Never Out of Season: Different Varieties of Classic Name

Classic baby names are a perpetual subject for discussion. This week Abby Sandel wondered in her Nameberry Nine column what makes a classic name, and Laura Wattenberg at The Baby Name Wizard shared her “magic formula” for turning classic names into pure gold (unfortunately her mathematical formula doesn’t work in Australia – either we don’t have a big enough population, or enough data, or both).

“Classic baby names” are a popular search term too, but it didn’t seem helpful to just write down a list of classic names. I sorted them into categories, so you can see what kind of classic each classic name is.

I counted as a classic any name which had charted in Australia for a century, never disappeared from the charts for more than a decade at a time, and never did so more than twice. After some experimentation, I found this was the most generous definition I could work with that didn’t become meaningless.

Contemporary Classics

These classics have a very modern feel to them, because they are more popular now than they were a century ago, and didn’t experience a peak of popularity in the middle. Choose one of these, and you get a name that feels both traditional and up to date.

Amelia
Charlotte
Ella
Emily
Eva
Grace
Hope
Isabella
Lily
Lucy
Sophia
Stella
Alexander
Angus
Darcy
Harry
Jack
Lachlan
Leo
Lewis
Marcus
Max
Oliver
Samuel
William

Up and Coming Classics

These classics are currently rising in popularity. It’s hard for a classic name to seem surprising or original, but these mostly manage to feel quite fresh. I think these classic names would make stylish choices – they’re names that we’re subconsciously primed to want more of.

Adele
Alice
Amelia
Angela
Audrey
Daisy
Elaine
Eva
Evelyn
Gloria
Irene
Josephine
Leah
Lillian
Rosalie
Rose
Sophia
Stella
Victoria
Vivienne
Arthur
Frank
John
Lawrence
Leo
Leon
Lewis and Louis
Patrick
Theodore
Vincent

Ready Steady Classics

Name nerds often talk about “timeless classics”, and these classic names are truly timeless. Their position has remained relatively stable, and over the course of the last century, they haven’t risen or fallen more than 250 places. I call them the Ready Steady Classics because they are maintaining a steady course, and ready to be used at any time. You can’t go wrong with a Ready Steady – they’re a very safe choice.

Angela
Annie
Catherine and Katherine
Christina
Claire
Elizabeth
Esther
Georgina
Josephine
Julia
Katie
Laura
Maria
Mary
Naomi
Rachel
Rebecca
Rose
Sarah
Adrian
Alexander
Andrew
Angus
Anthony
Charles
Christopher
Daniel
David
Edward
Eric
Harry
Hugh
George
Kevin
James
John
Joseph
Leon
Louis
Marcus
Mark
Martin
Matthew
Michael
Nicholas
Patrick
Paul
Peter
Raymond
Richard
Robert
Samuel
Stephen
Thomas
Timothy
Vincent
William

Underused Classics

These classic names have remained in use, yet haven’t become popular during the past century (the highest any has been is the very bottom of the Top 100). Choose one of these and you get a name which seems “normal”, but also slightly “unusual”. It’s a very attractive quality.

Adele
Beth
Bridget
Christina
Cecilia
Erica
Estelle
Faith
Georgina
Greta
Helena
Hope
Leila
Louisa
Lydia
Martha
Miriam
Rosa
Rosalie
Teresa and Theresa
Vivian and Vivienne
Carl
Duncan
Ivan
Leon
Lewis and Louis
Theodore
Wesley

Faded Classics

The Faded Classics have fallen more than 250 places since they peaked in popularity, and are currently at their lowest ebb. Is that any reason to reject these names? Definitely not! A classic never goes out of style, and as many of these names have hit the bottom of their cycle, they may be about to turn things around, and begin climbing in popularity in a decade or two. Some of these classics manage to have a funky vintage feel.

Clare
Linda
Louise
Marie
Mona
Nancy
Patricia
Ruth
Veronica
Shirley
Susan
Albert
Brian
Dennis
Edwin
Geoffrey and Jeffrey
Keith
Laurence
Leonard
Malcolm
Murray
Philip and Phillip
Roger

Under the Radar Classics

These classic names are not peaking, or rising, or fading, or maintaining a steady course. As a result, they may have escaped your attention. You may even be surprised to find some of these are classics. Don’t overlook them – these are all good names, and one of them may be perfect for you.

Alison
Amanda
Anna
Anne
Beatrice
Caroline
Eleanor
Ellen
Emma
Frances
Hannah
Helen
Iris
Isabel
Jacqueline
Jane
Joy
Joyce
Madeline
Margaret
Monica
Natalie
Sylvia
Valerie
Alan and Allan
Alfred
Bruce
Douglas
Francis
Frederick
Henry
Ian
Kenneth
Maxwell
Neil
Rex
Roy
Stanley
Victor

TRIVIA

The most contemporary of the Contemporary Classics are Sophia and Lachlan, who have the largest gap between their current position and their position in the 1910s. Sophia is 315 places higher, while Lachlan has gained 188 places.
The most up and coming of the Up and Coming Classics are Rosalie and Frank, who have risen highest in the last few years. Rosalie has risen 638 places since the mid-2000s, while Frank has risen 170 places.
The steadiest of the Ready Steady Classics are Elizabeth and James. Elizabeth has remained within 32 places throughout the past century, while James has remained within just 15 places.
The most underused of the Underused Classics are Estelle and Wesley. The highest Estelle has ever been is #222, and the highest Wesley has ever been is #165 – both in the 1920s.
The most faded of the Faded Classics are Susan and Keith, who have fallen the most from their peak. Susan went from #1 in the 1950s to its current position of 0, while Keith went from #8 in the 1920s to its present position of 0.