The Baby Name Wizard

This doesn't meet your criteria, Laura, but I still find it interesting:

Katharine - 1890
Katharine – 1890
Katharine – 1900
Katharine – 1910
Katharine – 1920
Katherine – 1930
Katherine - 1940
Kathleen- 1950
Kathy – 1960
Katherine – 1970
Katherine or Kathryn – 1980
Katherine - 1990
Katherine - 2000

What's with the change from the "ar" to the "er" in Katherine? I don't get it, since it really doesn't change the sound. Seems unnecessary for there to be such a movement towards er and away from ar.

Jennifer

Maybe someone can help with my gaps?

These Al- names seem to indicate the general trend from consonant sounds to vowel sounds in girls' names. I think "Alm" "Alf" and "Alv" would be considered too harsh sounding today.

My hunch is Alice is now due for a serious comeback.

Alice 1880
Alma 1890
Alverta 1900
Alvera 1910
Alfreda 1920
?? 1930
?? 1940
Aleta 1950
Alesia 1960
?? 1970
Alicia 1980
Alexandra 1990
Alaina 2000

JN, don't forget Allison!

Cool! Wow, Cardene sounds totally old school to me, like... an older woman working in a diner.

Cardi sounds really unusual so I don't know if that makes it older... or maybe it's part of the Staci/Traci/Kaci trend?

About Katharine vs. Katherine, could it have something to do with anglicization? The "e" looking more American than European somehow? I don't know... Or maybe the opposite, maybe it has to do with the new immigrant groups at the time that influenced the spelling?

I think Aleta, Alesia and Alicia all sound somewhat "now" also.

Should we be able to use the NameVoyager to look at names by endings? If so, I can't figure out how.

The challenge is ending sounds, right?

I can't do all decades but here are a few "new trendy-sounding endings" that I can think of:

1880s -a (eg. Anna, Emma, Ella, Clara)
1890s -el (eg. Ethel, Mabel)
1920s -is (eg. Doris, Gladys)
1950s -een (eg. Maureen, Kathleen, Doreen)
1960s -ette (eg. Yvette, Lynette, Annette)
1980s -any (eg. Brittany, Tiffany)
1990s/2000 back to -a (eg. Ava, Emma, Sophia etc.)

Obviously for boys right now it's -en but I don't know any other decades!

What I have (but there are exceptions to every ending), in no particular order:
-lia - 1880/90 - Cordelia, Cornelia, Julia, Ophelia, Amelia

-ette - 1960s - Annette, Antoinette, Babette, Bernadette, Colette, Yvette

-issa - 1990s - Marissa, Larissa, Clarissa, Carissa, Karissa, Alissa

-ella - 2000s - long ellas - Arabella, Annabella, Gabriella, Bella, Daniella, Isabella
1880s - short ellas - Della, Ella, Stella, Estella L(o)uella

-line - 1910/20 - Adeline, Evangeline, Angeline, Madeline, Pauline, Rosaline

-ina- 1970-90s - Christina, Katrina, Marina, Georgina, Nina, Regina, Sabrina

-een - 1940/50s - Maureen, Doreen, Kathleen, Eileen, Noreen, Laureen, Darleen, Marleen, Charleen

-ene- 1940/50s - Marlene, Charlene, Darlene, Laurene

-ie-1880-10 (most decline after 1880) - Sophie, Rosie, Abbie, Leonie, Addie, Allie, Annie, Bessie, Jessie, Carrie, Dollie, Emmie, Ettie, Fannie, Janie, Josie, Lettie, Lillie, Lucie, Maggie, Marie, Maudie, Minnie, Millie, Nellie, Ollie, Pollie

1880's: ie Minnie, Bessie, Annie
1890:
1900:
1910: - ne, Josephine, Pauline, Irene
1920: s: Doris, Lois
1930
1940: da, ta Linda, Glenda, Roberta
1950
1960: ri, Lori, Terri, Sherri, etc
1970: y, Amy, Kelly, Tracy, Wendy
1980: ca, Jessica, Erica, Veronica
1990

I'll finish later

(1990's-current) - iana/ianna - Lilliana, Juliana, Brianna, Arianna, Mariana

(1990's-current)- son - Madison, Emerson, Addison.
(was Allison the pre-cursor?)

