(For real, this time!)
Perhaps you've heard, the economy's taken a bit of a stumble lately? As families cut back and surveys reveal a bleak mood, the natural question in these parts is how the downturn will play out in baby names.
The popular idea in the press and the blogosphere is that parents will retreat to the reliable comfort of classic names. A few reporters have tried to pry this prediction out of me. (One was particularly eager for me to forecast a comeback for Faith and Hope. I had to break it to him that it's too late, they're already back.) In fact, some news reports have claimed that the return to tradition has already begun. Take the Reuters article titled "Parents get serious about baby names in tough year," with its bold opening statment: "Most parents have abandoned unusual names for their children..."
The idea sounds plausible, because many choices do work this way in economic downturns. In the world of investing, it's called the "flight to quality." The idea is that in uncertain times, people make the safest possible bets and aim for lasting value. Consumers, similarly, drop luxury in favor of utility.
Yet there are also good reasons to expect name trends to behave differently from investments or consumer goods. The most basic is that baby names are free. In a time of belt-tightening, why not indulge in a cost-free extravagance? Anastasia won't set you back a penny more than Ann. In fact, lower-income parents are more likely to try unusual, eye-catching and newly-introduced names -- quite different from, say, food purchasing patterns.
A second reason is found in the motivations of modern baby namers. Many parents who seek the unusual are convinced that distinctive names will give their kids an advantage in life. Think of it like a creatively packaged product standing out on a store shelf. The tougher the competitive landscape, the more this perceived advantage should matter to parents.
Finally, there's the fact that the movement away from tradition has been accelerating for years. An immediate surge of traditional naming would be the fashion equivalent of a runaway freight train suddenly backing back up a mountain.
So where do the claims of reversal come from? If you read the Reuters article closely, you'll see they (and may others) were inspired by a press release from the online parenting community BabyCenter.com. In the release, the BabyCenter folks note the rise of certain specific traditional names among their users. But is there a consistent pattern?
In fact, if you look at the BabyCenter popularity lists from the last several years, 2008 looks like more of the same. The bellwether traditional classics like John, James and William continued their steady descent down the rankings. And if you tally up the top 20 for boys and girls, as a group the 2008 names were much less popular a century ago than the 2006 names. In other words, no "flight to quality" has been spotted so far (and don't believe everything you read in the paper).
So let's toss out our preconceptions and return to the question: what effect will the recession have on naming patterns? To form a hypothesis, we can look to historical precedent. Did baby naming change during the Great Depression? And if so, was there the retreat to strength and safety that so many observers expect today?
To be continued...
Comments
I have no idea what will happen with the names, although I suspect that not much will change in terms of the trends, but I do think that the number of babies born in 2009 will be smaller than in 2008 or 2007. It seems to me that folks at all places on the economic spectrum (with their very different naming styles) are being laid off, however, so I doubt that the effect in naming will be noticeable.
It can depend on what you're considering a traditional name. Are we talking about names that have been common for a very long time, like John and Elizabeth? Or do we mean legitimate names that have been uncommon for at least a few generations, like Ezra and Beatrice? The latter seem to be becoming more popular, with people looking to older, legit names instead of modern creations and/or spelling variations.
I'm curious if androgynous names become (even) more popular. I'm pregnant and teach high school and Jordan and Alex were prominent among the names my students suggested - because they were androgynous.
An update on me: when last I posted, Samuel was leading the pack as a boys name to go with a last name similar to "Gotti". Sammy "Gotti" got a familial thumbs down with comments like "With a name like that, he'd probably run the numbers..." (The vowel sounds in the real name are repetitive in a bad way). Sam and Sammy were tough with an older brother who insists on being called Timmy. It is too bad, I grew to really like Samuel, but we'd go for a nn.
Now we are leaning towards Mark Joseph (older sib: Timothy Joseph). Any thoughts on Mark? (We are older parents and bent towards classic names. DH prefers Catholic Saint names).
At 38 weeks, we have to pick soon!!!
Megan - Mark is a good, solid, manly name that doesn't seem to be overused. And, to my ears, Mark is versatile - it sounds right on a cowboy, an engineer, or a dancer.
Can you tell I'm a fan?
Megan W.- I like Mark Joseph.I haven't met any Marks under 30 so I think he'll probably be the only one in his class. It's an attractive, classic name IMO. I'm intrigued as to why you would choose the same middle name for both boys though. Do tell!
