Names that were genuinely popular when you were growing up that you never hear children named anymore

Linda

Bruce

Susan, Linda, Kathy, Lisa, Melissa , Tracy, Carolyn, Christine, Maria, Janet (late Boomer, high school class of ‘80)

^ and Karen!

Jody

Heather

Dawn

Donna

Brett, Derek, Amy

Bernadette

Warren

April

Christi/Krista/Kristen

Lisa!

Kevin

Todd

HS Class of 1981

Billy Steven David Ann Marie Dorothy Christine Gina Gino Diane Ernie Susan Paul

Robin and Barry

Tracy and Stacy have totally disappeared

June and Jane

Sylvia

Margaret

Marjorie

Walter

Donald

Maude, Dorothy

Debby!

Ronald

Tammy

Carrie/Kerri/Kerry

Susan/Sue

Philip/Phil

Christopher/Chris

Jason/Jay

Baby Boomer here!

GIRLS:

Susan

Barbara

Deborah (or Debra)

Sandra

Joan

BOYS:

Robert

Michael

David

Richard

Steven (or Stephen)

John

Please add Linda to the girls' names above.

Boys- Christopher, Jason, Derek, Darryl, Darcy, Kevin, Cory, Chad, Michael

Girls - Kelly, Lana, Shelly, Melanie, Melissa, Sherry, Pamela, Kimberly, Barbara

Seti

[quote]Maria

[quote]Paul

[quote]Kevin

Maybe it depends on where you live because Italian parents still name their daughters Maria and their sons Paul and Irish parents still name their sons Kevin. They’re probably family names, but common nonetheless.

[quote]Amy

They spell it, Aimee now.

I've heard some other names in this thread, like Stevie and Michael, being yelled at the park, but I don't know how popular they are.

I graduated HS in 1984 and 10% of my class was named Lisa. Other common names were Mark, Scott, Jeff, Nicole, and Jennifer, which especially seems so dated now.

Lolly

Ruth

Caroline

Patricia

Mark - was popular in the early 1960s- not so ,much anymore

Stephanie Jennifer Stacey

Gen X here:

Michael Lisa John Tom Patricia Mulva (jk)

Judith?

Carol?

Those are boomer names, OP.

Maryanne

Mary Pat

Joanne

Colleen

Maureen

Doreen

Laura

Donna

Roseanne

Paul

Mark

Keith

Greg

Erin

Margaret/Peg

I see the name Sally often emough in celebrities and as fictional characters but I've never met one.

Is Lynn still used?

Gen Jones here

Susan

Jodi

Renee

Mary

Judy

Lisa

Carol

Heather

Sonya

Diane

Pamela

Wendy

Boys:

Mike

Jim

John

Pete

Brian

Dave

Steve

Ricky/Richie

Billy

Jeff

Kevin

Mark

Chelsea, Veronica, Jane, Lauren, Christina, Valerie, Michelle, Abbey.

Cindy

Anybody saying “Christopher “ is dead doesn’t know any Italian or Greek families

Nobody naming their son Gaylord these days

Peter dropped way off by the early sixties. I should know

Mary Margaret or Margaret Mary -- There were a dozen each in Catholic girls' schools in the '50s.

Better question - how many of us have seen our names listed?

me

Megan/Meghan/Meagan/Megyn

Francis - boy, Frances - girl.

[quote] Better question - how many of us have seen our names listed?

Me too. At least three times.

My name has been listed a couple times

Ursula

Denise and Mike - not Michael.

Ava, Lana, Hedy.....no one was naming their little girls those names back in the 1940s.

Heather

Jennifer, Kristie, Krystal , Susan

Mike, John, Billy, Timmy

Krista

Amanda and Melissa.

I’ll never understand why either names were popular, I don’t think they’re pretty or cute.

Sherry, Shelly, Michelle, Melissa, Lisa

people are just repeating names already listed. Lisa has been listed, Krista (Christa) was listed, Mike was listed (just 3 responses before!). Melissa was listed at the OP!

