Family Tree Names

Almost as passé as Hyman.

An English surname-turned-first-name whose most famous bearer is former US president Lyndon B. Johnson. His appointment in 1963 caused a huge spike in use for his unusual name the following year, pushing it to its historical peak of #347 in 1964. However, the year after his exit from the Oval Office, it dropped back below the Top 1000.

Long gone to the girls.

Mabel is a saucy Victorian favorite rising in popularity in the US over the past decade, after a 50-year nap If you love offbeat old-fashioned names like Violet or Josephine, only sassier, Mabel is one for you to consider.

A super diminutive nickname name, and sometime Madonna nickname – it was how the British tabloids referred to her when she moved to London in the 1990s, which she found annoying until then husband Guy Ritchie said it stood for 'Your Majesty'. Madge Undersee is Katniss's best friend in The Hunger Games books.

Mae, a sweet and springlike old-fashioned name, hadn't been on the national charts in forty years, but finally made it back in 2010. Mae is derived from May, the month name that was chosen for its connection to Maia, the Roman goddess of growth and motherhood.

Magdalena is a pretty name forever associated with the fallen-yet-redeemed Mary Magdalen; often heard in the Hispanic community. But forward thinking parents are reviving Magdalena along with Magdalene and the unrelated but similar-sounding Marguerite.

Obscure Old Testament name -- he was the son of Naomi and the husband of Ruth -- that's become even more obscure over the past century, perhaps due to its unappealing meaning.

Marcella has been in mothballs for so long it's starting to feel stylish again. Depicted as the world's most beautiful woman in Don Quixote (where it's spelled Marcela), this long neglected name seemed dated for decades but just might be ready for restoration.

Margarita is an international form of Margaret that shares its meaning of "pearl", but also directly translates to "daisy" in Spanish and Greek. Despite being widely associated with the alcoholic beverage in English, it has a long history of use in Spanish, Greek and several Slavic languages — most notably being the name of the heroine of Mikhail Bulgakov's 1966 novel Master and Margarita. It currently ranks in the Top 30 girl names in Russia.