Extinct Names

Terry hit the Top 30 in the fifties; it was seen then as a cool, sleek gender neutral name, but it's long since lost that edge. Today's Terry would probably be Tess or Tessa.

When ordering a baby name, hold the mayo.

Old southern name too close to "philanderer".

When Gail was popular, half a century ago, Gale was a plausible choice. Gale does put a slightly more masculine spin on the name, but it's dated in any version.

Nature surname with an aristocratic edge. Spelling it DeForest distances it from deforestation.

Occasionally used as an independent name, but why.

An English surname name which was originally used as a masculine first name in the 19th century, before becoming more popular for girls from the early 20th century onwards.

Old Testament name of the daughter-in-law of Naomi, now eclipsed by the originally misspelled Oprah.

Sociable middle name choice with a Quaker feel.

Not as lively or independent as Gigi, Kiki, or Coco.

Hermine and Hermina once ranked in the US Top 1000 for girls, but the First World War put an end to the popularity of these and many other German names. Now, both names are extinct though father name Herman is sometimes found.

Bobbsey Twins-era nickname name that could find new life via Nan, heroine of The Nanny Diaries. Nan was also the nickname of Annabel St George, the protagonist of Edith Wharton's novel "The Buccaneers".

Verlin is an obscure name that found some use in the US in the early part of the 20th century, but now it and variation Verlyn are extinct, given to no baby boys in the US last year.

Sister is an old-timey nickname-name for girls, ranking in the Top 1000 as a proper name for girls until the beginning of the 20th century. But more often, Sister was used as a nickname in the truest sense of the word, not a short form ala Kathy but a nickname in the way that Chip and Bud are. Or maybe Junior is a more appropriate name analogy: Sister was sometimes the nickname given to the only girl in a family of boys, so literally a descriptive word name like Junior.

Dickson's nickname problem keeps it from having the upside possibility of similar names like Jackson and Harrison. If you're looking for fresh baby names to honor an ancestral Richard or Dick, consider Dixon. Or better, Richardson.

We can't get past the odd part of this name.

Melvina ranked in the Top 1000 for over 65 years in the US, coinciding to a large extent with the years its much more popular masculine counterpart Melvin ranked in the Top 100. Today, Melvin is still hanging on in the Top 1000 for boys, but Melvina hasn't been given to more than 20 babies in a year since 1991.

Barb is a midcentury nickname name that, like Deb and Sue, feels terminally dates now. But with the revival of Barbie, Barb may not be far behind.

Aside from the singer, there aren't many people around named Pink or Pinkie or Pinky -- zero, in fact.