Names that Peaked in 1899

Edna is one of those names that, until what it seemed like a few minutes ago, felt so terminally frumpy that no one could imagine a parent choosing it for an innocent modern baby girl. But with the great upswing in names honoring ancestral family members, several of them being other four-letter, e-ending names, we wouldn't be so sure.

Like Harbor, one of the new generation of word names with appealing meanings, though (female) memoirist Haven Kimmel has tipped it decidedly toward the girls' side.

Has a bit of a hayseed image, and that oy sound is tough to work with.

A classic Welsh name, softer than Griffin and friendlier to spell than Gruffudd - that hasn't had as much love as it deserves elsewhere. Namesakes range from medieval kings to the philanthropist Griffith J. Griffith, who left land to the city of Los Angeles. It's great in full, but Griff is cool too.

Until recently Ward was, like Wally, a Cleaver name, but today's parents are seeing it as a cooler nickname for Edward than Eddie, and are also beginning to use it on its own.

A feminine name heard most often in the Hispanic community. Surprisingly, Lorena was on the US Top 1000 list of girls' names for an impressive 130 years, from 1880 until falling off in 2011. We do not predict an imminent return.

Tennis-related name popular throughout Europe that's never caught fire here.

A traditional Nordic name, Helga was extremely popular throughout Scandinavia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Germany, it was a Top 10 pick from 1924 to 1943. And it still ranks in the Icelandic Top 50 today.

Long-time connection to the movie biz doesn't lend it any pizzazz.

Richmond is a place-name — it's the capital of Virginia — that makes a fresh way to honor an ancestral Richard.

Despite its poetic associations, almost as dated as Sheldon, and more feminine.

Mythological goddess of fertility whose name seems, ironically, among the least attractive.

Colvin is an English surname with a distinguished history; the Colvins were one of the leading colonial families of early British India, and Shawn Colvin is a popular American singer. We suspect, however, that most of the 18 parents who used Colvin as a boys' name in 2016 were thinking of it as a less popular alternative to other "Col-" names, like Colin and Colton.

Marvel, now a character name in The Hunger Games series, was a miracle name of yesterday, on the girls' Social Security list until 1941 and reaching a high of 487 at the turn of the last century, when Marva was also in style.

Has some creative credibility via abstract painter Barnett Newman, but we'd prefer his nickname, Barney.

This simplified spelling of Claire does not improve on the more popular version.

Wheeler is one of the most energetic of the newly stylish occupational names, all those 'e's giving it a friendly, freewheeling sound.