Come on, people. Quit being lazy and try to come up with some others not already listed.

Margaret is making a comeback.

Miriam? What year was this?

All boys under 12 seem to be named Noah now. All girls seem to have odd names that end in A like Ayla and Mya. So I assume these names will be no longer popular in another 5 to 10 years.

Ira was the Noah of the Baby Boomers!

You sure don't hear Elliot anymore. Nor Bertha.

Ezekiel, Jebediah, Beulah

Julie, Elaine, Patty, Claudia, Celeste, Elizabeth, Jan, Holly ……. Tom, Greg, Ken, Doug, Vince, Jim, Jerry, Eddie

Miriam used to be a popular Jewish name for girls.

Norman

Beverly (shortened to "Bev" sometimes)

I hate the names Jacob, Joshua, Nathan, Nathaniel, Elijah and Noah.

Catherine

Victoria

Elizabeth

Steve

David

James

Ricky

Tim

Karl

John

Gay

Bill

Charles

Gregory

Craig

Roger

There were certain girl names that I just thought were so stupid... there were none of them in my family tree, and they had no movie star associations. So they were just big blanks when I heard them.

Lisa, Susan... they seriously lack personality.

I just remembered there were a lot of Kellys in my class. I'm neutral on it.

A very popular Gen X and millennial name that I don’t hear much anymore is Ryan. I knew a bunch of Ryans in school. I’m not around many kids anymore but is that name still used?

No one has my name growing up (gen x here). I met one other kid maybe. Then all of a sudden it blew up. My little brother and sister’s graduating classes ( millennials) had three each. And all these celebrities all of a sudden - Zach Braff, Zac Efron, Zach Galfianakis, Zach Levi, Zachary Quinto.

Marcia

Cindy

Denise

We had boy Kellys and girl Kellys and the same with the Tracys. Those names have gone by the wayside but there are still names like Madison and Kendall you might find on either sex.

The Beatles song Michelle My Belle probably inspired a lot of mid to late 60s parents to use that name. Same with the Amandas born at the time of the 1986 US #1 power ballad by Boston.

Jill

Carmela

Jean

Elizabeth

Nancy

Dolores

Helen

Rosalyn

Rosalie

Once ubiquitous names like John and Mary are gone, along with both sources for Rick (Frederick & Richard), not to mention Tim and Tom, Scott and Jeff/Geoff.

Linda was pretty widespread among boomers, along with French names like Renee and Michele (makes you wonder what Daddy was doing during the war),---were these his favorite whores?)

Sally was the generation before the Boomers

In my office, we have a Fallon, Alexis, and an Afton - all millennials. All named after primetime soap opera characters.

Baby Boomers called William Bill or Billy. Now he's known as Will (but never Willy!).

Likewise, Richard was called Dick and Dickie. Now he's Rich or maybe Richie.

And Robert was called Bob or Bobby. But now, more likely, Rob. Though Bobby, admittedly, is making a comeback.

I was in high school in the early 70s. Others have already noted all the Loris and Susans and Michelles and Lisas and Renees and Melissas. And Lindas.

Other common girls’ names then:

Marcie

Shelley

Melinda

Beth (surprised this hasn’t popped up before)

Carolyn (but not Caroline)

Boys’ names of my era I didn’t see above:

Bruce (allegedly - back then - all Bruces were gay)

Stewart/Stuart

Jeffrey

(Have not seen my name here at all. Was not popular then. A bit of a resurgence recently.)

And I forgot two…

Steven but just as often Stephen

Douglas

Finally:

Nancy

Lauren

Gideon

More Baby Boomer names that I don't think have been mentioned:

Denise

Wendy

Heidi

Dorothy

Sharon

Melanie

Teresa (Terry)

Scott

Louis

Norman

Raymond

Howard (Howie)

Arnold

Gary

Roger

Alan (Allen)

Baby Boomer Betsy was never Elizabeth or Liz. I don't know why.