@Megan W, I like Mark Joseph. Mark is an easy, solid name.
@Valerie - My husband is a junior, and he and his brother (and father!) share Joseph. My grandfather is also a Joseph, and I too have a "J" initial for a middle name. Seemed like this little guy would be left out if we didn't follow suit!
I don't really 'get' why people think that name trends would follow the economy. Names are FREE. In my own experience my consumption of FREE things has INCREASED in recent months (ex: library, freecycle, coupons...). I just don't think that a parent who loved Mackenzie growing up is suddenly going to chance to using Mary because she has less money in her bank accounts. If anything, I'd think that the parent would perceive a need to stand out MORE (as Laura said) and would make an effort to do so. I envision a Mykynzee instead. (Though the irony is that if the parent did their research they'd know that Mary really would be the more distinctive choice.)
And I *despise* the desire of some journalists to create a story. Go Laura for batting down those ridiculous theories by showing the data! It's akin to saying "It's going to snow all summer!" just because there is a spring snow shower. (Babies named Barack, anyone?) And I dislike the BabyCenter's "news" based on their (heavily skewed) reader population.
My 2 cents from the last few pages of comments --
In my database of name popularity that combines alternate spellings of the same name:
Brooke: has been holding steady in popularity at around #60 for the past few years.
Kiera/Kira/Keira/Kyra: if you combine all spellings, it came in at around #48 in 2007. This one is tricky, though -- I threw in the spelling Kierra, too, which I would pronounce Key-AIR-ah, not KEY-rah. And that doesn't even get into which spellings would be pronounced with an -EYE- and which with an -EE-. (I did not include Kiara.) Which is why I generally agree with Laura's stance on not combining alternate spellings!
Certain hipster parents might pull back a little on the names like Fable and Hendrix in favour of names that are more established.
The demise of a fauxhemian lifestyle might give way to a desire for stability and constancy for their children.
(Or perhaps I'm just hoping)
Oh, and let's not forget the little Ciara's out there - some of them are Keer-a.
Yes I think that names are not gonna change just because of money problems. Ppl will still like what they like no matter the amount of money in their bank account.
FYI I am Kam and NinaS. depending on what computer i'm on. Just so you know.
@ sta5tny mom (if you are reading here):
if you want an S name, and don't know if Ramona will fly (btw, i like the way Ramona Sta5tny sounds), how about Simona? to me it doesn't sound alliterative (s/st contrast).
Sta5tny mom - or maybe just Simone (sim-own)
Can I get some feedback on the name Milo? I only know one - who's about 25 - but I see this name on a lot of lists lately and wonder if it is really going to jump in popularity.
I also like Arlo, but wonder if it is too tied to Guthrie.
I would appreciate any thoughts!
love milo. :]
it's increasing in popularity, but it's still only ranked at 548. i wouldn't think there's much to worry about; miles is much more popular.
Following on from the conversation in the last thread about the popularity of Cordelia and Astrid and similar names.... I love both these names :) and see them mentioned alot on this site and a other NE sites. I haven't seen too much evidence of them being used in real life though. In my local paper (city of 400,000 people, 1 major paper with birth notices, Australia) I have seen 2 Cordelias and no Astrids in the past year or two. Not to say that they won't rise but I think that people who hang out on these boards are a little out of the norm and like things that are more unusual.
On a more main stream site I frequent, not name related, the baby names tend to be more the usual mix of mostly top 10 names and creative spellings. Also, most of my friends who have had babies have named fairly predictably. Most people I know seem to think that Rose is a great middle name for a girl and quite unusual and have also used top 10 names for all their kids and then wondered why every other kid has the same name! The fact that they think any name I mention is 'weird' I take as a good sign.
Love Milo and love Mark--both I think are good, solid boys names with versatility.
Hmm, what did the Great Depression do to name choices? I wouldn't be at all surprised if inspirations changed, but I'm not sure what direction they'd go.
I've been a lurker and occasional guest poster for a couple of years now. I'm newly pregnant (still in 1st trimester, so anything could happen). My husband and I are having trouble agreeing on a name if it's a boy. Here are the restrictions:
- Husband is Israeli (but mostly grew up in the US) and he'd like the kid to have an Israeli name.
- That said, I don't want it to be biblical (we're not religious).
- We also would like it to be a name that is easy to pronounce, so that it sounds like it's an American name even if it isn't.
