Midcentury Baby Names

Ever since Austin Powers enlightened Americans that "randy" meant "horny," it's been hard to take this name seriously, and Randy has declined in popularity since.

Your friendly next-door neighbor...not your baby. Although Larry was once one of the most popular boys' names starting with L, that title now belongs to Liam.

Charlene is a Charlotte variation that, along with similar names like Arlene and Marlene, spiked in popularity in the 1940s and fifties, reaching a high of Number 100 in 1949. Most parents today would prefer one of the note classic versions -- or even nickname Charlie.

The phonetic Carolyn spelling, which was very popular from the 1920s to the '60s, has been steadily on the wane while Caroline herself has stayed strong.

One of the first breakaway unisex baby names, Terry, used independently since the days of Terry and the Pirates, is still used for boys though it's faded away for girls.

Jerry is one of those short forms that, like Mike and Debbie, rose to popularity on the coattails of their formal versions. The equivalents today are nickname names like Ellie and Theo.

Gone with Richard and Rick, Ricky has been falling since the turn of the 21st century. Probably still suffering from overuse in the 1990s.

A Top 100 name from the 1930s all the way through the 1950s, it's now firmly in Mom -- or Grandma -- land and supplanted for babies by Joanna.....or even great-grandmother Josephine. In its heyday, it had a host of variations, including JoAnn and Jo-Anne.

A modern(ish) invented name, only in widespread use since the 20th century. It is a combination of the English word darling and the popular midcentury suffix -lene.

Some parents just use Steve on the birth certificate, but it doesn't have the breezy charm of trendy short forms like Max, Sam, and Jake. Regardless of how much you love Steve as a given name, it might be smart to give your son a longer option to fall back on.

Laurie morphed into the more streamlined Lori in the sixties but now feels dated for a girl in either spelling. Update Lauren has been renovated as Laurel or Laura itself.

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

Peppy cheerleader name of the 1960s and 70s that's sure to evoke the Four Seasons song of that name.

There are lots of Kathy moms and grandmas but very few babies, most of whom are now called Kate or Katie.

When Deborah seemed too formal in the laid-back sixties, Debra stepped in as a pared-down alternative, but the pendulum is about to swing back.

Pitt is the prototypical blond Brad.

See TERRY.

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