Extinct Baby Names That Sound Hilarious Today
A well-known rule of baby naming says that it takes about 100 years for a name to come back into fashion. That’s why we recently wrote a list of century-old names that are ready for a revival.
But not every vintage name deserves to be revived. We don’t predict the return of Hyman, for instance. Or Normal. Or Butler. Or Rube. Or Walburga. All these names were in use in 1918, given to at least five babies born that year, but are not used at all today.
They’re not alone. Nameberry analyzed Social Security data to discover over 5,000 names that were given to babies a century ago but have now gone extinct.
Some of these names were obscure ethnic names, like Tsuyako and Mieczyslaw, that have faded from view as immigration patterns have shifted. Others are unusual variant spellings of names that have declined in popularity, like Ulysees and Lauraine. A few are usable, or even elegant.
But a lot of them are just plain funny to us now. We combed through the list to find the most hilarious of these extinct names from 1918 — and couldn’t whittle it down to fewer than 200. Here are the highlights, in all their LOL-worthy glory, along with the number of sad children given each name in 1918. See the full 200 names on Nameberry.
Damned by Faint Praise
Apparently, a lot of parents in 1918 wanted to set achievable expectations for their kids.
1. Constant: 20 boys
2. Bland: 14 boys
3. Pleasant: 12 boys
4. Normal: 10 boys
5. Carless: 7 boys
6. Square: 6 boys
7. Vanilla: 6 girls
Terms of Endearment
Some of these are now so outmoded, you wouldn’t even use them in conversation, much less as a legal first name.
1. Buddie: 33 boys
2. Budd: 23 boys
3. Girlie: 14 girls
4. Sweetie: 9 girls
5. Milady 8 girls
6. Doll: 6 girls
7. Bunny: 6 girls
8. Chick: 6 boys
9. Miladie: 5 girls
Ruined By Pop Culture
For every Atticus and Khaleesi that make it big after being featured in fiction, there are five Boos and Tyrions that are sullied by the spotlight.
1. Hedwig: 159 girls
2. Garfield: 119 boys
3. Alf: 32 boys
4. Lassie: 29 girls
5. Gilmore: 25 boys
6. Rosebud: 22 girls
7. Simpson: 22 boys
8. Holmes: 20 boys
9. Bilbo: 11 boys
10. Cinderella: 7 girls
Rejected From The Seven Dwarves
Not every word ending in the -y sound needs to be a baby name — especially not in the post-Snow White era.
1. Manley: 61 boys
2. Classie: 29 girls
3. Icie: 29 girls
4. Oralee: 26 girls
5. Woody: 26 boys
6. Icy: 24 girls
7. Moody: 23 boys
8. Manly: 15 boys
9. Worthy: 12 boys
10. Dicy: 11 girls
11. Nicie: 11 girls
12. Wealthy: 10 girls
13. Jolly: 9 boys
14. Piney: 8 girls
15. Chattie: 7 girls
16. Curly: 7 boys
17. Viney: 5 girls
A For Effort
Note to 1918: Adding an “A” to the end of a word does not automatically make it a girls’ name.
1. Yetta: 182 girls
2. Creola: 44 girls
3. Mozella: 41 girls
4. Jesusa: 31 girls
5. Pasqualina: 31 girls
6. Refugia: 28 girls
7. Leonarda: 26 girls
8. Fortunata: 25 girls
9. Congetta: 24 girls
10. Jesusita: 21 girls
11. Capitola: 20 girls
12. Candida: 18 girls
13. Walburga: 9 girls
14. Missouria: 5 girls
15. Wilburta: 5 girls
16. Nestora: 5 girls
Words, Words, Words
Though we tend to think of weird word names as a recent invention, these names prove they’ve been around for ages.
1. Arch: 55 boys
2. Metro: 35 boys
3. Colon: 27 boys
4. Carry: 23 girls
5. Olden: 22 boys
6. Wash: 20 boys
7. Veto: 16 boys
8. Orange: 15 boys
9. Canary: 14 girls
10. Leather: 10 girls
11. Media: 10 girls
12. Hobby: 9 boys
13. Dude: 8 boys
14. Clearance: 7 boys
15. Chess: 6 boys
16. Famous: 5 boys
17. Fountain: 5 boys
18. Jock: 5 boys
19. Method: 5 boys
20. Speed: 5 boys
Straight-Up Insults
Assumedly these were not yet insults in 1918 — and the last one is still only an insult if you’re speaking with a lisp.
1. Pansy: 229 girls
2. Guido: 104 boys
3. Rube: 15 boys
4. Nimrod: 13 boys
5. Flake: 8 boys
6. Coker: 7 boys
7. Athol: 6 boys
Body Con
Parents in 1918 were so blasé about body shaming that they started doing it at birth.
1. Pinkie: 79 girls
2. Dimple: 58 girls
3. Everlean: 17 girls
4. Pinkey: 11 girls
5. Dimples: 8 girls
6. Brunette: 7 girls
7. Pinky: 7 girls
8. Slim: 7 boys
This post was previously published on Nameberry.
(Photo via Getty)
