Names that Peaked in 1881

A short form of Alexandra and Alice used everywhere from Russia to Spain. A fresh alternative to Allie.

Claribel improves on its mother name Clarabelle by distancing itself from the clown and the cow.

Despite the presidential pedigree, it's still hard to shake the image of the cartoon cat (named after his creator Jim Davis's grandfather). However, there are other Garfields, such as Barbadian cricket player Sir Garfield Sobers, who carries it with gravitas.

Rilla dropped out of the US Top 1000 in 1915, but it's starting to feel like an intriguing possibility again in this age of short, sweet, a-ending names for girls. It is traditionally a short form for names ending in -rilla, like Marilla from the Anne of Green Gables books (Anne's youngest daughter is Bertha Marilla, called Rilla for short). Rilla may also derive from the German word Rille, meaning "brook; stream".

Lovers of Maxwell might like this more unusual – but no less distinguished – surname name, with its adorable nickname of Hart.

A relatively common surname, Dixon would be an inventive way to honor an ancestral Richard or Dick, the X form a lot livelier than the Dickson spelling, just as Dix is a more modern short form than Dick; it would be right at home alongside Dax and Jax.

Just the kind of vintage nickname (think Hattie, Josie, Mamie, Millie) that's coming back into style in a big way. Actress Busy Phillips named her little girl Birdie.

Although this was the surname of a rugged World War II admiral, these days it has a feminine feel.

Once a cowboyish old man name, Clem is now more commonly heard as a nickname for the fashionable Clementine, meaning "merciful one". Clemency, Clemence and Clementia are other possible long forms.

A common Chinese surname that made the Top 1000 in 1881.

The singer known as Pink (born Alecia) brought this hue onto the name-possibility palette, especially as a middle choice. Could Pink be the next Blue?

Chin is a common surname among those with Chinese or Korean heritage. It is related to the Chinese family names Chen, Jin, Qian, and Qin, and the Korean surname Jin.

A simple, self-possessed, somewhat serious surname, which might work better as a middle.