- I don't want it to be too common. But if I like it enough and it's common, that's okay.
- I don't have any issues with it ending in n, if it sounds right.
Here are two I've come up with:
1. Ronen, means "song" or "singing", something like that. Could be shortened to Roni (as in Rice-A-). I've never been fond of the name Ronald, though, and he could wind up going as Ronny. It's not too far off from the Gaelic name Ronan, which makes it sound familiar. Because of the Japanses word, the kid might have some weird samurai phase at some point, but then who doesn't? (I spent a summer being Tom Sawyer myself :))
2. Doron, means "gift". I like this one because an Irish family name on my side is Doran, from Tipperary. My mom would be tickled.
Any other suggestions? I might at some point come back for opinions of the two girls' names we've been debating.
Thanks in advance!
@moonlady -
I would discourage Doron because people (his fifth-grade class) will think it rhymes with moron. Even though I love when a name works with both sides of the family. Likewise, you've probably already realized that Moran and Osnat are out.
Some names that are unusual but totally transparent across Hebrew and English are Oren (eng: Orrin) and Roi or Roee (eng: Roy) and maybe Emmett.
Look for names that don't emphasize the last syllable, because while that's typical for Hebrew it's very hard for English speakers. As a result I know of a Hila who is HYla in the US and a Yarden who rhymes with garden.
Hi moonlady,
I like Ronen a lot. I don't worry too much about possible nicknames I don't like, because I figure you can always nicely correct those that use that nn. I think Roni is cute, though, and I wouldn't immediately think Ronny as a nn for Ronen unless you call him Ron.
For Doron - the first thing I noticed was the similarity to the word "moron" (this may be a weird first thing to notice, but just trying to be honest about my first impression). I also think Doron when pronounced could be confused with Dora (and Dora the Explorer).
Moonlady-Ronen/Ronan is fine and reminds me of Rowen/Rowan which might cause ppl to hear the name wrong. If this would bother you correcting it all the time I would choose something else. That said, Doran/Doron is terrible imho. It could easily be turned into Moron or Dork-on( or other mean things) by some impolite children and that would be just horrible for your child. I will have to see if I can research Israeli names to offer you others.
DRDS-Milo is fine. Not as popular as Miles. Arlo is okay. My dd has one in preschool with her.
Megan W-Mark is a great classic name. Mark Joseph sounds great. James would also work as mn if you wanted it a bit diff but still J.
Re trends: I think the tendency would be to go a bit more classic in rough times. I think it's more of a mind set rather than a preference for a certain type of name. In rough times, we (I think) tend to be careful and conservative with a lot of things in our life. We have a need to be comforted and feel safe. I just believe this would transfer to naming as well. That said some people are firm in their beliefs about naming and other things and don't change their preferences even in hard times. So naming turns into kind of a lifestyle/religion. If Calliope is what you care for and you are a "free-spirit" then you will still choose Calliope over say Callie/Catherine/Cassidy/etc.
Moonlady, what about Gil? Eitan? Ilan? Zeev/Ze'ev/Zev? Alon? Dov? Noam? Lev? Ari? Shai?
I disagree that namers are going to turn to "classics" during a recession. I think instead that they'll be looking for names that conjure up an image of wealth, names that "sound" rich or successful, or they'll be looking for names that are really different, because they don't conjure up an image of today's culture. After all, baby names are really little "wish packages" for your children. I bet there's lots of flowery, long, princess-y names for girls (Arabella, Dominique) and I wonder if there isn't a little bump in last names of wealthy Americans (Morgan (like J.P.), Kennedy, maybe even Winfrey?) Or some parents may just play it straight and opt to call baby "Cash."
Parents will want to project an image different from the current economic downturn on their little progeny, and will likely want to daydream a little bit.
That's just my 2 cents, can't wait to hear other thoughts!
Moonlady,
I have to echo the concerns about Doron, which doesn't have too much appeal for me either. Ronen, however, is a name I have liked for a while. I only know one little Ronan, but I have known two adult Ronens, one of whom went by Roni. Everyone pronounced it so that it rhymed with Tony - it did not sound anything like Ronny. I think Ronen is versatile and fresh.
Actually Doron would be pronounced Duh-RON. But I can totally see how 5th graders wouldn't care. Excellent point. :) Maybe I'll keep it for a middle name. Of course, as a middle name, I could just go with the original Irish Doran.
