the fad names and wears well, suitable for a young girl or old lady.

Something to be said for the old names -- classic, stands the test of time.

[S_E_Fudd]

26. Waitin for Dorcas to make a reappearance ....nt

[kwassa]

62. lot of Dorcas in my family tree.

[LiberalEsto]

98. Dorcas is Greek.

It means gazelle.

[rusty fender]

101. Oh my Gawd!

I have a Dorcas in mine as well! In the 1800's I think.

[eppur_se_muova]

71. Dorko is an old Central European family name. Imagine Dorcas Dorko ...

could arise by marriage.

[marzipanni]

114. One of my two best neighbor/friends in my childhood (~mid 1950's-early '60's)

had two middle names, one of them being Dorcas.

[LeftishBrit]

123. I met a kid called Dorcas about 15 years ago!

She'd be in her early 20s now.

She had a sister called Agnes.

[KamaAina]

154. Fun fact: Dorcas and Tabitha mean the same thing.

Would work nicely for twin girls.

[Baitball Blogger]

27. I remember when someone called their kid Emma over thirty years ago.

I thought it was horrid. Now I think it's hip. And I remember how old I felt when Stephenie Meyer said she was looking for an old name that had fallen from use to name her one hundred year old Vampire, and so she named him Edward.

[LiberalEsto]

28. Most popular baby names of 1912

Link:

http://www.babycenter.com/popularBabyNames.htm?year=1912

Girls: Mary, Helen, Dorothy, Margaret and Ruth

Boys: John, William, James, Robert, Joseph

[MuttLikeMe]

34. I think Susannah should come back

I've always liked that name. I think it's pretty.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

40. I am hoping the trend of giving girls names that sound like cities or surnames

goes away soon. Madison, for example. There are lots of Madisons now. Seriously, you named your kid after the capital of Wisconsin? Why not Albuquerque if you're going that route? And then there are all those trendy names that are actually last names, like Taylor. Ptui. Also, get off my lawn.

[Odin2005]

41. Hey, Taylor is my name!

I was named after James Taylor.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

42. But you're not a girl.

Interesting that your parents named you after James Taylor, though.

[Odin2005]

58. When I was a baby they used "Sweet Baby James" as lullaby to get me to sleep!

[Populist_Prole]

49. Yeah that irks me too

It seems really common in the southeast with both male and female names. Never saw so many people who had first names that sound more like last names.

Don't even get me going on the biblical name thing....................

[MrsBrady]

53. I work in child care.

It's awful. I agree.

But it's with both boys and girls....
many of them have last names for first names.

[cemaphonic]

56. fun fact on Madison.

Madison derives almost directly from Daryl Hannah's character in Splash. And the writers of that movie named her after Madison Ave. So all the Madisons out there aren't even named after a city, but a street.

And yeah, the last name thing annoys me too.

[eppur_se_muova]

72. Is Madison Ave. named after Pres. James Madison ? nt

[Manifestor_of_Light]

81. Name em after all the streets in New York city!!

I know of a Madison in her late teens. She has a sister named Lexington.
I was waiting for the third daughter to be named Avenue of the Americas, but it did not happen. She's Waverly.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

82. So how about naming a kid Broadway, or Wall?

[femmocrat]

127. I have two students named Brooklyn.

One is Brooklynn, though.

[geardaddy]

103. Me too.

And occupation names...Hunter, Tanner, Thatcher, etc.

Yuck.

[raccoon]

124. ITA--if people are determined to give a girl a surname, why not have a girl's name for

the first name, and the surname for the middle name?

[TuxedoKat]

43. One of mine

has an old classic name like that. It was my grandmother's name, who was born in 1911, and she's ten now. I think the trend for this started awhile ago, at least 20 years or more.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

45. My favorite girl's name has always been Priscilla - is that considered an ancient name?

There was a very special Priscilla who sat in front of me in 7th and 8th grades so maybe that's why. I loved calling her "Miss Priscilla" when I was a boy.

[LiberalEsto]

97. It goes back to ancient Rome

http://wiki.name.com/en/Priscilla

[madmom]

141. That was my nick-name, my dad gave me when I was but a wee babe.

[HopeHoops]

46. They beat Brittney and Mercedes.

[harmonicon]

50. Those all sound pretty normal to me, apart from Evelyn, which is a little rare.

My grandmother (born about 100 years ago) was named Wilma. I doubt that will come back into fashion any time soon, unless maybe there's a successful Flintsones revival.

[PassingFair]

55. My grandmothers' names were "Mina" and "Williamina"

So I COULD have been named Mina Williamina or Williamina Mina.

[Odin2005]

57. I know a young woman named Mina.

[a la izquierda]

68. Wilhelmina is one of my favorite names.

[cemaphonic]

88. I don't really like any of those diminuitive versions of male names

Wilhelmina = Girl William

Mina is a pretty cool nickname though, mostly because of Dracula.

[PassingFair]

99. Her name was a combination of William and Ina.

Her parents couldn't decide what to name her. Everyone called her Ina.

