These names came, then they went…and they never came back!
Here are all the one-hit wonder baby names that I’ve written about so far.
These particular names are “full list” one-hit wonders, not “top 1,000” one-hit wonders. That is, they’ve only ever popped up once in all the publicly available U.S. baby name data, which accounts for all names given to at least 5 babies per year nationally.
None of these (outside of several of the 1989 glitch-names) have ever appeared in the U.S. top 1,000.
1890s
- 1898: Maine
1900s
(none yet)
1910s
- 1910: Leneve
- 1916: Ormi, Ysobel
- 1917: Tessibel, Westmoreland
1920s
- 1920: Dardenella
- 1921: Essfa, Garnelle
- 1924: Derelys
- 1927: Seroba, Tunny
1930s
1940s
- 1940: Willkie
- 1941: Nawatha, Saford, Spessard
- 1942: Donivee, Wainwright, Wavell
- 1943: Angharad
- 1946: Darlia, Drene
- 1947: Junellen, Miralee
- 1948: Gwyned
- 1949: Judaline
1950s
- 1950: Frosty, Rosezena
- 1951: Glenalee, Jilla
- 1952: Eisenhower, Gevan
- 1953: Jerilou, Judalon, Lastarza
- 1954: Bimbo, Bobbyetta, Topper
- 1955: Tammis, Twig
- 1956: Decca, Deltina
- 1957: Cindye, Gogi, Marsheela, Theonita
- 1958: Daintry, Monsita, Sayonara, Tootie
- 1959: Kitza, Kookie, Rapunzel
1960s
- 1960: Andamo, Ansara, Bonanza, Claudinette, Devy, LaVelda, Marpessa, Nedenia, Perriann
- 1962: Chubbie, Clu, Elcid, Gordean, Perette
- 1963: Bouvier, Brycie
- 1964: Thedy
- 1965: Apasra, Marichal, Mellyora
- 1966: Agena, Daktari, Trumell
- 1967: Malette, Ronisue, Tandeka, Twiggy
- 1968: Ondina
- 1969: Francellia, Troas, Tron
1970s
- 1970: Gandalf, Quetzy
- 1971: Corelle, Shangaleza
- 1972: Genghis, Kattina
- 1974: Sirica, Sundown
- 1975: Chaffee, Tchalla
- 1976: Comaneci
- 1977: Akwete, Idi, Ibe, Jitu, Kairaba, Kizi, Kuntakinte, Lavare, Reannan, Stardust, Wilona
- 1978: Astreia, Enchantra, Travolta
- 1979: Ayatollah, Dilanjan, Spanky
1980s
- 1980: Estrada, Kimario, Lencola, Nykeba
- 1981: Fame, Nahema
- 1982: Chachi, Shashi, Senchal
- 1983: Jeopardy, Tyecha
- 1984: Mergeron, Thawann
- 1985: Mattlock, Teenamarie
- 1986: Calizza, Cindal, Codero, Marlesa, Tereva
- 1987: Condola, Enchantee, Matlock
- 1988: Cassarah, Stedmen
- 1989: Anastasi, Angeliqu, Annamari, Annemari, Antoinet, Cassandr, Christop, Constanc, Demetriu, Dominiqu, Geneviev, Jacqueli, Johnatho, Kassandr, Kristofe, Priscill, Sebastia, Ikea
1990s
- 1991: Vaitiare
- 1992: Ilirida, Iniki
- 1993: Thurgood
- 1994: Keemo, Ziyadah
- 1995: Corvina, Mufasa
- 1996: Jumanji
- 1997: Dodi
- 1998: Picabo, Tsianina
2000s
- 2000: Alancia, Iuma, Rikishi, Sisqo
- 2003:
Legolas* - 2004: Tsitsiki
- 2005: Gemelli
- 2006: Peregrina, Qorianka, Sensi
- 2007: Euphoria
2010s
- 2010: Benhur
- 2011: Adrialys
As I write about other one-hits, I’ll add the links to this page.
For more one-hit wonders that I’ve mentioned but not really written about yet, check out the lists of top one-hit wonders, year by year, top one-hit wonders overall for girls, and top one-hit wonders overall for boys.
How many one-hit wonders are there in the data overall? Here are some statistics:
| Decade | One-Hit Girl Names | One-Hit Boy Names |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 7 | 8 |
| 1890s | 23 | 7 |
| 1900s | 26 | 5 |
| 1910s | 466 | 360 |
| 1920s | 708 | 521 |
| 1930s | 280 | 188 |
| 1940s | 238 | 109 |
| 1950s | 412 | 194 |
| 1960s | 626 | 168 |
| 1970s | 1,340 | 532 |
| 1980s | 1,500 | 732 |
| 1990s | 2,363 | 1,311 |
| 2000s | 3,412 | 2,242 |
| 2010-2015 | 3,025 | 2,140 |
Send me a note if you have any questions or suggestions, or if there’s a particular one-hit wonder name you know of that you’d like me to write about.
*Demoted! No longer a one-hit wonder; has since popped up on the charts at least one more time.