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in reply to a message by Anneza
Mary is listed for boys from 1900 to 1969.
Shirley from 1900 to 1959 (OK, it's a surname), peaking in the 30s just like Shirley for girls
Anna just from 1900 to 1909, and not Ann at all
Not Wendy either
Not Sally
Barbara in the 30s, 40s and 50s
Sarah, weirdly, in the 80s
Elizabeth from 1900-09; again in the 30s; and yet again in the 80s
Deborah in the 50s, and the frillier Melissa in the 70s and 80s.
So they seem to often but not always follow the female popularities. And surely there must be too many of them for them all to be misprints?
And what was going on in the 80s? Elizabeth, Melissa and Sarah, oh my!
Anneza, wearing her baffled hat
Shirley from 1900 to 1959 (OK, it's a surname), peaking in the 30s just like Shirley for girls
Anna just from 1900 to 1909, and not Ann at all
Not Wendy either
Not Sally
Barbara in the 30s, 40s and 50s
Sarah, weirdly, in the 80s
Elizabeth from 1900-09; again in the 30s; and yet again in the 80s
Deborah in the 50s, and the frillier Melissa in the 70s and 80s.
So they seem to often but not always follow the female popularities. And surely there must be too many of them for them all to be misprints?
And what was going on in the 80s? Elizabeth, Melissa and Sarah, oh my!
Anneza, wearing her baffled hat
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Replies
Shirley has in the past been a unisex name but I think the arrival of Shirley Temple put it firmly onto the girls list, there was once a wrestler called Big Daddy who's real name was Shirley Crabtree if my memory serves me
no idea about the others
no idea about the others
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Not exactly . . .
Shirley is unisex, no doubt about that, but the name was already highly popular and trendy for girls when Shirley Temple was named. She was given a popular name but her personal popularity kept the name popular for longer.
♦ Chrisell ♦
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
Shirley is unisex, no doubt about that, but the name was already highly popular and trendy for girls when Shirley Temple was named. She was given a popular name but her personal popularity kept the name popular for longer.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
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Yes but what I was trying to say and failing obviously :) is that her fame helped to edge it out of the unisex list and onto the girls only list, I doubt many parents looking for a name for their son now a days would even realise Shirley was once a boys name too
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