Names that Peaked in 1979
Across 3 pages
of 3
Antwan
Antwan is primarily a masculine name that developed as an American phonetic respelling of the French name Antoine, which itself derives from the Roman name Antonius (of uncertain Etruscan origin).…
Jedediah
Variation of Jedidiah, Hebrew
"beloved of the Lord"
Blink and you’ll miss that the first I in Jedidiah was swapped for an E.
Jeremey
Jeremey is an alternate spelling of Jeremy, which derives from the Hebrew name Jeremiah (Yirmeyahu), meaning 'God will uplift' or 'appointed by God.' This variant spelling gives the classic name a…
Jovan
Slavic variation of John Latin
"God is gracious; Jove-like, majestic"
Jovan, the name of the supreme Roman deity, seems more extraterrestrial now -- and it's also firmly attached to a perfume label. Some parents may see it as a variation of Giovanni, the Italian for…
Reggie
Diminutive of Reginald
"counsel power"
Old time nickname that's starting to sound fresh again, à la Alfie and Freddie.
Zebulon
Hebrew
"exaltation or little dwelling"
An Old Testament name with a Puritan feel and post-Zachary possibilities--one of several routes to the cool nickname Zeb. Pike's Peak was named for Zebulon Pike, the best known bearer of the name. In…
Keli
Keli is a short, feminine name with multiple possible origins. It could be a variant spelling of Kelly (an Irish surname meaning "warrior" or "bright-headed"), a shortened form of names like Kelila…
Latosha
Latosha combines the French-derived prefix 'La-' (meaning 'the') with 'Tosha,' which may have multiple origins. Tosha could be a diminutive of names like Natasha (of Slavic origin meaning 'birthday…
Jamin
Hebrew
"right hand"
Jamin is unsurprisingly related to Benjamin, although it did not develop as a diminutive of the name. In the Old Testament, Jamin is a son of Simeon and a grandson of Jacob. Jamin is occasionally…
Shanika
Shanika appears to be a modern constructed name that emerged in the United States in the 1960s and gained popularity through the 1970s and 1980s. The prefix 'Sha-' is found in many contemporary names…
Meghann
Spelling variation of Megan, Welsh diminutive of Margaret
"pearl"
Meghann is one of the many variations of Megan, this one introduced by lovely White Lotus actress Meghann Fahy.
Nicholaus
Nicholaus is a masculine name representing a classical Latin variation of Nicholas, which derives from the Greek 'Nikolaos' combining 'nike' (victory) and 'laos' (people), meaning 'victory of the…
Johnpaul
Johnpaul is a masculine given name formed by combining the traditional names John and Paul. This compound name has Christian roots, as both John and Paul were important apostles in the New Testament.…
Ayesha
Arabic
"alive"
Variant of Aisha. In the 19th century novel She , Ayesha is a beautiful 2000-year-old queen of a lost city, and is known as "she who must be obeyed."
Jana
International feminine variation of Jan
A sweet name with many cross-cultural ties: it's an equivalent of Jane in languages including Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, and Latvian.
Kylene
Kylene is a feminine name with modern American origins, likely derived as a blend of the popular prefix 'Ky-' with the feminine suffix '-lene.' It may be considered a variation of Kylie or an…
Lesley
Variation of Leslie, Scottish
"garden of holly"
Lesley runs a distant second to more popular sister Leslie, used for about 30 baby girls in one recent year vs. Leslie's 400+. And interestingly, no baby boys were named Lesley though about 40 were…
Sharee
Sharee is a feminine name that gained modest popularity in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. It likely developed as a variation of Sherry or Cherie, both derived from the French 'chérie'…
Siobhan
Irish Gaelic
"god is gracious"
Siobhan is the Irish variation of Joan, which is derived from the ancient Anglo-Norman name Jehanne. In this way Siobhan is indirectly related to the name Sinead—the Irish form of Jeannette, which…
Rian
Irish
"little king"
More authentic and original form of Ryan, but far less common of the two spellings in the US. There were about 170 baby boys named Rian in the US last year, versus over 4000 named Ryan. In its native…