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Family Names
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Burton
English
"fortified enclosure"
Burton originated as a habitation surname that now feels like a appropriate first. Actor Richard Burton, two-time husband of Elizabeth Taylor, was the most famous bearer. Burtie makes an adorable…
Carolyn
English variation of Caroline, French
"free man"
The phonetic Carolyn spelling, which was very popular from the 1920s to the '60s, has been steadily on the wane while Caroline herself has stayed strong. Carolyn Keene was the pseudonymous author of…
Patricia
Latin
"noble, patrician"
Patricia still sounds patrician, though its scores of nicknames definitely don't. Wildly popular from the forties (alternately Number 3 and 4 throughout the decade) to the sixties, Patricia has been…
Arlene
English
Popular in the US from the 1920s to the 1950s, Arlene is of uncertain origin and seems to be a modern innovation, perhaps based on names like Marlene and Darlene which were popular around the same…
Minna
Diminutive of Wilhelmina, German
"resolute protection; love"
One of those pan-European nickname names much more familiar in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe than in the US, though related name Mina is making a comeback here. Light and bright, it could be an…
Lora
Spelling variation of Laura, Latin
"from Laurentum or bay laurel"
A succinct and stripped back form of Laura, that also doubles up as a Portuguese diminutive of Lorena ("from the kingdom of Lothar") and as a German and Scandinavian short from of Eleanora. In the…
Gustav
Teutonic
"staff of the Goths"
Gray-bearded name heard primarily in Sweden and Germany.
Adolf
German
"noble wolf"
Adolf may have been a Swedish royal name but the terrible dictatorship of Adolf Hitler has ruled out this name Adolf for any sensible parent. In the US last year, there were more than 100 boys' given…
Susan
English diminutive of Susannah, Hebrew
"lily"
Although Susan had her heyday from the thirties to the sixties, and is now common among moms and new grandmas, and though most modern parents would prefer Susanna/Susannah, we have spotted some…
Ervin
Variation of Erwin, German
"respected friend"
Ervin is an old-school great-grandpa name, like Irving and Ernest, that may just be ready for revival. It's also a well-known name in Hungary and elsewhere in central and eastern Europe. As a…
Silence
Word name
The Puritans used it as a virtue name -- but today it would just be considered weird: silence is no longer golden.
Lorena
Spanish variation of Lorraine
"from the province of Lorraine"
A feminine name heard most often in the Hispanic community. Surprisingly, Lorena was on the US Top 1000 list of girls' names for an impressive 130 years, from 1880 until falling off in 2011. We do…
Ann
English variation of Hebrew Hannah
"grace"
Ann, the name of the sainted mother of the Virgin Mary, was among the top girls’ names for centuries, in both the original English Ann spelling and the French Anne. Both left the Top 100 around 1970…
James
Hebrew
"supplanter"
James for a girl? Believe it or not, this is one of the boy names for girls" gaining a lot of attention these days, since Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds shocked the world by choosing it for their…
Margorie
Margorie is a feminine name that represents a spelling variant of Marjorie, which itself developed as a medieval Scottish form of Margaret. Tracing back to Greek origins, the name ultimately derives…