I was combing through the Top 1000 Names of 1880 the other day for another project (ah, the glamorous life of the baby name expert) and I was blown away by how many names on the list had been totally forgotten.  I don’t mean just marginalized, like Ethel or Beulah, but no longer even in our naming lexicon.

　　We tend to think of strange, invented, unique names as being a recent phenomenon, as if in the past everybody was named John and Mary, and it’s only since 1968 that we’ve had names like Hallie and Freedom.

　　But in fact, naming innovations have always been a part of American culture, and examining the list for 1880 – the first year for which we have records – makes that crystal clear.  The roster contains literally hundreds of names virtually unknown today.

　　Here, a two-part look at the lost names of 1880, starting with girls’ names.

　　The biggest name trend story of 1880 was nickname names – yes, dozens of the expected Minnie and Annies and Elsies (the name of the little girl in the Mary Cassatt painting that illustrates this post), but also dozen of names ending in –ie that have rarely been heard in the past hundred years.  There was a notable collection of boyish nickname names such as Donnie and Vinnie and Gussie, but here are the most outrageous overall:

　　ALCIE

　　ARRIE

　　AVIE

　　CORDIE

　　DESSIE

　　DILLIE

　　DOVIE

　　FRONNIE, FRONIE

　　HASSIE, HESSIE

　　HETTIE

　　JETTIE

　　LESSIE

　　LIDDIE, LITTIE

　　LOVIE

　　LUDIE

　　LULIE

　　LUTIE

　　MALLIE

　　MANIE

　　MELLIE

　　MERTIE

　　METTIE

　　MINTIE

　　MITTIE

　　NEALIE

　　NEPPIE

　　OCIE, OSIE

　　ONIE

　　RILLIE

　　SUDIE

　　TEMPIE

　　VALLIE

　　VERDIE

　　And then there were other short-form names not ending in the trendy –ie, but feeling like lopped-off pieces of longer names (though what exactly those longer names might be, it’s sometimes hard to guess).  Here, the most obscure:

　　ALLA

　　ARA

　　BENA

　　CINDA

　　EDA

　　EFFA

　　EOLA

　　ERA

　　ESTA

　　ETHA

　　ETTA

　　ILA

　　IOLA

　　IVA

　　LETTA

　　LINNA

　　LOMA

　　MANDA

　　NELLA

　　NETTA

　　NOLIA

　　OLA

　　OMA

　　ONA

　　ORILLA

　　OSA

　　RELLA

　　SINA

　　TELLA

　　TRESSA

　　ULA

　　VENA

　　ZOA

　　ZONA

　　Place names that might seem like 21st century creations were also used in 1880:

　　TEXAS

　　TENNESSEE

　　FLORIDA

　　INDIANA

　　ARIZONA

　　NEVADA

　　MISSOURI

　　And then there was a short list of word names:

　　GRACIA

　　LOVE

　　EASTER

　　BIRD

　　QUEEN

　　Perhaps the most intriguing category of lost names are the classic choices that have fallen into disuse.  Some of these are not exactly unknown – we’ve been promoting Araminta for years, for instance, and hipster mommy blogger Dooce’s daughter is named Leta – but most are quite obscure.  Among the most intriguing:

　　ALBINA – Third century martyr and feminine of Albinus, meaning white, bright.  A later saint Albinus was also called Aubin.

　　ALPHA – First letter of the Greek alphabet.

　　ARAMINTA and ARMINTA – Old English name fallen into disuse but was used in surprising number of forms, including Arminta, Araminta, and Mintie, in 1880.  Was also the birth name of abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

　　CELESTIA – Now rare feminine form of a late Roman name that means heavenly.  So much better than Nevaeh!

　　DELPHIA – Relating to the Greek city of Delphi, dwelling place of the prophetess.

　　DRUSILLA – Feminine form of a Roman family name and, in the New Testament, the wife of Felix.

　　ELECTA—Form of Electra from Greek mythology, with a tragic story.

　　ETNA – Classical Greek name for one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

　　FIDELIA – Feminine form of Latin name meaning faithful.

　　LETA – Mythological mother of Helen of Troy, also popular as Lida, Leota, and Lyda.

　　MAHALA – Old Testament name meaning “tender, affection.”

　　ORPHA – Form of the Old Testament Orpah, daughter-in-law of Naomi

　　PARTHENIA – Ancient Greek name, related to the Parthenon, meaning chaste maiden.

　　SOPHRONIA – More elaborate version of Sophia

　　SULA – Variation of Old Testament Shulamit, from the Song of Songs meaning peace.

　　VESTA – Roman goddess of the household, means pure in Latin.

　　And then there are the lost names that are just plain funny. R.I.P., your poor 1880 girls named:

　　CLASSIE

　　DICIE

　　DILLIE

　　ERIE

　　ICY

　　LOTTA