The great-grandmother names: how Eloise, Violet and Hazel came back from almost nothing
Published 9 November 2026
Eloise, Adeline, Violet and Hazel in the US since 1900
- Eloise
- Adeline
- Violet
- Hazel
Show the numbers
| Year | Eloise | Adeline | Violet | Hazel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #49 (4,251) | #59 (3,864) | #13 (7,546) | #21 (6,318) |
| 2020 | #137 (1,970) | #99 (2,719) | #37 (5,128) | #31 (5,519) |
| 2010 | #527 (553) | #323 (990) | #122 (2,571) | #264 (1,241) |
| 2000 | #2,545 (59) | #805 (282) | #734 (316) | #893 (246) |
| 1990 | #3,714 (28) | #2,289 (55) | #1,279 (127) | #1,180 (145) |
| 1980 | #3,002 (29) | #2,278 (43) | #1,023 (141) | #1,068 (132) |
| 1970 | #1,464 (69) | #2,017 (41) | #920 (140) | #675 (235) |
| 1960 | #747 (187) | #1,286 (73) | #541 (320) | #397 (577) |
| 1950 | #341 (524) | #824 (112) | #343 (519) | #219 (1,182) |
| 1940 | #277 (512) | #474 (202) | #217 (783) | #123 (2,068) |
| 1930 | #189 (1,023) | #268 (555) | #120 (2,098) | #71 (3,888) |
| 1920 | #178 (1,239) | #176 (1,260) | #77 (3,694) | #34 (7,308) |
| 1910 | #234 (273) | #172 (395) | #89 (1,037) | #24 (3,032) |
| 1900 | #327 (107) | #202 (237) | #108 (614) | #29 (2,425) |
The US has published baby-name counts every year since 1880, which makes it possible to watch a name live, almost die, and come back. Many of the names at the top of the 2025 list have done exactly that.
Fell out of the top 1,000, came back to the top 100
These are the deepest falls. Each name was in the top 200 in the early 20th century or before. Each then dropped out of the top 1,000 for at least a decade, and is now back in the top 100.
| Name | Early high point | Lowest point | Years outside the top 1,000 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eloise | #164 in 1921 | #4,208 in 1991 (24 babies) | 42, from 1966 to 2007 | #49 (4,251 babies) |
| Adeline | #163 in 1917 | #3,095 in 1976 (23 babies) | 46, from 1953 to 1998 | #59 (3,864 babies) |
| Violet | #74 in 1919 | #1,279 in 1990 (127 babies) | 22, from 1972 to 1997 | #13 (7,546 babies) |
| Hazel | #18 in 1897 | #1,328 in 1983 (90 babies) | 22, from 1976 to 1997 | #21 (6,318 babies) |
| Stella | #55 in 1889 | #1,322 in 1995 (125 babies) | 11, from 1986 to 1997 | #52 (4,136 babies) |
Eloise has the most extreme arc. In 1991, 24 babies in the whole country were named Eloise, about one in every 78,000 girls born that year. She crossed back into the top 1,000 in 2008 and into the top 100 in 2022, and thirty-four years after her low point she was a top-50 name.
Adeline spent the longest time away: 46 years outside the top 1,000.
Hazel’s return is not only American. In 2025 she was #3 in Victoria and #8 in New South Wales.
Never gone, but deeply out of fashion
Other names never left the top 1,000 but sank a long way before climbing back. Eleanor was #25 in 1920 and #692 in 1986, and #12 in 2025. Charlotte was #47 in 1943 and #308 in 1982; in 2025 she was #2, only 144 babies behind Olivia. Evelyn was a top-10 name in 1915 and #289 in 1977, and #8 in 2025.
The boys came back too, but from less far
None of the boys’ names below ever left the top 1,000.
| Name | Early high point | Lowest point | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theodore | #30 in 1904 | #314 in 1999 | #4 (13,355 babies) |
| Oliver | #67 in 1881 | #471 in 1986 | #3 (14,939 babies) |
| Leo | #37 in 1903 | #485 in 1995 | #19 (8,173 babies) |
| August | #74 in 1880 | #930 in 1983 | #81 (3,958 babies) |
| Everett | #81 in 1906 | #649 in 1995 | #77 (4,287 babies) |
Theodore’s recent climb is the steepest. He was #99 as recently as 2015 and a top-5 name ten years later. He is also #2 in Canada and #3 in New South Wales.
Theodore, Oliver and Leo in the US since 1900
- Theodore
- Oliver
- Leo
Show the numbers
| Year | Theodore | Oliver | Leo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4 (13,355) | #3 (14,939) | #19 (8,173) |
| 2020 | #23 (8,638) | #3 (14,277) | #36 (7,229) |
| 2010 | #257 (1,333) | #88 (4,666) | #191 (1,946) |
| 2000 | #312 (934) | #305 (978) | #388 (658) |
| 1990 | #233 (1,231) | #373 (625) | #477 (431) |
| 1980 | #206 (1,194) | #414 (393) | #367 (473) |
| 1970 | #160 (1,829) | #427 (367) | #294 (701) |
| 1960 | #149 (2,382) | #410 (370) | #230 (1,204) |
| 1950 | #99 (2,960) | #283 (556) | #160 (1,554) |
| 1940 | #90 (2,306) | #215 (582) | #112 (1,752) |
| 1930 | #67 (2,958) | #170 (850) | #63 (3,035) |
| 1920 | #63 (3,219) | #135 (1,164) | #48 (4,054) |
| 1910 | #53 (692) | #103 (307) | #51 (707) |
| 1900 | #61 (429) | #95 (256) | #46 (570) |
Is it a 100-year cycle?
There is a popular rule of thumb that names come back after about a hundred years, once nobody remembers them as an old person’s name. The data partly fits. Hazel’s last peak was in the 1890s, and Violet’s and Eloise’s around 1920, and all three were at their rarest between the 1970s and the early 1990s. The gap varies, though. Eloise was back in the top 100 about a century after her peak, while Stella took about 120 years from her 1889 high point.
Not every old favourite is on the way back. Bertha, Mildred and Gladys were all in the US top 25 in 1900 (#16, #20 and #21). In 2025 they were #4,546, #1,962 and #3,211.
How we measured
All figures are from the US Social Security Administration’s national baby-name data, 1880 to 2025. Ranks are among all names recorded that year. The SSA leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies in a year, so a rank below 1,000 still means the name was recorded, only rarely. Early records from the 1880s cover fewer births, so we compare eras by rank rather than by raw counts.
Every name in this story has a full chart on its page, with the same data for England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada and Australia where it appears.