Ancient Numerology 8 Names

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.

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.

The biblical Judith, the fourth most popular name in 1940, may be getting ready for a comeback in its full, elegant, if somewhat solemn form. Many of those earlier Judiths were called Judy—some after Judy (born Frances) Garland—preferring it over their more formal proper name. Today, Judith, like Deborah, may have shaken off just enough to appeal to parents looking for a traditional, yet under-the-radar biblical name. And Jude would be a likelier nickname these days than the Judge Judy connection.

Has a sharp investigative quality that's not a bad thing to impart to a child.

Popular pop name, inspired by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was at its height in Australia in the 1970s and early 80s; often cited as a Noongar name meaning "boomerang".

The Hungarian classic Laszlo, with its zippy 'z' middle and energetic 'o' ending, has become something of a hipster option, beginning to be considered by cutting-edge parents.

A "modernization" of Leonora that has suddenly come back on the radar along with the many other Leo names--both male and female. With literary cred via a famous eponymous poem by Edgar Allan Poe (and also in his even more famous The Raven,) Lenore was steadily in the top half of the popularity list until the mid-fifties, falling off in 1973. Cameron Diaz played a Lenore in The Green Hornet.

Lillian has ranked among the US Top 50 for the past 20 years, making it Lily's less popular but more grownup cousin.

This streamlined Italian and Spanish spelling of Louisa is currently very popular in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal, where it's usually spelt Luísa.

Maggie is a cute, earthy short form that has been in style for several decades now, still sometimes used as an independent name by such parents as Jon Stewart. First used in Scotland, it got a large bump in popularity via the 1971 Rod Stewart hit song "Maggie May." Today's Maggie might just as well be short for a more adventurous name such as Magdalena or Magnolia as for the classic Margaret.

Maggie Gyllenhaal was born Margaret.

Mark has the rare appeal of a strong, sleek name with a minimalist modern feel and ancient roots. The name Mark is taken from the Roman god of war Mars, also the namesake of the planet.

Marshall is an occupational surname, not having to do with anything military or martial, but stemming from the Norman French for someone caring for horses. It's been used as a first name since the nineteenth century and has been on the Social Security list since it started to publish its data in 1880.

The name of our first First Lady still has something of a prim and proper image, academic and efficient. That quiet, traditional, and tasteful gestalt is exactly what makes Martha appealing to some parents today.

Onetime superstar name (Number 4 in the seventies) that's now in steep decline. Today's feminine is more likely to be some form of Michaela...or Makayla.

Naomi was once a primarily Jewish name from the Old Testament that referenced the mother-in-law of Ruth. Because of this, it is a symbolic name given to girls on Shavuot when the story of Ruth is read in the synagogue.

Noah is nearly a patriarch of popular baby names at this point, going from Old Testament graybeard to Top 10 name in 2009, hitting Number 1 in 2013, and now settled into second place in the US for the past seven years.

Oscar is one of the most stylish Old Man Names of our era. While it's softened slightly in popularity over the past 20 years, that may be considered a very good thing.