Names from Endurance

  1. Franke
    • Garret
      • Origin:

        Irish variation of Gerard
      • Meaning:

        "spear strength"
      • Description:

        After being one of the hot upscale surnames of the nineties, Garrett has left the Top 100 and this streamlined spelling is dawdling near the bottom of the Top 1000.
    • Glen
      • Origin:

        Scottish
      • Meaning:

        "a narrow valley"
      • Description:

        Former cool-boy name now in middle-aged limbo, but with a nice naturey meaning to endear it to modern parents.
    • Hannah
      • Origin:

        Hebrew
      • Meaning:

        "grace"
      • Description:

        Hannah is one of the nation's top biblical girls' names—it surpassed Sarah in 1998, and ranks in the Top 50 along with Elizabeth, Abigail, Chloe, and Naomi. Hannah is a name with many sources of appeal: Old Testament roots, soft and gentle sound, and a homey yet aristocratic image.
    • Heather
      • Origin:

        English botanical name
      • Description:

        This flower name was one of the most popular in her class in the seventies and eighties (in the 1989 movie Heathers, every snobby girl in the high school clique bore that name). Now, though still pretty and evocative of the Scottish moors, it has faded in favor of other purplish blooms, having fallen out of the Top 1000 after having been as high as Number 3 in 1975, when it was given to close to 25,000 girls.
    • Ike
      • Origin:

        Diminutive of Isaac
      • Description:

        Ike, once the quirky one-person nickname of President Dwight Eisenhower, has morphed into a cool kid nickname of the early 21st century.
    • Isaac
      • Origin:

        Hebrew
      • Meaning:

        "laughter"
      • Description:

        Isaac has shaved off his biblical beard and leaped into the upper echelon of popular boys' names, outrunning cousin Isaiah. A favorite of the Puritans, Isaac has never dipped below Number 400 on the US list of top boy names.
    • Jackie
      • Origin:

        English
      • Meaning:

        "supplanter"
      • Description:

        Jackie Kennedy gave this name a lot of style, but it doesn't seem destined for a comeback the way brother name Jack has. Jackie and Jacqueline both peaked in 1961.
    • Jacquelynn
      • Jeff
        • Origin:

          Diminutive of Jeffrey, Jefferson
        • Meaning:

          "pledge of peace"
        • Description:

          The ultimate dad name.
      • Jenna
        • Origin:

          English, diminutive of Jennifer
        • Meaning:

          "white shadow, white wave"
        • Description:

          Jenna was first noted on the 1980s TV series Dallas, later associated with one of the First Twin Daughters. Jenna is still being used, but no longer feels much fresher than Jennifer. You can also spell it Jena, but then many people will pronounce it jeen-a, as in Gina.
      • John
        • Origin:

          Hebrew
        • Meaning:

          "God is gracious"
        • Description:

          John reigned as the most popular of all boys' Christian names for 400 years, from the time the first Crusaders carried it back to Britain until the 1950s. Then American baby namers finally seemed to tire of this straight-arrow, almost anonymous John Doe of names, replacing it with fancier forms like Jonathan and the imported Sean and Ian.
      • Jon
        • Origin:

          Variation of John or Jonathan
        • Meaning:

          "God is gracious; or gift of Jehovah"
        • Description:

          Streamlined version of the classic boys' names, sometimes a short form of Jonathan, which is in fact an entirely different name from John attached to a different Biblical personage. Jon feels more modern than the traditional John, but some may find it an overly slight variation on an already slim name. Jon Snow is a popular character on HBO's Game of Thrones.
      • Jonathan
        • Origin:

          Hebrew
        • Meaning:

          "gift of Jehovah"
        • Description:

          Jonathan was derived from the Hebrew name Yehonatan, eventually contracted to the modern Yonatan, meaning "gift of Jehovah." It comes from the elements yeho, in reference to God, and natan, meaning "to give." In the Old Testament, Jonathan was the valiant eldest son of King Saul, and it was his friendship with brother-in-law David that gave rise to the expression "Jonathan and David" to describe devoted, steadfast friends.
      • Jonna
        • Origin:

          Scandinavian variation of Johanna
        • Meaning:

          "God is gracious"
        • Description:

          A Scandinavian short form of Johanna, properly pronounced with a Y sound at the start, but would likely be read as the more prosaic "John-a" in an English-speaking context.
      • Jordyn
        • Origin:

          Spelling variation of Jordan
        • Meaning:

          "flowing down"
        • Description:

          This variation of Jordan entered the Top 1000 in 1989. Jordyn as well as Jordan trended throughout the 90s and early 2000s, but are beginning to fall slightly on the girls' side. While the Jordan spelling reached the highest point in popularity out of the 2, making it into the Top 50 in the late 90s and early 2000s, today Jordyn has taken the lead.
      • Julie
        • Origin:

          French from Latin
        • Meaning:

          "youthful, sky father"
        • Description:

          Wildly popular in the 1960s and '70s, Julie is no longer anywhere near as stylish as the name's longer forms. Try Juliet, Juliana, or even the more grownup Julia.
      • Jeszie
        • Kareem
          • Origin:

            Arabic
          • Meaning:

            "noble, generous"
          • Description:

            A favorite Muslim name, Kareem first appeared on the US Top 1000 list in 1972 (jumping in at Number 405!), coinciding with the early career of basketball great turned writer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Lewis Alcindor). It has continued to chart every year since.
        • Keith
          • Origin:

            Scottish
          • Meaning:

            "wood"
          • Description:

            Strong but gentle, Keith is one of the Scottish surnames that, along with Douglas, Craig and Bruce, were considered the epitome of cool in the 1960s and early 1970s, when it was a Top 40 choice.