Second-Chance Popular Names

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 2017. 

Ace

This bold boys' name ranked several times before 1905. It has been rising in the top 1000 since 2006, hitting the top 200 in 2020. 

Anastasia

This Slavic name ranked most years before 1935 without making the top 350. Anastasia resurrected itself in the early 1960s. Anastasia entered the top 200 in 2016. 

Arabella

While this elaborate name is vintage in style, it ranked just a few times before 1895. Arabella has become more popular than ever since its return in 2005. Arabella has ranked in the top 200 most years since 2014. 

Archer

Archer ranked a few times before 1890. It did not rank again until 2009. This surname-name has been a top 200 favorite since 2020 and is getting closer to the top 100. 

Arlo

Arlo ranked most years between 1900 and 1945 without reaching the top 600. Since its return in 2011, Arlo has been rising rapidly. It entered the top 200 in 2021. 

Asher

Asher ranked just three times before 1900. Since re-entering after 1990, though, Asher has been rising. This quirky Biblical choice made the top 100 in 2014.

Atlas

This mythological name ranked twice before 1900. It has risen since re-entering the charts in 2013. Atlas entered the top 200 in 2020. 

Aurora

Aurora ranked most years since 1880. It peaked in the 300s during the 1920s and then fell in use. Aurora then rose again by the 1990s. Since 2015, our bold-naming era kept Aurora inside the top 100.

Ava

This mini-name ranked most years through the mid-1970s, after Ava Gardner was famous. Ava started to rise again in the mid-1980s. Since 2002, Ava has been going through its first run in the top 100. It even hit the top 10 in 2005. 

Axel

Axel ranked until 1916, peaking in the 300s in the 1880s. It re-entered the charts in 1989. This quirky Nordic pick entered the top 100 for the first time in 2018. 

Barrett

Barrett ranked just twice before 1890. It re-entered the charts in 1954 and reached the top 200 in 2020. 

Bella

Bella first ranked below the top 300 until the early 1930s. It re-entered the charts in 2000 and rose quickly. As a short form of Isabella, it has been a top 100 name since 2009. 

Caleb

Biblical Caleb ranked until 1925 without making the top 300. Caleb re-entered the charts in the late 1960s. Caleb has steadily ranked in the top 100 since 1989. 

Catalina

This Spanish take on classic Catherine first ranked from 1920 to 1935 without making the top 600. Since its return in 1989, Catalina has risen beyond its first peak. It entered the top 200 in 2019. 

Charlie

This Charlotte nickname ranked every year through the early 1950s, peaking in the 400s. It re-entered the charts in 2005 and has since risen. Charlie has been in the top 200 since 2016, which is not surprising considering Charlotte's top 10 status. 

Chloe

Chloe ranked regularly through the early 1940s. It never made the top 300 then. Yet, after its re-entry in the early 1980s, Chloe rose. This Greek name has been in the top 100 since 1988. It was even in the top 10 from 2008 to 2011. 

Christian

Christian first peaked in the 200s in the 1880s. It then declined until hitting the 700s in 1935. Christian then rose again. It has been a top 100 pick since the late twentieth century.

Cooper

Cooper ranked several years before 1890. Yet, it did not rank again until the 1980s. It then began to rise, entering the top 100 in 2007.

Ellie

Ellie ranked regularly through 1930. It re-entered the charts in the early 1990s, that time becoming more common than ever. This nickname-name has been in the top 100 since 2011. 

Emiliano

Emiliano ranked just once in 1885. It did not return to the charts until the late 1990s. Emiliano has ranked in the top 200 since 2018.

Ethan

Ethan ranked several times below the top 600 before 1905. It started to rise after re-entering the charts in the 1950s. Ethan entered the top 100 in 1989 and was a top 10 name from 2002 to 2016. 

Ezekiel

Ezekiel peaked in the 300s in the 1880s before declining. It was out of the charts from 1954 to 1973, after which it began to rise again. This quirky Biblical name entered the top 100 for the first time in 2017. 

Ezra

Ezra sounds old-fashioned thanks to poet Ezra Proud (1885-1972). Yet, it only peaked in the 200s in the 1880s. It declined until hitting its low point in the 1960s, after which it began to rise again. As an uncommon classic, Ezra made the top 100 for the first time in 2015. 

