Names that Peaked in 1979

Blink and you’ll miss that the first I in Jedidiah was swapped for an E.

Lesley runs a distant second to more popular sister Leslie, used for just over 50 baby girls in one recent year vs. Leslie's 700+. And interestingly, no baby boys were named Lesley though 45 were named Leslie. Once one of the most widely-used girl names starting with L, Lesley and Leslie now trail behind trendy L-starting girl names like Layla and Lily.

This sweet nickname style name combines contemporary Indy with vintage Minnie. Popular in the 80s, it fell out of style by the mid-90s, but, with the likes of Annie, Edie, Ellie, Bonnie and Heidi getting more attention, could Mindy make a comeback?

Jamin is unsurprisingly related to Benjamin, although it did not develop as a diminutive of the name. In the Old Testament, Jamin is a son of Simeon and a grandson of Jacob.

Part Jason, part Jayce, this name has been among the Top 500 names for boys near-consistently since the late 1960s. While it's a reasonable spelling especially if you're naming your son after someone named Jay or another name that starts with the letter J, it's one of those names that will eternally need to be spelled out for people. But then again, so are classics like Elisabeth and Sara and Jon.

Variant of Aisha. In the 19th century novel She, Ayesha is a beautiful 2000-year-old queen of a lost city, and is known as "she who must be obeyed."

More modern options: Shaw, Shay, or even Sean.

Variation of Terence.

Could run into pronunciation confusion.

Quiana might be thought of as the first synthetic name. Quiana was popular in the 1970s and 80s, along with the same-named form of polyester.

See TRICIA.

Latisha peaked in popularity in the US in 1979, reaching #221.

Meghann is one of the many variations of Megan, this one introduced by lovely White Lotus actress Meghann Fahy.

Many of the parents who choose this name may not even be aware of the lovely Irish_Gaelic name that spawned it.