If you were naming a baby in 1911, you certainly wouldn’t be thinking about the hottest baby name trends or what was cool or hip.  Ah, those were the days!

　　But it is interesting to look back and see what patterns were in evidence then, which names—some of them really surprising—have obeyed the hundred-year-rule and already made a comeback, now sounding completely modern, and what undiscovered treasures might be lurking in the list,.  (We do have to bear in mind that some near the bottom of the Top 1000 in 1911 were given to only around twenty babies, whereas on today’s list, due to the growth in population, the lowest name on the list belonged to 249 girls.)

　　The Top 10 on the 1911 boys’ list were the expected classics: John, William (the only one still standing in the current Top 10), James, George, Robert, Joseph, Charles, Frank, Edward and Thomas, while there was somewhat more period-related variety for the girls: Mary, Helen, Margaret, Dorothy, Ruth, Anna, Elizabeth, Mildred, Marie and Frances—none of which is in today’s Top 10—Elizabeth being the closest at Number 12.

　　This was still the heyday of flower and gem names, so we’re not surprised to see Rose, Ruby, Pearl, Daisy, Flora, Garnet, Iris, Jewel, Opal, Pansy, Lily and Violet all on the list.

　　Another trend in girls’ names was the use of three- and four-letter names ending in a and often beginning with a vowel– most of which (with the exception of Ava, Eva and Ada) have not reemerged and still feel a little musty.  These others include:

　　Era

　　Ida

　　Ila

　　Ima

　　Ina

　　Ira

　　Iva

　　Ola

　　Ona

　　Ora

　　Alda

　　Alta

　　Alva

　　Elda

　　Elma

　　Elna

　　Elsa

　　Elva

　　Erna

　　Esta

　　Etta

　　Eula

　　Iola

　　Iona

　　Irma/Erma

　　Olga

　　…plus similar consonant-starters Lena, Lula, Lela, Leta, Lona, Zora, Zola,Vida, Vada, Viva, Nona, Nola, Neva, Nova, Mina, Myra, Reba, Rena, and Sula.

　　Nicknames that went straight onto the birth certificate, also a trend today, were rampant in 1911, and it wasn’t just the predictible Annies, Lizzies, Rosies and Katies. Here are some female nickname names of that era that are rarely encountered today:

　　Bertie

　　Birdie (showing some signs of revival)

　　Clemmie

　　Dessie

　　Dovie

　　Effie

　　Essie

　　Exie

　　Flossie

　　Frankie

　　Georgie

　　Gertie

　　Gussie

　　Hazie

　　Hettie

　　Jettie

　　Lessie

　　Lettie

　　Liddie

　　Linnie

　　Lottie

　　Ludie

　　Mamie

　　Maudie

　　Mellie

　　Minnie

　　Mittie

　　Nettie

　　Ocie

　　Ollie

　　Ottie

　　Pinkie

　　Sudie

　　Tennie

　　Tressie

　　Vallie

　　Verlie

　　Vernie

　　Virgie

　　Willie

　　Winnie

　　For boys, there were several more title  names than we see today, e.g. King, Doc, Lawyer, Judge, General, Prince, Bishop, Duke, and Royal, some hero names like Darwin, Emerson, Millard, Cleveland, (https://nameberry.com/babyname/[Mckinley](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mckinley), [Dewey](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dewey), [Sherman](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sherman), [Woodrow](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Woodrow) and [Edison](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Edison), also color names [Green](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Green) and [Brown](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Brown). (Interesting aside: [Bishop](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bishop), [Duke](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Duke), [General](https://nameberry.com/babyname/General), and [Judge](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Judge) were all on the list of names recently banned in New Zealand for being too similar to titles.)

　　On the other hand, here are some boys’ names popular in 1911 that would be perfectly at home in today’s sandbox:

　　[Anderson](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anderson)

　　[Austin](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Austin)

　　[Avery](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Avery)

　　[Blake](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Blake)

　　[Brady](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Brady)

　　[Carson](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carson)

　　[Cruz](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cruz)

　　[Cullen](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cullen)

　　[Dallas](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dallas)

　　[Dexter](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dexter)

　　[Donovan](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Donovan)

　　[Felix](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Felix)

　　[Harley](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harley)

　　[Hayden](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hayden)

　　[Houston](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Houston)

　　[Jackson](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson)

　　[Jasper](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jasper)

　　[Levi](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Levi)

　　[Logan](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Logan)

　　[Mason](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mason)

　　[Milo](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Milo)

　　[Murphy](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Murphy)

　　[Oliver](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oliver)

　　[Owen](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Owen)

　　[Reese](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reese)

　　[Romeo](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Romeo)

　　[West](https://nameberry.com/babyname/West)

　　[Wyatt](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wyatt)

　　[Wylie](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wylie)/[Wiley](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wiley)

　　And, finally, here are some other names on the centenary list that are not to be found in the current Top 1000, but just might be worth dusting off and bringing into the 21st century.

　　Girls

　　[Afton](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Afton)

　　[Aurelia](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Aurelia)

　　[Avis](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Avis)

　　[Bell](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bell)

　　[Celestine](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Celestine)

　　[Clarice](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clarice)

　　[Cleo](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cleo)

　　[Delfina](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Delfina)

　　[Delia](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Delia)

　　[Easter](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Easter)

　　[Edwina](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Edwina)

　　[Eugenia](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eugenia)

　　[Geneva](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Geneva)

　　[Inez](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Inez)

　　[Ione](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ione)

　　Izella

　　[Izola](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Izola)

　　[Leola](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leola)

　　[Lucinda](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucinda)

　　[Lucretia](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucretia)

　　[Magnolia](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Magnolia)

　　[Marcella](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marcella)

　　[Nova](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nova)

　　[Octavia](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Octavia)

　　[Odessa](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Odessa)

　　[Ophelia](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ophelia)

　　[Ouida](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ouida)

　　[Palma](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Palma)

　　[Petra](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Petra)

　　[Sula](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sula)

　　[Verona](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Verona)

　　[Viva](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Viva)

　　[Zella](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zella)

　　[Zelma](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zelma)

　　[Willia](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Willia)

　　[Zelpha](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zelpha)

　　[Zenobia](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zenobia)

　　BOYS

　　[Angus](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Angus)

　　[Bascom](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bascom)

　　[Baxter](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baxter)

　　[Burl](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Burl)

　　[Cecil](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cecil)

　　[Clement](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clement)

　　[Cleve](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cleve)

　　[Clovis](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clovis)

　　[Doyle](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Doyle)

　　[Early](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Early)

　　[Floyd](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Floyd)

　　[Garland](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Garland)

　　[Judson](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Judson)

　　[Leander](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leander)

　　[Lemuel](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lemuel)

　　[Lonzo](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lonzo)

　　[Loyal](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Loyal)

　　[Lyle](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lyle)

　　[Marcellus](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marcellus)

　　[Ned](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ned)

　　[Otto](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Otto)

　　[Perry](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Perry)

　　[Rufus](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rufus)

　　[Smith](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Smith)

　　[Urban](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Urban)

　　[Virgil](https://nameberry.com/babyname/Virgil)