Names that Peaked in 1888

Mamie is back. Having finally shorn her Mamie Eisenhower bangs, this insouciant and adorable nickname name is perfect if you want a zestier way to honor a beloved aunt Mary. Meryl Streep's actress daughter, properly named Mary Willa, is called Mamie Gummer. You might think of Mamie as a sister of the stylish Maisie.

Ollie is used less often as a nickname for the mega-popular Olivia or the stylish Olive than Ellie is for Eleanor or Allie for Allison. That may be because Ollie has a much longer use as a nickname for boys.

This is an African name that would fit into any culture.

Like Lars, Sven, Niels, and Nels, an unjustly neglected straightforward Scandinavian name. Surname Nilsson or the anglicized Nelson derives from Nils.

First used during the Victorian craze for jewel names; it could rise again, along with Ruby and Pearl, though it doesn't have as much luster.

Ebba, the feminine version of Eberhard and also a form of an old English name, is in the Swedish Top 10 but virtually unknown in the US. However, with the rise of Emma, Ella, Ada, and similar simple-yet-traditional names, Ebba may enjoy more widespread popularity.

For some, a name that will evoke the beauty of the national park in the Colorado Rockies.

Old-fangled nickname could make dot.com era short form or middle name.

The chic Euro spelling of Henry is rising along with the original form.

Ever since the enormous German cannon was dubbed by Allied soldiers "Big Bertha" in World War I, this name hasn't worked for a sweet little baby girl. But this was not always so. Hard as it might be to imagine now, Bertha was a Top 100 name until the 1930s, and in the 1880s was the seventh most popular name in the land--the equal of Joseph.

Upper-class surname in England that might be prime for adoption here.

One of the Great Lakes and a city next to it, named after a Native American people. This name swings between being more popular for boys and girls, but is currently rare for both. It could also be short for a, Er- name like Erasmus. Be aware that it sounds like the word "eerie".

The protagonist of Toni Morrison's novel, the simple-yet-sensual Sula relates to the Old Testament Shulamit. Alternatively, it might be a short form of Ursula.

Classic Italian name with celestial vibes.

An English family name used a few generations ago as an Anglicization of Moses, but hardly heard since th 1950s.

More user-friendly, though less substantial, than Bartholomew.

Too far gone to the girls.

Despite Thornton Wilder, playwright of the perennial Our Town, only a handful of baby boys receive this name each year..

Found as a first name primarily in baseball books giving the stats on the late New York Yankee Thurman Munson.