These ‘Normal’ Names Are Going Extinct
As someone with a unique name (Ransom), names have always fascinated me. In my lifetime, I’ve met 4 other Ransoms.
One was the lead singer of a rock band from Salt Lake City. Another was an elderly gentleman who came out to one of my events to ask me if Ransom was my real name because HE had never met another Ransom. One was a guy who I ran high school track and field with/against.
And the final Ransom I’ve met was a baby that a listener of mine had. She and her husband liked my name, so they named their kid Ransom. We have since lost touch, but I think about them from time to time. And I hope their little Ransom is doing well.
Names come and they go. Think about it. There was a time where the name Gertrude was a common name. But could you imagine anyone nowadays naming their kid Gertrude? Apologies if you’re a baby name Gertrude.
I bring it up because according to an article on a website called BabyCenter, a lot of common names are seemingly going extinct. Names like: John, Brooke, Amanda, Michelle, Diana, Bradley and Angela are all going the way of Gertrude.
On the flip side, BabyCenter also put together another article about the names that are gaining popularity. Names like: Noah and Liam top the lists for boys. And names like Olivia and Emma reign supreme for girls.
Of course, anything could happen and these names could come back in popularity. All you need is one actor, singer, or celebrity to pop up and help make these names trendy again. But here are a few names that are falling in rankings, according to their findings.
Brooke saw the biggest drop in popularity for girls. According to BabyCenter, it was the 471st most popular name for girls last year, down around 200 spots from 2022.
I swear, all the girls I knew who had kids right out of high school named their daughters McKenzie. Apparently, that’s no longer the case since I graduate from Durango High School in 2002. The girl name is down 184 spots.
For boys, the name Julius saw the biggest drop. Julius is down 189 spots since the previous year.
John, or Johnny, also saw a significant decline in popularity. It fell 150 spots.
Redditors Roast Worst Baby Names They've Ever Encountered
Gridget
“When I was a kid I stayed at a bed & breakfast with family photos on the walls,” one user wrote. “There was a sister named Gridget. I actually think about this a lot.” It’s kind of like a spin on the name Bridget. This Redditor seems really stuck on the name they found.
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Shanniel
This unique name caught this person off guard. They even tried to figure it out by mixing it with other names. “I once saw a baby announcement where the mom was named Shannon, the dad was Daniel, and they named the baby Shanniel,” they wrote.
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Dyslexia
Sometimes people just go with the flow when picking a name for their kid. Maybe it felt right at the time, and they didn’t even realize it’s also the name of a condition. While working at a gas station, this Reddit user observed a mother who let her child run around wild. They wrote “One small girl was pushing on a display stand and the mother screamed: ‘DYSLEXIA GET YO A– OVER HERE!”
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Donnaria
Back in school on the playground, this person probably had a rough time. This is particularly true because their name coincidentally rhymes with a sexually transmitted disease. Nevertheless, a user pointed out that it’s a clever fusion of two names. “Donnaria. A combination of her Mom’s name (Donna) and Grandma’s name (Gloria),” they wrote.
Alcoholic Beverages
Bacardi, Hennessy, Tanqueray, Alizé – the names keep coming. It turns out a Redditor, who happened to work in children and family services, encountered kids with names inspired by alcoholic beverages almost every day. “You don’t know how bad it really gets. Lots of kids named after alcoholic beverages.”
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