A Baby Boomer name that will not see a revival any time soon:

DONALD

[quote]r73 The Beatles song Michelle My Belle probably inspired a lot of mid to late 60s parents to use that name. Same with the Amandas born at the time of the 1986 US #1 power ballad by Boston.

We knew that any stray Roxanne we met was a straight up whore.

R82: Norman and Gary were more common among "War Babies" than Boomers. Heidi was never very popular. I've known more Wandas than Heidis from that era. Thankfully, Wanda also has gone out of fashion. My class had a "Wanda Ball". She died relatively young.

Sharquisha

Jane

Jean

Joan

June

I was sure Karen would own this thread.

R88: Those names were much more common among mothers of boomers than among boomers themselves.

[quote] Heidi was never very popular.

It depends where you grew up and when.

I grew up in a community with a fair amount of German-Americans, and there were five Heidis in my graduating h.s. class of 280 in 1984.

John

Kim(berly)

Yeah, r86, depends on where you grew up, I guess. By the mid-50s in suburban NJ, Heidi and Wendy became hugely popular names based on the Shirley Temple movie (which was televised constantly back then) and Mary Martin's Peter Pan.

Odd fact: Lisa became really popular as a name in the mid-1960 after the Mona Lisa came to the United States for the first time.

Hmmm, that’s interesting.

And more Baby Boomer names:

Kathy and Cathy

Patricia and Patty

Robin

Laurie

Diana and Diane

Mary Lou

Mary Ann and Marianne

Annette

Rhoda

Rhonda

Brenda

Valerie

Darlene

Paula

Janet

Rachel

Joanne

Glen and Glenn

Danny

Stuart and Stewart

Larry (Lawrence)

Reed and Reid

Sheldon

Marvin

Fred

Frank

Peter

Leonard and Lenny

Martin and Marty

Hal (Harold)

Mines' on the original list. We had 4 by the same name in my elementary school class.

My parents' other 2 choices were Brad and Todd. They were worse.

I never knew a Mary Ann, a Mary Lou or Mary Sue… none of that.

Is it a southern thing?

^^It can be Southern, and it also can be Catholic.

Mary Pat or Mary Elizabeth would be Catholic, Mary Sue not so much.

I’m an early millennial - Justin, Jason, Kyle and Tyler and Ashley, Jessica, Caitlyn and Stephanie would have been quintessential trendy names for my cohort.

Gen Z went big on Irish and Jewish names for boys - Liam, Caleb, Noah and Nolan. The girls got ersatz WASP stuff like Madison, white trash fantasias on Katherine that morphed from the already not great Caitlyn into the terrible McKayla variants and vaguely Italian stuff like Sophia and Isabella.

R94 meh theory. I was born in 1962 and I knew too many Lisas my year or the years just above. The Lisa movement was already in full effect.

Born in 1974, in school there were always two Jennifers (Jennys), Jessicas, Melissas (Missy) and Lisas Another not uncommon name was Jill, Laura/Laurie/Lori, and Kim

Mia and Liza never really caught on. I wonder why.

Jackie or Jacqueline. Caroline.

Gina

I can't think of a popular Soap Character named Mia. That seems to be how the naming trend worked in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

She was a huge soap star in the 60s—her breakthrough. The name never caught fire for babies.

On another note, any girl named Brandy, Candy, Amber, Tiffany or Sherry was almost guaranteed to be a slut (this is in the 80s).

"Steven (or Stephen)"

Steven is the Christian spelling, Stephen is the pagan spelling.

In my predominantly German and Irish suburb in the 1950s, parents usually wanted to give their kids the plainest, most American sounding names possible. Cherie or Brent was about as exotic as it got.

Ha, r111 - Brents were always preppies back in the 80s in Southern CA (i.e. snobs)

Because Mia is bitch r104.

Dolly

Horace

Ambrose

Ermengarde

Cornelius

Barnaby

Ephram

Irene

Minnie

Gussie

Ernestina

Age of bland: Kim and Lisa. Jennifer. Julie. Christine. Amy. Heather. Angie. Tonya.

