Names that Peaked in 1962

In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. Peneus saved Daphne from Apollo’s romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. It is from this myth that the plant genus daphne, which contains the laurel species, gets its name.

Michael was the Number 1 American boys' name for almost half a century. While Michael has moved out of the Top 10 baby boy names, it's still widely used.

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.

Like high-kicking amies Coco and Fifi, Gigi has a lot of Gallic spunk but lacks substance. Was chosen for her daughter by designer Cynthia Rowley. While some parents might fashionably use Gigi on its own, we'd recommend lengthening it on the birth certificate to something like Georgiana or Gabrielle.

Elvis naming his daughter Lisa Marie and Nat King Cole's hit song "Mona Lisa" conspired to catapult one of Elizabeth's many offshoots to a high of #4 in 1970.

After a 60 year slide down the popularity ladder, Robin made a turnaround in 2020 and began climbing back into favor for baby girls. One reason may be its new status as one of the most evenly-divided gender neutral names.

How do you spell Teresa? Teresa, the simpler phonetic form of this name, was the most popular variation for its early life, when it was used exclusively in Spain and Portugal. Other spellings of Teresa include Theresa, the usual English form, and the French Therese.

The Greek name of sixteen popes and fifteen saints, the gregarious Gregory became big in the United States with the emergence of admirable actor Gregory Peck (born Eldred) in the late 1940s. From 1950 to 1973, it was in the Top 30, with nickname Greg becoming a Cool Dude name.

Glenn appealed to a lot of post-World War II parents for its cool, leafy image, also calling up the Big Band sounds of Glenn Miller and the calm, composed image of actor Glenn Ford, whose name at birth was the Welsh Gwyllyn. It could possible be in line for a comeback in the more nature-evoking spelling of Glen, as used by Glen Campbell, or possibly even the Welsh Glyn.

Kent is a no-nonsense, brief, brisk one-syllable name, almost as curt as Kurt.

An Ethiopian place-name and multicultural diminutive for many names, including the Slavic Tatiana and the Spanish Cayetana. Tana is also a rare Frisian name, meaning "thought", as well as a masculine name meaning "sweetheart" in the Turkic Karachay-Balkar language.

Boris is one of the old Russian names being revived by chic Europeans; it hasn't quite made a comeback yet in the U.S., but it does have potential.

This Anglicized form of Bearach or short form of Finbarr was in the Top 200 in the USA for 50 years until the early 80s when it rapidly fell out of favor. Barry has not yet found popularity in the modern era - but that may well change as people rediscover their love of classic figures like musician Barry White, baseballer Barry Bonds or even Barack Obama, whose nickname as a young man was Barry.

Vince is not a short form that often stands alone on the birth certificate, the way Jack or even Joe does, but it has certain credibility as the name always used for football great Vince Lombardi. And as a diminutive for Vincent, it's a far sight better than Vinnie or Vinny or even Vin.

Dee is a slight midcentury nickname that might be short for Deanna or Denise, but might be too slight for today's strong, independent female.

Only if you're madly nostalgic for sixties TV.

This name is hanging on as Renee, thanks to Ms. Zellweger, and in newer forms Renae and Renny.

Peppy cheerleader name of the 1960s and 70s that's sure to evoke the Four Seasons song of that name.

An energetic, charmingly retro nickname, Suzy and all her sisters are off their fashion peak but will rise again around the middle of this century.

Marty is one of those Old Man nicknames that's just starting to sound cute again.