Names that Peaked in 1882

The Biblical Simon has been rediscovered and this appealing short form, an alternative to Sam, might be a way to make your Simon even more special.

Lace-hankie name with Shakespearean pedigree.

Columbia is a rarely used name with many associations. From the eighteenth century it has been used as a female personification of the United States, often appearing as a flag-draped patriotic figure. And as such it's inspired a plethora of place and company names, from the District of Columbia to Columbia University to Columbia Records, and songs like "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean." A character called Columbia appears in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This spin on the "Alex" prefix was the 88th most popular girl name in Scotland in 1900.

There may have been a time when Americans who heard this name thought of something other than the rapper Ludacris, and there may come another such time at some point in the future, but for now, it's probably best left to the man who was born Christopher Bridges.

A fairly common surname, with little appeal but a profit motive as a first name.

Elnora is best known as the name of the heroine of the early 20th century novel A Girl of the Limberlost. While Elnora might plausibly have many derivations, the most logical is that isn't a contracted form of Eleanora, the Latinate variation of Eleanor.