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HelpLost Generation Names
A post recently about name tastes got me thinking about mine, and how a lot of my more recent favorite names surged in popularity in the late 1800s, particularly the 1890s. Basically, these were the names of young people who endured WWI and then wondered what the heck life meant afterward (and then partied in the 1920s).
Looking at the popularity list (https://www.behindthename.com/top/lists/united-states-decade/1890) on this site, these are some of the most popular birth names of that era that aren't "enduring classics":
Frank
Harry
Walter
Arthur (this one's making a comeback)
Fred
Albert
Clarence
Willie
Roy
Louis
Earl
Carl
Ernest
Raymond
Richard (steadily falling)
Harold
Ralph
Howard
Herbert
Elmer
&
Ruth
Florence
Ethel
Marie
Clara (this one's making a comeback)
Bertha
Minnie
Bessie
Alice (this one's making a comeback)
Lillian (this one's making a comeback)
Edna
Grace (this one made the comeback, could be Top 20 soon)
Mabel
Ida
Rose
Hazel
Gertrude
Martha
Pearl
Frances
There are some names from this list that are among my personal least favorite (Roy & Edna), but the overall aesthetic is... incredibly charming. I'd love to encounter these names in fiction more often.
Anyway, wdyt of "Lost Generation" names?
***
Please rate my personal name lists:
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/117507
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/109399
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/132018
Looking at the popularity list (https://www.behindthename.com/top/lists/united-states-decade/1890) on this site, these are some of the most popular birth names of that era that aren't "enduring classics":
Frank
Harry
Walter
Arthur (this one's making a comeback)
Fred
Albert
Clarence
Willie
Roy
Louis
Earl
Carl
Ernest
Raymond
Richard (steadily falling)
Harold
Ralph
Howard
Herbert
Elmer
&
Ruth
Florence
Ethel
Marie
Clara (this one's making a comeback)
Bertha
Minnie
Bessie
Alice (this one's making a comeback)
Lillian (this one's making a comeback)
Edna
Grace (this one made the comeback, could be Top 20 soon)
Mabel
Ida
Rose
Hazel
Gertrude
Martha
Pearl
Frances
There are some names from this list that are among my personal least favorite (Roy & Edna), but the overall aesthetic is... incredibly charming. I'd love to encounter these names in fiction more often.
Anyway, wdyt of "Lost Generation" names?
***
Please rate my personal name lists:
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/117507
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/109399
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/132018
This message was edited 12/19/2023, 8:39 AM
Replies
Love:
Louis
Ernest
Ruth
Florence
Ethel
Marie
Clara
Alice
Lillian
Rose
Hazel
Like:
Harry
Arthur
Fred
Albert
Edna
Grace
Martha
No opinion:
Frank
Carl
Richard
Howard
Herbert
Minnie
Mabel
Ida
Pearl
Dislike:
Walter
Clarence
Willie
Roy
Earl
Raymond
Harold
Ralph
Bertha
Bessie
Gertrude
Frances
Well it seems I much prefer old ladies names than old gentlemen names. Haha!
Louis
Ernest
Ruth
Florence
Ethel
Marie
Clara
Alice
Lillian
Rose
Hazel
Like:
Harry
Arthur
Fred
Albert
Edna
Grace
Martha
No opinion:
Frank
Carl
Richard
Howard
Herbert
Minnie
Mabel
Ida
Pearl
Dislike:
Walter
Clarence
Willie
Roy
Earl
Raymond
Harold
Ralph
Bertha
Bessie
Gertrude
Frances
Well it seems I much prefer old ladies names than old gentlemen names. Haha!
Some of these are going to have very different images in different English-speaking countries.
Harry has already strongly revived in the UK but has not caught on in the USA, probably because in most American accents Harry is pronounced the same as the word "hairy,", which is not the case in Britain.
Carl peaked in the USA way back in 1915 and so should be ripe for revival here. However, it only became popular in Britain much later, peaking there around 1980, so it would have a middle-aged image in the UK and so shouldn't be coming back there again anytime soon.
Hazel has already come back strongly in the USA and Mabel, Florence and Pearl have recently returned to the top 1000 in the USA.
Harry has already strongly revived in the UK but has not caught on in the USA, probably because in most American accents Harry is pronounced the same as the word "hairy,", which is not the case in Britain.
Carl peaked in the USA way back in 1915 and so should be ripe for revival here. However, it only became popular in Britain much later, peaking there around 1980, so it would have a middle-aged image in the UK and so shouldn't be coming back there again anytime soon.
Hazel has already come back strongly in the USA and Mabel, Florence and Pearl have recently returned to the top 1000 in the USA.
This message was edited 12/19/2023, 2:45 PM
In today's world, most of them are unlikely to reappear; others of course have never left.
My preferences:
Richard and Roy; I also like Francis but not Frank, and not Frances for a girl either.
Ruth, Florence, Clare, but also Clara, and Alice
In my husband's family tree there is a Bertha who married an Ernest.
My preferences:
Richard and Roy; I also like Francis but not Frank, and not Frances for a girl either.
Ruth, Florence, Clare, but also Clara, and Alice
In my husband's family tree there is a Bertha who married an Ernest.
I love these types of names! I think of them as "belle époque" names, but "the lost generation" is wonderfully dramatic as well. The ones that are most clearly of their own time appeal to me.
These names are endearingly awkward, I think that's why they speak to me. The fact that they capture an extinct form of beauty is fascinating. When parents were choosing these names, I'm sure most of them thought they were lovely. It's only over time that they turned lumpy.... And sometimes I wonder, if history had gone differently, would we look at them the same way? If those Elmers and Ethels hadn't lived through what they did, would we still find them so ugly? I think some of these names get a bad rap because they became synonymous with misfortune.
These names are endearingly awkward, I think that's why they speak to me. The fact that they capture an extinct form of beauty is fascinating. When parents were choosing these names, I'm sure most of them thought they were lovely. It's only over time that they turned lumpy.... And sometimes I wonder, if history had gone differently, would we look at them the same way? If those Elmers and Ethels hadn't lived through what they did, would we still find them so ugly? I think some of these names get a bad rap because they became synonymous with misfortune.
I love such names! I recently reintroduced Clarence, Bertha, and Martha to my PNL; many of the others listed here are also on my list.
This message was edited 12/19/2023, 9:08 AM