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Shockingly Rare Names for Girls

August 13, 2019 laurawattenberg 2 Comments

Shockingly Rare Names for Girls

August 13, 2019 LauraWattenberg 2 Comments
Young girl looking surprised
Image: Syda Productions/Adobe

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.

NAMERANK      RARER THAN…
Marianne         #2043Indiana, Nirvana
Betsy#2063Desire, Harlem
Kathy#2110Amoura, Mildred
Colleen #2121 Clarke, Harleen
Gillian#2157Luca, Divine
Justine#2247Zipporah, Aries
Tracy#2342Everest, Norma
Krista#2382Amiracle, Yocheved
Stacey#2386Jupiter, Paizley
Jean#2393Rio, Klynn
Connie#2430Ollie, Sequoia
Diane#2473Hennessy, Amen
Lynn#2478Timber, Lovely
Monique#2584Sparrow, Israel
Tanya#2591Skarlett, Hendrix
Kristin#2646Amaryllis, Snow
Lesley#2781Scotlyn, Wednesday
Marisa#3016Heiress, J’adore
Suzanne#3027Atlas, Dynasty
Janine#3005Seven, Bostyn
Beth#3431Swayze, Nazareth
Jodi#3445Remedy, Hazely
Felicia#3854Vanellope, Mazikeen
Keisha#4011Rhythm, Rogue
Kim#4080Eevee, Lumen
Tammy#4102Passion, Roux
Jill#5502Zerenity, Dorcas, Envy, Kween
Rhonda#5926Jezebel, Denym, Lynnix, Nixon
Gail#6577Zeppelin, Karizma, Nature, Vanity
Kerry#7204Amazing, British, Beulah, Aphrodite
LauraWattenberg
LauraWattenberg

Namerology founder and "Baby Name Wizard" author Laura Wattenberg is a globally recognized name expert, known for her scientific approach to understanding name trends and culture.

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2 Comments

  • k8star
    k8star August 15, 2019 at 11:47 am

    Wow! Shocking is right. I can’t believe some of the names that are less rare than these ones. Such an interesting article!

  • Katjsh August 17, 2019 at 12:20 am

    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.

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