Hmm, I think of names like Oren, Roy, and Emmett as sort of old fashioned. I know lots of folks here like how names like this are coming back (Milo sounds old fashioned to me too), but I still picture Orville Redenbacher when I hear them.
LOL, Gil, Eytan, Ilan, and Ze'ev are all immediate family members. Alon sounds a lot like Allen and Ilan -- maybe not the end of the world, but not that exciting. Dov is a possibility (although it means bear, which I never felt much kinship to), and I'll give Noam some thought. I had a cat named Levi who died last year :(, and I don't think Lev would work because of that. Hmm, Ari means lion, and I kind of like that. Shai might come from Isaiah, which would be biblical if it's the case.
On name trends: As a Gen-X-er, I completely understand our generation's desire to be different and choose unique names. I doubt an economic change will affect us that much. But maybe the younger ones just coming up now, finishing up college or getting their first job, will be more impacted by this recent economic change. It happened while they were still figuring out who they are, and may play some part in how they perceive themselves. You could make the argument that the whole mess with Iraq may also have some impact -- my generation grew up during the cold war instead. I wonder how that would change things.
Moonlady,
Maybe I'm the only one-- but I don't have a negative reaction to Doron (quite possibly because of former college basketball star Doron Sheffer), and when I pronounce it, it doesn't sound like "Moron."
Would any of the previous posters be more comfortable with Doran? I also like Ronen..
DRDS-
I like both Arlo and Milo. Arlo does make me think "Guthrie" but I wonder how many people would have that association..
You know, on the whole second syllable getting emphasis, I have to mention that I've realized just how many common female names from the mid 20th century had it:
Kathleen/Maureen/Colleen
Sharlene/Darlene/Shireen/Arlene
Justine/Christine/Florine
Joanne/Susanne
Louise
Laverne (used to love that show)
Lorraine
Jeanette/Babette/Paulette (OK, these are French, but they were popular here)
Elise/Denise
Danielle
Andrea (went to school with an Aun-DREA)
Celeste
I don't think this 2nd syllable emphasis is really all that unfamiliar to our ears. Just out of place when used as a masculine name, and maybe all the -een -eese -elle sounds are softer than in other names that sound "weird" because they're not common here (yet).
My husband and I are trying to sort out girl names and just had the first serious conversation about it last night. (We're the proud parents of an Alexander and a Nathaniel already, and we've come to realize that girl names are much, much harder.)
----------------------
Me: What about...Clara?
Him: Too old. I've always said that sounds too old.
Me: Amelia?
Him: *gives me a look* Amelia Earhart? Too old. I like Emily...
Me: ...Well, what about Alice?
Him: Alice? Woman, we need to bring you into the 21st century.
Me: Well, what do YOU like?
Him: ...Ashley?
Me: *stares*
Him: No? What about Jessica?
Me: *dies inside*
-----------------
Does anyone have some good suggestions as to how to persuade him that old-fashioned is in style and that Ashley, Jessica and Jennifer (YES, he also likes Jennifer) are as stale as they come?
What is it with men and Ashley?
Melissa...well, Emily is not terribly dated. Although it's #1, I don't know one child named Emily. But aren't you leaning towards trendy yourself by picking those retro names? I do think Clara is a nice choice. But I just have a feeling Amelia is edging towards uber popular and will sound dated again once your DD is an adult. I hope you'll be able to find a happy medium.
MelissaM--your story made me laugh out loud! My husband and I have had veeery similar conversations...and I'm not even pregnant yet! In fact once he called me a lunatic! :)
Actually, suprisingly, Jessica, Jennifer, and Ashley are much more common than I thought--I just checked, and Jessica is #42, Jennifer is #64, and Ashley is #13...so they're not completely dated.
What I found helpful when trying to get my hubby to branch out was to think of names that stylistically sounded similar to names he suggested, and then try and go from there (Carissa instead of Jessica, Annabelle instead of Emily) and then once he got used to that idea, branch out more (Annemarie instead of Annabelle, etc).
With the names Ashley, Emily, Amelia, and Clara, nymbler suggests: Abigail, Amanda, Marina, Celia, Hazel, Hannah, Alice, Annabella, Victoria, Estella, Caroline.
How about Amelie as a compromise between Emily and Amelia? Still rising but not nearly as popular as the other two.
toothfairy - I was sort of musing over (sort of) the opposite, in the sense of getting knocked out of your daydream a bit. Like, I might feel a little high-falutin' (sp?) using extravagant names while I was down on my luck. "Hard times man, hard times. These are my kids Regent and Diamondtastic.."