And for the guys: Mike, Todd, Chris, Jason, Mark, Brad, Steven. Occasionally something really exotic like Kyle.

These are all basically grandma/grandpa names now.

r11 I work with a Millenial Schlacey. I just cringe everytime I hear or see that name.

Emily is another ubiquitous Gen Z name - it’ll probably be the Linda of the 2050’s.

Prior to the Italian girl name craze of the 2000s, younger millennial girls got vaguely French names like Madeline, Chloe and Sophie.

Archibald

Herman

Stanton

Patrice

Pamela

Dennis

But what about Lisa?

[quote]Steven is the Christian spelling, Stephen is the pagan spelling.

R110. Sorry, but you are incorrect. "Stephen" is the Christian spelling. "Steven" is the Jewish spelling.

I question that, r121.

I don't care what parents name their offspring...just spell the names correctly and give them proper names not nicknames.

Adolf

Op are you an elder gay or millenial. There were many names like Barbera and Eugene that were popular among adults as I was growing up as kid in the 90s. But today you don’t meet very many people with these names unless they are extremely old.

R122. Well, some Jews spell "Stephen" the Christian way with a "ph."

"Stephen" with a "ph" is historically the Christian spelling. "Steven" with a "v" is the Jewish spelling.

Jennifer

Sarah

Jason

Chris

One boomer name that I predict making a big comeback is Bonnie.

Cissy/Cecilia

I kind of like Miriam for a girl name

I love Miriam. It makes me think of the supremely talented Miriam Hopkins, and the short story by Truman Capote.

Some common Jewish girl names you never hear anymore: Rhoda, Mandy, Marcy, Wendy

[quote] One boomer name that I predict making a big comeback is Bonnie.

DAMMIT, Schneider!! You better be right!!

Jennifer

Jason

Leigh

In the 1950s and before, Margaret would be nicknamed Peggy or Peg.

In the 1960s and later, Margaret became Meg and Maggie.

In the humorless 2020s, Margaret would be called Margaret.

Brittney

Whitney

Courtney

Bethany

Heather

[quote] I kind of like Miriam for a girl name

I do too. My cousin's 16 year old daughter has that name.

R135 The homeliest Margarets were always called Margie/Marge.

Gene, or Eugene, used to be a common name; there are many famous Genes.

But no one seems to have named a baby Gene/Eugene recently... except Amy Schumer.

My brother was named James, I wish that had been mine.

Dennis

Judy

Stephen will make a comeback.

Stephen, Michael, John, Robert, Thomas....have these names really gone away? I feel like some men's names aren't quite as easily abandoned as women's names. Of course, there are lots of Noahs and Jadens and Jacobs now, but the good old classic men's names will always endure.

Michael and Thomas and John always will be around; but I just don't hear many Roberts or Stephens anymore.

Sandra/Sandy

Corinne

Deborah/Debby

Kelly, Jill, Sabrina, Kris, Tiffany, Julie.

Kate, Allie, Christine, Mary Beth, Julia, Mary Jo, Charlene, Suzanne, Rose, Dorothy, Blanche, Sophia, Blair, Jo, Tootie, Natalie, Sue Ann, Molly, Nancy, Cindy

Carol, Alice, Marcia, Jan, Cindy.

In Ireland, Caitlin is pronounced 'Kotch-leen', not 'Kate-Lynn'.

Sally Jesse Raphael

Speaking of which, Jesse became a very popular boy's name after Roberta Flack's song about him came out in 1973.

And Jessie and Jessica, have been popular for girls, also since the 1970s.

Class of 1996 here:

Jen Jessica Melissa/Missy Tracy Nicole Stephanie Andrea Angela

Luke

Nicole

[quote]In the humorless 2020s, Margaret would be called Margaret.

My niece (13 years old) knows 2 Margarets. One goes by “Mags” and one goes by “Marz.”

[quote]r50 In Ireland, Caitlin is pronounced 'Kotch-leen', not 'Kate-Lynn'.

