Extinct Names

Sociable middle name choice with a Quaker feel.

Briefly used as a male name in the early 20th century. Doll is a surname with a variety of origins and meanings, some more desirable than others.

Not as lively or independent as Gigi, Kiki, or Coco.

Merilee and Merrilee were early respelled or word names, ahead of their time in some ways. Merrilee hit the Top 1000 for a couple of years in the 1940s, but last year no baby girls were given either version of the name in the US, which makes it more appealing.

In an earlier time Shirley was used primarily for boys, but the tide turned with the publication of Charlotte Bronte's novel Shirley in 1849, the story of a character whose parents had selected the name for a boy child, then decided to use it anyway when he turned out to be a she.

As seen on SNL, Pat is the ultimate androgynous name. Stick with long form Patrick, and make sure everyone calls him Patrick.

Aside from the singer, there aren't many people around named Pink or Pinkie or Pinky -- zero, in fact.

Willie is one of the adorable boyish nicknames newly fashionable for girls, rarer than Billie. It definitely makes the somewhat-fearsome Wilhelmina more fun and approachable.

Marge used to be as common as Maggie or Megan, ranking on its own in the girls' Top 1000 from 1900 until right after World War II, when so many Old School names fell off the list in favor of a new generation cuter, perkier choices.

We don't see that bright a future for this one either.

Barb is a midcentury nickname name that, like Deb and Sue, feels terminally dates now. But with the revival of Barbie, Barb may not be far behind.

If there's an ancestral Earl you want to honor, consider Early instead.

An adorable nickname for a smiley baby, but not suggested as a legal name.

An early and still quintessentially gender-neutral name, now supplanted by thousands of fresher options. Hasn't been recorded as a given name since 1991.

The misspelling that created an indelibly one-person name.

Peg is a nostalgic turn-of-the-last-century nickname, sociable but slight. Like near-identical twin Peggy, Peg is in mothballs.

If you're looking for a girl's name that honors an ancestral Arthur, try Artis.

Trish was a cool -- in every sense of the word -- nickname back when Patricia was one of the most popular names in the US, primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. Trish is actually kind of a nickname of a nickname, Tricia, best known as Tricia Nixon, the daughter of President Richard who named after her mother, who was called Pat. Trish, along with almost every other name related to Patricia including Pat, Patti, Patsy, and Tricia, is seriously out of fashion today.