It's request hour here at WBNW, with this post going out to the listeners...er, readers who asked for some "one-hit wonders." Those are the baby names that made the U.S. top-1000 name charts one year, never to be heard from again. Where did they come from, and where are they now?
I've run the calculations and I now have the definitive list of the names that appeared on the charts exactly once from the 1880s through the 1980s, and never since. Any guess how many? 860 names. It's a big number, but not really surprising given that we're spanning 110 years of baby naming style. The list reflects passing fashions, creative spellings, historical moments and waves of immigration. It's a fascinating collection of styles ranging from what-were-they-thinking to why-didn't-I-think-of-that. Today I'm going to describe the one-hit wonders as a group, and I'll highlight various discoveries over the coming weeks.
Before we delve into stats and methods, a few choice names:
- Euclid and Pliny
- Sable and Ermine
- Profit, Worthy and Wealthy
And now, the fine print. My first step was to classify the one-hit names into three broad categories:
1. Data entry artifacts (E.g. Infant, Christop, girls named Melvin)
2. Variant spellings of more common names with the same sound
3. Pure one-and-done names
There were plenty of judgment calls along the way. Were there really boys named Lottie? Is Darlyne pronounced the same as Darlene? The totals I arrived at: 47 artifacts, 157 variants, 656 straight one-hit-wonders.
Due to quirks in my data sample, the distribution of one-hit names skews heavily toward the earliest years in the range, the 1880s-90s. The biggest reason is that far more names made the top 1000 in those years than any others. How can more than 1000 names rank in the top 1000? The answer is ties. For instance, in 1980 the top 1000 girls list actually numbered 1002 names, with Lashunda, Mariel and Rae tying at #1000. (147 babies bore each name.) But that's 1980. 1880 America was a smaller country, and babies born then only made it into our data if they survived long enough to get 20th-century Social Security Numbers. The smaller data set means a smaller range in popularity and more ties at the bottom. So the 1880 girls list features a whopping 1102 girls' names, with a 158-way tie at four babies apiece. I considered skipping the 1880s for this reason, but frankly the names of that time were too much fun to ignore.
And now for a few more names:
- Welcome, Constant, Bliss (all boys)
- Sweetie, Lovie, Doll (any guesses which are boys?)
- Icey, Nicy, Spicy, Vicy (girls; Dicy appears in multiple years' lists)
To be continued....
Comments
Ha-- I wonder why "Eunice" fails to please, yet "Unity" as in Unity Mitford, and even Una, rather appeal to me? Is it the "eu" combo that clunks?
Kelly, I too enjoyed your class list as I have a seven year old. Other teachers, could you share some of yours as well? My second grader's peers are Colston, Paige, Deanna, Trevor, Daniel (invariably known as Danny), Johnny, Joseph, Joshua, Blaize (a boy), two variously spelled Reillys, two conventionally spelled Alexises, Natalie...
Many of the boys have Biblical names, and the girls' names seem slightly retro. (Both Alexises are sort of spitfire personalities, worthy of Joan Collins, by the way). This part of semi-rural Western New York strikes me as very heartland, very Midwestern (I say that in admiration) in outlook, and the sturdy names reflect that.
Hi Cleveland Kent Evans, another psychology professor here. I disagree about the name effect being negligible in real life. There are a number of situations where there is no other personal information (looks, demeanor) to override the name stereotype. Two examples are grading term papers in a large class, and evaluating job applicants from their resumes. Crucially, in both cases, there is no clear right answer. The evaluator must to some extent rely on intuition, a gestalt impression. The evaluator will usually be completely unaware that the name is influencing that gestalt.
It's sort of an anchoring effect. Property assessors, for example, swear up and down that they are not influenced by the asking price, but they are, strongly and incorrigibly.
And finally, even in person, names may matter. Others have pointed out that a strongly likable kid can carry off any name, but for a more middle-of-the-pack kid, the name may be one of several subtle factors that pushes them one way or the other.
Everyone go read the Baby Blues cartoon in today's newspaper.
It can only be funny to posters on this blog.
On another note, I found a new name in a back issue of Good Housekeeping at the doctor's this afternoon-Tavren.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's pretty bad. Even if it turns out to be the name of an ancient poet or patron saint, it still sounds like tavern to me. Worse yet, it sounds like the way a person who had had a few drinks would say tavern.