Giovanni

Italian Giovanni ranked once in 1907. It re-entered the charts in 1963 and has since been rising. It has been a top 200 name since 2003. 

Hudson

This surname-name ranked several times before 1920. It re-entered the top 1000 in 1995. As part of our age of surname-names, it has been in the top 100 in 2012. 

Isabella

Before leaving the top 1000 in the late 1940s, Isabella never made the top 200. Yet, it was already declining when name records began, so maybe it was more popular before then. Either way, Isabella is more common now than ever before. It soared into the top 100 in 1998, just eight years after returning to the charts. It went on to make the top 10 in 2004 and reign as the most popular name in 2009 and 2010. 

Isaiah

Isaiah first peaked at #267 in 1880 before declining. This Biblical name left the charts in the late 1960s. However, it began rising again in the early 1970s. Isaiah has been a top 100 name since 1996. 

Isla

This Scottish name ranked five times before 1910. It rose rapidly after re-entering in 2008, reaching the top 100 ten years later. 

Ivy

Ivy was part of the nature name trend of the Victorian Era. Yet, when it peaked in the 1880s it never made the top 250. Ivy has been rising again since the late 1940s. In 2018, Ivy entered the top 100 for the first time. 

Jackson

Jackson always ranked within the top 1000. It ranked in the 200s and 300s until 1910. It then declined until hitting its low point in the 800s in 1969. Jackson soared into the top 100 in 1998 and is still rising today. 

Jonah

Jonah ranked several times until 1911. It re-entered the charts in 1970 and has been a top 200 pick since the late 1990s. 

Joshua

This Biblical classic peaked in the 200s in the 1880s before declining. It hit its low point in the 700s by 1940. Afterward, Joshua rose again. It has been a top 100 name since 1971 and was in the top 10 from 1979 to 2009. 

Josiah

Josiah is a Biblical name that ranked most years before 1920 without making the top 300. Josiah re-entered the charts in 1975. In 2008, Josiah began its first run in the top 100. 

Jude

Jude ranked below the top 600 from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s. After over ten years off the charts, Jude began to rise. Jude has been in the top 200 since 2009, yet, like the also-Biblical Jonah, it shows no signs of approaching the top 100. 

Juliette

Juliette ranked most years through the early 1970s, peaking in the 400s during the 1910s. It began rising again in 1995. This French take on Juliet entered the top 200 in the late 2010s. 

King

This bold regal word name first peaked in the 300s at the turn of the twentieth century. It left the charts in the mid-1960s. King re-entered in 2006 and entered the top 200 in 2013. 

Landon

Landon ranked several times before 1910 and peaked in the 400s in 1936. Landon has ranked consistently since 1962 and has been a top 100 pick since 2003. 

Lincoln

This presidential surname ranked most years since 1880. It briefly peaked in the 300s in the 1890s. Lincoln has been rising since 1998 and entered the top 100 in 2013. 

Logan

Logan ranked most years since 1880. It peaked in the 200s in the 1880s and then declined. Logan rose again during the 1970s and made the top 100 in 1991. The comic book character Wolverine/Logan probably contributed to its rise. Logan even make the top 10 in 2017 and 2018. 

Lucas

This form of classic Luke ranked several times before 1925, though it never made the top 500. After re-entering the charts in 1959, though, Lucas began to rise. It has been in the top 100 since the late twentieth century and the top 10 since 2018. 

Luke

Even Luke was never popular in America until lately. It mostly ranked in the 200s until after 1910. Luke began to rise again after hitting its low point in the 1940s. It became a top 100 name in the early 1990s. 

Luna

Luna ranked in the top 1000 most years until the early 1920s. Yet, the name was never in the top 300. Luna soared after re-entering the charts in the early 2000s thanks to Harry Potter character Luna Lovegood. Luna went on to make the top 100 in 2016. 

Lyla

Lyla ranked several years until the mid-1940s while never making the top 600. Lyla re-entered the charts in the mid-2000s. A top 200 name as of 2009, Lyla is not far from the top 100. 

Madelyn

This spelling variant of Madeline first ranked from the 1890s to the mid-1960s, peaking in the 300s in 1914. It returned to the charts in 1986. Madelyn entered the top 100 in 2008. 

Magnolia

This Southern flower name ranked regularly until 1940. While it feels old-fashioned, Magnolia never made the top 400. Yet, since it re-entered the charts in the early 2010s, Magnolia became more popular than ever before. It has been a top 200 name since 2020 and is heading towards the top 100. 

