So if you are looking through your family history hoping to come across a name that will make your little girl stand out, here are a few formerly popular names that are practically nonexistent now.
Maybe your daughter or grand-daughter does not have one of these, but did your grandma, or one of your aunts?
Betty: Throughout the 1930s, Betty was second only to Mary among girl n0000ames, but has been on a steady decline since 1940.
Ethel: Strong showing during the 1890s, hitting 8th place, slipped to 12th0 in the 1900s, then dropped to 80th the following decade and never recovered.
Tammy: This female moniker skyrocketed out of nowhere in the 1960s and landed in the 13th spot. But by the 1990s, it was no longer in the top 200 and has all but disappeared since then.
Dorothy: In the 1920s Dorothy was all the rage (way before The Wizard of Oz) and peaked in the No. 2 spot, but since then, this name has slipped significantly. While it still merits a place in the top 1,000, it was most recently ranked at 808. The similar Doris (13th in the 1930s) has also been ignored over the past 15 years, not even making the top 1,000.
Ida: This classic name was the 7th-most-popular female name during the 1880s, but then slipped into disuse in subsequent decades.
Mildred: The name peaked at 6th place during the 1910s and held strong through the 1920s, but then went on a rapid decline.
Edna: It never quite reached top 10 popularity, but it was a strong contender from the 1880s all the way through the 1920s before it started sounding old-fashioned.
Gladys: Managed to crack the top 20 at the turn of the century, but dropped off by the 1910s.
Florence: For almost five decades, Florence managed to stay in (or very close to the top 20), but by the 1930s, the name was losing favor.
Bertha: In the 1880s, this name was the 8th-most-popular female name for the entire decade and then took a slow downturn. Now we think of Bertha — and Bessie, which followed a similar popularity arc — as a name more regularly associated with farm animals!
Just some interesting tidbits, but Jesus has a new name for us . . . and it's 'old', but ever new. The old song goes, "Is your name written there, on the page white and fair?"
Kent Ross (Used with permission from Thrive Ministries by Kent Ross)