Kelly-I love Anna-Kate, and if you adore Meredith, the fact that it's part of a current trend certainly shouldn't stop you from using it. Just think of it as a happy accident-like when pants that aren't super skinny and tight happen to be "in." Oh, good!
Oh, and in response to the Google issue-did anyone hear the story on NPR last week about parents who checked to see what domain names were available before naming their little ones?
If Emmarose.net wasn't available, they moved on to something else.
Personally, I like my children to be slightly more anonymous, but maybe it's my age. I also don't put pictures of them on the internet and so forth.
As to the popularity of names, I think my tolerance is a lot higher than other regulars here. I'd prefer that my boys not share a name with three or four others in their class, but it isn't something I considered paramount.
My sister, on the other hand, considered popularity above almost everything else.
Take care all!
On Eunice: It doesn't sound bad at all to me. Maybe this is because I've known several Korean women named Eunice in English (many Korean names start with the sound Yoon, so it seems many Korean Americans choose Eunice as a close fit). They're all lovely women, and the name sounds soft to me, very unlike Gertrude and Hortense! Eunice is pretty close to Alice, in fact! (If pronounced YOON-is, which is how my friends pronounced it. I think some others might say yoo-NEES). Ermintrude is another great guess, I've never heard that one!
Hey marjorie, I'm with you on Bertha being Rochester's mad wife. Interesting that when Jean Rhys wrote what could be called a prequel, The Wide Sargasso Sea, she changed the name to Antoinette. Much better name for a heroine!
My daughter's dance class, with girls from 3-5:
Mireya, Andrea, Caitlin, Bradley, Alissa, Olivia, Amelie, Madison (Maddie), Alexis, and one I can't remember.
Her Sunday school: Grace, Emma S, Emma K, Jacob, Jake, Hannah, Oshi, Noah, Gabriel
Her preschool: Jacob, Jacob, Jacob, Noah, Brandon, Kesteren, Christa, Katie, Sucreti, Gabriella
I have to say, if I had to guess a little boy's name, I'd guess Jacob!
LOL! at that last one!
I definitely think the thing about names is that the parents of that particular child really, really loves the name(s) they chose for their child.
Except maybe in not-Bertha's case b/c they did it just to be "cool."
(I've decided that the not-Bertha name is Hester. Some of the other names y'all mentioned are not particularly likable - Hortense, Eunice - to me, but don't conjure up a negative image the way Bertha does for so many of us and the way Hester would.)
One thing I think about names is how people grow into them, or a name you don't particularly like at first seems the perfect fit. A few years ago, when I got my first class at a new school, their first grade teacher was telling me about them. She said, "Hayward and Carter are so sweet and wonderful - you'll love them!" I remember thinking, "Hayward??? Carter??? And they're girls???" And then after I knew them and loved them, their names fit them perfectly! Hayward is just *so* Hayward!
I agree Hester fits the bill, but I'm ignorant as to the negative image it conjures up. Is it historical, literary, or what?
Also, I totally agree about names growing on you as you know the person. BTW, I know a 30ish female Carter and she is such a sweet, wonderful person.
Hey, I have known both a Hortense and a Winifred who each pulled them off just fine! Granted, they were adult women. That brings up an interesting element of naming: some people choose names that are adorable on a baby and kind of embarrassing on an adult (say, Daisy), while others choose names that sound awful on a baby but that might sound quite elegant on an adult (say, Eunice, which could be lovely on the right 25-year-old). I suppose with an "old lady" name like Gertrude you can have a cute nickname (Gigi, Gertie), but if you hate all the nicknames for the name, well, there you are. Caroline is just Caroline, since I don't like Carrie or Caro or Carol and had to pass up Carly. The name felt slightly ridiculous on a baby, so we called her Miss Goose. More and more, we are calling her Caroline. Maybe some names you just have to grow into. Then again, I knew a 6-year-old Hagar and it suited her, too. Maybe the child changes the name.
Also, I am just *loving* the idea of Heather as a mom-name after that 80s movie "Heathers." All those cutthroat snotty teen girls now galloping around in high-waisted jeans and dirty ponytails and Crocs, screaming "Lily! Jackson! Get back to the Bugaboo and eat your organic cheddar bunnies NOW!"
