Endangered Baby Names
Updated Mon Dec 16 2024
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Endangered baby names are names that are on the edge of extinction, but that haven't totally fallen off the cliff.
Statistically, the endangered names on the list were given to 50 or fewer baby boys and baby girls in 2023. None have fallen below the Social Security Administration's five baby cutoff for recording a name, but they're headed in that direction.
Our criteria for names we consider endangered are names that have decreased radically in popularity over the years. NOT on this list are names that have always been rare or unique names we see heading for greater popularity.
Many of these endangered baby names are short forms that were put directly on the birth certificate during the heyday of their more popular formal counterparts. Nickname names such as Brad, Matt, Meg, and Laurie, once the height of coolness, have slipped onto the endangered list.
Most of the names on the endangered list have fallen so far out of fashion that they're unlikely to return for several generations. But there are some attractive names here that don't deserve to be so unpopular, in our opinion: Kerry, Leigh, Geoffrey, and even Wilbur may be gems deserving of a little polish.
Names currently on the endangered list are ordered by this month's popularity on Nameberry.
RELATED:
- Wilbur
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"resolute, brilliant"Description:
Wilbur is a stylish name in the UK whose merits are just starting to be discovered in the US. Wilbur, the loveable pig who Charlotte of the Web called Some Pig, is an inspirational hero. And Wilbur and Orville Wright were early aviationists.
- Hal
Origin:
Diminutive of Harold and HenryDescription:
Could Hal be the Jack, Max, or Gus of the future? It just might happen in the new nickname environment. Hank Azaria put it on his son's birth certificate.
- Rowena
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"white spear or famous friend"Description:
A fabled storybook name via the heroine of Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe (1819), which featured a heroine called Rowena of Hargottstanstede, and also a Harry Potter name, as Rowena Ravenclaw, founder of one of the Hogwarts houses.. Rowena has some old-fashioned charm, though most modern parents seem to prefer Rowen. Pronunciation, however, is NOT like Rowen with an a at the end, but with a long e and an emphasis on the middle syllable. She was on the popularity list until 1963, several years in the Top 500.
- Fergus
Origin:
Scottish and IrishMeaning:
"man of force"Description:
In Celtic lore, Fergus was the ideal of manly courage, making it a charming, slightly quirky Scottish and Irish favorite.
- Cyril
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"lordly"Description:
A British-accented Greek name with an intellectual image that has been off the U.S. charts since 1966, but was a Top 300 name at the turn of the last century. We have the feeling Cyril's ready for a comeback.
- Helene
Origin:
French variation of HelenMeaning:
"bright, shining one"Description:
Whether it's pronounced with an "een" or an "aine" or an "enn" sound at the end, Helene doesn't feel as current the more forthright Helen or the airier Helena. Helene reached a high of Number 228 in the US in 1916, when ene, ine and een names were all the fashion, and stayed in the Top 500 until 1962, making a final exit in 1970. It still ranks well in its native France, and even more in Norway (#70). Model Heidi Klum's daughter 'Leni' has Helene on her birth certificate.
- Ethel
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"noble maiden"Description:
Ethel is a name we once declared as 'So Far Out They'll Probably Always Be Out,' but with the return of other names on that list and with its new starbaby cred via Lily Allen, its soft sound and admirable meaning, we're not so sure.
- Myrtle
Origin:
Greek botanical nameDescription:
Long in our category of so-far-out-it-will-always-be-out category, once seen as a gum-cracking 1940's telephone operator, we think it's time to reassess Myrtle, and look at is as a nature name, a plant with pink or white aromatic berries. Ruled by Venus, myrtle is a plant associated with love, peace, fertility and youth.
- Cherry
Origin:
Fruit nameDescription:
With other fruity names like Clementine, Olive and Plum ripe for the picking, sweet Cherry remains remarkably underused: just 27 baby girls received the name in 2017, down from 343 at its peak in 1948. The unsavory slang meaning no doubt goes a long way towards explaining its fall from grace.
- Mimi
Origin:
Diminutive of Mary, Miriam, and othersDescription:
Sweet, nicknamey name belonging to the tragic heroines of both La Bohème and Rent. Mimi might feel too slight for many parents to use on the birth certificate, but as a short form, it's one of the cutest of the cute baby names.
- Peggy
Origin:
Diminutive of Margaret, GreekMeaning:
"pearl"Description:
Just when we had written off Peggy as the eternal perky, pug-nosed prom-queen she projected from the 1920s into the fifties, along came Mad Men, with intriguing mid-century characters with names like Joan and Betty--and Peggy, causing a bit of a re-think. MM's proto-feminist Peggy Olson was followed by Amy Adams's strong Oscar-nominated Peggy Dodd character in The Master.
- Deirdre
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"sorrowful"Description:
Sadly, this strong Celtic name often has "of the sorrows" attached to it because of the tragic character in Irish legend. Also a bit drab when compared with newer Irish imports.
- Jill
Origin:
Diminutive of Gillian or JulianaMeaning:
"youthful"Description:
Probably due to its nursery rhyme association, Jill has the perpetual air of a rosy-cheeked tot -- even though it is one of the oldest names on the roster, a medieval variation on the Roman Julia. The pairing of Jack and Jill to connote a generic boy and girl goes back at least to the fifteenth century. But can knowing Jill's history keep it from sounding like a cute mid-twentieth century invention? There may be some possibility of Jill making it back up the hill.
- Fawn
Origin:
Nature nameMeaning:
"a young deer"Description:
The doe-eyed Fawn is as gentle and soft as the baby deer it represents. And much like that baby deer, it carries with it the potential of new life. Fawn was featured at the bottom of the Top 1000 throughout the '60s and '70s — around the same time that Bambi came into play. But unlike Bambi, Fawn maintains relevance in the 21st century, thanks to its warmth and ties to the natural world. We would love to meet more baby girls named Fawn.
- Leigh
Origin:
English variation of LeeMeaning:
"pasture, meadow"Description:
This spelling adds a little more femininity to the neutral Lee. Leigh and sister Lee were quite popular in the 1960s and 1970s among the first cool wave of unisex names for girls, but now have vanished from the Top 1000. The Biblical Leah is preferred.
- Elva
Origin:
Icelandic and Danish form of Alf, anglicized form of Ailbhe, IrishMeaning:
"bright, light, white; elf"Description:
Elva is a multicultural choice, being both an anglicization of the Irish Ailbhe and an feminine form of the name Alf, meaning "elf". Popular in the US at the beginning of the 20th century, it remaining in the charts until the '70s, but it has not been given since. The alternative form Alva has faired slightly better, while in Ireland, Ailbhe remains the preferred spelling. Nevertheless, Elva combines the sounds of Elsa, Ella, Eva, and Ever and may also appeal to those expecting a baby at Christmas.
- Ginger
Origin:
English diminutiveDescription:
Originally a unisex nickname for a redhead -- red hair is called "ginger" in Britain -- or for the name Virginia, Ginger perennially wears pink gingham and spike heels.
- Merle
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"blackbird"Description:
Originally a nickname for someone who loved to sing or whistle, Merle is sleek but gentle, with a hint of great grandpa about it..
- Felicia
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"lucky"Description:
A lacy, lucky name very popular in the Hispanic community a decade ago, less so now.
- Marcia
Origin:
Latin, feminine version of MarciusMeaning:
"warlike"Description:
Marcia is an ancient Roman name which derives from Mars, the god of war. It was used by Dante in the Inferno and later by Thomas Hardy and others.