[a la izquierda]

105. Ina's cute.

My parents thought for sure they were having a boy, so when I popped out, the only name they could think of was a female version of the male name.
Sigh.

[raccoon]

126. Is your last name Harker? nt

[MrsBrady]

52. I work in child care and I don't see it.

There's a lot of made up first names that I've never seen before
with both the girls and boys...
in fact I googled some of the kids' names cuz they are so weird and
I don't find them....so I don't know where the parents are getting
these freaky names.

I'm telling you they are made up, freaking weird names...
and I'm talking along all backgrounds/nationalities.
And there is also so much misspelling of traditional biblical names -- it's almost frightening

I can think of only one Steven, Two Alexanders and Two Charlies, and one Paul.
That's the only traditional names I've seen.

No Marys for girls or anything like that.

Although, we have several Emmas...but I think that name is going to be popular all the time.
No Johns or Roberts or Richards for the boys that I can think of.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

59. Names of my grandmothers and great aunts and cousins of that generation:

Celia, Isabel, Hilda, Dorothy, Edna, Marian, Cora, Edith, Thelma and Vivian.

[geardaddy]

104. My grandmas were Dorothy and Margaret.

Pretty standard grandma names.

[Patiod]

131. I think Isabel is coming back in a big way

probably because of Twilight - Belle or Bella. My favorite aunt was Isabel, and when I was little, she was "Aunt Belle"

I had a grandmother Agnes, aunts Mary, Helen, Isabel, Rita, Margreta, Rosemarie and Alexandra (and uncle Percival and Ed).

My cousins, from the 50s, are Christina, Judy, Barbara, Pat, and Marilyn.

The male cousins all have fairly timeless names: John, Andy, Tom, Gerry, and Richard (although he's still called Dicky, which wouldn't fly today).

[kwassa]

63. Mehetabel and Dorcas

I have a family genealogy that goes back to early Massachusetts Bay Colony. Most names are still in common use, but the few that are not, that were common then were ...

Mehetabel and Dorcas for girls, and Zadok for boys.

edit to add:

My wife informs me that a friend of ours is named Dorcas, though she is known only as Dee.

Dorcas (also known as Tabitha) was a disciple who lived in Joppa, referenced in the Book of Acts 9:36–42 of the Bible. Acts recounts that when she died, she was mourned by "all the widows ... crying and showing (Peter) the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them." (Acts 9:39). This may indicate that Dorcas was a widow, or at the very least that she joined the widows in their works of charity. The disciples present called upon Saint Peter who came from nearby Lydda to the place where her wake was being held and raised her from the dead.

[eppur_se_muova]

73. Outside of archy and mehitabel, I didn't think that name was actually used ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archy_and_Mehitabel

[kwassa]

74. oh, I'm a Krazy Kat fan from way back .....

and was surprised to find it in the family tree.

but no Archies throwing bricks at Officer Pup.

[a la izquierda]

65. My husband's great-great-great grandma...w

Was named Narcissa. Damn.

[femmocrat]

70. I am seeing a few in elementary school.

I currently have a Hattie, Sarabeth (I love that name), Donna, Isabel, Minnie, several Sophie or Sophias, and I'm sure some others will come to me later..... Olivia has seem to run its course right now.

We still have way too many Jaydens, Caidens, and Aidens among the boys, though. I can't keep all the crazy variations in spelling straight! LOL

[kwassa]

75. Jayden is #4, Aiden is #9.

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/

Of course, there is a 5 year lag time before they show up in your school.

[Wounded Bear]

77. Mildred was my mother's name...

although she went by her middle name, Lucille. Apparently there was another Mildred in the family that pre-dated her.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

80. No gemstone names, it seems, are popular.

i've known women born in the early 1900s named Ruby, Opal, Pearl, Beryl

Interesting trivia: Lloyd Bentsen's widow, B.A., her actual maiden name was Beryl Ann Longino. My mother went to college with her in 1940 at Texas Woman's University. B.A. was beautiful & had her own featured page in the yearbook as one of the beauty queens.

[GReedDiamond]

84. Long Live BEATRICE...and my deceased 102 y.o. Aunt...

...I had a great aunt who lived to 102, her birth certificate/official name was "Thresia" - her parents (turn of the 19-20th C German immigrants) were trying to name her Theresa.

She was forever known as "Trady."

[ashling]

85. Nettie Agnes and Mattie Hortense

my grandmothers


I can almost guarantee that between 4 classes scheduled for next semester I will have Brittany x at least 6 different spellings.
I like the old names.

[eridani]

93. Beats picking your kid's name off an interstate highway exit sign though

Madison (Wisconsin?) Kennedy (Expressway?)

[Patiod]

132. The parents of a girl I knew in college did that

Her parents were named Martin, and they were from Western PA. They were driving through Eastern PA and like the sound of one of the towns (Bryn Mawr) , so they called her Bryn --- Bryn Martin.

