Once-Popular Baby Names Parents Never Use Anymore

What's In A Name?

Michael has been the most popular male name for over 40 years and doesn't look to be going anywhere. However, Billy was the 19th most popular baby boy name in 1935, but hasn't even cracked the top 1,000 since 2019. What other baby names were parents all using years ago that have fallen by the wayside? Well, let's start with...

Boy: Arnold

We're going to assume Arnold was a pretty popular name in the late-70s and 80s when Diff'rent Strokes was on the air, but the name was at its peak in 1916 when it ranked as the 83rd most popular name for baby boys. The fact that in 2004 it was ranked 901st and hasn't been in the top 1,000 since might have some shocked folks saying, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

And speaking of Willis...

NBC Television, Getty Images

Boy: Willis

Willis ranked in the top 150 till about 1930, heading down from there. And while there was actually a little uptick around the time the show was on the air—by 1994, it had fallen out of the top 1,000 and hasn't returned since.

And just to finish off our Diff'rent Strokes theme...

NBC, Diff'rent Strokes (1978-1986)

Girl: Kimberly

Kimberly peaked in the 60s and 70s when it found itself among the 10 most popular girl names in America. And while it's far from that kind of popular these days, Kimberly has—unlike her TV brothers Arnold and Willis—maintained a position in the top 1,000. In fact, Kimberly has been a top 300 name for seven decades now.

NBC, Diff'rent Strokes (1978-1986)

Girl: Lois

You'd think that Superman would make it so that Lois would always find a place among the top 1,000 baby girl names of the year. But that thought would be wrong. While it was the 17th most popular girl name in 1930, by 1983 it had dropped to 982—and it hasn't found its way back among the top 1,000 despite all the Superman movies and TV shows of the last 40+ years.

Warner Bros., Superman (1978)

Boy: Glenn

In 1962, Glenn was the 55th most popular name for baby boys. It also just so happens that that was the year Astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Coincidence? 2008 was the last time the name fell within the top 1,000—landing at 865 that year.

NASA, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Betty

In 1923, Betty was the fifth most popular girl name in America and in 1934, it was number two. We all know Betty Crocker and Betty and Veronica, but try and think of a more recent Betty. Probably not easy to do given that it hasn't been a top 1,000 name since 1996.

Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Clifford

While always popular with parents of big red dogs, the heyday for baby boys named Clifford was the first few decades of the last century. The name ranked 57th in 1909 and 65th in 1923. It's been 28 years (1997) since the name was among the top 1,000.

Library of Congress, Picryl

Girl: Mildred

Mildred wasn't just a popular name—100 years ago it was one of the top 10 most popular girl names (sixth in 1920, eighth in 1923). As the decades passed, though, so too did the name into obscurity. So much so that in 1984, it ranked 967th—and hasn't been back in the top 1,000 since.

Scan vom Original Paebi, Picryl

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Boy: Earl

My Name Is Earl aired on NBC from 2005 to 2009—but the primetime slot wasn't enough to keep the name Earl among the 1,000 most popular baby names. The name that had been the 23rd most popular in 1901 hasn't seen space in the top 1,000 since 2006.

Twentieth Century, My Name Is Earl (2005–2009)

Girl: Patricia

In 1923, Patricia was the 56th most popular baby name for girls, and in 1952 it had risen all the way up to become the third most popular girl name. But it was there that it peaked: In 2019. it was ranked 940 and the following year it was out of the top 1,000 (and hasn't been back yet).

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Fred

From 12900 until the mid-1950s, Fred was a top 100 baby name. And while it was still in the top 200 in the 60s, the name didn't see much, if any, boost with the introduction of The Flintstones. The rank continued its downward trend, eventually falling out of the top 1,000 in 2003 (it hasn't been back).

As for Fred's wife...