(1990's-Current) - er/or - Harper, Piper, Taylor.
(was Jennifer the pre-cursor?)

I think maybe -lyn also goes with -line in the 1910s. the only example I can think of is Evelyn.

Carolyn and Marilyn peaked later ('40s and '30s respectively.

I thought of -anne (Lianne, Diane, Maryann) but those are all over the place. Maybe this gets back to the person who asked about Anne and Jane. Anne is an often used ending throughout time.

1880's: ie Minnie, Bessie, Annie, Nellie, Carrie, Jennie, Hattie, Mattie, Lillie, Jessie
1890: l(e) - Ethel, Pearl, Myrtle, Hazel,
1900: la(h), Viola, Beulah, Eula, Ola, Luella, Estella, Lela, Lola
1910: - ne, Josephine, Pauline, Irene
1920: s: Doris, Lois
1930: ly - Shirley, Beverly, Rosalie
1940: da, ta - Linda, Glenda, Roberta
1950: een, ene: Kathleen, Darlene, Maureen
1960: ri(e), Lori, Terri, Sherri, Valerie, etc
1970: y, Amy, Kelly, Tracy, Wendy
1980: ca, Jessica, Erica, Veronica
1990: n: Megan, Lauren, Morgan, Allison,
2000: - na(h): Hannah, Brianna, Anna, Savannah,

Do you think fashion is more determined by the beginning or ending sound of a name? This post makes me think the suffix is more important, but I'm not sure. There are lots of "roots" (often prefixes) that get built up. Isabel, Isadora, Isabella, etc. (This goes back to the previous stair step entry.)

More:

2000: l(e)y, lie, lee - Emily, Hailey, Natalie, Kaylee, Kylie, Riley, Lily,

1990's: Kelsey, Chelsea, Lindsey,
1980's: ny, nie, Stephanie, Whitney, Tiffany, Bethany

(a few more)

There's some discrepancy on -lyn endings, but most seem to peak around the 1940s:

Evelyn: 10s
Marilyn: 30s
Carolyn: 40s
Jacquelyn: 40s
Rosalyn: 40s
Gwendolyn: 50s
Jocelyn: 2000s
Madelyn: 2000s

NB: All of these names have a schwa sound before the "-lyn," which makes them different from today's Kaitlyn or Jaelyn.

John,
Ooh, nice point about the schwa!
-cec

90s-2000s: Boys names ending with -ton (Ashton, Colton, Peyton, Braxton)

Ooo, I was starting to do this on an earlier post. But you know what? Karen K. nailed it. So I concede! But I do remember being in elementary school in the 1970s with Stacy, Tracy, Wendy, Jody, etc. And people calling me "Bethy." Eeewww. Now do you suppose they'd call me Bethella?

Since others have commented on the endings that match with the decade, decided to see if I could do a variation on Jennifer's post -- a name that starts with the same sound for each decade, that peaked in a year in the decade. Best I could do:

1880 -- Anna/Annie
1890 -- ?
1900 Annis
1910 Antoinette
1920 Antonia
1930 -- Ann
1940 Annetta
1950 Anita
1960 - Annette
1970 Angela
1980 Andrea
1990 Angelica
2000 Annika

In my purusing of lists, came across something interesting. did you know that DONALD use to be in the top 1000 for girls names? Check it out on the name voyager.

Wendy, Donald is probably on the girls' side because of clerical error when it was a very common boys' name. You'll see that sort of thing quite a bit early on. Look at Mary, Anna, or Annie on the boys' side or John or James on the girls' side.

