How popular is the baby name Barbara in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Barbara.
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Here’s the next installment of rare female names — either actress names or character names — from very old movies (released from the 1910s to the 1940s).
Hagar
Hagar was a character name in multiple films, including Vampire of the Desert (short, 1913) and Code of the Wilderness (1924).
Haidee
Haidee Wright was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in England in 1867. Her birth name was Ada Wright. Haidee was also a character name in multiple films, including In theSultan’s Garden (short, 1911) and Monte Cristo (1922).
Hedda Hedda Hopper was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1960s. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1885. Her birth name was Elda Furry. Hedda Nova was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in Russia in 1899. Hedda was also a character name in multiple films, including A Self-Made Lady (short, 1918) and Servants’ Entrance (1934).
Hedy
Hedy Lamarr was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was born in Austria-Hungary (now Austria) in 1914. Her birth name was Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler. Hedy was also a character played by actress Ruth Hussey in the film Bedside Manner (1945).
Henny
Henny Porten was an actress who appeared in films from the 1900s to the 1950s. She was born in Germany in 1890. Her birth name was Frieda Ulricke Porten.
Hepsabiah
Hepsabiah Hardlot was a character played by actress Zasu Pitts in the short film He Had ’em Buffaloed (1917).
Hepzibah
Hepzibah Pyncheon was a character played by various actresses (such as Mary Fuller and Margaret Lindsay) in various movies called The House of the Seven Gables, all based on the novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Hermia
Hermia was a character name in multiple films, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1909) and Wood Love (1925).
Hilda
Hilda Vaughn was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was born in Maryland in 1898. Hilda was also a character name in multiple films, including A Girl of the People (short, 1914) and The Top of New York (1922).
Hutin
Hutin Britton was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in England in 1876. Her birth name was Nelly Hutin Britton.
Hyacinth
Hyacinth was a character name in multiple films, including The Headleys at Home (1938) and Dead Reckoning (1947).
The name Fiona — coined during the 18th century by Scottish poet James Macpherson, who based it on the Irish word fionn (“white, fair”) — is relatively common in the U.S. these days. Rank-wise, it’s been hovering around 200th place for the last few years.
But — like Siobhan, Maeve, Bronwen, and many other Celtic names — it didn’t arrive with the immigrants. Instead, it was introduced to America later on, via pop culture.
Fiona first popped up in the data in 1942, and it stuck around for several years:
1945: unlisted
1944: 7 baby girls named Fiona
1943: 19 baby girls named Fiona
1942: 9 baby girls named Fiona [debut]
1941: unlisted
What boosted it onto the charts that initial time?
The movie The Gay Sisters, which came out in August of 1942. The main characters were the three Gaylord sisters/heiresses: Fiona, Evelyn, and Susanna. Fiona, the eldest sister, was played by popular actress Barbara Stanwyck (birth name Ruby Catherine Stevens). The film didn’t do well at the box office, but it clearly had an impact on expectant parents.
The movie was based on the book of the same name by Stephen Longstreet. Longstreet was also the writer behind Stallion Road, which was similarly made into a movie and introduced audiences to a woman named Rory (traditionally a male name) later in the ’40s.
Just remember that the SSA data doesn’t become very accurate until the mid-to-late 20th century, so many of the numbers below don’t reflect reality all that well.
Same format as usual: Girl names on the left, boy names on the right. Numbers represent single-year decreases in usage. From 1880 to 1881, for instance, usage of the girl name Mary dropped by 146 babies and usage of the boy name William dropped by 1,008 babies.
I’ve already written about some of the names above (click the links to see the posts) and will write about others in the future. In the meanwhile, feel free to beat me to it! Comment below with the backstory on the fall of Shirley in the late ’30s, Linda in the early ’50s, etc.
A couple of months ago, we looked at a long, year-by-year list of the top baby name rises. A month after that, we saw the corresponding list of top drops.
On that second post, Frank B. left a comment in which he asked about absolute rises and drops — because the lists only covered relative movement within the data. So I thought two more posts were in order: top raw-number rises, and top raw-number drops.
We’ll start with the rises again. Just keep in mind that the SSA numbers don’t become very accurate until the mid-to-late 20th century, so many of the numbers below don’t quite reflect reality.
Here’s the format: Girl names are on the left, boy names are on the right, and the numbers represent single-year rises in usage. From 1880 to 1881, for instance, the usage of the girl name Ethel increased by 155 babies and the usage of the boy name Chester increased by 106 babies.
Some of these names I’ve written about already, and others I plan to write about in the future. If you can give explanations for any of those others right now, though, feel free! Just leave a comment…
Laloe
Laloe Berchmans was a character played by actress Julie Suedo in the film The Woman from China (1930).
Lamentina
Lamentina was a character played by actress Nancy Brown in the film Red Wagon (1933).
Lammchen
Emma “Lammchen” Pinneberg was a character played by actress Margaret Sullavan in the film Little Man, What Now? (1934). Lammchen means “little lamb” in German.
Landra
Landra was a character played by actress June Collyer in the film Revenge at Monte Carlo (1933).
Laraine
Laraine Day was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1960s. She was born in Utah in 1920. Her birth name was La Raine Johnson.
Laurette
Laurette Taylor was an actress who appeared in films in the 1920s. She was born in New York in 1884. Her birth name was Loretta Cooney. Laurette was also a character played by actress Molly Lamont in the film Scared to Death (1947).
Lavolia
Lavolia was a character played by actress Etta McDaniel in the film Magnificent Brute (1936).
Leatrice
Leatrice Joy was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1950s. She was born in Louisiana in 1893. Leatrice Joy Gilbert (Leatrice Joy’s daughter) was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1940s. She was born in California in 1924.
Leontine
Leontine Dranet was an actress who appeared in 2 films in the 1910s. Leontine was also a character name in multiple films, including The Closing Net (1915) and The Shielding Shadow (serial, 1916).
Lita
Lita Grey was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was born in California in 1908. Her birth name was Lillita MacMurray. Lita was also a character name in multiple films, including Bachelor Apartment (1931) and The Girl from Monterrey (1943).
Lorna
Lorna Gray was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was born in Michigan in 1917. Her birth name was Virginia Pound. Lorna was also a character name in multiple films, including Traffic in Souls (1913) and The Butterfly Girl (1921).
Luana
Luana Walters was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was born in California in 1912. Luana Patten was an actress who appeared in films from the 1940s to the 1980s. She was born in California in 1938. Luana was also a character played by actress Dolores del Rio in the film Bird of Paradise (1932).
Lucile
Lucile Watson was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1950s. She was born in Canada in 1879. Lucile Browne was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was born in Tennessee in 1907. Lucile was also a character played by actress Marguerite Snow in the short film Lucile (1912).
Luya
Luya was a character played by actress Edith Roberts in the film Black Cargoes of the South Seas (1928).
Lya
Lya De Putti was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in Austria-Hungary (now Slovakia) in 1897. Her birth name was Amalia Putti.
Here’s the next installment of rare female names — either actress names or character names — from very old movies (released from the 1910s to the 1940s).
Looking for an uncommon girl name with a retro feel?