One Hit Wonders: Beatrix, Baker & Boone

By Linda Rosenkrantz

Over the years, there have been hundreds of names that have rocketed onto the Top 1000 for one year, then just as suddenly disappeared, fading like shooting stars.  We’ve made a thorough search through these names, seeing what gems  we might find hidden among the oddball Metros, Councils and Dolls, the Jeps and Bunks and Schleys, which might merit a second appearance.

Two things to bear in mind: a lot of these names made their solo appearances soon after the Social Security list was launched, and so it’s possible that they might have enjoyed some previous popularity and were trending downward at that point.  And also, many of them ranked in the eight and nine hundreds, and so probably accounted for just ten or less newborns with those names.

It’s also interesting to scope out if there’s some historical reason for these singular appearances.  Wendell Wilkie, for example, was the 1940 Republican presidential nominee against FDR, accounting for the appearance of Wilkie that year, Tai Babilonia was the world figure skating champion when her name popped up in 1980, and Sable was the name of a character on the high-rated TV soap, The Colby‘s in 1986, when she was a one hit wonder.

So here are my nominations; which ones do you think should or could come back?

GIRLS

Alabama        1881   #944

Beatrix           1883   #760

Beyonce         2001   #700

Caro               1883   #946

Channing       1987   #590

Clementina   1908   #972

Dagny             1901   #925

Diandra         1988   #905

Djuna             1964   #738

Dotty              1939   #988

Ellis                1883   #771

Junia               1883   #981

Lucetta           1882   #864

Martine          1981   #797

Medora          1885   #725

Milly               1884   #714

Noemie          1889   #941

Pandora         1952   #784

Pepper           1975   #784

Rosabelle      1907   #919

Sable              1986   #904

Simona          1883   #689

Sunday           1966   #986

Tai                  1980   #939

Theta              1907   #868

Thomasina   1932   #969

Trilby              1895   #978

Venice            1921   #941

Violetta          1884   #849

BOYS

Anatole          1889   #849

Auguste         1882   #848

Baker             1899   #940

Berlin             1916   #987

Boone             1889   #989

Branch           1889   #806

Calhoun         1886   #988

Cam                1896   #907

Destry            1964   #636

Dixon             1881   #806

Evander         1895   #918

Fielding         1885   #726

Georgie          1902   #970 (there were Georgies on the girls’ list for many years)

Griffith          1899   #896

Grove             1883   #956

Guthrie          1895   #924

Hale                1896   930

Hart                1888   #970

Ivor                1902   #977

Jabez              1880   #988

Job                  1891   #909

Kiefer             1991   #924

Luc                 2002   #932

Marius           1881   #965

Mercer           1881   #968

Nils                 1888   #889

North             1885   #906

Ogden             1907   #981

Osborn          1884   #944

Ozzie              1903   #990

Philo              1881   #975

Prosper         1881   #977

Redmond      1889   #954

Shepherd       1887   #906

Silver             1896   #772

True               1895   #970

Wilkie            1940   800

York               1881   #780

Zed                 1894   #894