Choosing the perfect baby name can be fun, but it can also be stressful. Parents have many influences — from pop culture to family history. But in some cases, the desire to create a unique name overrides all other considerations.
Sometimes the result is a name that many people may not even know how to pronounce, much less spell.
Some names have always been uncommon. You know you have a special name when only a handful of people share that name in any given year. You know you have a really special name, and quite uncommon, when no one else shares the name for decades.
Exactly because they are so uncommon and rarely used anymore, if at all, these names’ origin is uncertain. Take Onezia, for example. It could be a version of Venezia, but it could also be derived from a surname. Another unexplained mystery is Wint, which has not been used in over a century.
There is no right or wrong, but there are trends — and they change over time, sometimes drastically. Names that were once extremely popular — Ally and Braden, for example — have lost their luster and are now disappearing. Similarly, names that may be considered odd by some are becoming famous.
To identify the most uncommon names in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed, for every year between 1880 and 2017, names with the fewest occurrences — 5 are needed for registration in the Social Security Agency (SSA)’s database. (Here are the names with the most occurrences, in case you’re wondering.) Of the thousands of names with only 5 occurrences, the least common were those with the largest gap between the last year the name was registered with the SSA and the present day. These names have never seen more than 5 registrations with the SSA since the year of the last match.
Click here to see the most uncommon baby names in America.
30.
> Years since the last time name was used: 120
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1897
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29.
> Years since the last time name was used: 120
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1897
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28.
> Years since the last time name was used: 121
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1896
27.
> Years since the last time name was used: 121
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1896
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26.
> Years since the last time name was used: 122
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1895
25.
> Years since the last time name was used: 122
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1895
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24.
> Years since the last time name was used: 122
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1895
23.
> Years since the last time name was used: 123
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1894
22.
> Years since the last time name was used: 123
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1894
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21.
> Years since the last time name was used: 124
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1893
20.
> Years since the last time name was used: 125
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1892
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19.
> Years since the last time name was used: 125
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1892
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18.
> Years since the last time name was used: 126
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1891
17.
> Years since the last time name was used: 126
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1891
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16.
> Years since the last time name was used: 126
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1891
15.
> Years since the last time name was used: 127
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1890
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14.
> Years since the last time name was used: 128
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1889
13.
> Years since the last time name was used: 128
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1889
12.
> Years since the last time name was used: 128
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1889
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11. Bengiman
> Years since the last time name was used: 129
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1888
10. Pantha
> Years since the last time name was used: 129
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1888
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9. Etelka
> Years since the last time name was used: 129
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1888
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8. Pembroke
> Years since the last time name was used: 130
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1887
7. Ottillie
> Years since the last time name was used: 131
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1886
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6.
> Years since the last time name was used: 132
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1885
5.
> Years since the last time name was used: 132
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1885
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4.
> Years since the last time name was used: 132
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1885
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3.
> Years since the last time name was used: 134
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1883
2.
> Years since the last time name was used: 136
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1881
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1.
> Years since the last time name was used: 137
> Last time name was registered in the SSA database: 1880
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