
It’s no secret that Jill is no longer the height of baby-name fashion. The name’s all-time peak was back in 1966. But would you have guessed Jill was more old-fashioned than Dorcas? More unusual than Zerenity?
Baby name statistics tell us that’s reality. Jill may still sound comfortably familiar, but it has become shockingly rare. It’s one of many “ordinary” girl’s names that have all but vanished from American style. You won’t mistake these names for a current hit list, but they don’t read like antiques or oddities, either. There’s nary a Hortense or Brunhilda in the bunch. They’re simply standard grownup names that we take for granted…but our grandkids won’t.
It’s time to reset our sense of ordinary. I’ve collected 30 of the vanished standards, and listed their current popularity ranking among all girls’ names. And for perspective, I’ve included some notable examples of names that are currently more popular. Look them over, and I think you’ll agree that “ordinary” has become a fast-moving target.
NAME | RANK | RARER THAN… |
Marianne | #2043 | Indiana, Nirvana |
Betsy | #2063 | Desire, Harlem |
Kathy | #2110 | Amoura, Mildred |
Colleen | #2121 | Clarke, Harleen |
Gillian | #2157 | Luca, Divine |
Justine | #2247 | Zipporah, Aries |
Tracy | #2342 | Everest, Norma |
Krista | #2382 | Amiracle, Yocheved |
Stacey | #2386 | Jupiter, Paizley |
Jean | #2393 | Rio, Klynn |
Connie | #2430 | Ollie, Sequoia |
Diane | #2473 | Hennessy, Amen |
Lynn | #2478 | Timber, Lovely |
Monique | #2584 | Sparrow, Israel |
Tanya | #2591 | Skarlett, Hendrix |
Kristin | #2646 | Amaryllis, Snow |
Lesley | #2781 | Scotlyn, Wednesday |
Marisa | #3016 | Heiress, J’adore |
Suzanne | #3027 | Atlas, Dynasty |
Janine | #3005 | Seven, Bostyn |
Beth | #3431 | Swayze, Nazareth |
Jodi | #3445 | Remedy, Hazely |
Felicia | #3854 | Vanellope, Mazikeen |
Keisha | #4011 | Rhythm, Rogue |
Kim | #4080 | Eevee, Lumen |
Tammy | #4102 | Passion, Roux |
Jill | #5502 | Zerenity, Dorcas, Envy, Kween |
Rhonda | #5926 | Jezebel, Denym, Lynnix, Nixon |
Gail | #6577 | Zeppelin, Karizma, Nature, Vanity |
Kerry | #7204 | Amazing, British, Beulah, Aphrodite |
2 Comments
Wow! Shocking is right. I can’t believe some of the names that are less rare than these ones. Such an interesting article!
Definitely shocking, The list is almost perfectly my high school friends/classmates including myself with only 5 names from the list being older relatives rather than classmates. I loved the examples of more popular names to imagine the people I know carrying those monikers instead.