[myrna minx]

151. Had I been born a boy, my name would be Dane Deforest, because of and Interstate sign by Madison Wi.

[eridani]

159. Good grief!

In South King County, WA, I wouldn't be surprised to hear someone say "Auburn if it's a girl, Renton if it's a boy."

[Saphire]

94. my grandmothers were Elvie and Lula.

[tjwmason]

100. My old computer was called Mildred

I've given them all names, Mildred is no more however - I now have Agnes and Gertrude.

[geardaddy]

102. I've been noticing that too.

Though, I think Emma and Anna have always been popular.

I've even seen little girls around here called Pearl and Daisy.

[Paladin]

106. Let Me Know When Margarets Turn Up.......

....on high school cheer leading squads. I'll believe it when I see it......

[Odin2005]

109. I've run into a Margaret who is in her late 20s.

[kwassa]

138. I know a Margaret who would be in high school now ...

not the cheerleader temperament though.

[Walk away]

108. Our family first name (girl or boy) is Fayce. I always feel sorry for Baby Fayce!

Thankfully, they skipped my generation.

[LWolf]

110. Names always happen in cycles.

I spend a little time each year outside our kindergarten classrooms looking at what will be coming up the stairs to me in 6 years.

Right now, I have an Emma and an Anna. I also have 6 Madisons, with 6 different spellings. About 7 years ago, it was Michaela and Briana; those are still around, but waning.

Currently, a lot of Coltons, Parkers, and Hunters. Several years back, Codies came in great waves. Dakota and Cheyenne are still popular, but beginning to wane. Austin is still popular. I have several versions of Kaylie and McKenna. Some Calebs, Tanners, Tylers, Wades, and Kyles.

I also currently have a Mabel, a Hazel, a Joe, an Elizabeth, which has been scarcer for a couple of decades, a Sarah, and a Veronica.

So I do see some names coming back into fashion. There are other names, common in my childhood, my mothers, and my grandmothers, that are not.

[blueamy66]

112. I had an Aunt Mildred and my Grandmother

was Irene.

My niece named her 3rd daughter Celeste. Love it!

[Quantess]

118. Agnes.

[femmocrat]

125. Agnes is coming back?

That was my mother's name and she hated it. She always went by her nickname.

There is a young up-and-coming U.S. figure skater named Agnes Zawadzki.

[LeftishBrit]

120. I've been noticing this too.

Emma, Emily and Sophie have been popular for quite a while, though they seemed old-fashioned when I was a kid. More recently, I have started coming across across little girls called Flora, Florence, Lily, Clara, Amelia, Minnie and Maudie, and boys called Wilfred and Hugo. I even met a small girl in the late 90s called Dorcas.

[Patiod]

133. My SO is named Ralph, and we have a game

When we meet a guy named Ralph, we always ask if his dad is/was Ralph, and he always is/was.

He's bracing for "Wreck 'em, Ralph"

[cherish44]

135. Next old fashion female name I see coming back: Clara

I think it's pretty anyway

[Qanisqineq]

145. I like it too

I like both Clara and Cora

[hifiguy]

156. Claire is prettier than Clara.

Clara is too Germanic sounding.

[grasswire]

140. be very careful when filling out birth certificates

A family member works in the agency that certifies/files birth data. She says people often misspell the name "BRIAN" and end up with "BRAIN". Oops. Too late! Brain Jones.

[madmom]

142. I have a friend who named her two daughters after grandmothers...

Molly and Sally. Know of no others with those names.

[Odin2005]

146. I went to school with a Molly, she would have been born around 1989 or so.

[hifiguy]

157. I knew a Molly in law school

twenty-five years ago. She was from the Deep South, though.

[We are Devo]

149. I know a girl named Elouise...

I always pronounce it Eloise though...

[Caroline-Vivienne]

153. Hi Everyone! I'm new!

I know a little bit about the recent trends in older girls names....

The Emmas/Olivias/Bella's of the past several years are due to popular characters in entertainment.

Emma was a baby from the TV show Friends

Olivia from the Law and Order Series -and- a popular children's book

Bella (Isabella) for Twilight

Celebrities naming their children also have an effect. Hence there have been more Ava's (Reese Witherspoon), Sophia's (Sylvester Stallone) and Lilys (Johnny Depp).

Child star Abigail Breslin has also helped 'Abigail' jump up the list these past few years.

Interspersed with these names are several remaining trends from the past couple of decades.

First you had the 'last name as a first name' trend, which is still prevalent with Madison (from Darryl Hannah's character in Splash), Riley, Peyton, Sloane, etc...

Then you have the 'place/location name' trend which broke out in the 1990's: Sierra, Dakota, Montana, Sydney, Savannah, Mesa, Eden, etc...

But I don't think those old-fashioned names are going away anytime soon.

Recent celebrity names (probable future trending names)

Jennifer Connelly's daughter - Agnes Wren

Tina Fey's 2 daughters - Alice and Penelope

[Odin2005]

160. I'm suprised Edward hasn't become popular.

When the Twilight books came out I expected a wave of little boys named Edward.

[In_The_Wind]

158. Melba was my mother's name.

Don't think that one's coming back.