Y: The Last Man Names

  1. Allison
    • Origin:

      Scottish, diminutive of Alice
    • Meaning:

      "noble"
    • Description:

      Widely used here since the fifties, Allison -- a derivative of Alice -- has now been once again surpassed by the original Alice as parents embrace vintage revivals. Despite this, Allison's popularity has slipped only slightly.
  2. Anna
    • Origin:

      Variation of Hannah, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "grace"
    • Description:

      Anna has become the dominant form of the Ann family, offering a touch of the international to English speakers and a bit more style than the oversimplified Ann or Anne.
  3. Alter
    • Ayuko
      • Beth
        • Origin:

          Diminutive of Elizabeth
        • Meaning:

          "pledged to God"
        • Description:

          The sweetest and most sensitive of the pet names for Elizabeth, now also one of the most dated.
      • Bobbi
        • Origin:

          Diminutive of Roberta or Barbara, English
        • Meaning:

          "bright fame; foreigner"
        • Description:

          A vintage short form of Roberta or Barbara, Bobbi fits into the boyish nicknames for girls renaissance.
      • Bonny
        • Cayce
          • Ciba
            • Edie
              • Origin:

                English, diminutive of Edith
              • Meaning:

                "prosperous in war"
              • Description:

                Edie is part of the Evie-Ellie et al family of cute and friendly short forms that sometimes stand on its own. Briefly popular in the 1960s, it could well be due for rediscovery. It's already a fashionable choice in the UK, where it has ranked just outside the Top 100 for several years.
            • Epiphany
              • Origin:

                Word name, Greek
              • Meaning:

                "manifestation, striking appearance"
              • Description:

                Epiphany is based on the ancient Greek word for a feeling or realization that comes upon you suddenly. It often relates to the divine, as in the realization that Christ is the son of God. The Feast of the Epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus, takes place on January 6, ranking Epiphany among the unique January baby names. As word names and spiritual names become more popular, the attractive Epiphany becomes a more viable choice.
            • Heather
              • Origin:

                English botanical name
              • Meaning:

                "small shrub"
              • Description:

                This flower name was one of the most popular in her class in the seventies and eighties, a fact reflected in the 1989 movie Heathers, in which every snobby girl in the high school clique bears the name. Now, though still pretty and evocative of the Scottish moors, it has faded in favor of other purplish blooms. It fell out of the Top 1000 in 2016 after having been as high as Number 3 in 1975, when it was given to close to 25,000 girls. Across the pond in the UK however, it remains near the latter end of the Top 1000.
            • Heidi
              • Origin:

                Diminutive of Adelheid; German
              • Meaning:

                "noble, nobility"
              • Description:

                Heidi became known — and popular — via the 1880 eponymous children's classic by Swiss writer Johanna Spyri and, despite decades of American Heidis of all sizes, shapes, and personalities, the name seems permanently tethered to that spunky little girl on the Alpine mountaintop in the book and Shirley Temple movie.
            • Helene
              • Origin:

                French variation of Helen
              • Meaning:

                "bright, shining one"
              • Description:

                Whether it's pronounced with an "een" or an "aine" or an "enn" sound at the end, Helene doesn't feel as current the more forthright Helen or the airier Helena. Helene reached a high of Number 228 in the US in 1916, when ene, ine and een names were all the fashion, and stayed in the Top 500 until 1962, making a final exit in 1970. It still ranks well in its native France, and even more in Norway (#70). Model Heidi Klum's daughter 'Leni' has Helene on her birth certificate.
            • Hero
              • Origin:

                Greek
              • Meaning:

                "demi-god"
              • Description:

                Despite the possibility of gender confusion, the Hero in Greek myth was a woman. Myleene Klass got that when she chose Hero for her daughter, and Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Johnson used it as their daughter's middle--and we wouldn't be surprised to see more girls with this heroic name.
            • Jennifer
              • Origin:

                Cornish variation of Welsh Guinevere
              • Meaning:

                "white shadow, white wave"
              • Description:

                Jennifer is the Cornish variation of Guinevere, which ultimately derived from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. It has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century but came to prominence in the 20th. Playwright George Bernard Shaw chose Jennifer for the name of his leading lady in his play The Doctor’s Dilemma, which drew more attention to the name.
            • Joe
              • Origin:

                Diminutive of Joseph
              • Meaning:

                "Jehovah increases"
              • Description:

                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).
            • Jordan
              • Origin:

                English from Hebrew
              • Meaning:

                "flowing down"
              • Description:

                Jordan became one of the top unisex baby names in the heyday of basketball's Michael Jordan, and is still among the most popular unisex names starting with J. The name was originally given to those baptized in holy water brought back by Crusaders from the River Jordan, the only river in Palestine, and the one in which Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.
            • Joy
              • Origin:

                English word name
              • Meaning:

                "joy"
              • Description:

                Joy is from an older generation of word names, which also included Merry, Bliss, and Glory -- all of which exert a certain amount of personality pressure on a child. However, Joy, like Grace, Hope, and Rose, has crossed more into name-territory than other word choices, which lightens some of that pressure.
            • Kilina