Who is the youngest person named Doris? Or Marvin?
Is there anyone in elementary schools with those names? Anyone under 18? Anyone under 40?
It seems likely, but who knows? Popular names change over time and we tend to have group think about them. Do you know someone named Ashley or Justin? They were probably born in the 1980s. Someone named Barbara or Dennis? They're likely old enough to receive Medicare.
But wouldn't it be great to go into a kindergarten class and meet a bunch of 5-year-olds with throwback names? Betty. Shirley. Beverly. Ralph. Norman. Earl.
I'd want to meet those parents and congratulate them for either being traditionalists or being the first wave of parents who use those names again.
The thing is, there was a time when kindergarten classes were filled with Shirleys and Normans. It was the 1930s and 1940s, but still . . . names that we associate with seniors were once given to newborns. As time passed, names changed and many returned. Consider the renaissance in the past decades of girls' names such as Abigail, Emilia and Lily – all popular names a century ago. But where are the Ethels and Gladyses and Mildreds?
(It's always risky to make gags about names, because just when you ridicule a name, you find out that a friend named their child that–because it's the name of someone who made an indelible impact on their life. So I apologize in advance. When I say that it would be funny to meet a 5-year-old Doris or Marvin, I don't mean that your child or grandchild has a goofy name. They're different.)
Along with everyone reading this, I'm sensitive about this subject. I realize I have the most white bread name possible – both my first name and last name sound like the entitled son of a wealthy country club member in a 1980s teen movie (which might be the case. Or maybe not). My sons' names ranked 76th and 133rd in the 1990s and my three granddaughters all have names that rank in the top 150 for the decades in which they were born.
In other words, I can't blame people for running with the herd on names. My kids and granddaughters are the Marvins and Dorises of their generations.
By the way, according to the Social Security Administration (your source for baby names and retirement benefits), the five most popular names in 2024 for girls were Olivia, Emily, Amelia, Charlotte and Mia. For boys, they were Liam, Noah, Oliver, Theodore and James. One hundred years ago, the most popular among those names was Charlotte (78th in the 1920s) and James (still third!).
So if you're getting ready to have a child and want to be a forerunner in the what's-old-is-new movement of baby names, allow me to make some suggestions among names that were popular 100 years ago and are ready for a return (although it may be difficult to find a bicycle license plate with that name, if that's a thing anymore).
Here are five suggestions for girls' names: Betty, Gladys, Hazel, Gertrude, Bertha. For boys: Howard, Clarence, Herbert, Elmer, Harvey.
The classics are classics for a reason.
Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.
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