Names that Peaked in 1885

A thundering biblical name - belonging to a grandson of Adam and Eve, also known as Enosh - that hasn't made as much of a comeback as similar Enoch. Enos is also a book in the Book of Mormon, and the name of the first chimpanzee to go into orbit. Caution: depending on your accent, it could have one or two unfortunate rhymes.

Sources say that Bina, which is close to the word for bee in Yiddish, was once used as a translation for the Hebrew Deborah, which means bee. On its own, it also means "understanding" in Hebrew. Simple and sweet in itself, it could also be short for (or a nod to) many names including Sabina, Robina, Columbina, and Jacobina.

Fielding isn't an occupational name, exactly, though it does relate to someone who works in or lives in a Field. Although there have been a handful of people, real and fictional, with the first name Fielding, the most famous Fielding is eighteenth century writer Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones.

Isidore and variants are remarkably underused and ripe for revival, a la Theodore and company.

Gertie has a certain homespun charm, summoning to mind butter-yellow braids and denim overalls, summoning mind the adorable character played by little Drew Barrymore in E.T. Is the world ready for the return of Gertie and Gertrude? Maybe?

The most minimalist of names, Ed is decidedly out -- though that usually means it's due to swing back in. More stylish these days: Ned or even Ted.

Octave shortens Octavius to a more manageable length, keeping the "eighth" meaning. In English speaking countries, however, people could easily confuse this with the musical term octave.

Botanical Hebrew choice that leads to the sweet vintage nickname Nettie.

Rhythmic and energetic, Drury is of French origin, with the wonderful meaning of "dear one, sweetheart."

It's hard to believe, via a 21st-century sensibility, that Fannie was ever a Top 50 name. But Fannie was even more popular than Fanny in its late 19th-century heyday, and stuck around much longer, staying on the Top 1000 until the 1960s while Fanny fell off in 1940. Today, however, Fannie sounds antiquated at best, and rude at worst.

Hilda with a stuffed nose.

Appealing short form of the stuffy Cleveland, occasionally used on its own.

A surname very rarely heard as a first, associated with Hall of Fame basketball star Patrick Ewing and, in the 1980s, the oil-rich Ewing family on the nighttime soap, "Dallas"

Dosia is rare but not foreign, especially since the antiquated name Theodosia was highlighted in the play Hamilton.

Hilma is heard in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, and sometimes used as a shortening of Wilhelmina--though there are more appealing German names for girls. to be found. Hilma Wolitzer is an American novelist and the mother of author Meg Wolitzer.