Baby Boomer & Gen X Names at Risk of Extinction — Plus, Surprising Monikers Making a Comeback

A new report revealed several Baby Boomer and Gen X names that are at risk of extinction — as well as a few older monikers that have made a surprising comeback in recent years.

In April, Choice Mutual released its Endangered Names Report. It analyzed Social Security Administration data from 1900 to 2024, uncovering once-popular names on the verge of becoming obsolete.

Baby Boomer names on the at-risk list include Ronald and Jerry for boys (sorry to Jerry Seinfeld and Ronald Perlman). Ronald peaked in popularity in 1943, often with nicknames like Ron or Ronnie, per BabyCenter. Meanwhile, Jerry was most popular in 1940, per BabyCenter.

For girls, the Baby Boomer names Linda and Deborah are most at risk for going extinct (apologies to Linda Hamilton and Debbie Harry). Linda peaked in 1948, while Deborah peaked in 1954, per BabyCenter.

Ron Perlman, Linda Hamilton

Meanwhile, Gen X names fading from popularity include Scott and Brian for boys, and Lisa and Jennifer for girls. Which means that folks definitely aren’t naming their babies after celebrities like Scott Bakula, Brian Cox, Lisa Kudrow, and Jennifer Aniston.

Many older names may be on the verge of disappearing in babies born today. However, others have made an unexpected comeback in recent years. Hazel, for example, peaked in 1918, with 7,680 babies. Although Hazel dropped in 1975 to just 134 babies with the name, it surged in 2024 with 6,000 babies carrying the moniker.

Similarly, Eleanor peaked in 1920 but made a comeback in 2024 with 7,127 babies. And Elsie jumped to 1,901 babies with the name in 2024 after peaking in 1918, at 5,000.

To put things in perspective, when it comes to what parents are naming their babies, these were the top five baby boy and girl names for 2025, according to the Social Security Administration:

Boys

1. Liam
2. Noah
3. Oliver
4. Theodore
5. Henry

Girls

1. Olivia
2. Charlotte
3. Emma
4. Amelia
5. Sophia

What do you think about the Baby Boomer and Gen X names that are on the verge of extinction? Were you surprised by the ones making a comeback?

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