Cuz they're fuckin' DRUNK.

R132, thanks for sharing those names I forgot from my high school days. You also reminded me I had a good friend named Rhonda then.

R146, my best friend’s mom was Corinne (late 50s/early 60s).

It’s interesting because women’s names I always associate with my mother’s generation (born late 20s/early 30s) started showing up regularly among Latina women of my generation, names a lot of gringos would consider old lady names:

Bertha

Mildred

Gladys

Sylvia/Silvia

Josephina/Josefina

^^^^^

But I suppose BEAR - tah sounds a lot nicer than BRR - thuh!

OP is Jewish.

Lots of Jennifers and Michaels when I was in primary school. I imagine the names gained popularity due to Love Story and The Godfather.

Steven is now Stephen. Tons of them in Europe.

Bruce-Caitlyn

Chastity-Chaz

Elliot-Ellen

Stephanie

GenX here and ALL the popular boy’s names are rare now: Robert, David, Daniel, Brian.

Grover, Hazel, Percy, Eunice, Adolph, Flossie, Phineas, Augusta.

I'm from the Missionary Generation.

I don't hear a lot of parents screaming "Ashley Nicole, stop picking your nose!!!" very much anymore.

Vicki

Lots of Black Mias, Myas, and Mayas, R107.

White ones, not so much.

Patti

Boomer-

Eileen

Mary Beth

Bonnie

Linda

Susan/Sue

Nancy

Michelle/Shelley

Patricia/Pat/Patty

Christine

Victoria/Vicky

Rosemary

Walter

Jeffrey/Jeff

Donald/Donnie (don’t think this one’s coming back)

Paul

Peter

Christopher

Douglas/Doug

OP, I think Jennifer was used up by parents of Gen Xers.

R74 - I was waiting for someone to say Jill.

So many Jill girls in my GenX teen years of the 80s. Ah, the Jills! Jills with fuzzy sweaters and pink polished nails; Jills with blond hair or Jills with brown hair put on hot rollers, then sprayed; Jills who were dumb and nice or, in stark contrast, unexpectedly nerdy, as in good at math or Latin. Jills who barfed after half a beer.

No artistic girls were ever named Jill.

Tammy was fucking ubiquitous. And always the meanest wench in every room. The MEANEST.

30 years later, I cannot hear the name Tammy without flinging my hands to my face in disgust and fear.

Miriam was not popular when I was growing up.

All the J names-

Jessica

Jennifer

Jared

Jeremy

Jason

Sylvie

Chantal

Louis

Jean Pierre

Andre

Esmeralda

Ursula

Nadia

Barbra

Maeline

Elda

Simi

Melissa

Jennifer

Jessica

Stephanie

Tiffany

Amanda

Samantha

Lauren

Jill

I associate the name Lisa with Grace Kelly’s character in Rear Window (1954) and since she played a very chic model, that’s what I think of. I don’t know anyone named Lisa though.

Late Gen X (born '76) here and it seemed like every third girl I went to school with was named Heather, Rachel or Jennifer. Every third guy was Michael, Jason or Joshua.

Hazel and Minnie should be due for comebacks I think.

Names such as these can be found enshrined in suburban American cul-de-sacs named after the developers’ family members.

“I live on Debby Drive between Cathy Court and Tammy Lane.”

From the Top Baby Names of 1965… names that were everywhere back then and have disappeared from kindergarten classes today.

Boys: Michael, John, Robert, Mark, Richard..

Girls: Pretty much the entire Top 10, leading with Lisa, Mary, Karen…

Notable mention for James which, while no longer Top 10, never really collapsed.

I know a Filipina with daughters named Karen and Linda. It feels weird to call a 5 year old Linda.

R188 I know a late Gen-X Filipina named Donna, with a daughter named Camilla. When they told me the name choice before the girl was born, it was all I could do to keep from blurting out, "The Rottweiler?!"

R188 was she muy?

Noreen

Doreen

Arlene

Charlene

Darlene

Marlene

Robin was popular for a while