How we define vintage
"Vintage" has no fixed meaning, so we measured it. Our window is 1900 to 1930, a span we chose to stand for older generations' names, and we use SSA rank for every year in it. A name counts as having been in use then if it reached the top 300 for its sex in any of those years.
Two groups come out of that: names that have since returned to the top of the chart, and names that have not.
The ones that came back
These names were in the top 100 in the window, had fallen out of it by 1980, and are in the top 100 again in 2024. Of the girls' names, 21 qualify; of the boys' names, 6.
| Name | Best rank 1900-1930 | Rank in 1980 | Rank in 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emma | 13 (1900) | 416 | 2 |
| Charlotte | 72 (1928) | 292 | 4 |
| Evelyn | 10 (1915) | 288 | 8 |
| Eleanor | 25 (1920) | 676 | 14 |
| Violet | 74 (1919) | 1,023 | 15 |
| Hazel | 23 (1901) | 1,068 | 19 |
| Nora | 81 (1901) | 400 | 22 |
| Ella | 42 (1900) | 881 | 30 |
| Lucy | 61 (1900) | 480 | 34 |
| Grace | 15 (1901) | 317 | 40 |
| Stella | 62 (1917) | 730 | 49 |
| Lillian | 10 (1900) | 424 | 54 |
Names in the SSA top 100 for girls in at least one year from 1900 to 1930, outside the top 100 in 1980, and in the top 100 in 2024. 21 names qualify; the table shows the 12 with the best current rank. Only spellings that match our dataset are checked.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names (national data, 1880-2024). Counts are Social Security card applications for births in the United States; names with fewer than 5 births in a year are not listed, and spelling variants are counted separately. Baby Name Wizard is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA.
| Name | Best rank 1900-1930 | Rank in 1980 | Rank in 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver | 92 (1901) | 414 | 3 |
| Theodore | 30 (1904) | 206 | 4 |
| Henry | 10 (1900) | 135 | 6 |
| Jack | 14 (1929) | 158 | 15 |
| Leo | 37 (1903) | 367 | 24 |
| Everett | 81 (1906) | 460 | 85 |
Names in the SSA top 100 for boys in at least one year from 1900 to 1930, outside the top 100 in 1980, and in the top 100 in 2024. 6 names qualify; the table shows the 6 with the best current rank. Only spellings that match our dataset are checked.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names (national data, 1880-2024). Counts are Social Security card applications for births in the United States; names with fewer than 5 births in a year are not listed, and spelling variants are counted separately. Baby Name Wizard is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA.
If you want a name that still sounds old, look at the next group instead: these are back near the top of the chart.
One name across a century
| Year | Rank | Births |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 13 | 3,095 |
| 1950 | 154 | 1,896 |
| 1980 | 416 | 531 |
| 2000 | 17 | 12,560 |
| 2024 | 2 | 13,485 |
"Not listed" means SSA does not publish the name that year (fewer than 5 births) or it had not been used yet.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names (national data, 1880-2024). Counts are Social Security card applications for births in the United States; names with fewer than 5 births in a year are not listed, and spelling variants are counted separately. Baby Name Wizard is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA.
Rank is relative to the other names of the year, so read the births column next to it. A name can hold a similar rank while far fewer babies receive it.
The ones still waiting
The vintage baby names list holds names that ranked in the top 300 in the window and are now outside the top 1,000, and that have a documented meaning. 64 names qualify. The first rows, in the page's own order:
| Name | U.S. rank then and now | Documented meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Betty | #2 in 1928; #1,008 in 2024 | Diminutive of Elizabeth, which means “my God is an oath” |
| Patricia | #7 in 1930; #1,298 in 2024 | noble |
| Joan | #8 in 1930; #1,237 in 2024 | God is gracious |
| Edna | #12 in 1900; #2,049 in 2024 | pleasure; delight |
| Clarence | #17 in 1901; #1,558 in 2024 | from the town of Clare |
| Joyce | #18 in 1930; #1,041 in 2024 | lord |
| Carl | #22 in 1915; #1,032 in 2024 | free man |
| Howard | #24 in 1919; #1,054 in 2024 | high, guard |
| Ernest | #28 in 1901; #1,083 in 2024 | vigor, strife |
| Gerald | #30 in 1930; #1,166 in 2024 | spear, might, power |
| Donna | #37 in 1930; #1,934 in 2024 | Feminine form of Donald, which means “prince / chief of the world” |
| Agnes | #39 in 1901; #1,063 in 2024 | pure, chaste, purity, chastity |
A name is listed when it ranked in the top 300 for its sex in the U.S. in at least one year from 1900 to 1930, is outside the top 1,000 in 2024 for every sex it is recorded under, and has a documented meaning in our data. Names are ordered by their best rank in 1900-1930. Shown in the page's own order; meanings longer than 70 characters are skipped.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names (national data, 1880-2024). Counts are Social Security card applications for births in the United States; names with fewer than 5 births in a year are not listed, and spelling variants are counted separately. Baby Name Wizard is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA.
Meanings, origins and genders are as recorded in this site's dataset: Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the MuslimNames.com dataset (CC0). Each is one documented sense, not a full etymology.
Using this
- Decide whether you want "old" or "recently returned." The tables are different lists for different tastes.
- Check today's rank. A name that was common a century ago may be common again, which changes what the name says about your child.
- Check the nicknames. Old names often come with old short forms that sound unfamiliar now.
- Check the meaning. Meanings on this site are one documented sense each, from the dataset.
For more, browse the vintage list or the unique baby names page.