Screen Gems, The Flintstones (1960–1966)

Girl: Wilma

The name Wilma was most popular from 1912 through 1940—being a top 100 name every one of those years. Like Fred, it eventually fell out of the top 1,000, but it happened many years sooner for Wilma, which hasn't been there since 1973.

Screen Gems, The Flintstones (1960-1966)

Boy: Dale

We don't know about Chip but we do know that Dale was the 46th most popular baby boy name in 1958. We also know that in 2009, it was 917th most popular, and that it hasn't even cracked the top 1,000 since then.

Walker, Harry, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Doris

Doris had a good stretch of popularity—maintaining a spot in the top 100 from 1902 to 1954 (peaking at sixth in 1929). But it's been decades since Doris Day sang her way into our hearts and no other Doris has come along to list the name back up yet. 1992 was the last time the name sat anywhere within the top 1,000 (882).

Internet Archive Book Images, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Ernest

Maybe it was Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Ernest Hemingway that kept the name in the top 40 from 1880 to 1926 and in the top 150 all the way through 1974. But, somehow, Jim Varney and his plethora of Ernest movies in the 80s and 90s couldn't bring it back—and it continued to fall, until finally dipping out of the top 1,000 in 2019.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Shirley

Take one guess what decade the name Shirley was most popular? As funny as the "Don't call me Shirley" line was in the movie Airplane!—it wasn't the 80s. Of course it was the 1930s, when the young Shirley Temple was one of the biggest stars in the world—and in 1936, it was the second most popular name for baby girls. In 2008, it was 908th and that was the last time it even made it into the top 1,000.

Harry Warnecke, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Norman

"Stormin'" Norman Schwarzkopf was in the news a lot in the 90s as the man in charge of the United States Central Command during the war in Kuwait. But the truth is that the name Norman hasn't been "stormin'" since the first half of the 20th century—peaking at 36th in 1931. 2005 was the last time it even ranked in the top 1,000.

Harris & Ewing, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Norma

Just like Norman for boys, Norma on the girls side also peaked in popularity in the 1930s when it was the 22nd most popular name for baby girls in the United States in 1932. The last time it was seen among the top 1,000 was when it was ranked 928th in 2002.

Matson Collection, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Bill

Bill might seem like a pretty common name—and it was, from the late 1800s all the way up through the 1960s. However, by the mid-1970s, Bill was in the 300 range of popularity and it kept falling and falling. You might be quite surprised to know that Bill hasn't even been a top 1,000 baby boy name since all the way back in 1993 (even Billy hung around the top 1,000 until 2019. But not Bill).

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Gertrude

It might surprise some to know that Gertrude was once a very popular name—given that it hasn't even ranked in the top 1,000 since 1965. However, in 1906 it was the 22nd most popular baby girl name and in 1923, it was still popular—ranking 59th.

Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Herbert

Herbert Hoover was elected president of the United States in 1928 and in 1929, the name Herbert was the 25th most popular name for baby boys born in America. 2002 was the last time Herbert cracked the top 1,000.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Ann

Ann was a popular top 100 name from 1900 all the way to 1973. But while it did surge a little from 2012 to 2015 (going from 996 to 893), it headed back down after that and hasn't been a top 1,000 girl name since 2019.

Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Elmer

Its association with glue and Fudd probably hasn't helped Elmer's cool factor. But whatever the reason—Elmer has gone from the 38th most popular boy name in 1901 to the 924th in 2009. It hasn't seen the top 1,000 again since then.

Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Edna

Edna Krabappel was a great character on The Simpsons for over 20 years, but she wasn't enough to revive the name Edna—which last appeared among the top 1,000 baby girl names in 1991. Go back to 1900, though, and Edna is sitting pretty at 12th.

And while we're talking The Simpsons...

FOX, The Simpsons (1989-)

Boy: Homer

Few shows have been as pop culturally relevant as The Simpsons. But that popularity never managed to give the name Homer a boost in the eyes of parents-to-be. Homer hasn't been a top 100 name since 1915—and hasn't been a top 1,000 name since 1983 (six years before The Simpsons even aired).

