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data story · 95 years of naming · the vanishing classics

Names that vanished

Once in the Australian top 100, today barely registered. Names that defined the parents and grandparents of today's parents — Bruce, Sheila, Norma, Kev — are effectively extinct from Australian baby registries.

We define vanished as: peaked in top 100 nationally before 1990, today recorded for fewer than 10 babies a year (or absent entirely).

♀ Vanished girls' names

  1. Michelle peaked 1,990 in 1970 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  2. Karen peaked 1,893 in 1965 → last seen 2016 (1 that year) -100%
  3. Jennifer peaked 1,773 in 1960 → last seen 2017 (2 that year) -100%
  4. Rebecca peaked 1,766 in 1981 → last seen 2017 (4 that year) -100%
  5. Susan peaked 1,716 in 1960 → last seen 2017 (2 that year) -100%
  6. Jessica peaked 1,713 in 1984 → last seen 2017 (152 that year) -91%
  7. Lisa peaked 1,637 in 1968 → last seen 2017 (2 that year) -100%
  8. Kylie peaked 1,583 in 1974 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  9. Julie peaked 1,566 in 1960 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  10. Christine peaked 1,530 in 1952 → last seen 2017 (2 that year) -100%
  11. Amanda peaked 1,459 in 1981 → last seen 2016 (1 that year) -100%
  12. Nicole peaked 1,444 in 1972 → last seen 2017 (5 that year) -100%
  13. Sharon peaked 1,405 in 1969 → last seen 2016 (1 that year) -100%
  14. Melissa peaked 1,324 in 1976 → last seen 2017 (2 that year) -100%
  15. Margaret peaked 1,304 in 1952 → last seen 2017 (3 that year) -100%
  16. Deborah peaked 1,278 in 1961 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  17. Debra peaked 1,177 in 1960 → last seen 2015 (1 that year) -100%
  18. Joanne peaked 1,137 in 1971 → last seen 2017 (2 that year) -100%
  19. Leanne peaked 1,088 in 1963 → last seen 2016 (1 that year) -100%
  20. Donna peaked 1,074 in 1966 → last seen 1984 (36 that year) -97%
  21. Kelly peaked 995 in 1979 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  22. Judith peaked 989 in 1952 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  23. Lauren peaked 988 in 1984 → last seen 2017 (5 that year) -99%
  24. Sandra peaked 928 in 1963 → last seen 2015 (1 that year) -100%
  25. Belinda peaked 921 in 1976 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  26. Amy peaked 907 in 1984 → last seen 2017 (7 that year) -99%
  27. Patricia peaked 906 in 1952 → last seen 2016 (2 that year) -100%
  28. Natalie peaked 902 in 1976 → last seen 2017 (5 that year) -99%
  29. Helen peaked 894 in 1960 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  30. Catherine peaked 893 in 1963 → last seen 2017 (9 that year) -99%

♂ Vanished boys' names

  1. David peaked 3,936 in 1962 → last seen 2018 (91 that year) -98%
  2. Jason peaked 3,800 in 1972 → last seen 2017 (20 that year) -99%
  3. Peter peaked 3,539 in 1960 → last seen 2017 (16 that year) -100%
  4. Mark peaked 3,016 in 1961 → last seen 2017 (3 that year) -100%
  5. Paul peaked 2,434 in 1969 → last seen 2017 (4 that year) -100%
  6. Andrew peaked 2,358 in 1971 → last seen 2017 (12 that year) -99%
  7. Christopher peaked 2,317 in 1984 → last seen 2019 (21 that year) -99%
  8. Stephen peaked 2,251 in 1960 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  9. Robert peaked 2,090 in 1952 → last seen 2017 (7 that year) -100%
  10. Gregory peaked 1,845 in 1960 → last seen 2016 (2 that year) -100%
  11. Darren peaked 1,557 in 1970 → last seen 2014 (1 that year) -100%
  12. Shane peaked 1,472 in 1972 → last seen 2017 (3 that year) -100%
  13. Scott peaked 1,463 in 1971 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  14. Craig peaked 1,429 in 1969 → last seen 2016 (1 that year) -100%
  15. Ian peaked 1,204 in 1960 → last seen 2017 (3 that year) -100%
  16. Wayne peaked 1,174 in 1960 → last seen 2017 (4 that year) -100%
  17. Steven peaked 1,090 in 1967 → last seen 2017 (3 that year) -100%
  18. Timothy peaked 1,047 in 1982 → last seen 2017 (5 that year) -100%
  19. Gary peaked 1,001 in 1952 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  20. Bradley peaked 972 in 1976 → last seen 2017 (4 that year) -100%
  21. Brett peaked 886 in 1971 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  22. Richard peaked 820 in 1971 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  23. Glenn peaked 803 in 1962 → last seen 1986 (72 that year) -91%
  24. Aaron peaked 725 in 1983 → last seen 2019 (195 that year) -73%
  25. Kevin peaked 699 in 1956 → last seen 2017 (4 that year) -99%
  26. Rodney peaked 683 in 1966 → last seen 1983 (84 that year) -88%
  27. Troy peaked 679 in 1975 → last seen 2017 (1 that year) -100%
  28. Simon peaked 640 in 1974 → last seen 2017 (2 that year) -100%
  29. Geoffrey peaked 639 in 1962 → last seen 2017 (2 that year) -100%
  30. Brian peaked 633 in 1960 → last seen 2017 (7 that year) -99%

Why do names vanish?

Names cycle on a 80-100 year arc. A name popular for grandparents in the 1940s feels dated to the parents in the 1970s, so it gets skipped; by the 2050s, when those grandparents-of-today's-newborns are gone, the name can feel fresh again. Florence and Hazel — both vanished mid-century — are back in the AU top 20.

Some never come back. Stereotypically "ocker" Australian names (Bruce, Sheila, Kev) carry strong cultural baggage and feel locked to a specific era. The cycle that returned Charlotte and Henry may never return them.

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