Amish Names

Alvin has a sturdy, no-frills sound that belies its somewhat whimsical meaning. Interesting potential namesakes include British rocker Alvin Stardust, and US footballer Alvin Williams, and African-American dance legend (and activist) Alvin Ailey.

Omar has a perfect mix of unusuality and familiarity, with the added plus of a strong, open initial O. Commonly used among Muslim families, Omar was long associated with twelfth-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam, though it sounds anything but ancient now.

More recent well-known bearers have been World War II General Omar Bradley and actors Omar Sharif(born Michael) and Omar Epps.

This spelling of the classic name is found in France, Germany, Greece, and other cultures, and is worn by such notables as Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth Shue, Elisabeth Moss, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. The name's pronunciation is usually just like the Z version, but some parents choose this because they want to discourage the Liz or Lizzie short forms and so pronounce it as if it has Lisa in the middle.

Nelson is a rather stiff and dated surname name that is sometimes used to honor distinguished South African activist Nelson Mandela, as Celine Dion did for one of her twin boys. Other notable associations are with the British Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, novelist Nelson Algren and movie operetta star Nelson Eddy. It was also the given name of "Rabbit" Angstrom, protagonist of John Updike's series of novels.

Though it was used by the Puritans in the sixteenth century, the founding of the modern Jewish state in 1948 transformed Israel from a traditional favorite into an icon of Judaism.

One of many M names -- including Murray, Melvin, Morton, Milton, and Marvin -- given to first-generation Jewish boys to replace the old-fashioned Moses. Now we'd pick Moses over any of them.

Elmo, like fellow Sesame Street characters Kermit and Grover, has a hard time being taken seriously. (It isn't easy being red either.)

This simplified version is not nearly as popular as the original (it also destroys a perfectly good palindrome), and has been on the decline in recent years.

Marvin has been neglected for so long that it's hard to believe that it has windswept Welsh roots. It also has some strong namesakes going for it -- singer Marvin Gaye, composer Marvin Hamlisch and boxer Marvin Hagler. It's the real name of both Neil Simon and Meatloaf. And let's not forget mention Marvin Gardens on Monopoly.

In the 1950s and 60s, Susie was the name every little girl wanted for her very own.

A Top 200 choice in the US from the late 1880s to the early 1930s, Irma has nevertheless fallen out of favor with modern parents, and doesn't look set for the sort of comeback that some of her vintage sisters have enjoyed in recent years. The devastating hurricane which hit the Caribbean Islands and the south-east coast of the US in 2017 has no doubt dealt its chances of revival a further blow.

Subtract the last two letters of Arnold, and you're left with a much more modern-sounding name. Arno is also the name of the main river in Florence, upon which sits the famed Ponte Vecchio. The Italian river name means "flowing water".

In the eighteenth century there was a poetic fad for names with the 'inda' sound, and, along with Belinda, Clarinda, Dorinda and Florinda, Melinda was one of those created at that time. It came into non-literary use in the 1840's, peaking in the U.S. in the late 1960s and 1970s: Melinda was a Top 100 name from 1967 to 1980. It began to fade as nickname Mindy ascended. Nowadays, however, Melinda feels more contemporary than cousins Melissa, Mindy, Belinda and Linda.

Old-time nickname that may follow in the fashionable footsteps of cronies Jake and Sam.

For a minute or two this sounded more modern than Janet, now equally outmoded.

Although they could be easily confused, Elsbeth is a fairly unusual contracted German version of Elizabeth, while cousin Elspeth hails from Scotland. With its 'beth' ending, Elsbeth feels closer to the mother name.

Abram was Abraham's original name in the Bible; it's more user-friendly but with a bit less gravitas. And it does offer that cool nickname Bram, as well as the friendly Abe. After some early American usage, in 1936 Abram completely disappeared for nearly forty years, until its return in the 1970s.

Medieval name without much of a future.

Mattie, which might be a short form of Martha, Matilda, or even Madeline, ranked among the Top 100 names for girls in the 1880s and in fact, has held a place among the Top 1000 for most of U.S. naming history. It fell off the popularity charts in 2014 and makes a cute, tomboyish, if somewhat slight name option.

You may never have known a Nettie personally, but there well might be one hidden in your family history, considering that she was a Top 100 name until 1901 and stayed on the Social Security list until 1962.