FOX, The Simpsons (1989-)

Girl: Rita

The Beatles sang about Lovely Rita on their 1967 album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band—but parents of girls in the United States haven't found the name Rita to be lovely enough for their daughters for decades now. The name did hang out in the top 100 for a good five decades from the early 1910's until the early 1960s—but it's been slowly getting lower and lower on the list since then, eventually falling out of the top 1,000 in 2003.

Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Ralph

Maybe the release of the newest Karate Kid movie, Karate Kid: Legends, will put Ralph Machio's name back on the tips of people's tongues and the name Ralph back in play with new parents of baby boys. Because it certainly hasn't been there for many years.

Ralph was the 17th most popular boy name in 1917. 101 years later, in 2018, it was 950th—and it hasn't been top 1,000 since.

Columbia, The Karate Kid (1984)

Girl: Thelma

While the name Louise did see a significant uptick in usage since the release of the film Thelma & Louise in 1991, the name Thelma did not see the same boost. In fact, the name hasn't cracked the top 1,000 since 1982. Back in 1910 though, Thelma was the 25th most popular girl name in the United States.

Pathé, Thelma & Louise (1991)

Boy: Lloyd

The name Lloyd peaked in popularity in 1918 (ranking 51st) and hung around for a while, not falling out of the top 200 until the 1960s. But alas, Lloyd continued to drop further and further down the rankings until finally dropping out of the top 1,000 in 2003.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Gladys

Gladys Knight & the Pips took the Midnight Train to Georgia in 1973, but the name Gladys hasn't been a top 300 girl name since 1958 (in 1901, it was ranked 11th). The name did have a few surges in the later decades of the 20th century, but 1999 was the last time it ranked in the top 1,000.

The White House, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Vernon

There are multiple towns and cities across the country named Mount Vernon, but as far as babies being given the name Vernon, that hasn't been a popular thing to do since before the 1980s. Peaking at 65th in 1920, the name Vernon stayed in the top 300 all the way until the 80s. Although, it dropped quickly since then and hasn't been a top 1,000 boy name since 2003.

Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Wanda

In 1923, Wanda was the 83rd most popular baby girl name. In 1934, it was 47th. By 1975, it was ranked 229th and dropping fast—hitting 900 in 1986. The name had a little jump back up to 803 in 1987, but then back down it went—falling out of the top 1,000 in 1991 (and it hasn't been back since).

National Library of Ireland on The Commons, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Lester

Lester was a pretty popular name in the early decades of the last century—peaking at 52nd in 1906 but still in the top 100 in 1923 (71st). As for this century, the name hasn't sniffed the top 1,000 in the 21st century—last seen there in 1999 (876th).

Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Juanita

While popular among Spanish-speaking cultures, the name Juanita was in its prime in America back in the 1920s—ranking as high as 48th in 1924. However, the name started to quickly drop down the ranking chart beginning in the 80s and fell off of the top 1,000 table completely in 2003.

Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Bernard

The Saint Bernard is a sweet and much loved dog breed, but it doesn't rank very high among the most popular breeds in the country. And the same is true for the name Bernard—at least, the not ranking high part. Finding itself among the top 50 baby boy names in the 1920s, Bernard hasn't been that high on the list for many decades—and hasn't even been a top 1,000 name since 2008.

Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Girl: Myrtle

Everyone wants to go to Myrtle Beach but since the 1960s, very few people have wanted to name their baby girl Myrtle. The name was at its most popular in 1901—when it was the 28th most popular name for baby girls in America. 1965 was the last year the name was even among the top 1,000.

Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Boy: Willard

When's the last time you met anyone named Willard? Well, if you have a time machine and you just came back from visiting 1915—when Willard was the 58th most popular name for baby boys in the United States—then the answer is probably pretty recently. However, given that 1989 was the last time the name even cracked the top 1,000, it's probably been a while.

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Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Sources: 1, 2