I just wanna say that i think my name is about to go popular...but what do i know? I,m from Europe,(sweden)! Names that are "in" over here (for girls) are; nora, nova, irma, eila, philippa, nellie, emelie, tuva, agnes, siri... and for boys; isak, emil, erik, noel, elis, elian, axel, hugo, viktor, wilmer...

karolina: How is your name pronounced? And how is Eila pronounced? And Siri? I like the simplicity of the names you list (ie. isak instead of isaac). i like nora and nova (i know a 19-year-old named nova.) i like tuva also--it sounds polynesian or something. ah yes it reminds me of suva, fiji. is it pronoucned Too-vah?

In response to Wendy's post -- I saw that Thomas and Jonathan also used to be in the top 1000 for GIRLS in the early 20th century!

Karolina - I agree, your name here (usually spelled with a "c") is getting quite popular. On your list, I have seen Nora and Hugo getting more buzz, and last month 2 babies were named "Axel" at one of the local hospitals (they publish the first names of the babies born there in a newspaper ad once a month.) Funny because "Axel" will forever be linked to Axel Rose for me!

This is amazing. I have never seen such a long thread that continues to be smart and insightful while avoiding mudslinging. Way to go!

Have we swung so far in the direction of "un-names" (not in a bad way, more like "unbirthdays") like Colton, Harper, Savannah -- things that once were surnames or place names -- that we're now itching to go back to really old-fashioned, traditional names? I predict a kindergarten class in the near future with two Hazels and a Mildred!

Hazel - yes. Mildred - I do hope not! Nor Eunice, Gladys, Muriel, Hilda, Doris, Vera or Gertrude, please! Not at least for another century - or five...

Hey, it could all come back.

Mildred could come back (Millie is so cute!). Hilda (there are LOTS of Hildes where I live..pronounced Hil-dee). Gertrude was the name of Drew Barrymore's character in ET. Why the hell not?

I wouldn't be surprised. Vera is cute as well. Viola is already getting trendy. I really think the people who pave the way for these names are already using the really old fashioned ugly or awkward ones, we just don't know it yet. Seems like the richer and more established the child the more outdated or odd their name.

My cousin is a nanny for a VERY well off old money family and the two daughters are Agnes and Estella, or Aggie and Esti. I haven't seen these two in the top names yet!

Hi there,
What about the first letter "E," for girls is it popular elsewhere? I know a class of four year olds with five of the six girls names starting with "E." I typed in just "E" for girls only in the name voyager and it was very interesting-- Huge in the 1880's, with a slow decline until the 70's or so and then a sharp increase.

Here's a little something:

1960's "ee" ending sound: Becky, Kathy, Wendy, Tiffany, Heidi, Lacy, Stacy, etc.
1970's "er" ending sound: HeathER, JennifER
1990's "yn" Katelyn, Madelyn, Maddison
2000's "ee" and "uh" endings

so my question is this to all my fellow posters, knowing what we all know, what would you name your daughter to be? Would you follow with these naming trend sounds?
Fun Laura!
H

I think Muriel and Vera are nice. And also Estella. I like the ending sound of Eunice, but not the beginning.

I wonder if the resurgence of Hilde/Hildi comes from the designer on Trading Spaces.

I think I might unconsciously follow the ending sounds. The -y/-i/-ie names, for example, I LOVED in the '80s--I suppose it seemed like the cool kids had those names. (Do you remember Anastasia Krupnik and how the cool kids in her school had nicknames that ended in Y or I?) Conversely, now a lot of these names sound kind of dated or cutesy.

Okay, I'm on a roll here... I know you asked about endings, but I got all excited about first letters so looked at the voyager and found when each first letter peaked for girls and the corresponding hot name:
A 2005 Abigail
B 1930 Barbara
C 1950 Carol
D 1950 Deborah
E 1880 Elizabeth
F 1890 Florence
G 1900 Gladys
H 1910 Helen
I 1880 Ida
J 1940 Joyce
K 1990 Kaitlyn
L 1890 Laura (and 1960)
M 1890 Margaret
N 1880 Nellie
O 1900 Opal
P 1940 Patricia
Q 1910 Queen
R 1920 Ruth
S 1950 Susan (through 1970)
T 1960 Tammy (through 1970)
U 1800 Una
V 1920 Virginia
W 1920 Wanda
X 2005 Ximena
Y 1970 Yolanda
Z 2005 Zoe
I had fun anyway :)

And nice job Karen K. I think you nailed it too!

wow! what i get from this is that a lot of the names peaked awhile back, so generally people are giving more unique names. Abigail, for instance, when it peaked in 2005 was given to more than 3000 babies in a million, while Barbara, in 1930, was given to over 10,000 babies.