Jenny L3igh - I'm glad you like Bink, thanks for saying :)
I like Mark, and I try to like Milo, because it looks like a name I would like, but it also feels a bit wimpy somehow. Arlo makes me think Guthrie too. How about Aldo (is it a shoe store everywhere?) Arno?Franco? Christo? Dario?
Ronen is good, but looks like a tacky spelling of Ronan if that matters. I like the suggestion of Noam, it's not a name 'in disguise' as another name, if that makes any sense. I like Ilan too.
MelissaM - maybe remind him that while Alice and Amelia are out of date, so are Jennifer and Jessica? You could come to an agreement by showing him some stats where some less-musty vintage names are climing, or have him suggest names that are current today rather than when he was in school.
Well, unfortunately my sister's name is Emily which disqualifies it for me.
I'm definitely riding the 'Antique Names' trend, but I'm kicking up my heels with glee that these names are coming back, because I love romantic, feminine names with a long history. My strategy is to stick with names that fit the trend but don't poke up into the top 100 (although I guess Amelia is up there now, huh? That was kind of a bid for a more popular name to see if he would bite on it.) Really, the name that has captured my heart right now is Ivy, but you should have seen the look he gave me when I mentioned that one. Cuckoo!
I think I'm going to sit him down at the Name Voyager and make him look at graphs with me...or something. :P
Melissa - Ivy's a new one on my list too! I'm hoping it's not getting too popular, but I've heard it mentioned more than once on other name boards. I think a regular poster here named her DD Ivy.
My DH likes contemporary sounding names like yours seems to. Here are a few he found acceptable that weren't too 80's/90's trendy to me:
Elizabeth, Eliza, Alexandra, Jacqueline, Vivian, Josephine, Melody, Anastasia, Meredith, Whitney
@moonlady -- we have two sets of friends who had similar issues to you, with parents from different international backgrounds particularly Israeli/Jewish, but not necessarily religious, but wanting to honor that heritage and being distinctive without being too far out. One family chose Daneal, the other Zubin.
Re: Cordelia, we have a 10-year-old Cordelia in our circle. I can definitely see it catching on.
MelissaM-I immediately thought of Danielle to go with sibs of Alexander and Nathaniel. Nicole2 had some good ideas too. I also like:
Rachel; Victoria; Samantha; Valerie; Bethany; Jacqueline; Chelsea; Kimberley; Sheila; and Virginia. Nymbler suggests Charlotte, Lydia, Camille, Chloe, Celeste, and Beatrice amongst others.
Moonlady-You bring up a good point which I had overlooked in my thoughts re: recession naming-the age of the mother. My thoughts were going to what my (30-40something) age group would do. Granted many of these women are probably done with children and working on grandkids. I'm not sure what the 20-30 group would do but you're probably right in that they will be a bit more creative and self-proclaiming?? in their style.
re: Mark: I agree with others that it is solid and not too common. Have you considered Marc?
moonlady: Would you pronounce Ronen row? If so, I don't think people would call him Ronnie. I also wondered if you might spell Doron as Doran instead. I don't see either Ronen or Ronan as a more established spelling. (I'm not really a fan of this name in general, because of the ronin connection, although my time on this board is opening my mind to it.)
toothfairy: I like your theory! I know of a Cash already. I think he's in first grade or something. I think he might be named after Johnny Cash.
Like a lot of others have said, my husband is also more comfortable with names familiar to our generation than the antiques. Some we agree on are Nora, Colette, and Elise.
Melissa M: Your husband sounds exactly like mine... when it came to naming our daughter he loved Jenny, Samantha, Rebecca... where as I loved names that we a bit more orignal and much less 80's.
I would think that with all of the layoffs, there might be *more* babies. More free time you know. :)
I like Ronen quite a bit - probably better than Doron, although that doesn't bother me as much as some. I don't think the second syllable accent is that big of a problem. You'll need to correct people the first time, but they'll figure it out.
Love Ari - a longtime favorite of mine. I do see it on girls as well, but that wouldn't bother me. It's easy to pronounce in both languages, which sounds like it would be a plus for you.
Noam is a sleeper hit around here - by far the most popular name for little boys under three among my Jewish friends. I like it and it sounds like it meets your needs, but something to be aware of if that would bother you.
