Once Popular Given Names
Just like clothing styles, hairstyles, homes, – things do go out of style over a period of time. This is true of given names. For both females and males, some names were super popular for different reasons to name a baby and today, that name is hardly used for a newborn.
Yet, as you do your family tree, you may well come across these old-fashioned given names.
For girls:
Velma was very popular at the beginning of the 1900s. However over the last 50 years, less used.
Mildred was a hit given name in the 1920s, so you may find it for ancestors born then. After the early 1980s, the name was less popular.
Lavinia was a favorite given name in the 1890s and into 1900 but totally went out of fashion in 1929.
Ethel was given to babies in the 1880s to 1900. But today it is not in the top 1,000 given female names.
For boys:
Chester reached its peak of being popular in the 1910s.
Merle became popular in 1918 (the WW One years) but by the 1970s, it was not given to babies.
Wilbur– same as Merle, popular in the 1910s but not used much by the 1980s.
Horace was at its peak in 1901 and still found some by the 1980s.
The most popular names from 1945-54 for girls were Carol, Barbara, Linda and Patricia – think how many you know with that given name born in those years.
The most popular names from 1945-54 for boys were David, James, John and Michael.
Photo: Mother and New born baby in 1910.
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