Also some of the rarer letters (the high-point Scrabble pieces) peaked recently, like X and Z, also indicating that parents are going for unique names.

so, Queen in 1910. that's unusual. i wonder if there was some fabulous royal. I do know a Queenie, b. 1940s I think... and Asian American, which follows with the article I read that said Asian Americans lag b/c parents who are unfamiliar with American names name children after their friends--though this seems to only apply to recent immigrants.

Hrm... in checking out the Wizard I noticed the name Alta. what do you think? peaked in the 1890s. It's got the -a that's popular now, although I think someone mentioned something about consonant-heavy names like Alma being left out. I think I kind of like the sound of Alta though.

Thank you so much, H! I never ever thought of doing that. It's completely fascinating!
Valerie (beaten by Virginia...)

since we're talking about name endings, can you guys help me think of names that end in et, ett, and ette? I know some of them have been listed here...

For b:

-et
Juliet
Margaret
Garnet
Bridget
Violet
Janet
Arlet

-ett
Brett
Benett
Scarlett
Garett
Emmett

-ette
Annette
Colette
Cosette
Josette
Babette
Antoinette
Yvette
Bernadette
Lynette
Paulette
Nicolette
Odette
Miette

In 1910 there was no Queen (not of England, anyway, and I can't think that the average American knows much about other monarchies - I know I don't). Queen Victoria died in 1901 so it seems a bit late to be a tribute to her...

Here's my effort:

1890s Janie

1940s Janice

1950s Jane, Janet, Janis, Jan

1960s Jayne, Janine, Janette

1980s Janelle

2000s Janae, Janiyah.

1880 - Annie, Anna
1910 - Anne
1940 - Ann
1960 - Annette
1970 - Angela
1980 - Andrea
1990 - Angelica
2005 - Angelina (and don't forget, Hanna)

How about

1880 - Mary
1900 - Marie
1910/20 - Marion
1920 - Marion
1930/40 - Marlene, Marilyn
1950 - Marla
1960 - Maria
1970 - Merideth
1980 - Marina
1990 - Marissa
2005 - Mariah, Marianna

When I think of the name Queen (or Queenie), I think of the Harlem Renaissance. The time period fits. I think it's a name that was popular in the African American community at the time, but maybe I'm wrong.

What the dickens is the Harlem Renaissance? I think most people would, at least initially, think of an actual queen when they heard the name Queen.

Sorry--American cultural reference. The Harlem Renaissance was a literary, musical, and philosophical movement that started in New York (in Harlem) in the 1920s. Its primary artists were African American and today we have as its legacy poets such as Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen and new musical genres (jazz).

In 1910 in the UK, Queen Victoria's son Edward VII died. His consort Queen Alexandra, a Danish princess, was very popular - one of the true great beauties of the early 20th century.

Thought about another partial set
1890 - Caroline, Carrie
1920 - Carolyn
1940 - Carol
1950 - Carolyn
1960 - Carla
1970 - Carie, Carrie, Carmen
1980 - Cara
2005 - Carley

This is fun.

Charlotte - stays strong from 1890- 1940
Charlie - 1930
Charla - 1940
Charlene - 1950
Charity and Charmaine - 1970
Charissa - 1980
Charlie and Charlize - 2000s

Val W - Charlotte has had a major renaissance since the early 70's - can't tell you how many little Charlottes I've met along with Katies, Emmas and Emilys, Sarahs etc

Tansey, interesting! I like the name, I was just going by info on the wizard and didn't catch that.

Val W - I'm in New Zealand so possibly our influences are slightly more English, whereas Australia takes more from America.

My husband and I are trying to conceive. We both like the name Kendra for a girl (the ONLY name we agree on) I also like Eleri, Grace,Alison, Ellianna and Eva.