Malachi

Biblical Malachi ranked several times until 1910. It re-entered the charts in the late 1980s and made the top 200 in 2003. 

Margot

This form of Margaret ranked most years from 1929 to 1966, peaking only in the 500s. It has been rising quickly since re-entering the charts in 2013. In honor of our age of names ending in "o", Margot just entered the top 200 for the first time. 

Mason

Mason always ranked. It gradually declined from the 300s until 1960, after which it began to rise. Mason has been a top 100 name since 1997. It was even in the top 10 from 2011 to 2019. 

Maverick

This contemporary virtue name briefly ranked in the late 1950s. Maverick didn't enter the charts again until 1994, after which it began to rise. As part of our movement for bold names, Maverick entered the top 100 in 2017. 

Maxwell

Maxwell ranked most years since 1880. It peaked in the 300s in 1912 before declining. Maxwell rose again in the early 1970s and became a top 200 pick in 1990. 

Mila

Mila ranked just once in the early 1880s. After re-entering the charts in 2006, it rose rapidly thanks to Mila Kunis. Mila reached the top 100 in 2013. 

Miles

Miles is a classic that ranked every year since 1880. Yet, it declined every year from the 200s until reaching its low point at #584 in 1976. The name then began to rise again. Miles has been a top 100 name since 2018. 

Milo

This Miles variant peaked in the 300s at the turn of the twentieth century and ranked until 1965. Milo reentered the charts in the early 2000s. It has been a top 200 name since 2018 and is heading towards the top 100. 

Natalia

Natalia ranked a few times between 1920 and 1940. It re-entered the charts in 1975 and has since risen. Natalia recently made the top 100 as a successor to new classic Natalie. 

Norah

This spelling of Nora ranked most years through 1902, peaking in the 400s in 1883. Norah re-entered the charts in 2003. It entered the top 200 in 2013, the same year Nora returned to the top 100. 

Nova

Nova regularly ranked through the 1930s, though it never even made the top 500. Since its re-entry in the early 2010s, Nova has become a cool modern staple. It rose rapidly, entering the top 100 in 2017. 

Olivia

Olivia consistently ranked in the 200s and 300s until the early 1950s. It later hit its low point at #572 in 1971, but it has risen since then. Olivia has been a first-time top 100 name since 1990 and top 10 name since 2001. As of 2019, Olivia has been the most popular girls' name in the United States.

Penelope

This Greek name ranked a few times before 1930. Afterward it rose in popularity, but it didn't rank above the 200s. Penelope was off the charts again by 1980. It has been rising once more since the twenty-first century began, though. Several celebrity associations brought Penelope into the top 100 in 2013.  

Ryan

Ryan ranked just once in 1906 before it began to rise in 1946. It entered the top 100 in 1971 and has been there since. 

Savannah

Savannah first peaked in the 300s during the 1880s and ranked through the early 1930s. It rose rapidly upon its return in 1983. This Southern place name has been in the top 100 since 1993. 

Scarlett

Scarlett first ranked in the top 1000 during the early 1940s, after the release of the film Gone with the Wind. The name dropped out by 1944 but returned in the early 1960s and again in the early 1990s. Scarlett went on to rise quickly throughout the 2000s thanks to actress Scarlett Johansson. Scarlett entered the top 100 in 2011. 

Sofia

Sofia ranked most years until 1935. It then re-entered the charts in 1969. Sofia went on to hit the top 100 in 2003 and spent most of the 2010s in the top 20. 

Theo

This Theodore short form ranked most years through the mid-1940s, peaking in the 400s along the way. It re-entered the charts in 2010 and entered the top 200 for the first time in 2019. With Theodore in the top 10, Theo could become more popular. 

Walker

Walker peaked in the 200s at the turn of the twentieth century and ranked through the mid-1950s. It has been rising again since the early 1980s. Thanks to our age of surname-names, Walker has been a top 200 pick as of 2021.

Xavier

Xavier ranked once in 1890. It didn't start to rise until the late 1940s. Xavier has been a top 100 choice since 2001. 

Zoe

Zoe ranked in the 300s when name records began. It then fell in use while still ranking most years. Zoe has been a top 100 favorite since 2000. 

What do you think about these names?