Also, I just have to say that I am *loving* the idea of Heather as a "mom-name," after that 80s movie "Heathers." All those snotty cutthroat teen girls now galumphing around the playground in dirty ponytails and high-waisted jeans and Crocs, shouting "Charlotte! Miles! Get back to the Bugaboo and eat your organic cheddar bunnies NOW!"
Oops, internet problems. I rewrote the post because it vanished into the ether and now it's back. And I changed the names! Oh well. If there aren't two Heathers posts by me never mind. Over & out.
Could Not-Bertha be Helga?
Thanks, Irene's mom. Wow, "Kesteren" is interesting. Boy's name, I hope? Seems to me "Kester" is an Elizabethan variant of Christopher. But would like to know the origin of Kesteren. Makes me think of kestrels and rocky, windswept shores...
Hester is the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, which isn't the worst association in the world - but given the unpopular sound of the name (perhaps due to rhyming with old-men's names Chester and Lester?) it does seem to be a contender for the Bertha/Hortense "potential cruelty" category. As a side note, I did know a Hortencia (Or-TEN-see-ah) which I thought was lovely.
I'm still in shock about the little girl named Hayward, as an SF bay area dweller. I'm afraid it's one of the least name-worthy cities around here!
Whoa! My great grandmother was Hester Ann! Certainly a name of her era, 1850s. In one census she is listed as Esther (probably due to the pronunciation). Then of course there was an aunt whose name was Esther but everyone called her Queenie (for the biblical Queen Esther). Esther means star, or maybe myrtle, the flower of which is like a star. Now I would say Myrtle would be the name that could out-rank Bertha as an unkind choice, even considering its meaning!
Oo, this is fun! My guesses: Mildred, Effie, Bernice, . . .
Wait, wait! I've got it! FANNY!
Hi again... I just thought I'd let you know I've settled on Bianca for my little girls name.
I'm still deciding on a middle name, but I'd like it to be one of my Grandmothers/Great-Grandmothers names. I haven't quite decided what I like the best... There's Katherine, Eleanor (I'm also still considering Eleanor for her first name), Thelma and Hazel. Any thoughts?
I teach year 1 (or 1st grade for the Americans here!) and the names are a wonderful jumble of popular, classic and unusual. Here are some stand-outs...
Buster
Tom/Thomas
Will x2
Nick/Nic/Nicky
Buster
Annabel
David
Harry
Edward
Makz
Isabella
Skye
Lizzie (Elizabeth)
Owen
Riley (girl)
I think Hester is quite nice...but I also like Esther and Edith. It's too Scarlet Letter that's for sure, but at the same time fits in well with "Hazel" and the like.
I think Nina's mystery name has to be worse--I agree Myrtle (Myrtie?) is pretty bad. Fanny too.
What were these types of namers naming their kids before? I knew a sister and brother named Skye and Sage growing up--they had hippie parents. I don't know...those names seem sweet and innocent to me while Marge, Mavis or Myrtle seems ironic.
Maybe it just seems cruel to name your child an ironic retro name? I think that's it. It's annoying.
Kind of like the "Danger" as a middle name discussion.
Nina, Change your handle, say you're from Detroit, and tell us the name! You can say, "My sister-in-law from Omaha just gave her child wonderful, if offbeat, name. It's ___!" The real parents won't know it's you, but we will! :),
Although I have to admit all the guessing is fun. How can the reality live up to our imaginations?!
Nina, to further hide your identity (which I totally get having been "outed" on this site before!), you could wait to be the Detroit-lady until the next post, so that the name isn't in this thread. Just a thought.
Nina...is it any of the names we guessed?
I don't think Maud(e) is quite as bad as the others mentioned, but I think it's a little out there.
And yes, Nina, please tell us if it's already been mentioned! There have now been at least 20 guesses, I don't think that would give you away.
Allira
The name Bianca over here in the UK can NEVER be disassociated from a flame haired, big mouth girl in a popular soap opera
some names are just ruined by silly associations arent they
What do you guys think of the name Murgatroyd, nickname "Murgie"?
(asked in a whisper...)
Is the year 1 kid named "Makz" a fancy spelling of Max?!? If so, and especially if that's a boy, that is truly jaw-dropping.