For boys we agree on Matthew. I also like Will, Carter, Scott and Jake.

Jen - Alison is in my top 5, so I'm right there with you. I think Kendra is very pretty, but it always has a sci-fi connotation to me. The only character I can think of was a recurring guest star on the 2nd season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Kendra, the Vampire Slayer. But it's a very pretty name. Ellianna is unusual, but I really like it, especally with the trends of Ellie and Anna of late.
Matthew is very nice and classic. I love Carter and Jake as well.

Tansy, again your comment is very interesting. As a Canadian, I always feel somewhere betwixt and between British and American influences. My parents generation, I think, would have felt a British connection more strongly, whereas younger people today would probably feel more closely connected to the States.

Certainly Val W - in earlier days over here I guess we were more allied to England as the majority of immigrants had English roots. In the 60's along with most Commonwealth countries we opened our policies to have a much more mixed culture. Americanisms were popular from the end of WW2 when many were stationed here and we bought into the lifestyle along with most western countries until the 70's nuclear fracas which isolated us once again. NZ has developed its own distinct identity as a result, but names still seem to be generally classist with classical English or Hollywood American as the two extremes.

It must have been odd living in a country ruled by someone else, identity wise... Although, it has to be said, we had excellent taste in country when we were doing the whole Empire thing. I love Canada and would so much like to visit New Zealand. Note that I don't condone imperialism, but I am proud that Britain was once the most powerful country in the world.

Abi - more the norm than not to be ruled from a distance - US included for a bit and England also, from Roman times onwards. Not that NZ is now of course, although we are tied to the UK as a member of the Commonwealth. I also don't much go for imperialism - look at some of the nasty ways mighty empires fell?

Oh, how I wish it was possible for us to use the Voyager to search for name endings! I'd be very interested in seeing how the "ora" ending for girls has shifted over the years. I've recently noticed what seems to be a big upswing in like:

Cora
Dora
Eleanora
Elora
Flora
Honora
Nora
Thora
Zora

Is this really a new thing, or was I just missing it before?

A lot of those names have been famous recently--well the past ten years.
-Dora the Explorer.
-Zora was the winner of some reality show--I think the one with Andrew Firestone looking for a wife.
-Thora Birch
-Norah Jones

I think it also follows with the trend of classical, feminine names.

I was also thinking about how nicknames for William have changed:
-Bill for the '60s and earlier I think.
-Will for the '70s
-Liam now

We often talk about boys' names being more stable; maybe the change is in the nicknames used?

Sadly, I can tell you with confidence that Zora won "Joe Millionaire."

Ohps, better late than never,rihgt! My name i pronoucned Car-O-L-ee-na and Too-vah just like you said! Eila is pronouced more like Aaa-La and Nora is pronounced Nnn-Ooo-rah with a "short and rapid" a! And Siri like See-Ree...hope you find in fun to know! I´m not so good at writing in English but I must say that I think your blog is very interessting to read, it´s very mutch too learn...I realy find it fun with all your names did´n know half of them so thank you for inspiring me!

Karolina: Thanks! I heard of a girl (around 18 years old) named Ayla. I think it's pronounced like Eila. This is in Hawai'i. I think she's Asian... maybe mixed.

Tansey, out of curiosity, do your coins still have Betty on them? I know they do in Canada and Australia.

Abi - yes. We just had a coin renewal but they still do. Mind you - the alternative - our PM, would be a mite silly as they can change at a moment's notice and of course the country's discoverer is disputed depending on your ethnic origin. US is sensible with the first president but NZ's first PM was such a bully and rip-off artist there'd be wholesale revolution if he was put on :-)

How about Leashen?

My son Nathan, his wife Karen, and kids Ryan, Lauren, and Megan, all have names ending in N. Their last name is also 2 syllables and ends in N. They didn't notice this until their 3d kid, but then named her to match, so she wouldn't fee left out! This seems fairly innocuous, esp compared to all starting with the same letter. (I just reposted this here in correct location. Sorry!)