Message: "Time Travel Naming: Restore 5, Erase 5 from the Past Century!"

[Opinions] Time Travel Naming: Restore 5, Erase 5 from the Past Century!

by tiramisu

5/12/2024, 11:46 PM

Here are lists of 50 boys' names and 50 girls' names that were popular in the 1900s and have not been in the top 1000 for many years. The game is to choose 5 names that you would bring back into style and 5 names that you would rather delete forever.

Boys:

1. Adolph
2. Alton
3. Bennie
4. Bert
5. Bill
6. Cecil
7. Charley
8. Chester
9. Claude
10. Dan
11. Dave
12. Dewey
13. Earnest
14. Ed
15. Edmund
16. Elbert
17. Emil
18. Floyd
19. Fred
20. Herbert
21. Herman
22. Homer
23. Horace
24. Hubert
25. Jim
26. Jimmie
27. Johnie
28. Johnnie
29. Leslie
30. Lester
31. Lloyd
32. Lonnie
33. Luther
34. Marion
35. Morris
36. Ollie
37. Orville
38. Percy
39. Pete
40. Roosevelt
41. Roscoe
42. Rudolph
43. Rufus
44. Sylvester
45. Ted
46. Tom
47. Virgil
48. Wilbur
49. Willard
50. Willis

Girls:

1. Agnes
2. Alberta
3. Alta
4. Bessie
5. Beulah
6. Blanche
7. Effie
8. Elva
9. Erma
10. Essie
11. Ethel
12. Eula
13. Fannie
14. Fern
15. Flossie
16. Freda
17. Frieda
18. Gertrude
19. Henrietta
20. Ina
21. Inez
22. Iva
23. Lela
24. Leola
25. Lizzie
26. Lois
27. Lucile
28. Lula
29. Mable
30. Mamie
31. Marguerite
32. Maude
33. May
34. Minnie
35. Myrtle
36. Nannie
37. Nell
38. Nettie
39. Ola
40. Ollie
41. Ora
42. Sallie
43. Thelma
44. Velma
45. Verna
46. Viola
47. Virgie
48. Willie
49. Wilma
50. Winifred

5 names I would restore:

Claude, Edmund, Rufus, Sylvester, and Wilbur

Agnes, Lucile, May, Viola, and Winifred

5 names I would erase:

Adolph, Charley, Homer, Leslie, and Marion

Beulah, Gertrude, Velma, Fannie, and Ethel

This message was edited 5/13/2024, 3:24 AM

Replies

- Wisteria (Tawnee)

5/15/2024, 11:14 AM

Restore: Agnes, Fern, May, Viola, Winifred / Edmund, Horace, Luther, Roscoe, Wilbur

Erase: Fannie, Maude, Verna, Virgie, Willie / Adolph, Lester, Leslie, Lloyd, Rudolph

- Babochka

5/13/2024, 6:39 PM

Restore:
Claude, Edmund, Emil, Sylvester, Tom
Lucile, Mable, Marguerite, May, Viola

Erase:
Adolph, Dewey, Lonnie, Ollie, Roosevelt
Beulah, Fannie, Flossie, Mamie, Nannie

- . (guest)

5/13/2024, 5:09 PM

5 names to keep:
girls: blanche, inez, lela, mable, viola
boys: charley, dave, ed, lloyd, tom

5 names to erase:
girls: beulah, fannie, lois, virgie, willie
boys: adolph, earnest, edmund, herman, roosevelt

- KK (I-love-baby-names)

5/13/2024, 1:54 PM

To Restore
Agnes, Leola, Mable, Myrtle, Viola
Pete, Ted, Tom, Chester, Ed

To Erase
Alberta, Flossie, Gertrude, Virgie, Willie
Adolph, Earnest, Herbert, Orville, Virgil

- cassilda in carcosa

5/13/2024, 1:35 PM

Restore: Chester, Edmund, Emil, Sylvester, Virgil
Alberta, Inez, Marguerite, Viola, Winifred

Delete: Elbert, Floyd, Horace, Lester, Orville... ofc Adolph if it meant the bearer goes with it, but in this scenario all it'd mean is said historical figure might end up with an actually nice name (that then can't be used) instead? Adolph is obviously and rightfully tarnished by history, but by itself it's not the least aesthetic name of the bunch here.
Beulah, Blanche, Erma, Eula, Myrtle

I think a lot of the nickname-ish names are still very widely used, they're not just used as legal given full names - i.e. Dan, Dave, Lizzie etc. - so they don't really need to be restored.