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In perusing the baby name news of the week, Abby Sandel of Appellation Mountain documents the latest developments in the trend for retro baby names.

We all know that names drift out of fashion and then slowly find their way back into style. But when is it time for a comeback – and how do you know?

This week’s big baby name noise has been about Jessica Simpson’s use of two family names for her new daughter, combined for the masculine Maxwell Drew. Parents of boys called Max everywhere accused the celeb mom of name-napping and general bad taste.

But maybe we’re all missing something. Rumor has it that Simpson plans to call her daughter Maxi – a sassy retro choice that fits right in with Sadie and Sophie. Could it be that Jessica’s faux pas is really an invitation to dive right into names from the 1910s?

And why stop there? This week also saw high profile birth announcements drawing on favorites from the 1920s to the 1980s.

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