Patches of Names

In honor of Pride Month, let's talk about color names, as colorful flag represents the LGBTQ+ community.  Colors have inspired names for centuries. There's classic girls' name Rose as well as the more contemporary Sage. Anyway, here are some color names in the top 1000 that are currently rising in use: Emerald This green gemstone in the key of classic Emily and Emma first ranked for girls in the 1990s. It re-entered the charts in the late 2010s and has risen since then.  Grey Most color names are mostly or exclusively used for girls, but masculine Grey is an exception. It sounds slightly old-fashioned, but it only ranked since 2013. Grey has slowly been getting more common over time.  Hazel Hazel was first popular from the 1880s to the 1930s before falling out of fashion. This brown-green shade has been back in the girls' top 100 since 2015 and is not far from its initial top 20 peak.  Indigo Indigo is a shade of blue that has the cool "o" ending and shortens ...

Names vary in all their qualities, including usage histories. There are new names that were unknown until recently. There are also revival names that were popular a century ago and are again today. Classics that never left a certain range (i.e. the top 500) exist, too.  However, there are a group of names that not many people talk about. These are names that were in the top 1000 before 1970, but never reached the top 200 until recently. I will refer to these as "second-chance popular names" because they became popular the second time around.  Second-chance popular names range in style. Some have vintage charm while others are completely modern. Anyway, here are some names that fit the trope: Abigail Classic Abigail feels Colonial. While it was probably more popular before then, Abigail ranked in the 400s when name records began. It declined until leaving the charts in the mid-1900s. It re-entered in the 1940s and hit the top 100 in 1989. Abigail was a top 10 name from 2001 to...

The past is a common source for naming. Despite the rise of contemporary trends, several parents are still naming their children after older relatives. Such names are called vintage names. Name websites always discuss vintage names, but many use the term too broadly (referring to any name on the charts in 1900 regardless of vibe). To make this list, a name must: Have ranked above #500 in the U.S. charts between 1880 and 1940 (excluding certain "vintage" names like Marigold and Sylvie) Be much less popular during the second half of the twentieth century (at least 200 spots down-Anna and Sarah are too classic) Associate with at least one famous person from the 1800s and/or early 1900s  Ten years ago, names like Audrey, Ella, and Grace would have made this list. Yet, they have been back long enough to no longer feel old-fashioned, and are declining once more. The names below, though, are holding on to their old-fashioned aura: Ada Top 100 through 1912 Out of top 1000 by 1993 Eng...

In 2006, the Plain White T's released their hit song, "Hey There Delilah." The next year, the song was a hit. It sent the name Delilah into the top 500. The name only continued to rise in our demonic name age. Yes, Delilah has a demonic pedigree. In the Bible, Delilah was the lover of Samson who betrayed him to the Philistines by cutting his hair. The name's meaning adds to its dark flair. In Hebrew, the name means "weak" or "languishing." Delilah may be Biblical, but that alone does not make it traditional. As Laura Wattenberg recently wrote on Namerology.com, parents historically named their children after Biblical characters to give them positive role models. Delilah was not the role model parents wanted for their children. Thus, while the name has been used since the seventeenth century and ranked in the top 1000 most years since 1880, Delilah was never popular. Yet, it all began to change in the twenty-first century. As it has been stated abov...