My baby's too young to go to school yet, but in our community kids ranging in ages from 0-10 years are called Joseph x 2, Harry, Jules, Noah, Elliot, Samuel, Eva, Amelia, Mya, Angus, Amelie, Alec, Sebastien, Ngaire (f), Dylan, Jarrah (m), Amy, Emily, Claire, Lola, Jeffrey, Kezia, Sasha (f), Max (not sure if he's a Maxwell or a Maximilian), Charles off the top of my head.
The name Hester reminds me of the drummer Paul Hester from Crowded House (ok, I know only other Aus/NZers will know that) but it takes away from of the horrid associations. He also sang on the classic kids song "Fruit Salad", by The Wiggles!
I had a great aunt called Justus, which I always thought was a "Bertha bad" name. Not the pronunciation so much, which is just like Justice, but the spelling was really off putting.
Now is it just me, or every time you type/say/think the name Bertha, does it get a little less bad?
Is the year 1 kid named "Makz" a fancy spelling of Max?!? If so, and especially if that's a boy, that is truly jaw-dropping.
My baby's too young to go to school yet, but in our community kids ranging in ages from 0-10 years are called Joseph x 2, Harry, Jules, Noah, Elliot, Samuel, Eva, Amelia, Mya, Angus, Amelie, Alec, Sebastien, Ngaire (f), Dylan, Jarrah (m), Amy, Emily, Claire, Lola, Jeffrey, Kezia, Sasha (f), Max (not sure if he's a Maxwell or a Maximilian), Charles off the top of my head.
The name Hester reminds me of the drummer Paul Hester from Crowded House (ok, I know only other Aus/NZers will know that) but it takes away from of the horrid associations. He also sang on the classic kids song "Fruit Salad", by The Wiggles!
I had a great aunt called Justus, which I always thought was a "Bertha bad" name. Not the pronunciation so much, which is just like Justice, but the spelling was really off putting.
Now is it just me, or every time you type/say/think the name Bertha, does it get a little less bad?
Sorry to double post.
My dad had an 8-pound abdominal tumor removed when I was in high school. (Fortunately it was benign.) He named it Murgatroyd. Sort of sums up my feelings about the name. Sounds a little too much like hemorrhoid.
Mergatroyd is not a real name.
Gotta say, I rather like Hester, Maud, and Mavis! Maud reminds me of one of the main characters in AS Byatt's _Possession_, one of my favorite novels. Mavis has that bird-reference (Avis). Hester is the Scarlet Letter character to me, and that's a good thing. Those wouldn't be "homelier-than-thou" names for me, just cool unusual choices.
Now Murgatroyd... it's definitely a real surname: http://users.actrix.co.nz/murgatroyd/
The nickname Troy would work, eh? ;)
Laney - It isn't? Well, that makes the situation much worse, and perhaps an intervention is in order. Although, I do have to admit, that "Murgie" does sound a lot like "Maggie", which is very hot right now, so maybe it's not as out there as originally thought.
Justus, or Justice, is a boy's first name you hear from time to time in the US. I believe it is of Southern origin. My husband grew up with a Justice on the Olympic Peninsula (at that time, deeeeep backwoods). Justice's sister was Carnie, a name that I have always felt was more than a little unfortunate.
Hi Laura,
You have a very interesting blog here!! I was wondering if you have done some research on Indian names in the US and how the names of second and onward generation of American-Indians have changed, or if you've observed a pattern or something unusual. Would love to see a post on Indian names in the US. :)
I do love the guessing about the not-Bertha name! Any mentioned could be it, but Fanny is my favorite guess so far (besides mine of Hester.)
Re: Hayward as a name. I didn't know in the SF area that would be not a lovely-sounding name to some people.
It's like another name, can't remember it right now, that a lot of people like - oh, yeah - Camden, that people in New Jersey say is not a good association for them b/c there is a smelly town called Camden there. (Not to offend any Jersey people - it's just what I've read on other baby name sites about the name Camden.)
And I agree - Nina should change identity and post real not-Bertha name!
What's with all the Busters? Seems like an odd one to me, much more like a dog's or a goldfish's name.
