Names that Peaked in 1976

Amy was a 1970s favorite, and French spelling Aimee peaked in the same decade.

Andrea may be a gender neutral name in its native Italy and other European countries, but in the US it's 98 percent a girls' name, with only about 20 males to more than 1800 baby girl given that name in the most recent year counted.

If Frederick feels too heavy, the Spanish and Italian has more energy. It's a long-term Top 20 name in Italy, and has neat nicknames like Fredo in Italian and Fede in Spanish. Famous bearers include the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca and the Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. Further back in history, it was the name of a fifth-century Visigoth leader, the brother of Theodoric II.

Though every Spanish student knows that the male classic is pronounced HY-me, for girls this is a straight homonym for Jamie, a favorite ambisexual 1970s nickname name. Another way to think of it is as a variation of the French "J'aime" (I love).

Kari and all her many sisters, from Carrie to Carey to Kerry and onward, originated for the most part as short forms of either CatherineKatherine or one of the Charles feminizations such as Carol or Caroline.

Dusty first became popular as a girl's name thanks to singer Dusty Springfield - born Mary. She used her childhood nickname professionally, and many parents embraced Dusty as a name for their daughters, especially in the 1970s. Singer Adam Levine and model Behati Prinsloo chose this distinctive name for their daughter in 2016, which might prompt a new generation of parents to consider the name.

Widespread choice in the Muslim world, this was the name of both the father of the Prophet Mohammed and one of his sons.

Spring doesn't sound half as contemporary as Winter, which has become the cool season name.

His nickname would inevitably be Bull.

Tania is a Russian name that has been fully integrated into the American name pool, retaining just a touch of its Slavic flavor. It started as a pet form of Tatiana, which is beginning to be used in this country as well. Also spelled Tanya, as in country singer Tanya Tucker.

Amy and all her sisters and cousins was such a popular name that this version was among the Top 1000 girl names in the US until the mid-90s. Last year only 32 baby girls were names Amie.

One of the original so-weird-it's-cruel celebrity baby names doesn't sound quite so impossible with the resurgence of virtue names. But be charitable and choose Charity instead. Variations: Chasa Dee, Chasadie, Chasady, Chasaty, Chasidee, Chasidey, Chasidie, Chasidy, Chasiti, Chasitie, Chasitti, Chasity, Chassedi, Chassidi, Chassidy, Chassiti, Chassity, Chassy, Chasta, Chastady, Chastidy, Chastin, Chastitee, Chastitie, Chastitey, Chastney, Chasty, Chasydi.

Karri is a beautiful Australian native tree famous for its richly-colored strong wood. It's a name that travels well - and one of the few tree names that lends itself more to girls than boys.

We all know that Chaka really means disco.

Toni Tennille was one half of the musical group Captain & Tennille, which produced a number of huge hits in the 1970s, including "Love Will Keep Us Together."

A long-popular African-American name first publicized by a child actress on the old Cosby Show, but it's no longer even in the Top 1,000.