Other options: Itai, Lior, Reuven
Reuven is a fabulous name; I also like its "King James" version, "Reuben". For those who find Reuben slightly too rustic (I don't), Reuven is a sophisticated alternative.
From a historical standpoint, I so admire the cultivated and brilliant Israeli statesman Abba Eban. Here in the States, a boy would have trouble with "Abba" for a name, as here it would be construed as feminine. But is not "Eban" also used as a first name sometimes? I've always liked "Eben" as well...
Random thoughts: Was hunting for children's Easter stories for Banks, and came across these two charming names in a Polish tale: siblings "Aniela" and "Tadek".
I vaguely think Aniela might be the Polish version of "Angela"? Think it's so pretty. Is it pronounced A-nee-EL-a, or more like A-NYELL-a?
Tadek? I know that "Thaddeus" is a significant name in Poland, but could Tadek be a version of that? Or something else entirely?
Have noticed that there are names from certain languages that appeal to me consistently, and Polish names often do, as do Welsh, Cornish, Basque, old Gaelic, Maori, Hungarian, and Gypsy.
Would be interested if any one else has an affinity for the names of certain cultures/languages. With me it's the sound/spelling that always appeals.
Gypsy names are not that easy to come by! If anyone has any favorites, do shoot them in!
MelissaM - Maybe Eliabeth or Victoria? Both might still be too popular for you and too old for your husband, at the same time (funny how that works). But, there are nn for both that could take the name whatever direction you want.
Sarah smile - I definitely agree with loving Ari. I've always loved the cadence of Ari Ben Canaan (from Exodus). I have no idea if it's authentic, ethnically, but I thought I'd mention it.
MelissaM - that makes me think to suggest Cadence - it doesn't strike me as fitting into either old or too trendy. I think it's rising in popularity, but I only know one, for whatever that's worth...
Moonlady--I like Ronen a lot--familiar but striking, and I disagree that it looks like a creative spelling at all. I don't think it needs a nickname, but if there is one I think it would much more likely be Roni than Ronnie. I also like Noam a lot, and I love Lior. I know a 30-something professor named that, and it's always seemed smart and a little hip to me. I did have the same (negative) reaction to Doron that the others did. Regarding names that emphasize the second syllable, I think you'll see that most of the ones that follow that pattern have a French origin, and people sort of intuitively recognize the French endings and pronounce accordingly--like Paula is PALL-ah, whereas Pauline or Paulette are pall-EEN and pall-ETT, if you know what I mean. But generally, English pronunciation emphasizes the first syllable of 2, so without those triggers, I think you'll get a lot of Doron rhyming with moron, until you correct people.
MelissaM, I laughed out loud at your story, too! I like the suggestion of Amelie--it sounds more like Emily for your DH, and I actually like it better than Amelia--it sounds fresher to me at this point, and I think it's sweet. Since your husband seems to dig the 70s/80s names, maybe you could read through the SSA lists for those decades and see if there's anything that jumps out at you. Could I offer Holly? That was one of my first choices before DH nixed it (negative associations), and I'm the one here who recently named my daughter Ivy.
The comments regarding recession naming and also those about 70/80's names vs. current trends got me to think more about the current names in my area. I pulled up the top 25 according to the SSA and found this:
Based on the ytd #'s there are 59 boys and 39 girls that have been given names in the top 25 for 2007. However, as far as virtue/noun names there are 14 girls and 0 boys. The boys had 23 others with what I would term classic names (William/Charles/Edward) not found within the top 25 in PA.
@ Eo
The only Gypsy name I can think of is Esmeralda. But that is just from Disneys Hunchback of Notre Dame. So, I don't know how reliable that is but, I thought I'd mention it.
MelissaM, loved your story!
How about Evangeline?
MelissaM,
I, too, thought of Elizabeth as a compromise between you and your dh. Or maybe Eliza? Jocelyn? I like the idea of looking at 70/80s name lists for inspiration-- I bet you'd find some gems mixed in with all the Jessicas and Ashleys. More ideas from that era:
Reagan (how much more 80s can you get?)
Nicole
Dana
Jill
Caroline
Andrea
Ainsley
Bethany
Adrienne
Paige
Devin
Felicia
Cassandra
Robin/ Robyn
I came up with this list thinking back on childhood girlfriends. Fun!
Re: Mark... Marcus is also nice.
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