Also, Makz? That one is really annoying, because Makz, in my mind, would not be pronounced just like Max. It's a subtle difference, but Max is spoken more quickly. Makz makes me pause ever so briefly after the k, getting my mouth in position to tackle the Z, because a Z is not an S, it's voiced! To me, Macs sounds more like Max. As in Big Macs. I think I would forever be confused about the proper pronunciation of Makz, and it would feel infinitely awkward to say. Almost as bad as the example someone mentioned of "Fred -- It's pronounced like Reed." Well, not that bad, but you get the idea.
When names are spelled very differently than they're pronounced, your mind can play tricks on you. Whereas Allison and Allyson can go into the same file in my mind (not to say I don't distinguish b/t them, but I see them as the same species), I couldn't possibly store Makz with Max. How do you catalogue it?
Oh man, Antonina, that one is rough.
Mergie does sound cute and modern..kind of like Fergie. But still.
I've never heard of that name besides the saying "Heavens to Mergatroyd". Cleveland Kent Evans...is this a real name for girls? I looked a bit more and it's actually on girl's name lists for "English" names. It seems to be only a last name IRL though.
Anyone? That one is bad and not in any retro sense I can figure out...
Actually, I looked at Makz and mentally heard it as "makes" for some reason. I guess that goes along with LKB's comment about odd spellings playing mind tricks...or is that trikz?
Now isn't that odd...as I typed it, it popped up mentally as "trikes." Maybe that final z is somehow lengthening the vowel?
Murgatroyd is a British surname, but the Heavens to Murgatroyd is straight off of Hanna-Barbera!
This is one of those names selected for shock value alone. Why don't they just name their baby Cholomley and be done with it?
Nina - is the baby's name Cholomley?
Or Snagglepuss.
"but it does disturb me that so many people here avoid names that are popular-as if the cruelest thing you can do to a child is give them a name that isn't weird."
Dear Guest, I'm sure many people here could look at the Top 100 and show names that are "popular" but still "weird" to many. Imagine taking a time machine back 15 years and talking about how popular Nevaeh and Destiny are.
I think you mean a name with which most people are familiar, and that's why so many parents are still naming their girls Emma and Emily despite a decade of huge popularity, despite knowing she will be Emily D. in her class. It's a comfortable name. It's not the worst thing in the world. But there are plenty of names that are familiar that aren't popular, in the sense they are below, say, #250. So weird and popular are not really opposites as you suggest.
Antonina from um, Detroit, :),
A quick google shows that the expression "Heavens to Murgatroyd" comes from the 1944 movie "Meet the People". The surname apparently has a long history in the British aristocracy. Is your, um, sister-in-law a noble?
Antonina - thanks for sharing that name. I think it's a terrible name, but quite different from Bertha, which is commonly seen as an older name. I'd never heard of Murgatroyd as a name, let alone a female name. I find it quite different from the dowdier, older names which so many of us love and which are enjoying a comeback today. I could just be ignorant here about the history of Murgatroyd, but I'm not sure if it fits in that category...
I've been lurking around this blog for awhile, and I decided to finally post. This is totally off-topic, but I need some advice about a name, and I'd really love to hear everyone's opinion. I'm deciding on a name for our daughter. I've really loved the name Nora for awhile, but I'm afraid that it doesn't go very well with our last name. Our last name is very different (and difficult for many people to pronounce and spell). It is very similar in feel and sound to "Morrison." What do you think? Would Nora "Morrison" be too rhyme-y? If so, any other suggestions? We're also considering the names Sadie and Claire. We like classic names, but don't want anything too popular. The name also needs to be fairly easy to pronounce and spell, since our last name is difficult.
Kesteren is a girl.
Is Antoinia Nina? Was she letting us know?
Joy - Nora will always make me think of Ibsen, which is not bad. Nora Morrison sounds fine to me, but if your real last name has the "ah" sound it might push it too far...
I like Nora Morrison. It is a little rhyme-y but I wouldn't have noticed, had you not said anything. I also like Sadie and Claire - though I like Sadie more than Claire. I love Nora.
Murgatroyd sounds like a robot's name. Why? I don't know. Antonia on the other hand, is lovely. What are the nn possibilities apart from Toni, which I don't like.
Joy, Claire is a lovely classic without nn's. Sadie, on the other hand is a nn on it's own. Differences of opinion on this blog have previously been expressed regarding the wisdom of giving a child an nn as a full name. Claire sounds beautiful with "Not Morrison". You could also go with Eleanor and Nora as a pet form?
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