11 Adorable Baby Names at Risk of Extinction
If originality is your number one concern when it comes to naming your newborn, look no further than this list of adorable baby names that—gasp—could vanish from hospital nurseries for good, according to the Social Security Administration. Yep, low usage is a serious problem for these once-popular names, but it could also be an opportunity for you to pick one that’s dangerously close to being one of a kind.
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1. Nanette
For a girl
In 1956, this name—which means "grace"—was in its prime, but fast-forward to 1977, the last year it ranked at all.
2. Clive
For a boy
In 1935, 41 people named their baby Clive. After that, the cute moniker—which means "lives on the cliffs"—fell off the charts. (Yes, despite the name’s association with a totally dreamy Brit.)
3. Alpha
For a girl
It adorably means "firstborn," but after 65 people used it in 1944, it never appeared in the top 1,000 baby names again.
4. Nigel
For a boy
This name (which means "champion") peaked fairly recently in 1994 but hit a snag in 2010, when only 216 kids ended up with it. It lost traction after that.
5. Sondra
For a girl
In the late 1930s, Sondra was crushing in popularity, but after 1988, the name—which means "protector of man"—fell off the radar. (Conversely, Sandra with an “a” has ranked in the top 1,000 baby names since 1913.)
6. Llewellyn
For a boy
This name—which means "leader" and "lion-like"—was all the rage in 1912, and even though a certain Coen brothers film riffed on it in 2013, no one has really used it since 1944.
7. Claudine
For a girl
This French nom is the heroine in a popular French literary series (and the feminine form of Claude), but its last appearance in the top 1,000 was in 1975.
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8. Leroy
For a boy
In 1935, this name—which means "the king"—was bestowed on almost 4,000 baby boys. But its popularity has drastically dwindled ever since and, in 2007, it risked disappearing from the charts for good.
9. Tyree
For a boy
Named for a Scandinavian god of battle, this sweet name was weirdly huge in 1998, but after 2014, it dropped off the charts entirely.
10. Avalyn
For a girl
A unique spin on Adalynn, this name—which means "beautiful breath of life"—made a brief appearance in 2013 but then disappeared in 2015.
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11. Broderick
For a boy
This name has held its own on the top baby name charts since it arrived on the scene in 1956, but after 2014, it no longer graced the top 1,000. Strange, since it means "brother." (Also, "charismatic class-skipper.")
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