By Linda Rosenkrantz

　　Once a year, we like to stop and turn the calendar back a hundred years to see what parents were naming their babes a century ago and whether we might find some undiscovered treasures that, following the hundred-year rule, might be ready to be revived.

　　What was the world like in 1913? Trouble was fomenting abroad in the year preceding World War I, but in the US it was a time of new beginnings, with the election of Woodrow Wilson, the births of future Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, women marching to gain the vote– and, for better or worse,  it was the year that saw the introduction of the Federal income tax, the first cigarette pack, stainless steel and the zipper.

　　Things were quiet at the top end of the baby name popularity list as well, headed by the expected classics for boys: John, William, James, Robert, Joseph, George, Charles, Edward, Frank and Thomas (not dissimilar to the royal baby list), while for the girls there were period favorites Mary (36,000+ of them), Helen, Dorothy, Margaret, Ruth, Mildred, Anna, Elizabeth, Frances and Marie. Of these Top 10 boys and girls, only William and Elizabeth survive on the current Top 10, with James and Joseph still in the Top 20.

　　Many of the girls names in the 1913 Top 25, though, are already on their path to revival: Frances, Alice, Evelyn, Florence, Rose, Lillian, Ruby and Josephine. For boys, Henry is the one that’s made the clearest comeback.  Others, like, say, Flora, are also increasingly up for discussion.

　　One peculiarity: There are a surprising number of what we think of now as exclusively girls’ names in the boy column (Cleo, Laverne, Fay, Pearl, Alma), and vice versa, with females named Frank, Henry, Charles, Vernon, George, Louis and Paul. And, curiously, Foy, Coy and Loy were all on the boys’ list, and Willie was a Top 25 boy name.

　　Here are some names in the 1913 Top 1000 but not on the latest SS list, that might be ready to return. Some have been off for decades, others have dropped off more recently.

　　Familiar but Forgotten

　　[column1]

　　girls

　　Adela

　　Agnes

　　Carmel

　　Corinne

　　Dixie

　　Dolly

　　Elmira

　　Eudora

　　Flora

　　Inez

　　Justine

　　Kitty

　　Lavinia

　　Lelia

　　Letitia

　　Lucretia

　　Geneva

　　Lula

　　Magdalena

　　[/column1]

　　[column2]

　　Marguerite

　　Marjorie

　　Merle

　　Myrtle

　　Nola

　　Odessa

　　Olympia

　　Opal

　　Palma

　　Pansy

　　Petra

　　Philomena

　　Priscilla

　　Prudence

　　Thora

　　Viola

　　Wanda

　　Zenobia

　　Zola

　　[/column2]

　　boys

　　[column1]

　　Abner

　　Amos

　　Angus

　　Archibald

　　Asa

　　Bartholomew

　　Baxter

　　Booker

　　Chester

　　Clement

　　Clovis

　　Clyde (Top 70 name then)

　　Cosmo

　　Coy

　　Dewey

　　Doyle

　　Elmo

　　Ephraim

　　Florian

　　Floyd

　　Harris

　　Hiram

　　Horace

　　Hosea

　　Ignatius

　　Jethro

　　Judson

　　[/column1]

　　[column2]

　　Kirby

　　Leander

　　Lemuel

　　Linus

　　Llewelyn

　　Lorenzo

　　Lyle

　　Mack

　　Marcellus

　　Moe

　　Morris (Top 90 name then)

　　Mose

　　Murphy

　　Ned

　　Perry

　　Pete

　　Reginald

　　Reno

　　Rufus

　　Woodrow (Top 60 name then, obviously influenced by the president)

　　[/column2]

　　Long-lost Nickname Names

　　Yes, there were the usual Annies and Jessies and Bessies and Nellies, but there were some others less expected:

　　Dessie

　　Dovie

　　Effie

　　Exie

　　Florrie

　　Flossie

　　Gertie

　　Hettie

　　Jossie

　　Lovie

　　Ludie

　　Mamie

　　Minnie

　　Odie

　　Ressie

　　Tennie

　　More Unusual Names

　　girls

　　Alpha

　　Bethel

　　Coletta

　　Floy

　　Garnet

　　Goldia

　　Lue

　　Marvel

　　Mozelle

　　Ola

　　Oma

　　Orpha

　　Ouida

　　Ozella

　　Rosia

　　Willia

　　Zella

　　Zelma

　　boys

　　Dock

　　Dorsey

　　Jones

　　Loyal

　　Major

　　Noble

　　Royal

　　Smith

　　Any names here you’d like to see come back?