Names From My Favorite Musicals

Also spelled Ines, this name of the prudish mother of Don Juan in the Byron poem has a touch of mystery, but has also been fully integrated into the American name pool.

Like Peggy and Patsy, Penny is a peppy vintage nickname that fell out of favor (and the Top 1000) for a while, but has recently rebounded by reentering the charts in 2013. Expect it to continue gaining traction on the heels of Penelope.

Perhaps best associated today with the character from The Legend of Zelda game franchise, Link also has ties to the retro crime drama, The Mod Squad, to the presidential surname Lincoln, and of course, to links on the internet. Part fantastical, part retro cool, part futuristic, Link was chosen for 200 boys in 2022, and 144 in 2023.

Raoul, with its unique three-vowel middle, rolls off the tongue in an appealing way. Raoul is one of the French names that sounds infinitely more romantic and attractive than the somewhat harsh English version Ralph.

Once the quintessential bouncy teenager name, Kelly helped launch the trend of unisex Irish names . But it now takes a backseat to more substantial surname names like Kennedy.

One of the most enduring French names, this form of John has been borne by philosophers (Rousseau and Sartre), artists (Millet, Arp) and fashion designers (Gaultier) alike. Often used in a double name with the likes of Pierre, Paul, and Luc, it is a classic in its native country,

Christine was the dominant feminine variation of Christopher forty or fifty years ago, when French E-endings were preferred over As; it was a Top 20 name for several years, from 1966 to 1974. But though it still hangs in on the popularity list, today most any other version would be considered more stylish, from Kristen to Kirsten to Christina herself.

Joe is still the ultimate good-guy name, not at all diminished by its longevity or popularity or its everyman rep as Regular Joe, Cowboy Joe, G.I. Joe, Joe Exotic, Joe Blow, Joe Millionaire, Average Joe — and now President Joe (Biden).

Just when we had written off Peggy as the eternal perky, pug-nosed prom-queen she projected from the 1920s into the fifties, along came Mad Men, with intriguing mid-century characters with names like Joan and Betty--and Peggy, causing a bit of a re-think. MM's proto-feminist Peggy Olson was followed by Amy Adams's strong Oscar-nominated Peggy Dodd character in The Master.

In the USA, Maurice was in the Top 200 for most of the 20th century; since 1990, however, it has been on a slow and steady decline. This name has the potential for some old-school cute nicknames such as Mo as well as the more trendy Reece.

Just like Sam and Ben, Tom could be revived as a simple, well liked name on its own. Tom, just Tom, is one of the Top 100 Boy Names in France

Nickname name in the era of Grease. Sandy fits well in the era of boyish nicknames for girls - a la Scottie and Stevie - or as an alternative to the rapidly rising Goldie. While it peaked in 1960, Sandy is still given to about 60 baby girls each year.

Meg, perennially one of the Little Women, is a Margaret short form that manages to be neither quite in nor quite out of style. Meg is sleeker and more sophisticated than Maggie, more contemporary than Peg, more stylish than Megan, and still one of the best diminutives of Margaret.

Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne.

The additional syllable makes Lark a masculine surname name, borne by poet Philip Larkin.

A diminutive of Daniel that's been immortalized in odes ranging from 'Danny Boy' to 'Danny's Song.'

Glinda is famous as the name of the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, invented by author L. Frank Baum. but has there ever been a real life, non-fictional Glinda? Not in the US last year.

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.

This spelling variation of Mabel clears up the pronunciation — "may-belle", as opposed to "may-bull". Maybelle is packed with Southern charm, and like sister name Mabel is on the rise, but still on a much smaller scale.

In the Top 25 in the unisex seventies, these days Tracy would more likely be Gracie.

Marty and Martie are old-fashioned gender-neutral nickname names, boyish nicknames not heard much since the middle of the last century. That could change, though, with the rise of vintage boyish nicknames for girls. They have a certain charm and may come back into style along with mother names such as Martha.